Kazoku no Moribito
Guardian of the Family
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Part I
Chapter 3
Tribute to Kasem
Alika opened her eyes, lying on her stomach. Amaya didn't hold back the day before and they'd made love last until late at night, marked by breaks. Alika's hips pulled slightly; a sign that she was sore. She let out a small chuckle before sighing in relief. She turned on her side and placed her arm on Amaya's bare waist, snuggling against her. Even though she was no longer sleepy, she savored this closeness in the morning silence. Amaya woke up half an hour later. She hugged her beloved who was reading a book in the meantime and rested her head against Alika's chest.
"Alichoue?"
"Hmm?"
"I still want to make love with you!"
"Again?" Alika exclaimed.
"I come from Kanbal… it's not my fault."
"I did it a few times in the morning with you… and I regretted it a bit short after."
"Why? Did I do this wrong?"
"No, not at all. I went back to sleep right after, thinking that five minutes would be good. And I missed a part of my planning those days. Making love puts me to sleep. This is why I have a preference for the evening and the night."
"Did you have an appointment that day?"
"No, I had to train with Mom… and she didn't wait for me, so… I needed to caught up with her."
Amaya pouted.
"Please!"
When she simpered like that, Alika always gave in to her little whim. In a martial art move, she flipped Amaya onto the mattress and trapped her hips between her thighs.
"Very well, you asked for it!"
"… Please be gentle with me," she said, giving up and taking on an innocent look.
"My hips are already dead… so, I think it will be softer, indeed."
After making love for a long time, while they were lounging in bed, Alika suddenly sat up and looked at Amaya.
"Amaya, today is a special day… My family and I have made it a habit to always celebrate it."
"… Kasem?"
"Yes. It's been eleven years today since he born asleep, at five months pregnant. Do you want to come to my parents' place?"
"I have today off. I would really like to accompany you."
In Kanbal, it was customary to celebrate the children who died at a young age or infants' mortality. Amaya was supposed to have two little sisters, but they'd died far too young, including one like Kasem. She also celebrated them this way. They got up, got dressed and Amaya locked the door of her house, greeting the woman who was altering clothes with her and who was going to work.
Then, Amaya took Alika's hand, enjoying it a bit before finding her family-in-laws who still knew nothing about their relationship… but maybe her mother-in-law, Balsa, had doubts about it.
Balsa woke up first. She dressed in silence, washed her face, combed her hair and went downstairs. She grabbed the memory box that her Aunt Yuka had made with Alika to preserve Kasem's memories. She placed the box at the foot of the cherry tree blossom and went to train in the forest. Her concentration broke when she heard footsteps behind her, walking through the long grass of the meadow as they passed.
"Good morning, Motoko," Balsa greeted her, seeing her daughter's short hair all tangled.
"Good morning, Mommy…"
Motoko, unlike Alika, had always liked to keep her hair short. There was no way Balsa could play in without she gets impatient and angry.
"I washed my face and changed," Motoko said.
She held a branch of a tree polished over time in her hands; it was the one Alika, at her age, had found in a forest when their mother's old house, the watermill, had burned down with its ancient bamboo branch.
"Can I train with you?"
"Of course."
"Alika-Onee-ny-chan hasn't came back yet…"
"The more time goes by, the less she will be present, Motoko," Balsa tried to soothe her.
"But I love my big sister and I miss her! Amaya, her friend, is also nice."
"Your big sister will come back, don't worry. And I'm sure Amaya will come along, too."
After a few moves, Motoko asked to hold her mother's spear.
"I want to get used to its weight, too!"
"I have the impression of hearing Alika, it's funny." Balsa laughed. "All right, that's okay."
Her daughter took the spear almost solemnly. The weapon was heavy, but Motoko showed a disconcerting agility in handling it that even Alika didn't possess at the same age when the latter borrowed Balsa's spear. Motoko did a few katas and finished by trying to perform a series of pinwheels. Unfortunately, the weapon landed on the ground.
