Chapter 26

Kamata

After two weeks at the Capital Hospital, my coughing fits stopped including blood. At week three, I could eat full meals without throwing up and get to the toilet without someone’s help.

On the twentieth of Leechi, I was reading a book that Kamata had lent me. Kamata said it was his favourite book and got better around three hundred pages in. I was having a hard time reading it because it was written in traditional Mino script. There were a few words I had to ask Kamata about, but I could read most of it.

The afternoon sun was pouring through my window; it made me feel warm inside and out. A musician was playing a cello somewhere on the street below. Its gentle melodies drifted through my open window along with the breeze. It made me miss my own cello. It had been such a long time since I had been able to play. Sitting there listening to a cello reminded me so much of home. It sparked a deep melancholy feeling inside me. A feeling that had been sitting in me for months, but I had been trying my hardest to ignore. I was homesick.

I rested Kamata’s book on my lap and gazed out the window. The sky was a patchwork of pinks, oranges and yellows. I took a few painless deep breaths. In the afternoon light, the Sun City was stunning. If I looked from just the right angle, I could see some of the towers of the Dawn Palace. The towers were the highest points in the city. They sparkled, shinning gold light across the city. I wished I could have seen the whole palace. It was supposed to be even more beautiful than the Dusk palace.

I had gone to Toolanta when I was fourteen for the winter solstice. The dusk palace had been the most beautiful building I had ever seen, and I couldn’t believe that any building could be more beautiful. While in Toolanta, I had even seen the king and queen. The queen had worn the most beautiful traditional Dallie winter solstice outfit. The king had worn a traditional Mino outfit with more jewels woven into the fabric than there were in all of Pallamin.

The door to my room opened, snapping me back to the present. Kamata came in carrying my dinner.

He looked at the book sitting in my lap. “How is it going?”

“It’s so good. It’s just taking me a while to read.”

Kamata set the tray down on the bedside table and sat down. “Sorry about that. I don’t think it’s been translated into Dallie or even modern Mino.”

I picked up the book, scanning the curly script. "I'm really all right. I was taught traditional Mino at school, but it’s been a while since I’ve had to read anything written in it.”

Kamata gestured to the covered bowl with sarcastic enthusiasm and said, “I bet you can’t guess what’s for dinner tonight.”

I stroked my chin. “Could it possibly be rice with mushrooms, spinach, and carrots? Wild guess I know.”

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I knew exactly what I was having; it was the same thing I had been eating for a week since I was able to stomach solid foods.

“Wow! You are so good at guessing,” Kamata said with a smile.

He uncovered the bowl and handed it to me. I picked up the chopsticks and began to eat. I had to eat slowly, but it felt good to be able to even eat at all.

Between mouthfuls, I asked Kamata how he was doing.

“The Sting wards are starting to clear out. Sting season has finally ended, and now it’s just annoying people like you left.”

“Sorry about that. I promise I didn’t mean to get sick.”

Being able to joke around with someone again provided me with more warmth than the sunlight streaming through my window. Kamata and I had become friends in my time at the Capital Hospital. He used bringing me meals as a chance to catch a break from the bustle of the hospital. I used it as an escape from my own thoughts.

Kamata took the nearly empty bowl of food from me. “In some very exciting news, your being discharged tomorrow! Me~Ra~Kalito said you’re no longer contagious and are making a great recovery. She is giving you three more weeks to recover. You can go home!”

I sat up straighter in bed. “Really! I can go home!”

Kamata nodded vigorously. “Yes!”

I could feel myself smiling more than I had in months. Tears of joy started to form in my eyes. I was going home! Even if it was only for a short time, I was going to see my family again.

Kamata pulled his pocket watch from his vest pocket. “Shit. I have to go. I’ve been here too long.”

“No. Don’t leave me, Kamata,” I said jokingly.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” He waved as he left the room.

When I was alone, I fell back onto the pillows. That was a mistake; it made me cough. Even though my short coughing fit left my chest aching, I was overwhelmed by happiness.

***

I was restless. I couldn’t bear to stay laying or sitting. I paced my small room. Sting—and a month in bed—had made me weak, so after every circuit of the room I had to sit on the edge of the bed for a minute or two to catch my breath.

Kamata came in with breakfast while I was resting on the bed.

He sat down in the chair and looked at me. “Last breakfast at the Capital Hospital. Excited?”

“Yes! Stars yes! It’s been months since I’ve seen my family. I miss them so much!” I started to pick at my breakfast.

“I couldn’t imagine being away from my family that long. I couldn’t handle not seeing my daughter and partner that long.”

I looked at him in surprise. I had heard about his partner but nothing about a daughter. “Daughter? You have a daughter.”

He smiled. “Yes. Her name is Go-Bintano. She recently turned two. My partner really wanted a child, but we can’t have one together, so we adopted. We adopted her when she was one, so I couldn’t bear to lose anymore time watching her grow up.”

The way his face lit up as he talked about Go-Bintano was so lovely to see. There was so much love in his eyes just at the thought of her. It was the same love that my mother had when she said goodbye to me. Through her tears, I could see so much love.

Kamata dug through his pocket for a few seconds. “I have a photo of her somewhere in here,” he said through gritted teeth.

He finally found what he was looking for, a small metal rectangle. When he opened it, it revealed three photos. He held it out for me to see. There was one photo of a little girl with black hair in a small blue dress. The next photo was of Kamata’s partner, Go-Thantima. They were a dressmaker. The final photo was of the three of them together. They all looked so happy in all the photos.

“She is so cute!” I exclaimed.

“I know! I love her so much.”

He told me some more about his daughter. How she would always suck her thumb, how she runs towards Kamata when he comes home, and how she loves to just sit and watch Go-Thantima as they sew.

When he left, he was smiling from ear to ear. The amount of love he felt for Go-Bintano was so great you could sense it in the room. Kamata was such an amazing person. He reminded me so much of Staggy.

Staggy had the same care towards everyone he met. He had the power to make anyone like him. Staggy and Kamata were both the kind of people who left you feeling warm inside after just one conversation.