by C. J. Anaya
Musubi leaned forward and placed a kiss on my forehead, sending little shock waves throughout my spirit.
“I love you,” he whispered. “Time has never changed that, and you belonging to Katsu will never alter the past or erase what we shared. Even if it was but a few moments, those moments were ours.”
With one last kiss upon my forehead, he melted away into the forest, deaf to my desperate pleas that he remain here with me.
Before I had a chance to slink back into my darkened walls of despair and self-pity, I heard more voices in the distance, and then two figures approached.
I felt certain that these two beings would play an important role in my life, a life waiting and ready to start anew.
Chapter Seventeen
James Fairmont, Rebirth
Julia Fairmont possessed an endearing obsession for cherry trees. By the time James had met and fallen in love with her she had attended every festival and event within the United States.
He remembered how appalled Julia had been when she invited him to the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C., and the only response he could muster was “What’s a cherry blossom?” James soon discovered that loving Julia meant loving cherry trees as well.
For their third anniversary, he surprised her by taking her to the Nago Cherry Blossom Festival in Okinawa, Japan. Not a terribly grueling journey for a pregnant woman, considering James’ medical internship already had them living in Okinawa. Nago Okinawa was said to host the earliest cherry blossom viewing in Japan, and it was, happily, the next cherry blossom event on Julia’’s list.
He watched his wife consult her pamphlet, admiring her feminine profile as wisps of glossy hair kissed her cheekbones. Her delight in this simple event made him feel as accomplished as if he’d somehow managed to move the Earth and lasso the moon.
They calmly meandered around the Nago Chuo Park, which held beautiful Taiwan cherry trees and their dark, rose colored blossoms. At the end of the park the crowd began to disperse a bit, and James decided to steer his wife toward the less crowded areas. Neither of them noticed that the crowds had disappeared completely until they wandered into an area that held not only the most magnificent cherry tree they had seen thus far, but what appeared to be an enormous Shinto temple rising upward in the background.
Julia made some appreciative squeals and James chuckled at her unbridled delight. Even he was astounded by the beauty surrounding them, as if the area itself was its own national monument. Julia made her way to the beautiful cherry tree in order to take some pictures and paused before a statue of a striking Asian woman. She faced the tree with her arms outstretched, wearing traditional Japanese attire.
James felt somewhat drawn to the statue, although he couldn’t comprehend the reason for it. He studied the statue’s features and was surprised by the intense longing visible in the woman’s expression. Her look of longing was so well defined it made James’ heart cringe in sympathy.
“What a beautiful statue,” Julia said musingly. “Why do you suppose it is here facing the tree like this?”
He was about to respond when he heard a faint noise from behind.
“She’s been here for centuries, paying homage to The Holy Cherry Tree you see before you,” said a small Asian man, who approached them with a friendly smile.
James studied his appearance. His clothing suggested he was affiliated with the majestic temple behind them, and he seemed old, ancient even, but his features looked timeless. It was a strange and contradictory conclusion to come to, but that was exactly how he appeared to James. The scar hovering just above the man’s eye hinted at a serious injury. His smile was welcoming, however, and James received the distinct impression that he had been expecting them.
“I am called Hachiman,” the monk said, offering a hand to James and then Julia. “I tend to this shrine and the gardens surrounding it.””
“Pleasure. I’m James and this is my wife, Julia.”
“I am very surprised to meet you. We don’t get many visitors around here.”
“Really?” James asked. “That seems a little strange considering the festival is only a few hundred yards behind us.”
Hachiman peered at him in confusion.
“The festival? I am not sure what you are referring to,” he said with a strange look passing over his face.
“You know, the festival. The cherry blossom festival? They have it every year. We were just walking through the park, but we thought we would get out of the crowds for a little while, so we wandered over here.” As James continued talking, he began to feel a little disconcerted at the confusion evident upon Hachiman’s face.
“There are no cherry blossom festivals in this province. There never have been. We do, however, pay great homage to the Holy Cherry tree behind you.”
James turned his head toward the cherry tree, feeling a strange sense of foreboding. How could this man not know about the cherry blossom festival when he was living next door to it? James noticed his wife studying the face of the statue.
“It is an amazing landmark, older than the statue that faces it,” Hachiman continued. He studied James’ apparel for a moment. ““I must ask you. How did you arrive here in Kagami? Not many people know how to enter into this realm.”
“Wait. Where did you say we are?” James interrupted.
“Kagami,” Hachiman answered proudly, “in the province of Mimasaka.”
James shook his head rather forcefully.
“We are in Nago Okinawa at the Nago Cherry Blossom Festival.” James’ insides were beginning to churn. It was odd to come across this area in the middle of a festival and have no one around enjoying the sights like he and Julia were.
Something wasn’t right. There was a hush in the air, as if a large audience were on the edge of their seats watching, waiting for some epic moment.
“Tell me again where you think you are.” There was repressed excitement in the monk’s eyes. It was obvious he knew something James didn’’t.
