A Promise to Return, 5/5
A Promise to Return, 5/5
Aiba returned from the hike refreshed and cheerful as usual, boasting some mushrooms he and Jun had picked along the way. She spent the whole first night he was back on pins and needles, wondering if she should steal into his room and throw the book out the window before he discovered it. It was different having him here, the scent of him as he moved from room to room, the sound of his humming while he cooked dinner.
He luckily didn't seem to notice how strange she was acting since he was fully absorbed in the comedians on TV. He'd never had television in Matsuo, and when he'd been on the road, moving constantly, he'd never had much reason to have one. So now that he could relax every night and laugh, he was growing obsessed.
They washed the dishes, Shihori at the sink and Aiba by her side on drying duty. Their hands brushed occasionally when she passed him a plate, and it was driving her crazy. She was almost grateful for bedtime and the promise of a day at work in the morning, where she could focus on customers and scanning bar codes and things that weren't a love confession hanging in the air, waiting for a reply.
When morning came, breakfast was ready and Aiba was sitting at the table already eating. She froze up at the sight of her book on the table beside his plate, but she thanked him for the meal, sitting down and eating slowly. He didn't touch the book at all, and their breakfast passed with idle conversation.
Aiba would be job hunting, which implied to Shihori that perhaps he didn't intend to go back to the village in November. That was promising, but it didn't answer the question she most wanted an answer to. She gave him a few suggestions for where he might be hired around town, offered to read over his applications. He thanked her with a smile and moved to clean up.
She'd grabbed her purse and was just pulling out her keys to head out the door when she heard him call her name. He was at the table, her book in his hands.
"I'm determined to finish this today once I go through the job ads," he said, wiggling it a bit. "So I can give you my full opinion. I'm not a writing critic or anything, but I do have some comments."
"Good comments or bad comments?" she asked, eyes lingering on the book and the confession inside it.
He smirked, shaking his head. "You'll just have to wait and see."
The torture she'd given herself continued. Her book with the foggy cover remained on the living room table, slowly surrounded by job applications as September turned to October. His bookmark hadn't moved. She came home from work to find him watching TV instead or pulling weeds in the yard with a towel wrapped around his head and a sheen of sweat on his face. He even did the impossible, diligently cleaning the pond that Grandpa had always ignored. She knew from Mirei that he went over to see the baby almost every day. She knew from the mud on some of his shoes in the genkan that he'd been back and forth to Matsuo. And she knew from the unmoving bookmark that she had yet to be found out.
Aiba was also the recipient of letters from Nino and his mother now. Maki had apparently let them all know that Aiba was not just back in the area but staying with Shihori. She worried herself almost sick that Maki had let the cat out of the bag and that Aiba was just not saying anything. She didn't pry when she heard Aiba in his room reading what Nino had written to him and laughing. She simply had to be more patient.
He got a job at his now beloved fast food chicken place, even after she'd helped him through dozens of applications for other things. He came home smelling like the fryer, stinking up her house with it. He was never happier, telling her about some of the odder customers, bragging about his employee discount. She told him he would probably turn into a chicken wing, and he only laughed at her.
It was the first night in November when Aiba turned the TV off and picked the book up from the center of the table, nodding firmly. "I promised you I would finish this. It's rude of me not to," he said.
She was busy jotting notes down, fleshing out the outline for her novel. Soon she'd be ready to get writing in earnest. "Oh?" she murmured, trying not to turn pink as he slid out his bookmark, stretching out on the floor with the book.
The room was quiet save for the sound of her pen scratching the paper and the sound of him turning pages. Her writing came to a screeching halt an hour later when he closed the book and set it down on the floor, hearing him let out a sound of happiness.
"Ahhhh, Shihori-chan, it was so good!" he cried, and she watched him roll onto his back, arms stretched out to either side of him on the tatami. "You're a good writer!"
"Thanks..."
"No, seriously," he addressed the ceiling beams. "It's like you really get Matsuo. Of course you're totally wrong about some stuff but I figure that's for, you know, the sake of the book. But it's like, I could tell that Ren-chan was supposed to be like Mirei and that Tsubasa-kun was Jun-kun."
"Was it so obvious?"
Aiba chuckled. "Tsubasa-kun's eyebrows, I mean, come on. Who else could it be?" He picked up the book again, started thumbing through it. "Ah, I want to read it again. Maybe I was in here and I didn't realize it. Or maybe I was supposed to be Takumi, although he wasn't really a major character so that's kind of disappointing..."
She watched, heart racing as he flipped the pages back and forth, yammering away about this character or that. "I'm going to bed," she announced suddenly.
He looked over at her, frowning. "Do you not take criticism well? I'm trying to be fair here."
She got to her feet, closing her notepad and slipping it back on the dresser near the TV where she had a growing stack of them. "I can take criticism just fine, thanks. But I'm tired, that's all, Aiba-kun."
