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Upon arriving I noticed the village looked really strange to me…the buildings looked somewhat the same from what I remembered but the people looked old, tired and wore out. Nothing like how I remembered them. The first person I came up to was the jeweler who sold the amber heart to my father. I remembered meeting him once when I was helping my father with his daily errands, which I often did when mother was helping our neighbors out with their new baby since I couldn’t stay home alone. I remembered mother was always willing to extend her hands out to those in need of her help and that left father and I to finish the chores she left behind.

“Such a lovely couple …We are blessed to have you pass through our little town.” The jeweler said gently shaking both our hands as if meeting us for the first time. I didn’t have the heart to tell him I was the daughter of the couple that was murdered down the street…I would break his heart. I bought a small brooch for 1,500 yen (about 15 USD) that I really didn’t need but I wanted to give the jeweler something to help him recover from the curse of misfortune that seemed to fall upon him as well. He again thanked us for coming by then we bowed to him and continued on our way.

The next house we decided to visit was my neighbor’s house that my mother always helped babysat. Their son was now up to my waist and could already stand and walk around a bit. He even talked in small words and phrases, which was very surprising for his young age. I couldn’t ever remember being that small…It seems so long ago after everything I’d been through. I couldn’t tell them I was the Onmi’s daughter either. It would break their hearts to know I was leaving again, so I told them I was just passing through and heard from one of the villagers that the misses here made the best apple pies ever… which was true in my opinion. The misses sent me and Akairo off with a slice of pie each, and the family’s best wishes on our way back home. We stopped in the park around the corner and slowly ate our pieces of pie…I could remember the smell of fresh out of the oven apple pies filling my room when I opened my bedroom window, and the misses would invite my over for a slice when they had cooled down. This park, once my favorite place to go was now rusted and littered with trash…neglected and forgotten.

The last place we visited was my old home which seemed to have gone under the same aging, and eroding effect the people had. Most of the paint was either chipped, or had fallen off already… The wooden fence in the front was worn, rotten, and there was still a hole in it that my father was planning to fix the coming weekend. Three planks of wood, now rotten, and a pile of rusty nail and an old hammer were laid out near the hole as if forgotten about. Seeing the outside in such bad shape made me a little scared to see the inside…Akairo took my hand in his in my moment of hesitation and said “ You don’t have to go in if you don’t want to…We can go home Rayne.” …”This is my home or at least it was…” I said shaking my head. Still holding on to Akairo’s hand I reached for the door knob. I expected the inside of the house to look just like the outside all weathered and worn, but to my surprise the inside was just like how I remembered it as a kid. Everything was clean and there wasn’t a single drop of blood in sight, or any kind of sign of a struggle at all…Almost as if it never even happened. Akairo stood by me every step of the way.

First we went into my old room to find it completely cleaned up, everything put in its place, the bedding and curtains washed, and all of my old toys were put away neatly in the chest at the foot of my bed. I opened my closet door and noticed some of my favorite outfits were either newly bought or they were stitched up really well and covered with plastic bags over them to keep dust off. Neither Akairo nor I could believe it. Akairo remained in my room going through some of the things, and touching things to make sure we weren’t dreaming. Meanwhile I went into my parent’s room, and noticed it was all clean and fixed up…the blankets washed and the clothes were either stitched up, or bought again, and covered in bags like mine were. It brought me to tears as I looked at my father’s old work jacket he always wore every where. It still had oil stains on it from when the car broke down on his way to work and he had to fix it. I could hear a soft melody playing in the other room…a lullaby that came from my mother’s jewelry box that she often played for me on nights when I couldn’t sleep. Everything was perfect from my memories expect my parents were not here anymore. I met up with Akairo in the living room.

As we exited the home I noticed it seemed like the whole town had gathered outside and the jewelry seller came up to me…”Your Rayne…I knew it…That’s why you’re here. Look everyone helped out to keep your house the way you remember it so when you came back…” he said. I took a moment to collect my words “Thank you everyone…it was very nice of you, but I must return with Akairo to help take care of his younger siblings…Please remember the good things about my family… my mothers big heart and my fathers strength…please remember and honor them. You can put the house up for auction and use the money to help fix up the town…My parents would like it better that way.” I told everyone who seemed reluctant to sell the house at first, but after some convincing they agreed. Akairo offered to bring some of his gang members over to help with repairs. “Rayne you are so blessed to have such a fine young man at your side.” One of the older ladies said and Akairo smiled and blushed a little at her comment. Several of the townsmen then crowded around Akairo and began asking him advice on how to repair and rebuild their lives.

{End of Chapter 11}