Yuri Worlds

[110] Nuptials

Oddly, that mention triggered something in Yumeko, and she crossed her arms in careful contemplation. She squeezed every animated muscle connected to memory but couldn't draw even a drop of detail out of her head. Yuka lamented that she couldn't remember more to help the girl out. Naoko surely would've known all the details that eluded them. Since Naoko was still in bed, they threw out the most random names that popped into their heads. Most didn't sound real.

But the action of flinging out whatever names and words that popped into their heads brought a genuine smile to Yumeko's face, even though it didn't unearth the memories still stuck in the depths of her brain. They invited her to sit with them on their beach blankets. After some nervous waffling, she accepted.

Yumeko fumbled and flailed about her early admission to all the stuff that everyone seemed to keep quiet about before sheepishly admitting that this was just her second day as a woman. She had a girlfriend who was absolutely rolling about the whole situation, especially regaling her with stories of all her serious-faced new bosses in loose and rumpled suits trying to make it seem like everything was as it had been. Her greatest fear throughout the entire thing was that the girl she loved wouldn't be interested in her anymore. She suggested it was the exact opposite, her words petering out and transforming into a hot blush on her cheeks.

Before, Yuto was an artist and singer who helped out at a goofy local store themed around time travel. Despite the massive changes in her life, those specific details appeared constant. She also assured them that, though she had curious, wandering eyes, she wasn't trying to flirt or ogle. This awkward assertion soon tumbled with uncertainty as she flapped her arms and sprinted through a fervent, attempted clarification that never quite arrived at its destination.

Yuka did the duty of wrapping an alarm around her and assuring her it was fine. Then their guest broke down in an absolute flood of tears, touching upon a plethora of nervous thoughts and considerations about how much had changed, how much hadn't, and what to expect from a world of fresh chaos. At the end of all that, she admitted that she really had to go to the bathroom and had been holding it ever since this started.

Urgently, Silvia took her by the hand and marched her to the public restroom. When they returned, Yumeko looked like she had been through several violent wringers, but she settled without trembling upon their towels. Silvia had passed along some notes on feminine hygiene during their trek.

Though they had only met minutes ago, they were conversing like longtime friends. Other girls nearby struck up random chats, noticing that Yumeko had been crying and offering help if it was a serious matter. Carrie thought about Shimai and smiled to herself. The entire world had been changed, transformed, and infused with energy that it should've had all along.

It was broken before, and it still felt broken, like nature swollen after the end of all things, with everyone wandering around wondering what they should do now. The light of a fresh day came. Life continued. Gorgeous new flowers bloomed in the distance. Not an end, but a new beginning. A chance for everything to be better.

But that was tempered by the fact that they would soon have to say goodbye to Yuka, even though she desperately hoped it wasn't a forever goodbye. The bastards had a practical eternity while she didn't; they could wait her out and keep the girl she loved locked away until she was frail and gray, depending on whether this new world even permitted aging.

She had to hang on; she had to keep her determination; she couldn't ever forget what Yuka meant to her. A thousand years, as they promised one another. She could wait in the darkness deep inside Yuka, barely a silent grain inside her soul. No matter what it took, she could tolerate it.

Yuka was making an impossible sacrifice, and so would she. But that was later; they still had today and tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow. A shallow handful of a future, but something to hold onto and never squander. Especially with moping on a sandy, beautiful beach and not jumping into what was probably still very frigid water this time of year to scream and splash. Fortunately, they soon remedied that by rushing as a group to the receding, fizzing waves.

The turning and churning style of the water still evoked realistic, natural forces, but the animated energy suggested something more like paint rushing and crushing on top of itself. Carrie knew well to be wary of appearances, as there were plenty of local news warnings about pollution and toxic tides, along with an unfortunate host of everything humanity cast into the waters. But it felt nice, and it flowed with dizzying energy as it rushed in and lanced them with a blast of icy water. They giggled and gasped together, even Yumeko, as she ineffectually braced herself with her arms against the splashes.