"Oh, well I'm sorry for keeping you up," he said, reddening a bit. "Have a good night."
--
She was standing in front of the vanity table in her room, staring at herself in the mirror. How childishly she was behaving. She stuck her tongue out at her reflection so long as she was already in that mindset. He'd been offering feedback for her work the same as Jun and Mirei had when they'd read it, the same as her other fans. But it had been the shuffling of the pages, the way he was so casually stretched out across her floor, that had driven her away.
She pulled her hair out of its usual bun, reaching for her hairbrush. "You're being silly," she told herself as she tried to calm herself with gentle brushstrokes. In two weeks Matsuo Village would return. Maki would be up for her visit, Nino would have his decision to make, everyone would come to the house for the annual party. She needed to focus on things like that, on her responsibilities.
Shihori jumped when there was a tap on the door. She turned, backing herself against the dresser, hairbrush clutched in her hand. "Yes?"
"Can I come in? Are you decent?"
She rolled her eyes. If he could stand the sight of the mismatched tank top and pajama bottoms she wore to bed, then she was perfectly decent. "You can come in."
He slid the door open tentatively, his head poking inside. "I just had a question for you. Sorry to interrupt your lady getting ready for bed stuff."
What was it now? Was there one last gripe about Takumi's relative lack of involvement in the story? "You're only interrupting the important lady task of hair brushing and delaying the other lady task of face cream. I think I'll manage."
He nodded, padding on in. He mostly kept out of her room, especially now that he had the perpetual scent of fried chicken lingering on his clothes. He usually only knocked on the door in the morning to wake her for breakfast. She could sense that he was nervous from the way he slowly moved towards her. It was then that she noticed the book in his hand, and she went numb.
"Just one question, really, and I'll let you get back to those things," he said before lifting the book and opening it to the inside cover, finger tapping on her handwriting. "So um, do you sign every book this way?"
"I don't."
The air in the room seemed heavier with her answer, and she watched him nod a few times before he looked up from the book in his hands to meet her eyes. She saw nothing of the obnoxious boy who'd run into her so many years ago, telling her to watch where she was going. She was happy to find the smile of someone who was a man grown, a shy smile he couldn't tamp down. A look in his eyes she'd never forget.
"I lied," he whispered. And just like that, the obnoxious boy was back. "I have another question."
She waved her arm weakly, gesturing with her hairbrush. "Ask away." She was surprised by the strength in her voice, given how ready she was to melt into a puddle on the floor of her bedroom.
"How long ago did you write this in here?"
She cocked her head, lifting her gaze to the ceiling. "Oh, well...a month ago I'd say."
"A month ago, you'd say."
She nodded.
"I see."
She nodded once more. And then her jaw dropped when he simply grinned again and said "okay, good to know!" and turned on his heel, walking out of her bedroom.
"Hey!" she shouted, flinging her hairbrush across the room in her shock. She stomped out of the bedroom angrily, catching him in full retreat as she chased him down the hall toward the living room. He stood there with his hands on his hips, his back to her. "Hey, you come back here, you jerk! Those are my feelings you're walking all over right now, and you know what, they're true! So you can accept them happily or say thank you, but I can't return them. That's how normal people respond. They don't just snicker like a kid and run off so why don't you just..."
He turned just before she could punch him in the shoulder, wrapping her up in the best, warmest hug she'd ever received in her life. He still smelled like chicken, but she didn't much mind, feeling one of his arms settle around her back as his other hand came up to stroke her hair.
"You're in love with a jerk," he chided her, his head resting atop her own. "What will you tell your parents?"
"That I'm an adult, and I'll love who I like."
"Well, I'm glad," he said, squeezing her tight. "Because I've been in love with you for most of my life."
She supposed that shaking uncontrollably with laughter wasn't the route a normal romantic heroine would take. It wasn't something she planned to write in her second Mako Village novel, that when the hero confessed his love the heroine had a giggling fit. But then again, when Aiba started laughing too, she knew that they'd never be the type of couple who'd appear in any novel.
"Say it again," she said, wrapping her arms around him, head pressed against his chest. She'd waited so long for this. "Just so I know you're not teasing me."
"I wouldn't tease about something like this," he protested. "There's so many other wonderful things I could tease you about anyway."
"You still haven't said it again!"
"I could tease you about the cute way you crinkle your nose when I come back from work. You'd think I smelled like animal poop or something."
"Aiba-kun...just say it again and I won't scream."
"Or the way you call Maki-chan in a panic every time you screw something up when you're cooking instead of just trusting yourself...I've only been here a month and I've already lost track of how many times."
"Hey now..."
"And there's the old standby, the fact that you are vertically challenged and probably have to buy your clothes in the kids' section of the store..."
