Chapter 7
You knew me once
Van Dyke picked up the picture. He looked at it for a moment. The shadow of a smile crossed his face. He carefully placed it back down on the desk. Kenji stared at him, hoping for an explanation. Sanosuke clumsily put down his cup and saucer and grabbed both items. He inspected them.
"Who are those kids?" the man asked.
The ambassador opened his hands.
"I'm afraid I have no idea."
"Is that so..." Sanosuke raised an eyebrow and gave Kenji a sidelong glance. The boy ignored him and scooted forward on his seat.
"What about the book then, what's in it?"
The foreigner thumbed the book open and flipped a few of the pages.
"It is a bible. A protestant bible. A beautiful art piece to be entirely honest. It appears to have been handwritten; most likely a private comission. I have never seen one so big. It is probably worth a lot."
His fingers lovingly lingered on the pages before he closed the book. He handed it back to Kenji. At the same moment, a soft knock on the door was heard. A young man with blonde hair said something in Dutch. The ambassador replied in kind. He then turned to his guests.
"I'm afraid my next appointment is here, gentlemen. Once again, please accept my sincere condolences. Jan will see you out. Please come and visit again."
"That old geezer was definitely lying," said Sanosuke.
Kenji nodded. The pair walked along the canal, halfway home. From afar, even an informed eye might have mistaken the son for the father and thought the old duo reunited.
"The real question is why," added Kenji.
Sanosuke crossed his arms behind his head.
"Same reason none of us will tell you anything, I suppose. Your father told him not to."
The young man stopped. He clenched his fist around the medallion. He had half a mind to throw it in the water along with the book. This posthumous game of charades infuriated him. He closed his eyes, trying to calm the familiar anger that had erupted. He listened to the cicada's deafening song. Although he'd been back for a while now he hadn't really paid attention to the insects' high-pitch chirp. Somehow, they sounded different from the ones in Kyoto.
"Quiet and serene
The sound of a cicada
Seeps into the rock."
Kenji opened his eyes. Sanosuke leaned on one of the ancient trees lining the road.
"Matsuo Basho," said Kenji. "I didn't think you were the kind of man to recite haikus."
Sanosuke pinched his lips. His eyebrows came together for a split second.
"You really don't remember me, do you?"
The heaviness of his voice made Kenji's heart sink. The man annoyed him without end, yet he felt guilty.
"I'm sorry."
Sanosuke gave him a weak smile.
"I was your favourite. Once you got used to me, that is. At first, you were terrified. Then you realised that sitting on my shoulders was way more fun than sitting on your father's. I instantly became your new best friend."
"And the haiku?" asked Kenji, trying his hardest to remember.
"You must have been five. Megumi and I played endless games of Uta garuta with you. I was horrible at it, but you, you were amazing. Soon you'd memorised all the poems. Megumi had to make new cards for you. I volunteered that cicada haiku. It was my sister's favourite. The only one I knew."
Night came but brought no relief from the oppressive heat. Crickets, taking over where the cicadas had left, chirped their evening duo with the frogs of the canal. Kenji lay on his back on the veranda. Even stripped down to his fundoshi, he still felt like he was melting. He daren't imagine how much worse Kyoto would have been. His mind wandered, stopping on a thought only to immediately jump to another. After a while, he'd take the reins and try to backtrack to the original thought. After a while, he realised that his mind kept returning to Sanosuke's haiku and the game of Uta garuta. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't recall any of it. Yet, something tugged at him. He experienced a slight feeling of discomfort in his stomach every time he wracked in brain to remember. He sat up. He needed to get his mind off this dead end.
Kenji lazily leaned backwards and scooted to grab the bible he'd dropped on the tatami of his room. His fingertips brushed the velvet but gave him no purchase. He inched closer and closed his hand on the spine of the book. He lifted it but the weight proved to heavy for his twisted arm and so he dropped the object halfway to its destination. The shock combined with the heft tore part of pastedown off the cover. Kenji cringed. He grabbed the book with two hands and assessed the damage. Closer inspection revealed that only the back had come undone and that the paper hadn't torn. A bit of glue and it would be as good as new. Better leave it be for the moment. He couldn't remember why he's wanted to look at it anyway. As he set the book down, he noticed something small sticking out of the tail. He place the volume on his lap and turned the pages; he feared he might do more damage if he simply pulled. He soon found the foreign object's location. It appeared to have been inserted between two leaves which were still partially stuck together. He gingerly pushed the card along the opening, hoping to widen it without tearing anything. After a few attempts, the pages came apart. A flattened dry bellflower had pasted the leaves together. He looked at the small card. In the moonlight, he tried to read the faded handwriting.
"Quiet and serene
The sound of …"
He frowned. That was… His eyes widened. He reeled. His heart beat audibly. The ball of discomfort in his stomach expanded.
Kenji trotted in the courtyard. Sano oji-chan was here. He squealed with excitement as he climbed the stairs to the bedroom. His sandals flew off his feet just before he ran into the room. He pushed the door of the oshi-ire open and grabbed an old lacquered box. He peered inside; the cards were ready to be played. He shuffled a few around and found the pair he was looking for. Sanosuke oji-chan would be so happy! He closed the box and rushed outside. He slipped his sandals back on and ran. On the way to the main room, he only stopped once to collect a few bellflowers. Sanosuke's presence usually meant Megumi wasn't too far. He'd almost reached his destination when he heard what sounded like an argument. He slowed to a stop. His father sometimes fought with his mother, but she was currently out and usually, she did the yelling.
"You can't be serious, Kenshin. The boy deserves to know!" Anger permeated Sanosuke's voice.
His father must have replied something, but he could not hear it, no matter how he strained his ears.
"If you won't, then I will. You're not making any sense!"
"You swore, Sano. I will not have you interfere with the upbringing of my son."
Kenji shook. He'd never heard his father raise his voice before.
"Fine then. Do as you wish. Mess that kid's head as much as you want. We all know how not knowing the truth worked so well for you in the end."
The boy walked in the open just in time to see Sanosuke grab his pack and walk away.
"Sanosuke oji-san!" he called, his voice trembling.
The man stopped for a second, bunched his fists, and made for the gate without looking back. Tears spilt out of Kenji's eyes. He dropped the box, which scattered its content all over the courtyard. In his extended hand, he held out the hand-written karuta haiku and the flowers.