“We’re in Okinawa, Japan,” James said, slow and deliberate. “And I don’t think it. I know it. Julia, please tell this nice man where we are. I think he’s a bit confused.”
James turned toward his wife in time to hear her cry out in pain. She crumpled into a heap on the soft green grass a few feet from the statue.
“Julia?” James shouted. He thought he heard the old monk muttering behind him, but he was already leaning over the small, hunched form of his wife.
Then her water broke.
It was too early. Thirty-six weeks! His thoughts swam as he began to assess what exactly he could do for her and the baby without his medical equipment.
Suddenly, Hachiman was by their side.
“Julia,” he said serenely. “You must not panic. You must take deep breaths and concentrate on delivering your baby. Can you do that?”” he asked quietly.
She locked her wide eyes onto the holy man and nodded. Even James felt slightly less panicked as the old monk lifted Julia’s head onto his lap and began talking to her in soft comforting tones.
James checked his wife’s cervix and was shocked to discover she was already dilated to a ten.
No, how could she possibly be that far along?
He gave his wife a reassuring smile and squeezed her hand with his blood stained fingers.
“You’re almost ready to deliver, sweetheart,” he said as he tried to swallow back the tears that her cries of pain caused him.
“Already? That’s…that’s not normal. Is……no, that can’t be right. I thought I’d be in labor for hours.” She lifted her hand and wiped the sweat from her forehead. ““This isn’t how I wanted things to be. I don’t want to deliver my baby here!”
“It’s not how we planned it, honey, but this baby isn’t giving us a choice.”
“She’s already a handful.” Julia gave him a brave smile, but her eyes were filled with tears.
“You ready to push?” he asked.
“Absolutely!”
Her breathing came in short gasps.
His wife was a brave, wonderful woman, and he loved her for it.
“I can see the head crowning. Push, Julia. You can do this.”
Julia screamed as she pushed once, pushed twice, and then with one last push the baby passed to James’ outstretched hands.
A baby girl!
He almost started crying in relief until he realized the umbilical cord had wrapped itself around the baby’s neck. He swiftly set to unwrapping it and cleared the baby’s air passage, but his child didn’t take in a breath.
“Hachiman!” he said in a horrified whisper.
“You must wait for it,” the monk said softly. “She will be fine.”
James just shook his head as he looked down at his daughter and realized that she was, in fact, stillborn.
“James, what’s wrong?”
He avoided Julia’s gaze and stared numbly at the perfect little face of his tiny baby girl.
“Tell me what’s wrong. What—”
His wife was interrupted by a loud, thunderous sound that shook the earth and caused everything surrounding them to compress with powerful energy.
“What’s happening?” James shouted.
A loud crack reverberated to his left. He turned quickly to see what had made the deafening noise and stared in quiet amazement as the statue of the Asian woman proceeded to split in half. The two halves fell to either side.
He didn’t have time to wonder at the cause. Something else drew his attention. A young man with golden hair and icy blue eyes appeared out of nowhere, staring at him from just beyond the broken statue. James was about to address the enigmatic stranger when a high pitched wail sounded in his arms. It was the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard.
His baby girl was crying.
* * *
The events that followed the birth of James and Julia’s baby formed the backbone for what was to be a lifetime of hiding and overprotective parenting. After ushering them into the temple and providing lodging and food for them, Hachiman with loving patience explained the important role their child was destined to fulfill.
James went from grateful to outraged when the monk informed him that he and Julia wouldn’t be allowed to take their child out of Kagami, while his wife began to sob softly into the folds of the baby’s blanket.
He barely restrained himself from correcting the man on their location or strangling him for claiming ownership of his child.
He didn’t believe in any of the legends or folktales the monk spouted off, but knew one thing for certain: he and his wife were leaving with their child the moment the opportunity presented itself.
Minutes after Hachiman left their room, James began formulating a plan.
“What do we do?” Julia sobbed. “He can’t possibly think we’’ll leave our baby in his care.”
James knelt beside the bed and smoothed her hair from her forehead.
“I will never allow that. I promise you we will get out of here. I just need a few moments to figure out how.”
“I think I can help you with that.”
James spun around at the unfamiliar voice. His eyes narrowed as he took in the young man he’d seen earlier when the statue had cracked.
“Who are you?” James croaked.
The young man took a step toward James and then bowed from the waist.
“In Japan I am known as Musubi. The literal translation into English would be a bit much, so we’ll just shorten it to Tie.”
“Tie,” James repeated. “Why are you helping us?”
“I understand that this all seems crazy, but believe me when I tell you, these monks will keep your daughter here and raise her for their own purposes. The realm in which you have entered is very difficult to escape, and you won’t be able to do so without my help.””
“Kagami isn’t part of Japan?” James asked, nearly willing to believe in alternate dimensions after all of the craziness he had recently beheld.
“It is, but it isn’t. Most humans don’t wander here on accident unless there is a need, and giving birth to The Healer created a definite need.””