"Almost!" Balsa said.
"How was I?"
"Very skilled. You're even more agile than Alika! I'm proud of you."
Motoko smiled and jumped into her arms.
"Mommy, today is Kasem's birthday."
"I brought the box. It's under the cherry tree blossom."
"Can we go set up our things?"
"Of course. The training is over."
The child frolicked between the trees to find the way home and the tree. She knelt at the base of the trunk. She opened the box and found incense. She placed the stick in a small carved wooden statue which represented the God Yoram and asked Balsa for the flint stones to light it. Like a real little designer, Motoko hung the blanket, the little kimono and the little sock on a lower branch in a meticulous manner.
"Happy birthday, my little angel," Balsa said, kneeling down to pray. "Well… Eleven years today. There has still been a lot of change since last year. But I know that you're watching over us from where you are. You're our family guardian…"
She turned her head when she heard the door open to reveal her second son, Nao; he was a rainbow baby - as they were called -, the child following a miscarriage. She couldn't help but think that she was seeing a spitting image of Tanda when he was little.
"Good morning," he greeted in turn.
"Good morning," Balsa replied.
"We set up Kasem's things for his birthday!" Motoko said, proudly.
Nao looked at the tree: he was the only one besides Alika who could see Kasem's soul, swinging on a small spiritual swing hanging from a branch of his tree.
"He's happy," he announced, kneeling down as well.
"I hope so!" her little sister exclaimed quickly. "Daddy said he would make rice cake with me for the event."
"Kasem comes to see me in my dreams, sometimes."
"You too?" Balsa asked, surprised.
"Yes. He comes to play with me and advises me. Did you know he was the guardian of our family, Mommy?"
"I knew it, indeed."
"Why does he never come to see me?" Motoko got upset.
"… He says he's coming to see you, too. But you don't remember your dreams nor having dreamed the night when you wake up in the morning."
"Does this have to do with spiritual abilities?"
"No. You just need to practice remembering them as soon as you wake up."
Tanda came outside with a steaming cauldron of rice porridge. Karuna and Jiguro followed on his heels holding a tablecloth and the bowls, with chopsticks and spoons.
"How about we take breakfast outside today?" Tanda asked. "I think we have a great opportunity to do that."
"Oh yes, let's go Daddy!" Motoko exclaimed.
Balsa helped place the cutlery on the tablecloth, near the cherry tree blossom. Tanda poured out an extra bowl and set it down for Kasem. Breakfast was spent in a good mood. As Balsa had decided to do some housework while her husband prepared his orders with Motoko, she took a quick look outside.
The twins had gone to play in the forest with their own bamboo branches. Balsa knew it was now or never to hide her spear while she finished cleaning. Since the two youngest children were born, she and Alika had to constantly be careful where they left their spears, because they were always, always, inclined to play with them. Balsa knew very well that the weapons were too heavy for them to lift up and that they could get hurt.
She approached a large tree and inhaled. With lightning speed, she threw suddenly her weapon onto the trunk, higher up, like a javelin cutting through the air. The spear stuck there and remained firmly attached. For only a few weeks, this was the new hiding place.
The twins had hidden wonderfully in a nearby bush and didn't bat an eyelash. They wanted to know how their mother would climb the branches and hide her spear. Balsa stretched out her arms and hoisted herself onto a first branch. She climbed over the others with the agility of a little monkey. She had not lost a muscle despite her pregnancies and she ended up hoisting herself onto the big branch, at the same level where her spear had become stuck and where two ropes rested. She crawled on her stomach, grabbed one of the two ropes before removing her spear from the trunk. She tied an intricate knot to tie it at the end, then twisted it three times. Once certain of its solidity, she quietly released the weapon. The children called it "the spears tree".
Back on the ground, Balsa massaged her chest that she had squeezed on the branch. Satisfied, she decided to return to the hut to start household chores.