She shoved him away with a growl. "You're hopeless!"
He pointed at her. "You're beautiful!"
"You're obnoxious!"
"You're perfect!" He bit his lip to keep from cracking up, staring at her like he'd clearly won.
Her hands were fists at her sides now, shaking. "You smell like a deep fryer!"
He leaned forward, hands sliding down her arms to unball her hands and take them in his own. "Shihori-sama," he said, "I love you."
She looked up at him, squeezing his hands. "There, was that so hard?"
Shihori closed her eyes when he bent down, kissing her for the first time. Don't go into the forest, Grandpa had warned her so many years ago. You'll only regret it in the end.
But there were no regrets, not a single one, as she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him back.
--
Maki actually screamed the next day when Shihori called her during a break from work.
Shihori had woken that morning in her futon, completely exhausted and in need of several hours' more sleep. She didn't know how long they'd stood there in the middle of the living room, simply learning how wonderful it was to kiss one another, to feel his mouth on hers. Eventually her neck had grown a bit sore from having to lean up, and he'd sent her off to bed with a whisper in her ear telling her again how much he loved her despite his "many deficiencies" in her eyes.
It was kind of sickening to say it all out loud, even to Maki who had never minded when Shihori gushed about boys. She'd even told Maki about the rather odd ways their confessions had come out the night before, her cousin laughing at her and Aiba's mutual pigheadedness.
"A perfect match," Maki decided. "Nino always said the two of you together would be exhausting to watch."
"And how long has Nino been gossiping with you about this?"
"If I told you, I believe I would be uninvited from the festivities in a few weeks."
Shihori sighed. "That long huh?"
She headed back to finish up her shift, watching the clock slowly tick forward. Finally it was time to go, and she was both surprised and pleased to find Aiba waiting outside for her. He didn't seem to care that other people were coming in and out of the store, running up and kissing her soundly in the store's parking lot. She finally had to push him away, blushing at the little cheers coming from two of her co-workers, waving goodbye.
When she pulled out her car keys, he shook his head, gesturing to the bike he'd ridden. "Handlebars?" he asked, "or will the lady be sitting?"
It was an entirely different feeling this time, sitting on the bike's seat and holding on to him while he pedaled them all the way home. Because this time he wasn't the boy who'd go back to the village and disappear. He was the person who was going to stay.
Tonight she doubted he would let her sleep alone. He was rarely away from her side, holding her in his arms and kissing her by the shed after they locked up the bike. They nearly burned dinner in the oven because he discovered how much he liked the sight of her perched on the kitchen counter, her arms around his shoulders, smacking him away every time he tried to sneak his hand inside her blouse. They watched TV together, and he lay with his head in her lap, legs stretched out while she smiled and stroked his hair. She could get used to this.
Shihori was actually the one to hold her hand out later that evening, tugging him along behind her. Thankfully he'd had his bath and was in a soft cotton t-shirt that smelled like laundry soap. They closed her bedroom door and took it slow.
When she woke she didn't want to move, her scent and his tied together under her blankets. He'd wrapped an arm around her in his sleep, his hand clutched around her middle. She could get used to this, too.
--
They walked to Matsuo Village hand-in-hand, Maki ahead of them holding her head high, prepared to drag Nino kicking and screaming if she had to. She after all was generously preparing to house an unemployed person with no identity papers in her tiny Tokyo apartment, paid for by her dwindling university scholarship money and her part-time job. She'd even told her parents about him, save for the freeloading stranger from a cursed, invisible town bit. Nino had no choice but to follow through on his promises, though Shihori doubted he was anything but loyal.
Aiba tugged her along, choosing not to let her go as they ran from the edge of the forest and into the valley, teasing her about her short legs holding him back from reaching his full speed. He only released her upon catching sight of his mother, nearly knocking the woman over in his eagerness to embrace her. They told everyone that Jun and Mirei were back at the house with the baby, which set off a round of cheers.
Maki and Nino decided to take a different way back to the house once they reunited, which made some of the older Matsuo villagers laugh. Eiko-san walked between her son and Shihori, arms around both of their waists. Aiba informed Eiko-san that he and Shihori were now together, and Eiko-san laughed. "You two have been together a lot longer than you think," she insisted.
Baby Taiyo was the star attraction of the day, the poor little one screaming his head off as he was passed from person to unfamiliar person until Mirei finally intervened and took him away for a feeding. "Luckily he didn't inherit your eyebrows," Nino informed baby Taiyo's father, earning himself a light kick in the backside.
For once Shihori was forbidden from her hostess role, Maki and Jun ruling the kitchen and distributing the food. Instead Aiba, with her hand in his, sat with the residents and filled them in on his four years of adventuring and his unfortunate (for Shihori) calling in the fried chicken business. Maybe if he got some fake papers, he was saying, he could take over a franchise someday. Eiko-san met Shihori's panicked glance with a roll of her eyes. Her son, the impulsive dreamer.
