Vol 5 Chapter 1 (1/2)

These are English translations for the novel No. 6 by Asano Atsuko.

Please hover over the image to see the text.

* * *

I can't... see.... Don't... come... near me....

CHAPTER 1

A Prayer Yonder

Good fortune, then,

To make me blest, or cursed'st among men!

- The Merchant of Venice Act II Scene I [1]

s.h.i.+on.

She tried to call to him. But her voice would not come out. Her tongue would not move. Her arms and legs were heavy as if they had been bound in shackles, and she could not get them free. s.h.i.+on didn't turn around. His back, clad in a white s.h.i.+rt, moved further and further away. Around them was darkness. An inky black darkness spread out all around. There was not even the smallest ray of light.

s.h.i.+on, wait. You can't go.

Turn around. Come back home. Don't go any further.

The darkness s.h.i.+fted. It bristled slimily and reared like something alive, and swallowed the retreating white back whole.

s.h.i.+on!

A shriek tore through her throat. Terror turned into vicious pain as it raced through her whole body. She tried to leap into the darkness after s.h.i.+on, but her body would still not move. She couldn't take a single step forward.

Someone―someone help me. Stop him.

”Karan.”

”Ma'am!”

She heard voices. Someone was holding her hand. She was shaken lightly.

”Karan, can you hear me? Can you hear my voice?”

”Ma'am, wake up!”

The voices had strength. The darkness was brushed away from her eyes, and her vision lightened into a dim haze.

Oh―I hear you. I do hear you.

Karan opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry, like there was a veil being draped over it. Two hazy faces―one of a tan man and one of a girl―were peering into her face. But they were fleeting. She felt like if she blinked, they would ripple and s.h.i.+mmer, and disappear.

She could smell bread. b.u.t.ter rolls, with ample b.u.t.ter kneaded into the dough. Come evening, Lost Town residents would flock to Karan's bakery for her affordable and delicious breads: labourers, after a long day's toil; hungry students; children with loose change in their fists―for these poor customers, she had set the oven to finish baking at 5 o'clock sharp. It looked like the outdated oven had functioned properly―the dozen or so b.u.t.ter rolls were finished and ready.

For Karan, the aroma of baking bread was the aroma of life itself. The savoury smell, now long familiar to her nose, yanked Karan energetically back into the real world.

The veil was thrown off. The outline of two faces flew clearly into her vision.

”Lili... Yoming...”

”Looks like you've come to,” Yoming heaved a relieved sigh. Thank goodness, his lips moved. ”Can you get up? You don't have to force yourself.”

”Yes―I'm... I'm fine.”

Yoming supported her while she raised her upper body. She had been lying on an old sofa in a corner of her works.p.a.ce.

”I... went unconscious...”

”Yeah,” Yoming said. ”Behind the display case there, you just kind of crumpled to the ground. I was so startled. My heart's still going a mile a minute.”

Yoming flashed a relieved smile. Karan tried to smile back, but her cheeks were stiff, and didn't move the way she wanted them to.

”Ma'am!” Lili threw herself at Karan and clung to her neck. Her eyes were br.i.m.m.i.n.g with tears. ”Ma'am, you're okay, right? You're okay now?”

Lili pressed her cheek against Karan's neck. It was wet. The arms that clung to her were trembling as well. The little girl's tears were warm. They were almost hot. Normally she would gently embrace the little girl, but Karan's arms would still not move as she wanted them to. They were still heavy, and she felt like she was still clawing about in her dream.

s.h.i.+on.

She wanted to tear her hair out. She felt like she would go insane. Right this moment, what if s.h.i.+on was heading to a place where his mother's hands could never reach? What if he was descending into the depths of h.e.l.l?

If he is, if that's really happening, what am I to do? What should I...

”Oh!” Lili gasped softly, and drew away from Karan. ”They're little mousies!”

A little brown mouse was sitting on the spice shelf. Another grey one poked its furry face out from beside it.