"Mommy's not here!" Karuna announced.
The two brothers ran towards "the spears tree". Karuna placed his hands for support, bent his knees slightly and made his younger brother climb up first. Jiguro then held out his hands to him and hoisted him up in turn. Like a perfect acrobatic duo, they reached the branch that served as a support for the weapons, which only included one. They knew they were very high in the tree, but they were so happy to have reached the hiding place.
Jiguro took the rope and slowly pulled it towards them. With four pairs of hands, they took the weapon and played after the knot with an enormous patience, keeping a very good balance and an astonishing dexterity for their age.
"Now we come down from the tree!" Jiguro said proudly.
"What if Nao-Oniisan saw us?" Karuna asked.
"He has his nose in the books too much. It's boring. Come on!"
Jiguro held the spear and Karuna went down first. Passing the spear from hand to hand, and leaning on the branches and the trunk, they reached the ground within ten minutes. They clapped their hands together and held the spear like a long stick. They didn't go very far when Balsa's figure blocked their path.
She had her arms crossed and a stern look. Over time, her glare, which could last forever, slowly softened and she never stayed angry for very long. The twins froze like statues and stopped all movements. Balsa thought it was time to find a new way to store her spear safely.
"I guess there's nothing I can do about it." She finally sighed. "But I repeat: this isn't a toy. You could hurt yourself, or your sisters and brother."
"We don't want to play with bamboo stick!" Jiguro whined.
Balsa thought for a moment.
"Why don't you go ask your big brother Nao for advice?" she suggested.
"Because he's not a warrior!"
"What does it take to change both of your mind?"
"A spear!" said the twins in unison.
"No."
She called Motoko. Noises could be heard in the bushes and Motoko came out, her hands painted with crushed fruits, and the outline of her mouth was dirty.
"Yes Mommy? Did you call me?"
"Do you want to give some lessons to your brothers? Some martial arts to calm them down?"
"Okay, but I want your spear!"
"No!" The twins retorted, stepping back with it.
"I'm the eldest daughter!"
"Technically, it's Alika the eldest," Nao intervened, suddenly close to them.
"I'm the second daughter in the family and so, when Onee-ny-chan isn't there, I'm the eldest daughter!"
Balsa rolled her eyes, half desperate and half amused. The famous debates of the strongest, the eldest, the greediest, the most intelligent began again between them. Having never had younger siblings than her compare to Tanda, Balsa was trying her best to manage these bouts of sibling jealousy as best she could. She took a step forward and held out her hand. The twins reluctantly handed him the spear with a pout.
One look and we obey, said Tanda, once.
"As soon as you turn seven, you can have one. For now, it's Motoko's turn to carry a 'grown-up' weapon."
"Then, we'll grow faster!" Jiguro said. "Nao-Niisan can make a potion that will make us grow!"
"I'm an apprentice shaman and apothecary, not a sorcerer. You two are funny."
"I told you he was boring!" Karuna said who received a glare from his older brother.
For all answers, Nao turned on his heel and went back to sit under the cherry tree blossom to read his book. Balsa supervised his children's training for a while. The twins fought in friendly way, putting their lessons learned into practice. They wanted to do a hook kick at the same time, and an unlikely situation happened: their legs intertwined in the heat of the action and they fell together to the ground, a confusion looks glued on their face.
"But what happened?!" Motoko asked.
"Great minds think alike, as they say," Balsa quoted with a laugh, helping the children to get up.
"In any case, we know from who their training comes from."
Knowing that the twins had finally found a hobby that allowed them to release their warrior energy outside of weapons, Balsa left them in her big sister's hands. She cleaned up the living room, put the covers back in place, and put the furniture in its original places. She also started dinner preparations, also making a list of food that would need to be purchased soon. She could never have imagined that she would start a big family and settle down when she looked at her life before. But she didn't dislike this life, knowing that she could continue to travel.