The time finally came. Nino officially had something to say. Everyone sat quietly while he got to his feet, holding up his glass to Maki. Only baby Taiyo made a sound, gurgling onto the towel on his Papa's shoulder.
"I'm moving to Tokyo," he announced before making everyone gasp as he got down on one knee. "Where I hope to have the honor of marrying Horikita Maki-san."
The room was alert, everyone looking between the couple, wondering what Maki's answer would be. Even Aiba was squeezing Shihori's hand tight, nervous for his friend. Shihori seemed to be the only one in on the joke though, looking between her cousin and Nino, seeing the wicked looks in their eyes.
Maki grinned. "Get a job first."
Nino staggered back, hand clutching his chest before giving up the act. "Ah, yeah I suppose that's a good idea. Never mind, folks. Wedding's off."
Jun groaned, and Mirei gave Nino a smack. Unlike in most years, the party didn't end by mid-afternoon. In fact, Eiko-san had an announcement of her own on behalf of the village. The curse had taken its toll for too long, and the time had come to finally put Matsuo behind them. For the sake of the younger residents who had so much potential, and for the sake of the older residents who needed better medical care and comfort as they aged.
Apparently Eiko-san had reached out through Nino's letters and through Maki's assistance over the past year. People who'd left the village had been found. Not all, but many. People like Nino's parents, who had left years earlier, leaving their son in Eiko-san's care. Aiba's aunt and uncle. Officer Katori's wife. Some of them were doing well, some were struggling. But all were willing to open their homes and their hearts to the people they'd left behind.
Shihori listened to each of them, each of those who were departing. To where they were going, what people they'd be reconnecting with. She was happy for them, but it meant the end of a long chapter in her life. The chapter where Shihori had taken over for Grandpa, had taken care of the village.
It was decided that they'd all go back, take their belongings with them and see what happened come midnight when nobody was there and it was time for the curse to take hold. Jun and Mirei departed with the baby, and a few of the other residents had nothing to their names and decided to be on their way. But it was around 10:00 PM when those remaining made one last walk to Matsuo. They gathered in the valley, chatting about what they'd miss and what they definitely wouldn't miss.
Plans were made to keep holding the annual Matsuo parties, and Shihori insisted they all come back to stay with her in Hachimantai. Other relatives and friends were invited, though Shihori wasn't sure where she'd house them. But she had a year to figure that out.
It had taken Nino five minutes to run into town and run back. He had an old backpack with some clothes and all of Maki's letters bundled together. They were clearly eager to start their life together, difficult as it would be. Shihori smiled as each member of the village came out with their belongings. Elderly Takahashi-san who would be taking a train up to Aomori in the morning to reunite with a daughter, Katori-san who had spoken on the phone with his wife that day at Shihori's house for the first time in fourteen long years. She hoped that they'd be able to reconcile.
Soon only two residents remained, and Maki checked her phone. The screen's glow told everyone it was 11:56 PM. Almost time. Eiko-san and one of the teenagers, Yuto-kun, had not returned. "It's probably because he's hauling all of that manga," Yuto-kun's friend Chiaki was telling everyone. "Doesn't he know he can get more out here?"
Shihori shivered a bit even in her jacket. It was dark and the fog was growing heavier. Aiba squeezed her hand. His mother would stay with them at the house for a few days before heading for a reunion with her sister and her husband.
"Finally!" she heard Nino say when Yuto-kun came running, waving his arms as he came down the hill towards them. He seemed to have left his manga behind.
But Yuto's panicked cries pierced the darkness. "Aiba-chan!" he shouted. "It's your mom! She fell! Aiba-chan, she's still by Block 8!"
"But there's only two minutes..." Maki said, and as Yuto-kun crossed the end of the road, meeting the group where the village's boundary ended, Shihori felt Aiba's fingers slip away from her own.
"Masaki," she whispered, holding her hand out in surprise.
Aiba didn't even turn back, ignoring everyone's shouts for him to wait. He took off running, screaming for his mother. Shihori could only stand there, horrified, at the thought of what might have happened. Everyone stood waiting at the edge of town. The fog swallowed Aiba up as he ran to help Eiko-san.
Everyone was gathered around Maki's phone, staring at the numbers. "He's fast," Chiaki said. "He always ran really fast."
But as 11:58 became 11:59, Shihori panicked. She remembered the night she'd walked Eiko-san back, how quickly Matsuo Village had turned back to ruins right before her eyes.
"The fog!" Takahashi-san cried. The buildings were already changing, and the road was slipping away into the mist.
