Masa and Ai, though distressed by the exile of their father, continued to live their lives in Rui Nan despite their difficulties. Masa came home from the war with a mutilated leg. For a while, he wandered the streets of the capital with a terrible limp, clutching a wooden cane, unable to find any work. With the country in ruins, his misfortune was all too common amongst the staggering amount of people who were also unemployed and homeless. His depression had driven him to ignoring even the welfare of his sister. I sent a few concerned letters to the old man, otherwise known as the leader and caretaker of the Air Trader's Guild, and more respectfully known as the head minister of trade. It wasn’t long before he was placed under the apprenticeship of Miss Nishio, who taught him the ways of managing a tea house. Today, he is one of the country's richest business men. As for Ai, without the ether to aid her sight, she had been left completely blind. Of all the times I visited her at the home she’d made for herself at the Imperial Temple, she never once complained or spoke of it as a hindrance. Surprisingly enough, she was more concerned for her brother, and it was by her request that influenced me to send the letters to the old man regarding Masa in the first place. She was all-too happy to have a quiet, content life leading the monks as head priestess at the Imperial Temple, which had become a popular center of spiritual enlightenment for the entire country.
Sadly, Lai's name was counted among the long list of those lost in battle. His death was never confirmed. He was simply missing; and though Mai came back unhurt, she was devastated by the loss of her brother. The love she shared with Masa all-too quickly faded. Madame Quoli, who watched over her, admitted that she had grown steadily unstable. She refused to eat and hardly ever slept. Customer's of Miss Nishio's tea house soon started complaining about a crazy girl who, every hour in the evening, ran down the stairs from her room, harassing them and screaming at the top of her lungs if anyone had seen her brother. People were certain that she had gone mad when she started accusing others of kidnapping him. Then, one day, Madame Quoli found her room empty. She had run away, and just like her poor brother, she too disappeared, never to be found.
Miss Nishio, the invincible nine-tailed lady, made a name for herself in almost every part of the country. Governors, politicians, even royalty from various countries on the main continent mentioned her with great respect. Even though I knew that she was more than just a humble tea house owner, I was surprised to learn that she was also a partner in Rui Nan's largest trading company, which would eventually grow to be the second largest in the world. As for her other occupations. . . well, they still remain a mystery to me. Of course, there will always be rumors guessing as to the extent of her influences, but there was one thing everyone knew for certain about her: her ambition was limitless. After the old man passed away, she was appointed his successor as the new trade minister. Not only did she become the first woman to serve as a minister in the government, she also became the country's longest serving government official. Even today, in my old age, she is still very much alive, outliving even Ren Tzu, who had served as her personal body guard. Though constantly bombarded by the press, she remains all-too happy to inform them that she has no plans to retire anytime soon. Inspired by her diligence, people have since changed her nickname to the “Immortal Nine-Tailed Lady.”
Immediately after the war, I set out to find Han and Kidou using Miss Nishio's help. To my great relief I found them alive and well working at one of the many post-war factories that employed children as cheap labor. Their plan to jump ship over our home island was a predictable failure, but true to their spirit I’d come to admire, they were far from discouraged. They told me that they were trying to save up enough money to return to Rune. The sad truth was that there was no hope of any of us ever returning. The island, as well as a few others afflicted with the disease, had been declared by the government as unsuitable for settlement. No ship of the air or of the sea would ever travel to them no matter how much they were paid. I took them back to Sparrow Village with me where we grew up together under Auntie's care.
As time passed, the country slowly rebuilt itself. Cities and towns grew from rubble and our lives, though forever changed, were eventually returned to us.
Airships filled our skies again, but these were machines of technology and steam, lifted by heated air and the mysterious levitation properties of rose phasian minerals. It was not long before we also saw planes and the occasional gyro copter; but never again would I see a sky boat soar or relish in our ceremonial dances that made carved objects of stone and wood drift and dance through the air.
Those days were gone, its remembrance entrusted to a select few.
Han, Kidou and I went on to attend the same university in the capital. Little did I know, that I would find another familiar face sitting in one of my classes. Etsu, a girl I thought long since gone, had appeared once more in my life. She was heart-broken at the loss of Lai, the person she once loved, and the one whom she felt betrayed. But she was not alone in her sadness. Though I was furious at the things he had done, he was still one of my friends, and it was our fond memories of him that initially brought us together. Over the next few months, it was our growing affection for each other that made us discover the love we shared. In same year, we decided to marry.
It was only after our first child was born, did the government finally announce that it was lifting the quarantine on the once-infected islands. Though they were considered safe to inhabit, no one ever resettled the islands again. The abandoned villages were visited by officials and government workers who documented the deceased and buried any bodies they found. Even after hearing of the news, Han, Kidou and I declined to go back to our home village and look for the remains of our past lives. We were no longer children, and we knew our families would not have wanted us to look back, only to move forward.
Even so, we knew how important it was to honor the ones we loved. Auntie and the rest of our friends in Sparrow Village reminded us of this by erecting gravestones and shrines dedicated to the names of all those we had lost. They were placed at the far end of the beach, near the hill where the abandoned temple resided. Shortly after, the other survivors from the once-plagued villages and islands requested to have the names of their loved ones added amongst the stones.
It became a place of great reverence and peaceful reflection, this cemetery by the sea. I couldn’t think of a better place to set their spirits to rest.
Etsu and I grew old together, watching the children of our children carry on the legacy of our family. Every time I glanced down at the prayer beads dangling from my wrist, I found myself wondering if a certain stubborn, yet mysterious girl was truly gone from my life. Yet, as I walked the streets of the capital as a man with plain, brown eyes amidst a sea of eyes similarly colored, I would sometimes catch a rare glimpse of bright purple upon the face of a passing child, and as if seeing the sunrise after a long, dark night, I would stop and hope.
Sky of Paper: An Asian Steam-Driven Fantasy Tale Page 61