Balsa wondered for a moment if Kasem would've been a warrior like Alika, Motoko and Jiguro, or if he would've been a pacifist at heart like Nao and Karuna. She shivered thinking of him. Even though he hadn't lived long, she still felt his absence. She loved her five children more than anything else; she'd had a fulfilled life, but the empty place that Kasem had left in her heart was still present eleven years after his early death.
Nao knew that his birth did not replace his older brother's place. And he never saw himself as a replacement either, but as Kasem's little brother.
"Mommy?" said one of her twins.
Balsa snapped out of her thoughts, shook her head and quickly wiped away her discreet tears.
"What is it, sweetheart?"
Her son raised his knee.
"I fell."
"We'll treat this, come Jigu—"
"Karuna, Mommy."
"Karuna." Balsa fixed herself.
She put aside her chore, picked up her son and took him to the second floor. She found some bandages and some rubbing alcohol before taking care of her son's wound. Balsa put her index and middle fingers to her lips and placed them on the bandage.
"A kiss to speed up the healing," she said, leaning over to give his skinned knee a kiss. "And another kiss from Mommy so that it disappears as quickly as possible."
Karuna smiled and got down from the wooden box. Nao had entered the house and still had his nose in his book, sitting at the kitchen table.
"What are you reading?" asked Karuna.
"Yakue tales and legends," Nao informed him. "I'm memorizing them."
"You 'what'?"
"I remember them by heart."
"Why?"
"I want to become a storyteller at Toumi village."
"But why?"
"Because I want it. It fascinates me!"
"Why?"
Nao sighed. Balsa moved closer, suddenly curious.
"Do you want to make it as a living?" she asked.
"I've always loved Yakue legends and customs. I read about ancient customs that had, and have, disappeared and I think it would be good to restore them."
"If Alika was a fanatic of Kanbalese culture to the core, then you're a fanatic of Yakue culture. You and your older sister are complete opposites."
"I know. We also share the ability to speak to spirits, and see the spiritual world. But Alika-Oneechan is too energetic and outgoing. She looks more like Motoko and Jiguro."
Motoko entered the hut with a tired Jiguro and the spear of her mom in her free hand. Balsa suggested his son to rest on a large cushion in the living room for a nap.
"I'll wake you up when we'll eat." Balsa smiled.
"All right," said Jiguro.
"Rest well, sweetheart."
Alika finally arrived at the family home with Amaya. Her little sister turned her eyes towards the new guests, and shouted loud her big sister's name.
"Ah, there's Motoko," Alika laughed, preparing to welcome the little bombshell who was running straight towards her. "Hello Motoko!"
"Onee-ny-chan! With Amaya-Chan!"
As soon as freed from her big sister's embrace, Motoko found Amaya's arms. Amaya gave her a ride on her back. The little girl was delighted. Amaya naturally had "mother" energy; a baby could almost break their neck when she passed by them, or they stop crying when they met her gaze. The children who threw tantrums calmed down as soon as she gave them a smile.
Aside from her siblings, Alika wasn't as good with kids as her girlfriend was. She envied Amaya's ability to interact with them so easily. She would make a very good mother later. Balsa went to meet them and hugged her eldest daughter.
"Hello Alika, hello Amaya. Did the way home from your work guard goes well?"
"As usual, no danger!" Alika informed her. The clients were satisfied and they were able to return home safely."
"I knew I could trust you. Come in."
"I also learned that today was Kasem's birthday," Amaya added. "That's why I wanted to visit you today. It reminds me of my two little sisters who died at a young age, one of whom, excuse me Balsa-San, was just like Kasem…"
"Hey it's okay. It's not taboo. I understand and I don't blame you. It's nice of you to think of us. You're welcome anytime. If it continues like this, maybe I'll consider you like my adopted daughter!"
The young couple swallowed their surprise following this comment. Alika began to fear that Balsa suspected her connection to Amaya. Her mother remained so secretive that even her psychic medium abilities couldn't tell her whether or not she really knew anything about this connection.