"No!" Shihori's scream was so loud she hadn't even known she was capable of it. She made to run across the boundary, to pull Aiba back, but then Nino and Maki were holding onto her. She screamed again, wordlessly. For Eiko-san, for her son. For the life she had with Aiba that was still just beginning. She struggled in their arms, could hear Maki begging her to stay back on this side with them.
Her short time with Aiba flashed before her. His arms around her, the feel of his mouth against her own. The sound of his gasp in her ear the first time they came together. How safe she felt to wake at his side.
Midnight arrived, and the Matsuo residents, save for Aiba-kun and his mother, were safely outside. When the moon came out from behind the clouds, revealing the ruins again, Shihori took off running. Nino and Maki were at her heels, calling for her.
She ran until she tripped and fell, landing hard on her hands and knees in the center of town. Empty. Matsuo was empty. The curse had taken them both away for another year, and she barely registered Nino's arms slipping around her, lifting her to carry her back to the house. The joyous mood that had been felt all day had been snuffed out.
"Come back," she mumbled, her words lost in Nino's shirt. "Aiba-kun, come back."
--
When she woke, it didn't feel right.
Her bed was empty, and she was still in yesterday's clothes. She'd fallen pretty hard, limping her way to her bedroom door, finding bandages on her knees and her hands wrapped up. She slid open the door. The house seemed quiet, although she heard quiet talking coming from the kitchen. Shihori found Nino and Maki there, serious looks on their faces.
"You have to get back to school," she said quietly, and her cousin turned.
Maki's arms were around her instantly, holding on tight. "Oh Shii-chan, I'm sorry."
Nino explained that the two of them had already been to and from the village that morning, leaving a first aid kit for Eiko-san and hoping that would be enough. They left pens and tons of paper in case she needed anything more urgently. Nino was going back soon to check and see if Aiba had responded yet.
They made her sit, forced some buttered toast and coffee into her. The residents of Matsuo who had intended to stay with Shihori until relatives came for them or it was time to catch a bus or train were gone, having spent the night with Jun and Mirei instead. Shihori could barely remember anything after seeing Aiba disappearing into the fog, and she was embarrassed that she'd made such a scene.
It wasn't like Aiba was gone forever. Only a year.
But, Shihori knew, it would be the longest year of her life.
Nino kissed the top of her head before leaving for the hike down to the village. Winter would come to Matsuo in a month, and if Eiko-san was truly injured it would be very tough indeed. Maki sat with her in silence, for once unable to find the words to say.
When Nino returned, he had good news. Eiko-san had only twisted her ankle. If she stayed off of it, she would heal soon enough. Shihori was relieved to hear it. There was already a note for her from Aiba, and Nino handed it over. He and her cousin made to leave the room, but she shook her head. She didn't want to be alone just yet.
She unfolded it, finding his rather sloppy handwriting. There was no apology, and she didn't want one. It was his mother, and she couldn't blame him for what he'd done. Instead he had a simple message for her: "The truth of the matter is this - I love you." The same words she'd written to him not so long ago.
Nino and Maki stayed for a week. Nino had even gone into Hachimantai, explaining to Aiba's boss that Aiba would regretfully be taking off for a year to care for his sick mother, and that he hoped to still have a place at the restaurant when he returned.
They went to the village each day, and Shihori went to her favorite lookout place. It didn't feel as lonely. She shut her eyes and knew she wasn't imagining it when she felt a sudden warmth, almost like an embrace, knowing that somehow Aiba was there with her. They'd get through this, the both of them. Together.
--
December brought her birthday and Aiba's too. Twenty-four and twenty-seven. They still had many years ahead of them. Despite how busy she became with work and starting to write her second novel (as Aiba insisted she do in one of his letters to her), she visited Matsuo every day.
In heavy rain or in the snow, the winter was as cold in Iwate as always. Visiting daily and having only two residents to care for, Shihori was able to make do without the cumbersome wheelbarrow now. She only had to bring food and entertainment. Jun had even shown up one day with a tiny portable TV set that ran on battery power so Aiba could keep up with his precious variety shows.
Nino had found work in Tokyo and he paid to ship baked goods Maki had made north to Hachimantai. They were making a life together, and when Maki graduated in spring they were pondering a move of their own. Morioka maybe, depending on the work they could find.
Letters flooded in to the house among the cedar trees, from points north and south and all in between. From Katori-san, whose wife had a new family, but she still helped him get a fresh start. From Jun's parents and Mirei's as well. From people who had come for an annual Matsuo party and from those who'd only heard of them and hoped to be invited come November.
Spring did come, and Maki was hired by a company in Morioka. By May she and Nino were in Iwate, driving over weekly and sometimes more often. Through other Matsuo connections, Nino had gotten papers and an identity, and he charmed his way into a job with decent pay.
By summer baby Taiyo was walking, and by fall Jun and Mirei announced that Taiyo would soon be a big brother.
