“Why not? Is he sick?” Sam asked Midori as they were returning to the inn after being turned away by Takeda.
“No, Hikaru-san isn’t sick,” Midori said. “Takeda-san said he doesn’t want to see anyone today. He’s tired. He’s probably still recovering from having his soul split from his body.”
“That is true,” Sam agreed. “I can’t imagine what it would feel like to have that happen.” She looked around and asked, “What shall we do today? It’s such a nice day and it would be a shame to waste it.”
Midori smiled. She had been waiting for a day away from Hikaru and his teacher. She had been planning a day with Samantha. “Well, we can continue your Japanese lessons,” she said, “or we can go shopping. Your are a young lady and should look like one.”
Sam looked at her clothing and blushed. She had only the boy’s clothes her grandmother had bought in Boston. “You’re right. I do need to be me again. But where are we going to find a dress shop here?”
Midori laughed at Sam’s question.
“I had something different in mind. How would you like a kimono? I think I have enough money to buy you a proper kimono.”
Samantha stopped walking. “Really? You’d do that for me?”
Midori nodded. “Of course, Sam-chan.”
“Let’s go!”
They soon found the clothing merchant and Midori explained that Samantha was a young lady from America and that she wanted to dress like a girl her age should dress. The merchant was intrigued by the foreign girl and asked about the boy’s clothing. A quick explanation satisfied her curiosity and she soon had several samples of kimono to show Sam and Midori.
Midori held up a kimono with pink as the main color and Sam made a face. “I’ve never liked pink,” she said. “It doesn’t look good on me. What about this one?” She held up a green kimono with a simple gingko leaf pattern.
Both the merchant and Midori agreed that was the one that was best. Now the fun began. The next step was to dress Samantha properly, with all the undergarments. Layer by layer, Samantha became a girl again. When shown a mirror, her jaw fell. “I wish my brother and uncle could see me now,” she said. “They’d both be so amazed. I’m amazed. This is so beautiful. Thank you so much, er…domo arigatô, Midori-san.”
“You’re very welcome, Sam-chan. Shall we go back to the inn, or would you like to do more shopping?”
“Let’s look around the market, please.” Sam took the bundle that held her old clothes, and the left to wander the market for the rest of the morning before returning to the inn for lunch.
Midori waited in the dining area as Sam took her old clothes back to her room. As she was returning to the dining area, an older gentleman approached her. “Excuse me…um, sumimasen,” she said as she tried to move around him.
The man stopped and looked at her closely. “No, forgive me,” he said in English. “I was not sure at first that I had the right person. May I speak to you?”
Samantha wasn’t quite sure how to react to this strange man. “You speak English,” she said, and then realized she was stating the obvious. “Sorry.”
“Yes, I speak English. It is necessary for one in my position to speak the language of those with whom I work,” he said with a slight smile. “Forgive my rudeness, my name is Nakamura Takeshi. I believe you are the one that has been visiting my grandson.”
That took Samantha by surprise. This man was Hikaru’s grandfather. “Yes,” she replied. “My name is Samantha O’Riley. I have been visiting Hikaru. We don’t speak much as neither of us can understand each other.”
“How is he? He will not see me.” There was a hint of regret to Nakamura’s voice.
“He wouldn’t see me today, so I don’t really know how he is. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. Hikaru’s father, my son, died recently. He may be having a bad day. Thank you for your time, O’Riley-san. I hope I did not bother you.”
Samantha smiled and said, “It was no trouble, Nakamura-san. I’m glad to have met you. I hope we can meet again.”
“Of course, but I must leave now. I need to return to Tokyo. Please take care of my grandson. Sayônara,” Nakamura said with a bow.
Samantha returned the bow and said her farewell. She watched the man walk down the hall before she went to the dining area.
Midori was waiting at a table talking to the tall boy that worked at the inn. “Sam-chan,” she said as Samantha arrived, “what took so long?”
Satsuo dropped the tray he was holding as he caught sight of Sam in her new kimono. “Shitsurei,” he said as he picked up the tray. Blushing, he returned to the kitchen.
“What was that all about?” Sam asked in all innocence as she sat down. “Oh, I was talking to Hikaru’s grandfather. He approached me in the hall.”
“Hikaru-san’s grandfather? What did he want? How could you understand him?”
“Nakamura-san speaks English. He knows I’ve been visiting Hikaru and was wondering how he is.”
“That was all?”
Sam thought for a moment. “Yes, that was all, but he did ask me to take care of Hikaru. That I found unusual. It’s almost as if he knows I’m here to help his grandson.”
“That is odd, I will agree,” Midori said. “I ordered lunch while waiting.”
“Thank you,” Sam said. “So, are we going to do lessons this afternoon?”