Well… in fact, it's your daughter-in-law, Mom, she thought. So, you're not wrong.
Amaya saw Kasem's cherry tree blossom. Whenever she stood in front of it or near, she felt a powerful energy emanating from. She could easily stare at it for long periods of time. She saw the clothes hanging on the branches that Yuka had knitted in his memory and the portrait drawing that Toruna, Yuka's friend, had drew in Kanbal.
"Is everything okay, Amaya?" Tanda's sweet voice said.
"Oh! Yes. Everything's fine. I was admiring your cherry tree blossom. It's very beautiful!"
Tanda looked up at the cherry tree blossom. Amaya could see emotions pass through his eyes which shone with stars.
"Our baby angel is watching over us," he said. "I could spend hours contemplating it, too."
Once inside the hut, Alika asked her parents if Amaya could stay and sleep at home that night.
"Of course, there's no problems," Balsa said.
"What do you usually do to celebrate Kasem's birthday?" asked Amata, taking a seat at the table.
"Let's see… we hang his souvenir clothes on the branches and we gather to spend quality time together. We often tell each other comical anecdotes. But my favorites anecdotes are especially those of my children, when they were too young to remember them."
"Mom!" Alika said offended.
"Oh? Haven't I said it often enough?" she laughed.
"Saying what?" Amaya wanted to know, curious. "Tell me, I want to know!"
"No, Mom, please, no!" Alika begged her mother.
"Alika ate all the time when she was a baby," Balsa said, ignoring Alika's request. "Even when she was born, no time to cuddle with her, straight away she went to my breast to drink." Balsa laughed as her daughter put her head in her arms to hide her embarrassed face.
"Mom, please!"
"But you were so cute, Alika!"
Karuna entered the room at the same time with his twin. Amaya was always surprised by their striking resemblance.
"Oh, another anecdote to tell. I've had five pregnancies and six babies came out of my body without problems!"
"Except for Karuna," Alika added, looking at him. Guessing from his energy, she knew she wasn't mistaking about her brothers. "You've decided to born breech."
"Err… Sorry…?" he apologized.
"It doesn't matter, sweetheart." Balsa tried to comfort him gently.
"But I wasn't born correctly…"
"You're alive and healthy. That's the most important."
"Luckily Alika-Oneechan was there, huh?" Alika teased him gently, as her little brother lowered his head. "You owe me a debt."
"What?"
"A kiss every morning and every evening!" she laughed.
He pouted and kissed his big sister on the cheek shyly. Balsa looked at the twins when a new anecdote came to her mind.
"When I got pregnant with my last sons, they kept fighting in my belly. Afterwards, no wonder why they love so much to fight."
"Who are you saying that to?" Tanda sighed. "They kicked me in the back when you stuck to me during the night!"
"But you didn't endure that all day and night," she replied. "My size doubled and my belly, too. I even had difficulty sitting down and getting up!"
"I remember that. You looked like a chibi!"
"Tanda… watch your back!"
They bickered like two children, bringing their children to laugh.
"And you," Nao asked Amaya, "what do you do in your free time?"
"Hmm… I really like sewing, writing a little and drawing. I usually do this when my friends are all busy, or when I have free time for myself. I sew clothes for poorer families and I run a daycare where I look after children for a good price."
"We would get along well together!" Motoko exclaimed. "I do sew, too!"
"Really?" Amaya's face brightened.
"Yes! See?" She showed her her dress. "I made my dress… with Daddy's help, but I did it mostly all by myself!"
"It's very beautiful. You'll be an expert later, I'm sure of it."
Motoko smiled. She loved Amaya. As the latter no longer had much to say about her, she preferred to listen. Alika discreetly reached for her hand under the table and squeezed it. The two showed a complicit gaze and a strange smile appeared on their lips, which didn't go unnoticed by the Alika's parents.
