Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [226]
Lies! All of it, lies! The words rose in Wataru’s throat, but there they stopped. She’s mocking me.
“You don’t believe me?”
How does she know what I’m thinking all the time?!
“It’s okay, you don’t have to believe me if you don’t want to. Soon you won’t be left with any choice but to accept the truth of what I’ve told you. Of course, by then, it will already be too late,” the voice giggled. “I think I’ll be leaving now. See you soon.”
Oh, and don’t forget…
“Destroy the Goddess. No matter which way you turn, there’s no other path for you to take.”
Chapter 28
The Elder of Sakawa
Wataru went back to Kee Keema’s place and tried to get some rest. Sleep, unfortunately, proved elusive. Wide awake, he stared up at the ceiling all night.
With the dawn, the sky grew light, and the sound of the waves grew louder. It was as though the sea had been asleep too, and now was waking for the day. Wataru lay still, hoping beyond hope that the soft sounds from the shore would somehow wash away all memory of what happened on the beach the night before.
Somebody was shuffling across the sand outside their hut.
“Oy, a messenger!”
Someone else was waking another person up in a hushed voice. There was talking.
“Look, in the sky to the east. Why, it’s another karulakin!”
“You’re right. That golden banner—isn’t that the mark of an official emissary from the government?”
So it had come already. Wataru sat up on the broad, soft leaf that covered his bed. Walking to the wooden frame that marked the door, he lifted the screen to see a crowd of waterkin gathered, pointing toward the eastern sky. Some had even climbed atop the roofs of their houses.
Something red was glimmering like a bright star. Wataru squinted to see flapping wings and a long, flowing golden banner stretched across the sky. He turned and gave Kee Keema a light push.
“Hrm? Urk? Up already, Wataru?”
Wataru looked into his friend’s sleepy eyes. He was going to tell him to get up and get washed, but the words caught in his mouth. Kee Keema frowned and, finally, sat up.
“Oy, what’s the matter there? I know, your head hurts! I never should’ve let them make you drink that stuff. Heh. Sorry about that!”
Wataru shook his head. Then he asked a question that surprised even himself. “Kee Keema, where are your parents?”
“Huh?” he said rubbed his eyes.
“We didn’t meet your parents yesterday, did we?”
“That’s true. I guess I was too busy talking and partying for all that. My Ma and Pa have been in Arikita for three months now. They’re building a big hospital in the town of Parth, and my folks are helping carry up the materials. Sorry you couldn’t meet them.”
“Do they live with you, normally?”
“Nope. This here’s my place, and mine alone. Ma and Pa live in a big twostory affair near the Elder’s pagoda. Why do you ask?”
“It’s…nothing.”
Kee Keema grunted and scratched his chin. “Maybe you saw your parents in a dream, eh? That it? Feeling a bit homesick?”
No, that’s not it. I just can’t…
Just then, a sound like someone banging on a metal washbasin drifted in from outside.
“Oy, oy! A messenger! A messenger’s come! Everybody! A messenger from the government! All to the Elder’s pagoda! Messenger, messenger!”
Kee Keema’s mouth opened. “This is something! I wonder what’s up?” The giant waterkin stood, cradling his throbbing head in his hands, and rushed out, saying something about taking a quick dip in the sea first. Wataru stepped outside. The karulakin was no longer visible in the eastern sky.
That means he’s already landed.
Wataru sat at the top of the steps leading up to the entrance to the house. The town crier came by, banging on what looked less like a washbasin than it did a large stew pot. Wataru heard similar noises coming from around town. The criers were out in force.
“Good morning, Wataru.”
Meena