“Hai, sô desu,” Midori said with a smile. The food arrived and they ate. The meal and the afternoon were spent in conversation and Japanese lessons.
***
Another sleepless night. Hikaru sat on the floor in his room, his bed untouched. The lack of sleep, or rather the lack of desire to sleep, was beginning to worry him. His lack of appetite for food was also beginning to become a concern, as was the hunger for some unknown thing. But the concern both of those caused paled in comparison to the worry caused by his fiery outburst earlier in the day. He had sat in the bath for hours until Takeda made him get out and eat something. The food tasted fine, but he still hungered. He needed to feed… but on what?
A moonbeam came in through the window and fell across his face. He stood and changed to his silver form. From his chest of drawers, he found a kimono and hakama and dressed in the moonlight. Quietly he slipped from his room and out of the house into the night.
Creeping quietly through the streets of Kamakura, Hikaru searched for that which he craved. A few times he needed to hide in shadows as someone would be passing in the street. Usually police on patrol or drunks staggering home. Once a dog barked at him, but it was quieted by a shout from within the nearby house.
Much of the night was spent in a fruitless search for something to eat. Hikaru was about to return home when something caught his eye. He was walking along a wooded trail overlooking the Daibutsu when he saw a flickering light down below. A fire… there was a fire, and it was calling to him. He started downhill toward the flame, paying no attention to anything else. As he charged down the hill, he tripped over a root and tumbled the rest of the way, landing in a heap by a tree.
The man by the fire heard the commotion and peered into the darkness. “Who’s there?” he called out, hand moving to the knife at his belt. When no one answered, he drew the knife and spoke again, “Who’s there? I know you’re there. You made enough noise to wake the dead.” He was looking in the direction where Hikaru lay by the tree.
Hikaru took a moment to regain his senses. The fall had knocked the breath out of him and he was seeing stars. He didn’t hear the man the first time, but froze when he heard him speak the second time. He tried to hide in the shadows, but was unsuccessful, as he heard the man speak a third time.
“I see you there,” the man said. “Are you coming out or do I need to bring you out myself? I don’t take kindly to bandits in the night.” He took a step toward the tree.
Hikaru quickly changed back to human form and peered out from behind the tree. “I’m no bandit,” he said,” so put away your knife. I am unarmed.”
The man lowered his knife, but didn’t sheath it. “Come out into the light so I can see you better,” he said.
Hikaru stood and stepped into the open where he could be seen. He picked a twig from his hair and let it fall.
“Ah, you’re just a boy. Why are you wandering about at this late hour, boy?” He sheathed the knife and beckoned to Hikaru to join him by the fire.
Eyes fixed on the flames, Hikaru followed the man to the fire. “I’m hungry,” he said. “I’m looking for something to eat.”
The man looked Hikaru over. “Where are your parents? Don’t they have food for you?”
“Dead. My parents are dead.” His voice was toneless as he continued to stare at the fire.
The man wasn’t quite sure what to say. He rummaged in his pack and found some hardtack. “Here. It isn’t much, but it should fill the hole until morning.” He held the food out to Hikaru, who ignored him and continued to stare into the flames.
“Hey, kid, you want this or not?” The man asked as he held out the hardtack. He nudged Hikaru to get his attention. “Are you listening? Kid? Hey, are you all righ…” He stopped talking as Hikaru turned to face him.
Eyes blazing, Hikaru turned silver and a slight aura of green flame surrounded him. “I’m fine now,” he said and plunged his hands into the campfire.
The flames danced about Hikaru’s arms. The gold of the campfire mingling with the green of Hikaru. He watched in fascination as the campfire became part of his own fire. The more he absorbed, the better he felt, and his flame aura became more intense.
The man looked on in terror as the boy he had tried to help transformed into a demon surrounded by fire. The hardtack dropped from his hand as he backed away from the intense heat. He watched Hikaru’s expression change from a blank stare to one of complete satisfaction.
Finally, Hikaru had consumed the flames and there was no trace of the campfire. He stood and looked at the flames surrounding his hands. “Thank you,” he said with a smile. “I do believe I was starving to death. I feel much better now.” He stared at his hands in fascination for a moment, and then closed his eyes in concentration. Slowly the flames surrounding his body went out. “Again, I thank you,” he said and turned to leave.
The man was too terrified to speak and watched quietly as Hikaru disappeared into the woods.
Hikaru slipped quietly back into the city and made his way back to the house. He tried to sneak back into the house, but was met at the front door by an angry Takeda.
“Where have you been?” Takeda demanded.
Hikaru’s eyes flashed briefly. He felt the fire rise within, but quelled it. “Out,” was the only answer he gave and he pushed his way past Takeda into the house.