The water carried undulating patches of dark, mysterious seaweed beneath its surface. The overall appearance of the ocean was not only sharper and clearer than she could ever remember, but it seemed free of the debris cluttering the shore. She took a small, experimental sip before spitting. It still had the wretched bite of salt water.

Once they'd gotten past the frantic surprise of dipping in the ocean, Carrie floated with her head tilted up, watching the artful skies. Yumeko was a good swimmer and made quiet, relaxed laps at the edge of the drop-off. Fiona ventured just as far but didn't express confidence in her swimming stroke, so she made sure to check for sand beneath her. Silvia was happy to linger where she could be immersed in the back-and-forth pull without losing sway to one direction or the other. Yuka didn't venture too deep but cautiously advanced to stay near Carrie.

Seemingly following their example, the hesitant scattering of swimmers soon proliferated. Clarion cries of joy and excitement saturated the air. It wasn't long before they returned to the shore and their spot on the sand. The sand clumped and crumbled in places but was a loose, fluffy powder around where they sat.

Yumeko hopped up a few times, as though she were waiting for someone or something. She soon explained that her girlfriend was supposed to drive over here to pick her up after her walk. She double-checked the time on her phone with a nod and sighed. Calling was an option, but she didn't wanna do that yet. After all the recent soul-sharing, it had come time for Yumeko to add the four of them to her phone. Carrie provided her information but advised that she didn't currently have access to her phone.

The same was especially true for Yuka, who settled on the explanation of being a foreign traveler. They each delighted in speaking in Japanese, even though it was peculiar and awkward, because the others could still understand them. Their inflections and intonations carried differently, but there was otherwise no way to tell they were speaking a foreign language.

What they talked about wasn't particularly secret; they simply referred to locations and sites familiar to Yumeko, which Yuka had to struggle with due to their disparate realities. She recognized some details, but it might as well have been an entirely different country.

To cover for herself, she admitted that so many things changed all around her and that her memories of this and that were unreliable. In place of specifics, she went with safe details about shrines, transit, and wilderness. Food also matched up well. Confusion occasionally drifted across Yumeko's features, but she shrugged it off.

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A question eventually hit about their connections to one another. Siblings, close friends, and then Yuka took a deep breath and announced, "We're engaged to be married," gesturing between herself and Carrie. That should've shocked or at least startled her partner, but Carrie just felt serene calm and peace. Certain things fluttered through her thoughts. Yuka was technically young, in whatever iteration of herself this was for her, although time, reality, and so many other things eluded precision.

And even though she suspected that the moms would've gladly given their approval if they understood or remembered, the legal uncertainties probably wouldn't pass muster. Not that Carrie found it absolutely necessary to legally be together when everything else was a foregone conclusion, but whatever made Yuka happy.

Yumeko brought up the fact that this area was one of the most popular on the coast for elopements. Countless little chapels were scattered about in the hills, ready to provide their services. Her girlfriend brought it up more than once, but they both found themselves too chicken to take the plunge yet. She had a wide variety of curated suggestions that they investigated and was eager to share.

Staring down the confident, delineated reality of marriage instead of the discussed, abstract aspect of it did quicken the pace of Carrie's heart but didn't dull her determination. Why not get married right now? It didn't have to be perfectly official or even legally binding. They had witnesses.

The closest chapel was actually just a block down the road. Yumeko asserted some nervous confidence in leading the way. They had to pack things up and set them aside in the car before slipping into their walk. Just as their new friend relayed to them, there was a tiny, palm-fringed, pristine white building with a glittering golden bell in the front tower. It looked like a location from an old movie. Both Yuka and Carrie's tummies decided that now was the time to harmonize in gurgles and discomfort.

Fortunately, despite the austere impression and simplicity of the interior, the church actually contained a sizable, modern bathroom with sun-bleached surfaces and dusty scatterings. The chaplain fit the expectations of a surfer in vestments. Sunglasses, jeans, and a wide crest of bleached blonde hair.

