Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [181]
That made it sound like the cathedral with the great bell tower wasn’t built in honor of the Goddess but in defiance of her. It struck Wataru as extremely odd.
“I think my father began going to the cathedral, and he met someone there who put those ideas into his head.”
Wataru knew where he had to go next.
Chapter 17
The Town and the Cathedral
They returned to the branch to find Pam waiting for them. It was time for the regular patrol.
“So, did you meet Mr. Fanlon? He’s an odd bird, isn’t he?”
It was difficult to take his question at face value after all they had heard. Wataru’s confusion showed on his face.
“What, you didn’t meet him?” the chief asked with searching eyes. “My Elza didn’t…go with you, did she?”
“She showed us the way,” Meena said crisply, speaking in place of the fidgeting Wataru. “She is as kind as she is beautiful. You should be quite proud.
“But,” she added, “she didn’t visit the workshop with us. As it turned out he wasn’t even there, so the trip was wasted.”
“I see, I see,” the chief said, his gaze softening. “Perhaps you can drop by there again on your patrol. You should have enough time.”
The chief opened a map on top of his desk, and began explaining the division of patrol routes, and which route he thought best for Wataru and the others to walk. The route didn’t take them along Bricklayer Street. Nor close to the cathedral.
“Thanks, Chief. Understood,” Wataru said. “Though I was hoping to visit the cathedral at some point. That’s quite an impressive belltower. I’ve not seen its like in any other town. Would it be possible to see inside sometime?”
The chief smiled. “Maybe not on patrol. Why don’t you visit tomorrow?”
Wataru pushed again, but the chief wasn’t to be budged.
“Only believers are allowed inside the cathedral, really.”
“But isn’t this a cathedral to the Goddess? If so, we’d all qualify as believers, then.”
“Well,” the chief responded slowly, “the cathedral in Lyris is a bit different. I’m sure you learned in school that it’s forbidden to erect places of worship to the Goddess.”
“So then who…”
“That cathedral was erected to Cistina, Spirit of Beauty. Cistina appears before only the most skilled of craftsmen, taking the form of a beautiful young ankha boy or girl.”
“So is this Cistina more important than the Goddess in Lyris?”
“More important than the Goddess? Of course not. But I’m sure you understand the need for craftspeople to give thanks to the source of the technique and talent necessary to create beauty. That’s why we built the cathedral.”
Having no more time for chitchat, the chief led the three out on patrol. They first walked to the center of town, and around the branch and town offices. Then they went down one of the main boulevards leading directly away from Bricklayer Street. The buildings here were made of stacked white stone. Clean laundry hung in the windows, and they could hear the sounds of children playing. In the spaces between the buildings, or in the little squares here and there, were planted trees and flowers, woven in between the cobblestone streets. It was a beautiful town.
“The buildings around here are all communal households,” Pam said, looking around with a smile. “Young families who work in Lyris and elderly couples who have already raised their children can live here cheaply. Clean and pleasant, don’t you think? Lyris is rich on account of her crafts, so we can afford to spend money on keeping our town nice.”
It wasn’t a lie. This part of town was very nice. Wataru could even imagine himself living here and enjoying it. But the residents here were all ankha. When he thought of that, and remembered the cramped, unsanitary conditions of Bricklayer Street, he could barely restrain himself from bursting out. It was even worse when he noticed that the young couples walking down the street and children playing in the squares would flinch when they saw Kee Keema and Meena walk by. Some would