The Fate of Shin-Osaka – Chapter 29

Three years later…

“Hurry up, Yumi! They’ll be here any moment!”

“Coming!” I yell out to Rin in the living room.

One last check. I run my fingers through my hair and twist it over my shoulder. My lip gloss is perfect, but I smooth out the makeup across my cheeks and pat at my eyes. Wiping my fingers on a towel, I sigh and readjust my obi. I chose a bright yellow kimono and orange obi as soon as I heard the news. I can’t be underdressed. Not today. Not for this.

I hurry out to the living room, and Rin holds my hand as I step into my sandals.

Negi, our first-generation Aka Matsuba ginger cat, circles my feet. “Are we going? Are we going?” he asks.

“Yes. Yes. Be patient,” I say to him.

“He’s the most impatient cat ever.” Rin grabs my bag.

“I’m just excited,” Negi replies.

“Give us a minute,” Rin says, and I smile at him. Ever since he got the upgrade, he’s been talking to every new animal he can find. He wants a second-generation raccoon, and I am incapable of saying no to him, so it’s only a matter of time.

“Have you heard word yet? Is everyone coming?” I ask, shaking out the bottom of the kimono.

Ninjin’s nose is at the door, ready to burst out to the front yard as soon as we crack it open.

“They’re already there. Come on. I have a vehicle waiting.”

We open the door, and true to my word, Ninjin bounds out into the grass. He chases a dragonfly, nipping at it, before relieving himself near the fence. Negi trots out behind us, his tail high in the air.

Rin and I hurry along the front walkway towards the waiting car.

“Shintaro?”

Rin groans. “Stop worrying. He’s there.” He turns at the fence and whistles. “Come on, Ninjin, Negi.”

Ninjin responds immediately and sprints for the gate. He bounds into the vehicle without a second thought and waits on the floor. Negi hops in behind him.

“Good boys. Thanks for not dirtying the seats.”

My knee bounces the entire way through Awashikawa, our hometown. People are going about their days like nothing monumental is happening. The bakery is packed with customers, and several families have occupied the picnic spots down by the river. The vehicle pauses at an intersection to let a couple with a stroller and two dogs cross over. My heart warms to see so many new babies being born. We may get out of the population crisis sooner than I thought.

My own eggs sit in their frozen sleep, and I can only hope that someday I’ll find the perfect surrogate for them. Freezing the eggs in the first place did not guarantee me a family, but it was better than nothing.

Rin squeezes my hand. “Are you excited?”

“I think I’m going to throw up. I never thought this day would come.”

My stomach is in knots all the way to the shuttle port on the north side of town. The gate opens and lets our vehicle through. It speeds along the service road to the farthest landing strip.

When we stop, Shintaro breaks away from a group of people and opens the door.

“You’re right on time,” he says, helping me out. Rin and the animals file out behind him. “They broke atmosphere five minutes ago.”

I squeeze his hand and look into his eyes. They shine with excitement. We’ve been waiting for this day for years.

Movement along the horizon captures my attention. It’s coming!

I grab Rin’s hand, and we hustle up to the group awaiting our visitors. Kazuo and Aimi are at the front. The two of them have been living together for the last two years. It took a long time to convince Kazuo that he was capable of affection again, especially with someone almost half his age. But they’ve turned into quite the power couple.

Chiéko Mori is with two other reporters, ready to record this event for the entire world to see. She smiles and nods at me as I approach the group. Ever since we started the free press of Hikari, I have given her a wide berth and plenty of leeway to get the stories she wanted to report on. We can’t be close friends due to conflicts of interest, but I still treat her to coffee every few months and catch up on the lives of all of our Orihimé natives.

Most of my Shiroi Nami and Kiiroi Yama friends and colleagues are absent. They will meet up with us later once we’ve explained how things work here. I can only hope I get the point across without the whole situation sounding like the ravings of a lunatic.