”Hey, there's two.” Lili raised two fingers. Were they siblings? The two mice blinked their very similar grape-coloured eyes, and huddled together.

One had brought her s.h.i.+on's letter. But what about the other one?

”Lili, can you bring me a tiny piece of cheese from the fridge? It's in the bottommost drawer.”

”Okay.”

Karan extended her hand up to the mice on the shelf, gently, but with as much strength as she could. The tips of her fingers trembled. The two mice looked at each other, and busily twitched their whiskers.

Cheep-cheep.

One of them encouraged the other, and the encouraged one turned to face Karan. It had such small eyes, but they were eyes that showed intelligence. These mice possessed intellect. They could understand human language and emotions.

Karan reached out further. She turned her palm upwards.

Cheep. Cheep.

The grey one slipped forward. Without a minute of hesitation, it jumped down onto her palm. It shook its head side-to-side, and spat a small capsule out of its mouth. It was her second letter today.

”Ma'am, are you gonna give the cheese to the mousies?”

Karan nodded at Lili, and opened the capsule. It wasn't s.h.i.+on's writing. But she remembered seeing it before. It was the writing that had extended a hand to Karan and pulled her up when she had been wallowing in the depths of despair, after s.h.i.+on was taken away by the Security Bureau. It was the beautiful, flowing hand that showed its owner's intelligence and resilient will. She could never forget this writing.

The short sentence didn't even add up to a tenth of his last note, but Karan was able to heave a sigh of relief. A cool, soothing breeze blew through her body. The obstruction in her chest, her airway, cleared somewhat.

Oh, I can breathe.

It was too early to despair. She could not lose hope yet.

”Nezumi...” She found herself saying his name out loud. For an instant, she felt like someone had put an arm around her shoulders. Although she couldn't see it, she could feel strong and supple arms supporting her.

Reunion will come. Whatever happens, I will bring s.h.i.+on back to you alive. This I promise.

She could hear a low voice whisper at her ear. She breathed deeply again.

Nezumi was there. Always, at any time, he would be by s.h.i.+on's side. Her boy was not alone.

”Karan, what's that?”

Yoming was peering into Karan's hand.

”A letter.”

”Letter? Do the mice deliver the post where you live?”

”They do,” she smiled. ”And it's handwritten, too. Isn't it so much more delightful than electronic mail?”

Now she could smile. Yoming and Lili looked at each other, and the corners of their mouths turned up as well. Lili, who was breaking the cheese and feeding it to the two mice, came up to Karan and buried her cheek into Karan's bosom. This time, Karan could finally put her arms around her properly.

”I was scared,” Lili mumbled tearfully. ”I was scared that... you wouldn't move at all anymore... like Daddy... I was scared. Really scared.”

”Daddy? Did something happen to your Daddy, Lili?”

”My Daddy before. My real Daddy.”

”What?”

Yoming shook his head slightly.

”Lili's current father is Renka's second husband―she remarried.”

”So Getsuyaku-san is...” Karan trailed off. ”―I see.”

She conjured to mind the long, thin face with drooping eyebrows. Now that Yoming had mentioned it, she realized he and Lili were not alike at all in facial structure or body type. But she never felt anything strange about seeing them walking hand-in-hand, or coming to buy bread together. They were a happy family, father and daughter who truly got along. After s.h.i.+on had disappeared, she felt a twinge of pain in her heart at times when she saw Getsuyaku and Lili together. She was both saddened and envious.

”Then Lili's father...”

”He pa.s.sed away a few years back.”

”A little before you moved in here, ma'am,” Lili chimed in. ”But you know, I love my new Daddy too. He's really funny. He always makes me laugh.”

Lili lifted her chin, and a grin spread across her face. It was a bright smile of relief as she confirmed that Karan could speak properly, feeble though it was.

”I never knew. Renka never mentioned anything.”

”She probably didn't want to,” Yoming said. ”They're painful memories for her.”

The words had probably slipped without him knowing. Yoming gave a deep sigh. Lili began to speak.

