Tuesday, November 20, 2007

To the Countryside

Nakamura couldn't sleep. He was worried about Hikaru. He was worried about the man, no, the yôkai, named Tôshi and what he wanted with Hikaru. Finally, he got out of bed and went outside into the gardens. It was a warm summer night and the moon stared lazily over Tokyo. Nakamura sat on a bench and looked up at the sky. He needed to make a decision about Hikaru. The boy was clearly in a lot of pain for some reason he did not know, nor could Doctor Hajime diagnose. Only Tôshi seemed to know what the problem was, and Tôshi did not seem to think it important to tell what he knew.

Nakamura sighed as he stood up to return to the house and went up to Hikaru's room. The boy was sleeping because of the sedatives and looked so peaceful. Nakamura reached out to smooth Hikaru's hair. The silver part shone faintly in the moonlight from the window.

Nakamura came to a decision as he watched his grandson sleep. He went to his private room and wrote two letters. The first was for his wife, informing her that he was taking Hikaru to the family estate. The second was for Samantha, and explained that he would send for her the next day. He then found a servant and instructed him to deliver the letters in the morning and to see that a carriage was made ready. He returned to Hikaru's room to pack the boy's clothing and take it down to the waiting carriage. He asked a servant to accompany him back to the room so he could get Hikaru.

He gently picked up his sleeping grandson and carried him down to the carriage. He was surprised at how light the boy was. Placing Hikaru gently inside the carriage, Nakamura instructed the coachman to drive to the family estate.

Hikaru did not wake during the trip, nor did he wake once they reached the estate and Nakamura carried him into the house. He finally woke sometime in the afternoon and found himself lying on a futon in a strange room. His head still hurt and he felt like he was going to be sick, yet he managed to sit up and take a look around the room. He could hear voices coming from outside. Slowly he got to his feet and went to the door.

Sliding the door open and stepping outside, Hikaru looked out onto the largest garden he had ever seen. A Zen rock garden lay in front of him, and off to his right was a carefully landscaped flower garden with a stone bench near a huge tree. Two people were sitting on the bench talking. One was his grandfather, but the other was a stranger.

Hikaru was not sure if he was seeing things, but the stranger with his grandfather seemed to be silver. He rubbed his eyes and looked again. The stranger was indeed silver. Silver like he could turn.

The stranger had noticed Hikaru standing outside the room and told Nakamura, who got up and went to the boy's side. “Hikaru,” Nakamura said as he approached, “you shouldn't be up. Is something wrong?”

Hikaru was holding onto the door for support. He looked up at his grandfather and said, “Bathroom. I need to go to the bathroom. Where am I?”

Nakamura smiled as he helped Hikaru to the bathroom. “This is my family estate,” he explained as they walked. “I thought you would find it peaceful here. This is more like your home in Kamakura,right?”

“Our house was never this big,” Hikaru said.

A few minutes later, Hikaru was back in bed at his grandfather's insistence. He was allowed to sit up so he could eat some miso. After he was through eating and a servant had cleared away the food, his grandfather came into the room and asked, “How are you feeling?”

“Better,” Hikaru replied. “My head still hurts, but I no longer feel like it's going to break open.”

“That's good. Are you up to having a little company? There's someone here who wants to meet you.”

“All right,” Hikaru said. “I don't mind the company.”

Nakamura nodded and left the room. He returned a short while later with the stranger that had been with him in the garden. Hikaru had not been mistaken. This woman was silver from head to toe.
“Hikaru, it's not polite to stare,” Nakamura chided.

Hikaru looked down, embarrassed, and the woman chuckled. “It's quite all right, Takeshi-san,” she said. “This is perhaps the first time he's ever seen someone like me since his mother. Isn't that right?”

Without looking up, Hikaru quietly said, “I don't remember my mother. I grew up thinking she was dead, but Father's letter said she disappeared.”

“Disappeared?” the woman asked. “Ah, well, that is something to be looked into later, for right now I believe an introduction is in order.” She came into the room and sat by Hikaru's side and bowed. “I am honored to finally meet you, Hikaru,” she said. “My name is Rin and I am your grandmother.” She sat up straight and smiled.

Hikaru looked at her in astonishment. This woman was his mother's mother. He wasn't sure how to react to this news and stammered, “I... umm... very nice... umm... I'm happy to meet you, too, Grandmother.”

Rin's smile grew broader at her grandson's reaction. He clearly had not been expecting an impromptu family reunion. “Oh, you do look like your mother,” she said. “You have her eyes... and ears. But you also resemble your father quite a bit.”

“What was my mother like?” Hikaru asked. Rin began to speak of Shizuyo.

Nakamura left them to get better acquainted and went outside. He was alarmed to see someone sitting on the largest rock in the Zen garden. “What do you want?” he asked.

Tôshi cocked his head to one side and said, “I see you finally followed instructions, Nakamura-kun. Thank you for bringing the whelp here. Now, be sure to bring the girl soon. He'll be needing her.” With one graceful fluid motion, he stood and leapt from the rock, landing silently in front of Nakamura. “The sooner the girl arrives, the better,” he said with a leer. “Tell Rin I'll be waiting.” He turned and walked across the garden and out the side gate, disappearing into the trees.

Nakamura cursed himself for yet again being unable to stand up to Tôshi. And yet again, he was filled with dread at Tôshi's plans for Hikaru.

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