Ryoko is not here, and I feel her absence all the way to my soul. She’s hard at work with Aka Matsuba and living a single life in a northern Shin-Osaka suburb. She doesn’t want to go home.

I still want to go home.

The shuttle lands with a burst of sound, and I push flown-away strands of hair out of my face. It’s hard to swallow, and my stomach wants to turn over. Stay in one place, stomach.

I glance at Shintaro as the shuttle taxis up the landing strip and comes to a halt about thirty meters away. He puts his arm around my shoulders.

Who’s on this shuttle? We only got automated calls from the captain, and I didn’t recognize her name. The shuttle is a dazzling white, with black, angular lines joining the panels of the hull. A new design. They’ve been busy back home.

As the door hisses and starts to descend, I glimpse her bright white hair before seeing her face.

Mom.

She’s on her tip-toes, jockeying left and right, trying to see us as quickly as possible.

I raise my hand and wave tentatively at first, then wave like I’m drowning in the ocean and need rescuing. Leaving Rin and Shintaro, I pick up my kimono and run straight into her open arms.

“Mom!” I scream and laugh at the same time, squeezing her and rocking her side to side. “I can’t believe you’re here!”

She pulls back and holds my face in her hands. “Yumi, oh gods.” She kisses my cheek. “I thought I would never see you both again.” The white strands of Mom’s hair catch the light, casting a flickering halo around her head. Her arms and legs are thinner than I remember like she’s been living off rice and fish alone for years.

“We’re okay.”

I reluctantly let go so Shintaro can get in and hug Mom. He’s silent as he holds her, but the tears start forming. He opens an arm to me, and we all embrace. It’s everything I’ve wanted for years.

When we pull apart, I pull a handkerchief from my obi for us all. The three of us stand there, me in the middle, looking at each other and laughing. I’m not sure who starts first, and then we’re all three doing it. Shintaro holds his hand over his mouth, barely suppressing his chuckles.

Mom laughs and dries her tears before passing the handkerchief to Shintaro. “I’m so sorry it took us so long to get here. We were still a year out from finishing the ship when we got the probe with the emergency message beacon.” She swallows, and worry passes over her face. “We ran into a lot of setbacks at home.”

“What kind of setbacks?” I ask, but she shakes her head.

“That’s a story for later.” She clears her throat and waves to the people waiting inside.

I quickly sniff up and dry my eyes before turning to the crowd to wave. They all inch forward, so I step away from the shuttle to give the people coming out some space.

Mom touches my shoulder. “She wanted to come, wanted to see you.”

“Who?”

The empress, Sanaa Itami, steps out of the shuttle door, and my whole body cools.

For the past several years, I have been working with the android Sanaa and passing her off as the real empress to the population. This Sanaa Itami, the real deal, is at least thirty years older than her android equivalent. She’s modestly dressed in black pants and a wrap-around sweater. Nothing grand or traditional. Her face shows her age, with fine lines around her eyes and mouth. Her long hair is streaked with gray, and she’s even skinnier than when I last saw her, her hands bony and spotted with age.

But her smile is the same. And when she turns it on me, I panic.

I remember what a pain in the ass I was and how much I regretted it for years before the mission even left Orihimé. I’ve lived with those regrets here, never forgetting them.

I can only imagine what the people of Hikari will think when they see the real deal on their wallscreens from Chiéko’s reporting. Will we be able to explain this?

My only thought is to bow, bow and ask for forgiveness.

Right there on the runway, I move into her path, get on my knees, and bow all the way to the pavement, touching my forehead to the hot cement.

“Empress Itami, I’m sincerely sorry for all of my mistakes and poor choices,” I practically yell over the wind. “Please accept my apologies, and I beg for your forgiveness.”

I’ve dreamed of this apology for years, and in my dreams, she always admonished me and told me what a horrible person I was. I close my eyes and await her rebukes.

Her hand touches my shoulder.