”One day when we were eating together, Daddy stopped moving. He said, 'I can't breathe' and fell out of his chair. And I don't know why, but he stopped moving after that.”

Lili's body began to shake, as memories of her younger days began to come back to her. Karan slid her gaze to Yoming. She questioned him with her eyes.

What is this about?

”Lili's father―died, before her eyes,” Yoming said hesitantly, casting his eyelashes down. ”No,” he then said momentarily. ”He was murdered.”

”Murdered!”

The frightful word overlapped with the image of s.h.i.+on's retreating back. Karan found herself clenching her fists so hard that her nails were digging into her palms.

”Lili's father―his name was Suifu―was a construction worker, and a giant of a man who was proud of his strength, and rightly too,” Yoming said.

”Mommy says he was really kind, strong, and cool. He was really in love with Mommy, right?”

Yoming smiled wryly.

”I think Renka's prettying it up a bit too much, even for a story to tell her daughter. Suifu was a big drinker and a loose spender, so they were always getting into fights. But, well, he was a nice guy, and worked hard for his family. He was a boisterous one, and liked to sing. When he'd get drunk, he'd always sing in that booming voice. Yeah,” he nodded. ”He was a good guy. He certainly did love his family very much.”

”But he was... killed?”

”Indirectly.”

”Indirectly...” Karan repeated. ”Yoming, will you explain in a way I can understand?”

Yoming drew up a battered chair, and sat down. With his right hand, he gently stroked Lili's hair. It was a gesture that showed how much Yoming cared for and cherished his niece.

”Explain so you understand, huh... if only it was as easy as that. There are so many things I still don't know, that it's hard to even tell in proper sequence.”

Yoming always spoke in a muddled way, and often ended his sentences awkwardly. But nevertheless, he groped for the right words, and began to weave the story in fragments.

”Suifu, back then, was involved in the construction of a certain building. He was a construction worker.”

”A certain building...”

”Yeah. But we still don't know what building it was. I heard even Suifu didn't have an idea what it was. He used to be taken to the construction site in a windowless van―he couldn't see anything outside.”

”Then to silence him―?”

”No, Karan, that couldn't be it. Suifu took his a.s.signed job seriously, but he wasn't interested at all in what he was building. He didn't care which part of the city this building was in, or what it was going to be used for. Even if he was interested, it wasn't a kind of secret that a construction worker could sniff out. It was put under skilful concealment. Right after Suifu died, I did some footwork of my own trying to find out where this brother-in-law of mine used to work, but to no avail. Open disclosure doesn't exist in a city like this. If the authorities wanted it concealed, there would be nothing we citizens could do against it, anyway. There shouldn't have been any need to go as far to kill Suifu to hide a secret.”

”Then... what did he die of?”

”Outwardly they're saying it was a heart attack. But I can't bring myself to believe that Suifu could have had one. It's as likely as a duck drowning in a pond.”

”So it must mean there's something else to it.”

”Yeah...” Yoming sealed his lips gravely, and cast his gaze around the room.

”It's alright,” Karan rea.s.sured. ”We're not being tapped.”

”Is that so.” Yoming paused. ”I'm sorry,” he said abruptly, ”being all furtive like this. It's shameful.”

”No, not at all.”

Were they really free from tapping devices? Frankly, Karan wasn't completely sure. The authorities possessed enormous power. They could do anything if they wished to. It should be no large feat for them to tap all citizens' conversations and manage that information.

But even so.

Karan grasped the memo tightly in her hand.

She would accomplish nothing if she kept shrinking back from fear. Instead of being afraid, sealing my lips, plugging my ears―let me speak, let me listen. She would say it out loud; she would tilt an ear to listen. To her it seemed like it was the only option left.

Karan leaned forward determinedly to the man and his roundabout words.

”And this 'something else' that you were talking about?”

Yoming blinked just once. Then, he stared straight into Karan's eyes.

”All of this is speculation. But if I tell you, I might end up loading you down with a burden.”

”I want to hear about it, and this is from my own will.”

She tried spurring Yoming on.

