‘You tried to save him,’ the voice said. It was deep, with a haunting edge. Every word was a scalpel that cut harshly at David’s mind.
‘Of course. Grandpa is…’ Pressured by the force of the voice’s presence, David fought to make his thoughts coherent. He groped in the abyss as his consciousness was ripped apart, his own thoughts stripped away to be examined even as he grasped for them.
‘You have no idea what you have begun. Take care of the young one,’ the voice said as it faded away. A long roar of pain reverberated through him, and then he agonizingly faded back into unconsciousness.
Hours later it seemed, the buzz returned. The memory of the agony faded even as the noise resolved itself into words and familiar voices.
“Is he alright? He stopped shaking,” asked a high girly voice.
“Aside from the shirt there’s no blood,” a kind voice said. So similar to the first, yet more mature and refined, it was familiar. He knew the voice.
‘That sounds like Yukiko,’ David managed to think.
“What about the metal? It’s gone. Why did he run forward?” asked an excited male voice.
“Look, his eyes are moving,” Yukiko said. David felt two practiced fingers check his pulse. “His breathing has calmed down as well.”
‘Yukiko,’ thought David. Opening his eyes, the bright glare was blinding. As his eyes recovered, he took in the blurry images of the Matsumotos standing over him.
“He is awake! David? David!” Yukiko called quietly but intently to him, bending closer to try to rouse him.
“Let’s get him to the house,” Masao said calmly. With his vision foggy, David could not place him. Suddenly he felt hands digging under him, lifting him from the ground. He was trapped within his unresponsive limbs, unable to react, yet too muddled to care.
The pain in his chest became less pronounced the farther they carried him from the shrine. David’s mind wandered, eyes darting as he struggled to control his unruly body. Sometimes he lingered on one of the Matsumotos, sometimes on a rock or bug. Although both Rie and Takumi tried to talk to him, David remained in a daze, unable to respond. As they passed beneath the grey stone torii gate, David jerked abruptly and became as still as the windless trees.
The Man, the Meteor, and the Thief
April,
Even after all those years, nothing prepared us for the pain, so much more powerful than any human could ever know or withstand…
The inside of the Matsumoto’s main house was sparse. Each room had mat covered floors separated from the other rooms by sliding doors instead of walls. The tatami mats were firm, like wood, covered with thin straw. A hardwood hallway skirted the outside of the house leaving the tatami rooms in the center. The outside sliding doors were removed to catch afternoon breezes, leaving the house mostly open.
Though he kept his eyes closed, David knew he was laying on one of the portable Japanese beds, called a futon. He suspected he was in the largest room of the house near the low table, with the four Matsumotos sitting and drinking tea. He could sense someone near him by the faint rustle of fabric. Yukiko would be kneeling off to the side, checking him.
“Did what I think happen, actually happen to David?” Yukiko asked. David remained still, not quite ready to will his limbs to move.
“David will have to answer that. I have my suspicions, just as you do, but until we hear from him, who knows for sure?” Masao’s words, so easily understood washed over David.
‘Masao only speaks Japanese, right?’ David cracked his eyes open just enough to see his host father sitting calmly at the head of the table.
“I’ve never seen anyone sleep so much,” Rie said. “I thought he was dead after he stopped moving under the torii gate, but no, just asleep.”
David opened his eyes the rest of the way. Finding the ceiling in focus, he tilted his head to look at the source of the voices around him.
“You are in the main house. You had quite an accident. Do you remember anything?” Yukiko smiled kindly down at David, easing some of his anxiety.
Masao quietly regarded David as he waited for his response. David jerked to a sitting position, pushing away a heavy quilt. Seeing Grandpa sitting in his ceremonial robes sent a jolt through his mind that finally focused him.
“Grandpa! You all right? Tiger, it…” David’s words came out in slurred Japanese. He worked his jaw in confusion at the difficulty he had forming words. Slowly, he registered the carved wood of the main room’s low table.
‘I’m back.’ David fell back onto the tatami. ‘Why can’t I… think.’
Takumi and Rie shared surprised glances, understanding each other as only twins could. David had just spoken broken but understandable Japanese. Although limited, his words were the most sophisticated Japanese he had attempted in the last month.
“Can you tell me what happened? Everything from the beginning of the ceremony?” Masao asked casually in Japanese.
In a far off voice, his eyes staring blindly, David began to speak rough Japanese. His words came faster and more fluently than ever before, yet they were still imperfect. David’s mind was so clouded he missed the change in his own words.
“Got to the… place. Grandpa… there, ceremony start.” David’s voice wavered as English thoughts became Japanese words.
Masao nodded politely, throwing a discreet warning glance to Rie. She sat forward, her eyes wide. Takumi merely watched, his eyes flickering occasionally to Masao. Yukiko remained kneeling nearby, quiet but eying Masao and Grandpa shrewdly.
“In the trees, gold. A head. Big gold and black… Tiger. I don’t believe it. Tiger move forward, like on TV,” continued David.
“He tried to get my attention,” Takumi said, his calm breaking a little. “When he pointed to the trees… there was nothing there.” Takumi stopped abruptly as both Grandpa’s and Masao’s eyes fell on him as if sword blows.
“Just because you did not see anything, does not mean there was nothing there,” Grandpa said, unusually stern. After holding his frown on Takumi for a beat, he smiled and gestured to David. He tried to continue, but as he tried to think past running to Grandpa, he faltered and withdrew into a confused silence.
“But why is he speaking Japanese?” Rie asked. Her thoughtful frown and curious eyes were riveted on her father. Her expression was one David had seen many times over the last month. When she did not understand his English, she often looked at him the same way, as if trying to figure him out through simple observation.
“Japanese? Why you speak English?” David stared dumbly, as he tried to work past the mental fog slowing his speech.
“You just said that in Japanese…” Rie‘s voice cut off abruptly after a sharp look from Masao.
David shook his head. He clearly understood everything said to him, but it was like walking under water to get each word out. He stood, staring at the people around the room.
“David, sit down,” Masao said lightly. Ignoring him, David took a step back. His vision flickered then cleared. Suddenly, his mind was sharp.
He saw not the Matsumoto’s house, but a time and place he could not recognize.