"Girls? What makes you laugh so much?" Tanda asked.
"Oh! we have an anecdote to tell that happened in Kanbal!" Alika lied.
"I'd like to hear it."
"Yes. That would be entertaining," Nao said.
"Well, you see, during our trip to Kanbal, when I was seven years old, I went to the Kanbalese school for a short while. There, I met Amaya-Chan. There was a boy, a popular one: Shozen-the-jealous. He was jealous that I became the center of attention when I arrived in class. So, he challenged me to single combat."
"Alika didn't hold her punches!" Amaya added. "She won the fight and, afterward, Shozen no longer looked at her and avoided her like the plague! This is why we nickname him Shozen-the-jealous."
They laughed as they saw his crestfallen face again in their minds. In the evening, after having eaten the rice cake, Torogai returned home after wandering here and there. Seeing her granddaughter and feeling her energy, she immediately understood the bond between Alika and Amaya. However, she didn't show emotions.
"Amaya, I don't think you've met my GrandMa since we met," Alika said. "This is Torogai. She can have a strong character."
"Alika, I can hear you so far! I'm not that old or deaf."
"I told you so…" she whispered.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Amaya Muga. I'm from Kanbal," Amaya said.
"Nice to meet you. I suspected that you came from Kanbal… You have the same physical features as Balsa's," Torogai said, grabbing a bottle of sake.
"Oh no!" Alika exclaimed. "You're not going to drink again, GrandMa?!"
"And why not, little flower?... I drink what I want and it won't be a young woman like you who will stop me," Torogai retorted, sitting down. "By the way, Kasem's very happy with his day."
"Yes, I felt it and it filled me with joy, too."
The two lovers took their bath together, remembering their first bath when they were seven and eight years old. They took the chance to stick closer together and kiss each other while watching their surroundings. Back in the living room, the twins, too excited at the idea of having a guest who would share their room for a night, weren't yet asleep and were constantly questioning Amaya.
Motoko asked them to stop, but they started again five minutes later. Alika decided to move her futon in the kitchen room for having a little privacy with her girlfriend, and not having to share her with the rest of her family. Balsa intervened when she saw that Amaya was starting to get embarrassed by the questions the twins were asking her.
"Jiguro, Karuna, that's enough!" Balsa stopped them, looking at Amaya. "Sorry, they're too curious."
"I'm used to it." Amaya smiled, a bit uncomfortably.
"Well." Balsa looked at her sons. "Now, it's time to go to bed."
"But Mommy…" the twins tried to retorted.
Balsa stayed neutral and didn't flinch to their whims. They understood the message instantly and went to bed. Motoko was already half asleep when she felt her mother's lips against her forehead. Balsa passed though the kitchen room where Alika and Amaya were speaking in a low voice… even too low.
"Mom?" Alika called out to her.
"Hmm? Yes?" Balsa said.
"Can I close the curtain? The one that separate the kitchen from the living room?"
"And which also blocks the view from the second floor?" she guessed.
"Yes…" she said shyly.
"No problem. You're old enough and responsible. Don't stay up too late, though."
"Don't worry, Mom!"
Balsa went up to the second floor to prepare for bed while Alika took care to close the curtain tightly.
"Do you think you've awakened doubts in her mind?" Amaya whispered in her ear, worried.
"Maybe… but I couldn't say. She understands that I still have the right to own my privacy, without always having my parents on my back."
"That's right… can we kiss?"
"Under the sheets…!"
Amaya hid as asked and Alika showered her with kisses.
"I feel so bad, like if I'm doing something wrong…" Amaya whispered.
"Not me."
"I won't be able to keep this game up for very long…"
"I know… I promise, it will be soon."
"I hope… but you have to feel ready. I love your family."
Alika pressed her girlfriend against her. Snuggled in Alika's arms, Amaya slowly fell asleep while inhaling her scent. She even ended up finding her head pressed against her boobs!