As the days slipped away, so did Shihori's sadness and loneliness. She was surrounded by friends, and if she really wanted to feel Aiba's presence she had only to go to the village and walk among the ruins. He always found her somehow. She could always sense his closeness.
It had been her parents' worry that she'd come north and be isolated, but it was the furthest from the truth. Her years living in Iwate had been difficult but rewarding. She turned in the final draft of her second novel as November arrived. She cleaned the house from top to bottom. It would be the largest Matsuo annual party yet.
Aiba had left a message in the village for her the night before Matsuo was due to reappear. "I've been storing up a year's worth of short jokes. I hope you're ready."
For the first time, she was eager to hear them.
--
There had to be at least seventy people in the valley. There were flashlights and lanterns for when it grew dark, along with folding chairs and picnic baskets. This year's event was held just outside Matsuo, and this time everyone was going to firmly say goodbye. Shihori herself had instituted a ban - nobody in the village limits after 10:00 PM, no exceptions. They didn't need a repeat of the previous year.
Eiko-san was healthy and embarrassed when she emerged, hugging Shihori and not letting her go for some time. "My son, it turns out, is not the only clumsy one in the family," she apologized.
When Eiko-san let her go, he was already waiting for her. His hair needed a cut, and he looked like he'd gone a year without sleeping properly. His smile, however, hadn't changed.
"Well," she said, trying not to cry. "Aiba-kun, welcome back."
He wiped his eyes, laughing. "Did you shrink while I was gone?"
Despite the November chill, the party was warm and noisy. There was enough food to allow everyone to gain a few pounds, and it was like a large family reunion. The village loomed above them, the concrete buildings emptied out and clotheslines barren.
The sheer number of former village residents allowed for Aiba to tug on Shihori's hand, pulling her away from the valley and into the forest by mid-afternoon. He miraculously kept all his wisecracks to himself. It was Aiba's preferred route this time, the one they'd taken when she was nine and he was twelve. A steeper ascent and not actually faster than Shihori's, but she decided not to say anything.
They ended up in a tangle of limbs on the floor of her empty house. They eventually lay side by side facing each other, Shihori shutting her eyes at the blissful feeling of Aiba's fingertips tracing along the curve of her hip. "I've been unemployed for a year," he said. "So I hope you don't mind me coming to this empty-handed."
She cracked open one eye, seeing him staring at her. "Coming to what empty-handed?"
He pulled her hand into his, pointedly tapping on the ring finger of her left hand. "I don't have one to give you."
Now her eyes were fully open. "You're doing this here, on the floor?! Aiba-kun, we're naked right now..."
He smiled. "You'd prefer me to propose to you in my underwear and socks then? Because if that's not romantic, I don't know what is..."
She shoved him onto his back, hearing him laugh. "You're the worst!"
"So is that a no?"
"Say it properly!"
He got to his feet without shame. "Shihori-sama, marry me and this is all yours forever."
She turned away from him, shutting her eyes tight and curling up in a ball in her horror. "Can't you do anything right?! I can't tell my children this story!"
She could feel his cold, ticklish toes prodding at the back of her thigh. "Come on. You know you want to say yes."
"Disgusting!"
"You didn't think so twenty minutes ago!"
"Really disgusting!" she screeched. "You're such a jerk!"
There was a loud knock on the front door. "Are you done yet?" came Nino's voice on the other side. "You didn't even pull the curtains shut, you freaks!"
She scrambled her way across the floor on hands and knees, mortified, heading for her bedroom. She changed clothes and when she returned she found Aiba had casually wrapped himself in a blanket, chatting with Nino in the living room about the cake Maki had made for Eiko-san to thank her for her many years as Village Elder in Matsuo. He'd only come up to the house to get it from the refrigerator. Shihori turned scarlet. Her and Aiba's clothes were still strewn everywhere. Her bra had somehow ended up hanging from a lamp shade.
That was it.
"The pair of you. Out of my house, right now!"
When Shihori made it to the valley again, cake in her arms, the assembled crowd burst into applause and cheers. Apparently it wasn't applause for the cake. Aiba had apparently returned first, Nino in tow, to inform everyone that he was soon to be a married man.
She considered shoving the entire cake in his face, but Maki had gone to a lot of trouble and it would be a waste of a very delicious cake. She settled for eating half of her slice and dumping the rest of it onto Aiba's lap, licking the frosting from her lips with a satisfied smirk.
He chuckled, looking up at her. "But you'll marry me anyway, won't you?"
She nodded. "Of course."
--
The sun set, and the lanterns went on. The party continued into the night. Eiko-san pulled Shihori aside, and together they looked at the village on the hill.
