Fifty Words for Rain(13)

“How did he die?” she inquired as Akiko poured her a cup of warm milk. For the very first time, she was tempted to disclose how much she hated warm milk, but then thought better of it. She received a bemused look in answer to her question.

“You are talkative today.”

“I wish to make his stay here as pleasant as possible. I just don’t want to make any blunders, is all.”

“Yasuei Todou was sick for a long time.”

Nori hesitated, not wanting to push her luck. But it was rare that anyone answered her questions so willingly. She attempted to look focused on eating her dinner and tried to make her next statement sound as nonchalant as possible.

“Hopefully someone has given him a convenient room. He’ll probably end up getting lost in this house.”

Akiko chuckled, as this was a joke she often made herself.

“I believe he is near the staircase, little madam. I think your grandmother thought the same.”

Nori made sure to keep her face perfectly composed lest it betray the gleeful little jig she was tapping out on the inside.

There were too many rooms on the second floor to search them all without being caught for sure. Now she had narrowed it down.

If one walked up the main staircase, there were two doors immediately on the right side of the hall and two immediately on the left. It had to be one of those four.

Akiko excused herself, and Nori ate the remainder of her meal in silence.

She then proceeded to tame the jungle on her head, dragging the comb through with such vigor that she thought it might break. It would not be the first time she’d broken a comb. She did her hair into two separate braids and tied the ends of them together with her lily-white ribbon. She did not wear her white ribbon often—she was always afraid it would get dirty. She saved it for the most special of occasions.

It matched the simple white nightgown she put on. She studied herself in the mirror. Surprisingly enough, she happened to think she looked quite decent.

When Akiko returned to collect the dishes, Nori made a great spectacle of pretending to have a headache. As she’d predicted, it was suggested that she take some aspirin and go to bed.

She spent the next several hours playing one of her favorite games with herself. She sat cross-legged on the bed waiting for evening to fade to dark, thinking of the stories that her mother used to tell her. One of her few memories of the time before was her mother telling her about a big black ship and how God had come to their family. The reason this memory was so distinct was because it was the only time her mother had ever mentioned being part of a family.

Nori did not know how much of the Bible she actually believed, though she knew that very thought to be sacrilege. But she liked the stories. And she liked the constant access to conversation, albeit one-sided.

It occurred to her then that she had not spoken so much as a single word to God since Akira’s arrival. She sprang from the bed and scrambled over to the corner where she said her prayers. She could not risk lighting a candle. It was dark enough now for her to proceed with her plan.

She struggled to think of an adequate apology for being so remiss of late. Looking at poor, sad Jesus hung on the cross like that made her guilt flare up instantly.


I’m sorry, God. You must be very angry with me. Please forgive me. I am a wicked, wicked girl for being happy that Oniichan is here because his father died. I did not know the man, but if Mother liked him, I am certain that he was very nice. I would very much like it if you could bring Mother back, now that Akira-san and I are all together. I’m sorry for what I’m about to do. I know it is a sin to disobey, so please forgive me that also. I will pray more often. Thank you for listening.

Amen,

Noriko



When she had finished her prayer, Nori resolved herself to the task at hand.

Somehow, she was going to find Akira and get him to talk to her. She knew that her grandmother would defer to his wishes, if only he asked. It was likely the boy had no idea how much power he wielded. With a few simple words, he could change everything.

She took one last look at her surroundings before turning towards the stairs. Rather than lifting her feet, she chose to slide forward in her socks.

A floorboard creaked beneath her. She stopped at once.

No one needed to remind her of the consequences if she was caught sneaking about the house.

Unable to think of a better alternative, she dropped to her knees and began crawling on all fours. She felt ridiculous, but she noticed that the creaking noises stopped. She made her way down the stairs slowly, knowing full well that if she were to fall, it would wake the entire house.

She was able to get the door to the second floor open without much difficulty. She pressed herself against it until it opened. And here she faced her first challenge. Leave the door open, or close it and risk making a sound? After chewing her lip for a few moments, she decided to leave it open.

She took care to press herself as close to the wall as possible, crawling down the hallway like a toddler. These floorboards were sturdier and better kept, as her grandmother had the main floors of the house scrubbed and polished weekly. There was not a single speck of dust to be found, and the wood was in excellent condition; Nori could not help but notice that it shone like sunlit glass even in the darkness.

She didn’t have much of a concrete plan for discovering which of the rooms she had narrowed it down to belonged to her brother. When she’d conceived the plan, she’d done so out of desperation. There had been less thought behind it and more need.