“Yumi, let’s have none of this. You don’t owe me an apology. You never did. Please stand up.”

I count to three before I get up off the pavement. Sanaa has her hand out, and I slip my fingers into hers. She pulls me to her and wraps me in her arms.

“I’m so proud of you,” she whispers. “So proud.”

We pull apart, and she kisses me on the cheek, just like Mom did.

I burst into tears. I have lived with the shame of what I did for so long I never thought I would be forgiven. The disappointment she felt when I published that documentary still burns in my brain, and maybe that shame will never go away. But the relief from her forgiveness is a balm to my soul.

“Hi, Yumi.” Past Sanaa, her son, Koichi, is right behind her. It’s been ages since we last saw each other. “It’s good to see you.”

“You too.” We clasp hands and lean in to kiss each other on the cheek. I stand back and look at them both. “This is… Wow. I lost hope so many times that we’d ever see each other again.”

“I’m sorry it took us so long to get here.” Sanaa tucks a wayward strand of hair behind her ear and leans to the side. “Excuse me for a minute.”

We turn to watch her stride across the pavement towards Kazuo. He lets go of Aimi’s hand and nods to her before breaking away from the group and meeting Sanaa halfway across the space between them. Their embrace is sweet, and seeing Kazuo’s face fall into a crying frown makes me cry again. Sanaa pulls away enough to look up at him, and it’s there I feel the affection these two have for each other. It’s not romantic love; it’s something more profound.

“Come on,” Mom says, ushering Shintaro and me forward. “Let’s stop gawking. Any chance of finding some tea around here?”

“We actually have a full meal prepared at our house.” I smooth out my kimono and wave to Rin. He responds with a smile and wave.

“Are you and Shintaro living together?”

My face heats with a blush, something I wish I had asked Isao to edit out of my genes. “Uh, no. I live with my husband, Rin, and our animals.”

“Husband?” Mom squeaks. She grabs for my left hand, and her mouth falls open at the simple band I wear on my ring finger. “When?”

I shrug. “Last year. We thought we should do it and worry about the rest later. Our own jump ships are five years out from being ready. We were able to manufacture the jump probe in a shorter time, but we had no idea when you would get the message or if you could even come. Life is too short to keep waiting on hope.” I pull on Mom’s hand. “Come meet Rin. I’m sure you’ll be fast friends in no time.”

“Wait,” she says, stopping us. “Does this mean you aren’t coming home?”

“No.” I reassure her as tears pool in her eyes again. “Rin and I want to go to Orihimé. Most everyone wants to stay, but I’m ready, we’re ready, to start over somewhere else. It’s been a hard five years.”

What will she say when I tell her about my life, how it ended and began again?

I’m not sure, but I hope she’ll listen with an open mind.

I lead her to Rin, and his smile is warm and welcoming. “Mrs. Minamoto, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

Mom’s stare is full of delight as she takes in his shaved head, the scar along his cheek, and the sword strapped to his back. “Rin, is it?”

He nods. “Yes, Rin Hara.”

She reaches out to hug him. “Welcome to the family, Rin Hara.”

“Well, I know where Yumi gets her good hugs from,” he says when they part. “The cars are waiting to take us all back to our house.”

“Will there be fishcakes back home?” Negi asks, pawing at my kimono.

Mom watches him jump into my arms.

“Yes, of course. I always have fishcakes for you.”

“He can speak,” Mom says with a gasp. “You can hear him!”

I laugh as I let Negi rest on my shoulder.

“Oh, Mom, I have such stories to tell and so many things to explain.” I lean to the side and address everyone. “Shall we go?”

I thread my arm through Rin’s and lead everybody away from the landing field.

“Soon, we’ll go to our forever home, my love,” I whisper to him.

“Across the stars once more.” He lifts my hand and kisses my knuckles.

I lean over and kiss his cheek.

With a deep breath, I smile and tilt my face to the sun.

“This time for good.”