YF continued to stare out the window as Kigali landed the ship on a clearing in the forest. Trucks and people were moving in all directions, with most of them loading equipment to leave the area. But when Kawamata’s vehicle arrived everyone stopped what they were doing and cheered loudly.
“Kaihousha! Kaihousha!” they shouted.
Kawamata alighted from her truck and raised her hand in the air, waving to the crowd and grasping the hands of those who passed. As YF looked at the exuberant faces of all those present, he could not help but wonder what it was exactly they had accomplished, and whether it was worth the sacrifice. Aoshima and Aritomo had not gone away, nor had any of the other forces that had brought this assembly of misfits there. A weight sank in his heart as he realized there was no escape from the cruel and vicious cycle.
Kigali turned the ship off and stared out the window.
“If I were you I would take this ship somewhere far far away,” said YF.
“And what about you?” asked Kigali.
“I have a few stops to make.”
Kigali paused. “I’m never going to see you again, am I?”
YF leaned against the window. “I don’t know if I would put it like that.”
Kigali smiled. “Take it from someone who’s tried. There’s nowhere you can outrun yourself.”
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“Seems to have worked for you.”
Kigali nodded. “You aren’t wrong there.”
“I’ll send you a message when the time is right,” said YF. “But it’ll be farewell for now. Let’s not get too emotional.” He patted Kigali’s shoulder as he stood up, walking to the back and down the loading ramp. As he walked to the nearest unoccupied light truck, he caught Kawamata locking eyes with his. She frowned deeply, but seemed to have a look of understanding in her expression. She visibly sighed before turning to the man standing next to her.
YF fired up the truck’s reactor and turned around, heading into the forest.
***
YF parked the truck some distance away from Kawamata’s home. In the hot months it was common for those living in traditional houses to open all of their paper doors to let in the wind. From where he sat, he had a clear view of the room, where Erika and Ueno Hajime were sleeping in their respective futons on the ground. The way that the grass waved in the cool breeze only solidified YF’s resolve not to return to Itsugo, Nishida and all the mess at the capital. Though it filled him with dread and uncertainty, YF knew deep in his heart that now was the right time. He got out of the truck and made it the rest of the way on foot, until he stood next to his bike, parked on the dirt road.
They had been married so long that YF was not sure what to think of Erika anymore. Even with the long separation, there was something about him that knew half of his soul had already been taken from him and placed with her. In the same way he knew that a part of her would not leave him either. It had been a while since he had a good look at Erika’s face; and as she lay there breathing softly, he thought she looked truly beautiful. With one last glance at Erika through the wide open paper doors, he turned up the road and away from the house.
Each marker he passed on the country highway leading to the other end of the island it seemed as if a burden weighing on his shoulders grew lighter and lighter. The few cars that passed on the way were like old friends, waving him on as he continued his journey. YF rounded a bend and up over a rise in the road that led through a mountain pass. As the sun rose over the horizon, he could see the lights along the road leading to the ocean.