James snorted. “I don’t believe in this prophecy of yours. I’m not even sure you can be trusted.”
“Whether you believe or not, these monks most certainly do, and since I am prepared to not only help you escape, but to mask your presence and their ability to find you, it would be wise of you to consider my offer.”
James studied him, pondering his proposal, and then extending his hand.
“I’ll accept your help so long as you never give me a reason to doubt you.”
Tie took his hand and shook it. “Believe me, I want the child out of here just as much as you do. It simply isn’t safe for her to be here no matter what the monks might suggest.”
“Okay, Tie. What’s the plan?”
* * *
James and Julia found themselves staring at a shimmering line of gold upon the grassy floor of a small clearing. It had taken several hours to travel to this particular destination once they were able to sneak off the grounds of the temple.
“Once you step over that line, you’ll be back in Okinawa,” Tie stated. “This is the only spot I can cross you over. I don’t know how far you’ll be from your dwelling, but I suggest you get there as quickly as possible and then leave Japan the moment an opportunity presents itself. I promise to keep your whereabouts cloaked until your daughter needs my protection again.”
James balked at this. “Protection? Protection from what?”
“I know that you still don’t believe in the prophecy or the fact that your daughter possesses healing powers, but she will need me eventually, James. I just want her to have as normal a life as possible until then. Do you believe me?””
“I believe you,” Julia said. James watched, baffled as Julia stepped forward and embraced Tie as if he were her own son. She shifted their daughter and held the infant’s face closer to the strange young man.
Tie reached forward and allowed the baby to grasp one of his fingers.
“What do we name her, Tie?” she asked.
James felt affronted that his wife hadn’t consulted him first, but the evident moisture in the young man’s eyes stopped him from voicing his annoyance. For some wildly outlandish reason their child was important to him.
Tie muttered something under his breath, but neither he nor Julia caught it.
“What did you say?” she asked.
“I said Mikomi. It’s Japanese.”
“That’s lovely, Tie.” Her smile momentarily brightened the darkness of the night. “What does it mean?”
James watched, mesmerized as tears glistened down Tie’s cheeks.
“It means hope,” the young man whispered. “You should name your daughter Hope.”
Epilogue
Hope Fairmont, Present Day
The distant sound of beeping intruded upon my troubled sleep. I had absolutely no desire to wake up, but I didn’t want to continue reliving a life that brought me nothing but indescribable pain.
Eventually the drilling beeps made it impossible to keep my eyes closed any longer. I groaned in annoyance and shifted my sore legs.
“It’s about damn time,” a jarring voice said as I climbed to full consciousness. I couldn’t help but smile at the familiar sound.
Angie.
Her warm slender arms wrapped around me as she delivered a bone-crushing hug.
I blinked my eyes several times to adjust to the brightness of daylight seeping through the blinds. Angie sat next to me on my bed, wearing a broad smile on her gorgeous face.
“What happened?” I croaked. Geez. It sounded like I’d taken a shredder to my vocal chords. “Water?”
She snorted and stood up. “Of course I have water. What am I, an amateur?”
My lips quirked into another Angie induced smile as she handed me a cup of water and watched while I gulped it down.
“Thank you,” I said. Then my recent dream came f
looding back to me in one debilitating head rush. I sat up in my bed and attempted to dive out of it as I babbled on and on about saving Saigo and healing Akane.
Angie grabbed me and pulled my head against her chest, encouraging me to take deep breaths as she called for backup.
“Tie, get in here now before the invalid overpowers me.”
Tie. Tie. Who was Tie?
A door flew open and loud voices could be heard. More than one person had entered the room.
I felt myself being transferred from Angie’s vice-like grip to another. As I beheld the face of my new captor my ramblings were cut short. It wasn’t possible. He was here. How could he be here with me? How was I even here in this room?
“Musubi?” I asked as I placed a tentative hand against his cheek. His concerned look moved to one of utter delight as he kissed my forehead and buried his face into my neck.
“You remember,” he breathed.
Then it all came rushing back to me as memories of both of my lives, my purpose, my death, my rebirth—everything flooded through me until I felt ready to burst.
“Does she remember?”
I looked up to see my father standing before me. Worry and concern created a mountain of new wrinkles around the corners of his eyes.
“Yes,” I responded. I turned back to the man I loved. “I watched Saigo die. Akane died and so did Kenji.” His eyes darkened in grief at my words, and he nodded.
I swallowed hard as a ball of emotion worked its way to the forefront. It had happened hundreds of years ago, but for me it felt as if I’d lost them only moments ago. The grief was raw, real, and recent. My sobs exploded from me, impossible to hold back, impossible to control. I couldn’t live like this, not with the knowledge I had, not with the memories of my previous life warring with the blissfulness of my current one. How the hell was I supposed to continue on when my brother, my tutor, and my best friend had been killed over a thousand years ago? I couldn’t even bury their bodies.
“Is she in pain?” my father asked. He was already moving a hand to my forehead.