Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [293]
“If you must climb to the top, boy, I won’t stop you. Just remember, once you start climbing, don’t look down until you’re all the way to the top.”
“Sure thing.”
“You can still turn back, you know.”
“I like heights.”
“Suit yourself.”
Following the guard’s advice, Wataru didn’t look down as he climbed. When he reached the top platform, he stretched his arms and legs, feeling the evening breeze against his cheek. When he looked down he felt himself swoon. Thankfully there was a railing to hold on to.
The guard behind him wore a rope around his waist, carried a megaphone made of copper over his shoulder, and stood with his arms crossed. Every five minutes, he turned to look east, west, south, and north. Three guards per day took turns watching over the town.
Lamps flared in the countless windows of Gasara. Already the lively sounds of customers talking and laughing spilled out of taverns and lodgings. Steam rose from various windows, and the hearty smell of stew drifted through the air. At their post, darbaba stood freshly washed and fed, the dirt of their long journey cleaned away. Next to them, a group of waterkin sat around talking and smoking. From somewhere came the sound of a stringed instrument being plucked.
Wataru turned his eyes beyond the town walls to look out on the vast grasslands surrounding Gasara. Here and there, he could see outcroppings of rock in between darker patches where copses stood. Everything was dyed a dark pink by the setting sun, still and silent at the ending of the day. A flock of birds like dark specks shot across the sky, disappearing toward the forest in the distance.
Wataru took a deep breath, resting his elbows on the railing, and looked up at the night sky.
The Blood Star.
It shone a brilliant crimson. Yet, perhaps on account of the twilight, it did not look so ominous tonight. If Wataru reached out and plucked it from the night sky, it would make a nice pendant for Meena.
Wataru stared at it for a long time, trying not to blink. The Blood Star winked first. Wataru felt like it was smiling at him. What are you so worried about, boy?
Wataru, Kee Keema, and Meena had come back to Gasara after their confrontation with Mitsuru in Sono. Once it became clear that Wataru would become one of the sacrifices, there was nothing to do but wait. And if that was to be his fate, Wataru wanted to wait here, in the first town he had come to in Vision, where he had met his friends, where he had taken the Highlander’s oath.
Meena had cried a lot on the road from Sono. Kee Keema had been silent for the most part, and it seemed like his darbaba, too, was grumpier than usual.
Wataru asked Meena to sing for him. She had always sung earlier on in their trip, swinging back and forth on the darbaba cart. Meena nodded and began to sing in her beautiful voice. But before she could finish her first song, her voice choked, and she veered off key.
Then Wataru tried to sing. He would attempt one of Meena’s songs, or sometimes, he would sing a song he remembered from the real world.
Back in Gasara, Kee Keema reunited with the other darbaba drivers and went out on patrol with the Highlanders. Meena worked with the dog-eared doctor at the small hospital in town. Wataru once again started working for Kutz, going on patrols like Kee Keema or helping Trone with his paperwork.
“Been busy of late. Haven’t had much time to sift through all these files,” Trone explained, though it was clear he just didn’t like doing paperwork. But he did enjoy making others do his paperwork for him.
After their return, Wataru told Kutz everything. He wasn’t expecting any sympathy. He just wanted her to know the details, so that she would be prepared when word got out that he was to be chosen.
As expected, Kutz didn’t seem particularly concerned. “Understood,” she said simply. “Living in a lodge isn’t very comfortable, I’d imagine. Why don’t you move in here. There’s a storeroom on the second floor; you can clean it up and stay there if you like. If you need anything else, just tell Trone, and he’ll get it for you.