The initial message was that recent events had caused too much uncertainty for them to offer their normal slate of services. That didn't deter. The legal stuff could be worked out later; they just wanted the intention and the commitment to be made public. The wedding officiant brushed her full locks back and reflected on that. Not a request she typically got. But she could oblige, especially since there was no one scheduled for a while.

One wrinkle was their separate cultures, along with so much more. But they kept it as simple as Japanese and American for the sake of explaining. Yuka laid out, and Yumeko nodded in confirmation that Japanese ceremonies tended not to focus on vows exchanged but rather presented a letter of gratitude to the parents. And there were many other ritual aspects. They wouldn't be able to perform it at the Akechi shrine, but she hoped they could do some of the traditions and perhaps blend the two traditions together.

Clothing didn't matter to her, food certainly wasn't a big deal, and to heck with gifts, but she urged that it was all about connection between people and places. The togetherness, the unity of commitment. Placing that in a ceremony of heart and spirit. Yuka and Carrie both understood, even though the others still had questions. The details were relatively easy for the chaplain to arrange.

Since they weren't doing a legal ceremony, she urged that there was just a small charge for the use of the building and a handful of guests along with her services. She had the legal papers and wrote up her own document related to the events of the day. It didn't really mean much, but it meant the world to the two of them.

They first cleansed their hands and mouth with water in a method reminiscent of the first entry to the shrine, although far more makeshift with what their host had available from her cupboard and a simple blessing of the water. Large kitchen measuring utensils would have to do.

Next came offerings of food and alcohol to the Goddesses, represented by freshly baked bread from the chaplain's oven and a measured amount of beer from her fridge. The leftover was measured out in three cups for a later portion of the ceremony, with the first representing gratitude to their ancestors and divine creators, the second representing the present that they shared together as a couple, and the third promising their future.

Parts of it felt like any wedding ceremony, with their host substituting some parts of their script for goddesses and spirits where required but also leaning heavily on the Christian tradition.

Yuka went first with her vow. It followed all the traditional language about in sickness and in health before she offered her personal lines.

"I swear, with all my heart and all my soul, that I will hold you in my thoughts no matter what time passes, no matter what foes stand against us, through whatever separation may befall us, against the passage of time, no matter how weak or lost I feel, no matter what anger, no matter what suffering, I will never let go of our commitment. Though every trace of light may fall and every shadow burn away, I will love, remember, and cherish you every day I am granted, no matter what face I wear or name I share. Always and forever together, beyond a thousand years..."

Carrie softly quipped that a vow like that really wasn't fair because there was no way she could match it. Yuka shrugged and urged her to do whatever she felt in her heart. Nothing felt good for this moment, but she eventually started to speak.

"I swear to you with all my heart and all my soul that even though I may not be guaranteed a thousand years, I will fight with everything I have for every moment we can get. I would gladly be assigned the duty of standing in for your beating heart, tireless and devoted for as long as you need me, if only to know that you are protected and we never have to say goodbye again. I swear I will always stand by your side through all trials, through all pains, through all uncertainty, and through all lost hope to kindle the faintest ember of light to shine when you need it and to shade you from any scorching brightness with restful, dark protection. No doubt within or cruel voice without will ever take me from the best of your beautiful heart. I don't know what I can give you, but whatever I give, I give my all with every ounce of what and who I am, always."

A faintly raised eyebrow was all the commentary the chaplain provided following their words as she completed and ordained the ceremony. To finish it off, they shared the cups to drink each blessing. A full sip of the past and a generous gulp of the present. But Carrie fumbled with the last part and barely moistened her tongue by accident. It was fine; it was just ceremonial, and the chaplain compensated by giving her strongest blessing and encouraging them to kiss.

Joyously, they joined together and swiveled in place with giggles and boundless smiles. This day would pass into memory, and this week would slip away too swiftly. Terrible things were on the horizon, and they could not look away, but for this precious moment, it was nothing but blue skies and brimming hopes.