Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [212]
Wataru guessed he was in another hut. The roof was high, and there was a sort of loft halfway up. A ladder next to the desk provided access.
The National Observatory in Sasaya? Wataru thought back to all that Kee Keema had told him about Vision during their journey to Gasara.
“Are you by any chance a starseer, Mr. Suxin?”
The man nodded. “Yep. In training, that is. And please, call me Shin. Here you go, drink up.”
A bowl filled with deliciously fragrant soup sat upon the tray Shin carried from the stove. “My instructor, Dr. Baksan, always says that a starseer should not be locked up in his observatory. He should travel, get to know the land, its seasons, and its crops. Only then may he look to the stars for guidance. That is the true path to knowledge.”
This was the reason, he explained, most students spent a good portion of the year scattered across the southern continent. “Some choose a particular region for their observations. Others have their fate determined by Dr. Baksan. He’s a tough nut, our instructor. If there’s anything fishy with your observations, he’ll flunk you in a heartbeat,” Shin said, seeming perfectly happy regardless. For a moment, Wataru saw the face of Yutaro Miyahara, star student from his class back in the real world transposed over the face of the young researcher standing over him. He’s like Yutaro. He’s not some bookworm driven to study. He actually likes it…
A great sense of nostalgia, combined with homesickness, and a desire to see his friends again filled Wataru. Even though he knew this was hardly the time, the feelings—and the questions—were impossible to stop. What am I doing here? What’s the whole point of this anyway?
“Ah, sorry there,” Shin said, looking concerned. “Here I go running off at the mouth and you’ve only just awoken after three days asleep. I’ve been here alone for more than a year now, and the only conversation I get is from darbaba drivers. I’m a bit starved for chitchat, you might say. Now, drink your soup ’fore it gets cold.”
“No, no, it’s fine.” Wataru shook his head, trying to hold back the tears. I can’t cry in front of him. He’s worried enough as it is. “Was I really asleep for three days?” Wataru asked, cradling the bowl of soup in his hands.
“You sure were. You had a heavy dose of swamp poison running through you. I thought you’d had it.”
“Um…where am I?”
Shin waved a finger and answered his question with another question. “You don’t remember at all?”
To his regret, he remembered everything that happened in the Swamp of Grief. Yet, it all felt unreal, like a passing dream, and many of the details were blurry. But still, he remembered what he had done. That was burned into his heart.
“You know the town of Tearsheaven?”
Wataru nodded.
“Well, I found you by the marsh on the opposite side of Tearshaven from the Swamp of Grief. This observation hut we’re in now is on the edge of that marsh.”
Wataru noticed for the first time that the light streaming through the simple striped curtains was a shade of pink. It was evening.
“About three days ago, right around this time, I came upon an udai wandering lost a little ways behind my hut. He was wearing a saddle, and paddles for walking in the marshes, so I started thinking someone had gotten lost out there. I went out, and found you lying near the path to the swamp.”
Though it made his stomach ache with fear, Wataru asked, “Did you find anyone else? Maybe an udai with a cart?”
Shin shook his head. “Nothing of the sort. Were you with someone?”
“No…”
“Right. Oh, by the way, that lost udai I found, I passed it off to a darbaba driver who came through here the other day. I’ve no food to feed such an animal, you see. He’s since gone to Sonn—that’s the village nearest to here. There are handlers there who will know how to take care of the thing. They’ll be expecting you to come pick it back up when you’re well.”
Wataru slowly sipped his soup. From the smell he thought it had to be delicious, but it tasted like sand in his mouth.
Where had Yacom’s udai gone if it wasn’t in the swamp? Maybe he’s