Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [220]
“Lanka, capital city of Bog!” Togoto announced.
That’s where Meena lived.
“Sakawa is close, a little way to the northwest. We should see it soon. The merchant city of Lanka knows no darkness, even in the depths of night, but the waterkin of Sakawa can see in the dark, and shun wasteful use of lamp oil. It will be more difficult to see from the sky.”
With the lights of Lanka on their left, Togoto swept his wings to the east and descended even farther. The wind brushing against Wataru’s cheek was salty with the taste of sea brine.
“There, Highlander! The town of Sakawa!”
Wataru leaned forward in his basket, but at first all he could see was more darkness. Soon, they passed over a narrow beach. Even in the darkness he could see the white ridges of the waves as they crashed against the shore. Togoto went out over the sea, then slowly curved back, his speed dropping as they descended.
And there was the town. Wataru saw thatched roofs and the outlines of buildings. Here and there hung what looked like signs. And in corrals throughout town were more darbabas than he had ever seen before.
Chapter 27
The Reunion
In the dark streets beneath him, Wataru saw waterkin on the roads and in corrals taking care of darbabas. Clusters of houses stood open to the air, screens made of long rushes hanging from the roofs in place of walls. Waterkin lifted the screens and looked out. There were similar houses along the shore, with verandas sticking out over the waves, where waterkin sat around tables talking and drinking.
“Oy! A karulakin! A karulakin’s come!”
“He’s got a passenger!”
Waterkin shuffled out into the center of town, waving toward Togoto.
“Settle down on the dunes to the west!”
“Aye!” Togoto replied as they flew out over the spray where white waves crashed against the rocks. They alit on a beach of white sand. The waves were gentler here.
“Highlander!” Togoto cried from above him. “As soon as your feet touch ground, leave your chair! Tarry too long, and I’ll land on top of you!”
The sea spray wetted Wataru’s face. His foot touched to the sand for an instant. Then both feet connected softly, and Wataru leapt, rolling off to one side. Behind him, Togoto came to an expert landing.
Shhhhh Shhhhh Shhhhh…
The waves of the night sea rolled soothingly in, sounding like a gentle lullaby.
“We made great time!” Togoto chortled, folding his wings behind him. “A good trip, a very good trip.”
“It was. Thank you!”
Several waterkin were coming in along the shore. One among them was particularly large, and he jumped and waved both hands. “Oy! Ooooy!”
Wataru knew who it was even before his voice reached them. He began to run across the sand, stumbling a bit until he had run off the numbness in his legs from the journey. “Kee Keema!”
“Wataru! It is you!”
Wataru jumped into the beaming waterkin’s arms. Kee Keema snatched him effortlessly out of the air, lifting him up over his head and spinning him around. “My lucky Traveler! You made it! I knew you’d make it!”
Then, from Kee Keema’s shoulder, Wataru saw another familiar face in the crowd rushing toward them. “Meena!”
There was so much he wanted to say and so much he wanted to ask.
Kee Keema lived in a small house near the shore, a simple affair with a roof fashioned from the giant leaves of some indigenous tree. The leaves resembled giant palm fronds, and, as Wataru soon discovered, were used for flooring, roofing, and even some tableware. The leaves also doubled as fans for relief on hot and sticky days.
The three sat in the small house, listening to the sound of the waves. They talked about everything that had happened since they were separated at the Triankha Hospital. As they chatted, Kee Keema’s neighbors and friends dropped by with stewed fruits, giant roast slabs of meat, savory roasted fish, and sweet water in vessels made of carved wood.
Slowly, they pieced together the puzzle of what had happened at the hospital. Kee Keema and Meena had regained consciousness not long after Wataru was taken away.
“One