"I came upon an old woman in this very forest," Eiko-san explained. "I was maybe six, seven years old. My parents were always saying that people were leaving Iwate Prefecture, that the future was in the big cities. In Tokyo, in Osaka. That nobody wanted to live here any longer. I didn't know the woman, and she looked the same as anyone else. She was just sitting on a tree stump, resting."
Somehow Shihori knew that Eiko-san hadn't told many people this story. She wondered if even Masaki knew.
"I was picking mushrooms, probably further away than my mother liked. The old woman was friendly, so I told her these things. I told her that I was sad for my parents, that all their friends were leaving. I said that it would be for the best if everyone stayed in Matsuo forever, that nobody left. I was a child, how could I have known? It took us so long to adjust once it happened, and it was all my fault. I had cursed us. The old woman granted my wish, only allowing one day a year for people to leave. I ruined so many people's lives..."
"Eiko-san, that's not true..."
The older woman looked sad, looking up to where the buildings were shrouded in fog. "When I fell last year, I thought 'suits you right, Eiko. Stay here all alone and remember what you did.' But then Masaki came to me. I screamed for him to go back, to go back to you and back to his friends. But he said he wouldn't go if I wasn't going with him. You can't force people to stay and you can't force people to leave, I realized, not forever. Curse or no curse. People go where they're wanted, where they're needed. Where they can be the person they wish to be. Whether that's Iwate or Tokyo or the other side of the world."
She finally turned, squeezing Shihori's hand.
"You helped us, and I thank you. But will you stay here? Even when there's no one in the village?"
Shihori didn't have an answer. Not yet.
She walked back, finding Aiba in one of the circles of lawn chairs, bragging about his special seat at the Tokyo Dome. He kept speaking, pulling her by the wrist and settling her in his lap without stopping the flow of the conversation. She wrapped her arms around his neck, breathing in the scent of him as his arm settled around her back. Curse or no curse, people go where they're wanted, where they're needed.
The Matsuo Village residents saw something different this time when the fog came to swallow up the buildings. There was a flash of light, nearly blinding them all. When they looked again, the hill was completely empty.
--
"You're silly, Mama," Mai said with a chuckle as they moved through the forest, clambering over fallen logs. "Towns don't just disappear."
"This one did," Shihori said, holding her daughter's hand tightly.
Seven-year-old Mai turned back with her skeptical expression. "Papa, it's just one of her books, right? One of her Mako Village books."
"Mama's not a liar," Masaki said, carrying their picnic basket. "Mama is many things. She's short and she's funny-looking, but she doesn't lie."
"Don't tell your child that her mother is funny-looking!"
Ten-year-old Taiyo-kun came running up alongside them, his parents telling him to slow down. He brandished a stick, holding it in the air. "It's true, Mai-chan! There was a whole town there. My papa and mama lived there, and so did your papa."
Mai was still skeptical, especially when they hit the edge of the trees, spying the grassy valley and the hill just beyond covered only in wildflowers. "But there's nothing there!"
Nino came up from behind, ruffling Mai's hair. "Right? What a bunch of untrustworthy parents you have."
Maki elbowed him, and together the group headed for the hill for their annual picnic. Maki, Nino, and their toddler. Aiba, Shihori, and Mai. Jun, Mirei, and their brood of four. The fog had long since cleared, leaving a sunny spot hidden here at the break in the trees. Sometimes Taiyo-kun found a few things that were out of place. An old, empty cup of instant ramen noodles. A Hanshin Tigers t-shirt.
Proof, Taiyo-kun said, that his parents and Mai's were telling the truth. Proof, Nino said, that littering was wrong and to be sure and clean up your mess before you leave.
Shihori supposed that it didn't matter, really, if anyone else believed or not.
She'd always come back.
THE END
Aiba returned from the hike refreshed and cheerful as usual, boasting some mushrooms he and Jun had picked along the way. She spent the whole first night he was back on pins and needles, wondering if she should steal into his room and throw the book out the window before he discovered it. It was different having him here, the scent of him as he moved from room to room, the sound of his humming while he cooked dinner.
He luckily didn't seem to notice how strange she was acting since he was fully absorbed in the comedians on TV. He'd never had television in Matsuo, and when he'd been on the road, moving constantly, he'd never had much reason to have one. So now that he could relax every night and laugh, he was growing obsessed.
They washed the dishes, Shihori at the sink and Aiba by her side on drying duty. Their hands brushed occasionally when she passed him a plate, and it was driving her crazy. She was almost grateful for bedtime and the promise of a day at work in the morning, where she could focus on customers and scanning bar codes and things that weren't a love confession hanging in the air, waiting for a reply.
When morning came, breakfast was ready and Aiba was sitting at the table already eating. She froze up at the sight of her book on the table beside his plate, but she thanked him for the meal, sitting down and eating slowly. He didn't touch the book at all, and their breakfast passed with idle conversation.