”You went and you investigated your own side of the truth. You said you barely know anything, but knowing you, you've probably at least gotten a clue. You've grasped something, haven't you? A hint―it might be thinner than a thread, but something to lead you to the truth?”

”You've expected too much from me,” Yoming said heavily. ”I didn't have the power, courage, or method to do any of that... but I can say that the pay that Suifu received while he was working at that site was quite, quite high. I heard it was double that of how much he usually gets. Renka was surprised when she heard Suifu was getting 'special danger compensation'. It's hard to imagine a construction site with danger risk in a place like No. 6.”

”Special danger compensation...” Karan pondered. ”For tearing something down, or blowing it up...”

”Or handling chemicals.”

”Chemicals―you mean poison?”

”Or the equivalent. Something unknown: something even the scientists of No. 6 wouldn't know the proper method of handling.”

”I can't imagine anything that would fit.”

”It's hard to. There's just not enough information.”

”But Lili's father wasn't the only one working at the site, was he?” Karan persisted. ”Wouldn't we be able to find out more if we asked those other people too?”

”That's the thing; I can't find any of them.”

”You can't find them?”

”Yeah. They're missing―or maybe they didn't exist in the first place. In other words, there were no other humans involved in the construction other than Suifu.”

”No other humans... oh, then do you mean robots―”

”Yes. Robots. They were using construction robots.”

Karan lifted her face, and gazed at the ceiling without really seeing it. s.h.i.+on used to operate robots, too. They were cleaning robots for the park.

”They're really cute, but functionality-wise they've still got some ways to go. Like just the other day: a lady had her hat blown away by the wind, and the robot picked it up, which was perfectly fine. But the robot couldn't control its grip, and ended up squas.h.i.+ng the hat. The lady was furious, can you imagine? So I think humans are still better with small and delicate tasks. Human fingers are really amazing, you know.”

And he would wiggle his fingers lightly....

Karan screwed her eyes shut to forcefully scatter the memories of her son from her mind. She spoke in the calmest voice she could muster.

”Lili's father must have been doing a job that robots couldn't do.”

”Probably,” Yoming conceded. ”But Suifu wasn't a technician. He didn't have any special technical skill. I mean, being the serious guy he is deep-down, I'm sure he would have done a thorough job with anything that was given to him, but... I can't imagine what he could have been doing amongst those robots.”

”Fingertips?”

”Huh?”

”The difference between humans and task robots.”

s.h.i.+on's fingertips fluttered in her memories. They were deft fingertips. They always skilfully performed the delicate work she asked him to do. Once in a while, she even found herself gazing in admiration at their dexterity.

You know mom, human fingers are really amazing.

”Robots might be more useful for things like tearing down walls, or carrying heavy things, but with smaller tasks that require more care... for example, let's see... using small tiles to make a complicated pattern on the wall, or engraving letters into a pillar... robots still can't do that, right? It's the same with bread. If you want to make bread that tastes the same and looks the same, a machine would be enough. But celebration cakes, for example―where it's important for them to look nice, and to match that person's taste―you'd have to make them by hand if you wanted something good.”

”But Suifu couldn't bake bread or cakes like you can. He didn't have the skill to make patterns with tiles, or engrave lettering. He really couldn't do anything special... or at least, I don't think so.”

”How about carrying things?”

”Carrying things?”

”Yes, important things... like fragile items, or soft things... things that have to keep their shape, like a hat. Human hands would be more suited for things like that.”

”You're right. That might be it. Maybe Suifu was carrying some highly-dangerous something-or-other, that couldn't be left to robots. But... even if that was true, I have no idea what that might be, or how it could relate to those sudden deaths. No matter how much I rack my brains, I can never get out of the range of speculation. In the end, with nothing to work with, we can only keep asking the same questions that will never have answers. We don't know anything for sure... all we know is that Suifu was involved in city construction work, and that he died. That's it. Right, Karan?”

Yoming's tone of voice grew more leaden by the second, and dropped so low she could barely hear him.