Up until this point, Takeda’s patience with Hikaru had been holding up well, but the curt manner in which the boy had replied pushed it to the limit. “Don’t take that tone of voice with me, young man,” Takeda said and grabbed Hikaru by the arm. “Where have you been?”
Hikaru looked at Takeda’s hand on his arm. He looked back over his shoulder at his teacher and repeated, “Out.” His eyes flashed again, and there was a faint glint of flame to them.
Takeda saw the fire in Hikaru’s eyes and let go his arm. Something about the look on the boy’s face terrified him. “Very well,” he said. “We will speak of this in the morning, Hikaru-kun.” He watched as the boy walked to his room.
Something was truly not right with the boy, and he did not know what he could do to correct it.
***
Samantha woke up screaming the night after her shopping day with Midori. The nightmares were starting again. She sat up in bed, hugging her knees, trying to figure out what this meant. Her grandmother wasn’t there to help her with interpretation of the dreams. This was now something she had to do on her own.
There was a knock at the door and Midori’s voice asking if she could come in. Samantha got up and let her in.
“Is something wrong, Sam-chan?” Midori asked. “I heard you cry out.”
Sam was reluctant at first to say anything, but the look of concern on Midori’s face changed her mind. “I’m sorry I woke you,” she said. “It was just a dream. It scared me. I’ll be all right now.” Sam moved back into the room and turned up the lamp. Midori followed.
“Do you have these dreams often?” Midori asked as she sat down next to Sam’s bed.
Sam sat on the bed. “Yes… no, not really,” she said. “It’s hard to say. I dreamed about Hikaru for several nights. At first the dreams frightened me, but my grandmother helped me figure out what they meant.”
“Your grandmother is a seer, isn’t she?”
“Yes.” Sam smiled at the memory of her grandmother. “I miss her.”
“I’m sure you do. Now tell me about your dream and let us see if we can find out what it means.”
“All right, if you think in will help,” Sam said, and she began to tell of her dream.
In the dream Sam was walking along a pathway in a garden. There was a house to one side of her and a hill to the other. The garden was very large, in Sam’s opinion, and must belong to a very wealthy person.
It was twilight as she wandered along the path among the flowers. She stopped by the rock garden to rest. As she sat on the bench looking over the carefully arranged stones, Sam noticed a dark spot spoiling the otherwise pristine garden. She got up to investigate and was horrified to find blood seeping into the stones. As she turned to leave the rock garden, night fell suddenly and she found herself walking along a moonlit path of silver.
There was something about the path that frightened Samantha. Perhaps it was the steely cold surface under her feet. Perhaps it was the darkness closing in on her, forcing her onward. Onward to what appeared to be glowing green eyes.
Sam didn’t want to go toward the eyes, but was compelled to run. There was something chasing her. As she ran, she realized the silver path was actually the blade of a sword. Finally things went completely black and she fell to her knees, eyes closed tight against the darkness.
Something passed overhead and she heard a cry. Then a voice said her name and she felt a hand on her shoulder. She opened her eyes and looked up into the face of Hikaru. He was silver as he had been in her previous dreams. He was smiling at her. But the truly frightening thing was that he was covered in blood and holding a bloody sword…
“That’s when I scream and wake up,” Sam concluded. “I really wish Grandmother was here to help me with this. She would listen to my dreams and then would contemplate about them overnight. She’d tell me what it meant in the morning.”
Midori thought about what Samantha had described. “The thing that chased you from the garden? From which way did it come? The house or the hill?” she asked.
“The hill. It’s almost as if there’s something up there that wants to hurt me.”
“All right. The house and garden. What else can you tell about that?”
Sam looked at the ceiling. “It’s old, and it feels like I belong there. Like home, but it’s not here in Kamakura.”
“How do you know that?”
“I haven’t seen a hill like that here,” Sam said with a slight smile.
Midori laughed. “Very well. The pathway could be a symbol for a new direction in your life. Something you need to do.”
“Something different from being here already? All right. Let’s leave that for later,” Sam said. “The part that concerns me most is Hikaru covered in blood. I can’t tell whose blood it is.” She paused and looked at the lamp as if the answers would be there. “Somehow I think the blood in the garden is his.”
“Dreaming of blood cannot be good. Tragedy, perhaps?” Midori yawned. “Excuse me,” she said hastily.
Sam smiled. “That’s quite all right. It is late. Thanks for coming, it really has helped. I should be able to sleep now. I always sleep better once I tell someone about the dreams.”
“Of course, Sam-chan,” Midori said as she stood up. “I will see you in the morning. Oyasumi nasai.”
“Oyasumi nasai, Midori-san,” Sam said as she watched the woman leave. She turned down the lamp and got back into bed. She thought about what happened in her dream. She would have to see Hikaru the next day and check if he was all right. She soon fell asleep and was not visited by nightmares again that night.
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