Aiba would be job hunting, which implied to Shihori that perhaps he didn't intend to go back to the village in November. That was promising, but it didn't answer the question she most wanted an answer to. She gave him a few suggestions for where he might be hired around town, offered to read over his applications. He thanked her with a smile and moved to clean up.
She'd grabbed her purse and was just pulling out her keys to head out the door when she heard him call her name. He was at the table, her book in his hands.
"I'm determined to finish this today once I go through the job ads," he said, wiggling it a bit. "So I can give you my full opinion. I'm not a writing critic or anything, but I do have some comments."
"Good comments or bad comments?" she asked, eyes lingering on the book and the confession inside it.
He smirked, shaking his head. "You'll just have to wait and see."
The torture she'd given herself continued. Her book with the foggy cover remained on the living room table, slowly surrounded by job applications as September turned to October. His bookmark hadn't moved. She came home from work to find him watching TV instead or pulling weeds in the yard with a towel wrapped around his head and a sheen of sweat on his face. He even did the impossible, diligently cleaning the pond that Grandpa had always ignored. She knew from Mirei that he went over to see the baby almost every day. She knew from the mud on some of his shoes in the genkan that he'd been back and forth to Matsuo. And she knew from the unmoving bookmark that she had yet to be found out.
Aiba was also the recipient of letters from Nino and his mother now. Maki had apparently let them all know that Aiba was not just back in the area but staying with Shihori. She worried herself almost sick that Maki had let the cat out of the bag and that Aiba was just not saying anything. She didn't pry when she heard Aiba in his room reading what Nino had written to him and laughing. She simply had to be more patient.
He got a job at his now beloved fast food chicken place, even after she'd helped him through dozens of applications for other things. He came home smelling like the fryer, stinking up her house with it. He was never happier, telling her about some of the odder customers, bragging about his employee discount. She told him he would probably turn into a chicken wing, and he only laughed at her.
It was the first night in November when Aiba turned the TV off and picked the book up from the center of the table, nodding firmly. "I promised you I would finish this. It's rude of me not to," he said.
She was busy jotting notes down, fleshing out the outline for her novel. Soon she'd be ready to get writing in earnest. "Oh?" she murmured, trying not to turn pink as he slid out his bookmark, stretching out on the floor with the book.
The room was quiet save for the sound of her pen scratching the paper and the sound of him turning pages. Her writing came to a screeching halt an hour later when he closed the book and set it down on the floor, hearing him let out a sound of happiness.
"Ahhhh, Shihori-chan, it was so good!" he cried, and she watched him roll onto his back, arms stretched out to either side of him on the tatami. "You're a good writer!"
"Thanks..."
"No, seriously," he addressed the ceiling beams. "It's like you really get Matsuo. Of course you're totally wrong about some stuff but I figure that's for, you know, the sake of the book. But it's like, I could tell that Ren-chan was supposed to be like Mirei and that Tsubasa-kun was Jun-kun."
"Was it so obvious?"
Aiba chuckled. "Tsubasa-kun's eyebrows, I mean, come on. Who else could it be?" He picked up the book again, started thumbing through it. "Ah, I want to read it again. Maybe I was in here and I didn't realize it. Or maybe I was supposed to be Takumi, although he wasn't really a major character so that's kind of disappointing..."
She watched, heart racing as he flipped the pages back and forth, yammering away about this character or that. "I'm going to bed," she announced suddenly.
He looked over at her, frowning. "Do you not take criticism well? I'm trying to be fair here."
She got to her feet, closing her notepad and slipping it back on the dresser near the TV where she had a growing stack of them. "I can take criticism just fine, thanks. But I'm tired, that's all, Aiba-kun."
"Oh, well I'm sorry for keeping you up," he said, reddening a bit. "Have a good night."
--
She was standing in front of the vanity table in her room, staring at herself in the mirror. How childishly she was behaving. She stuck her tongue out at her reflection so long as she was already in that mindset. He'd been offering feedback for her work the same as Jun and Mirei had when they'd read it, the same as her other fans. But it had been the shuffling of the pages, the way he was so casually stretched out across her floor, that had driven her away.
She pulled her hair out of its usual bun, reaching for her hairbrush. "You're being silly," she told herself as she tried to calm herself with gentle brushstrokes. In two weeks Matsuo Village would return. Maki would be up for her visit, Nino would have his decision to make, everyone would come to the house for the annual party. She needed to focus on things like that, on her responsibilities.
Shihori jumped when there was a tap on the door. She turned, backing herself against the dresser, hairbrush clutched in her hand. "Yes?"
"Can I come in? Are you decent?"
She rolled her eyes. If he could stand the sight of the mismatched tank top and pajama bottoms she wore to bed, then she was perfectly decent. "You can come in."
He slid the door open tentatively, his head poking inside. "I just had a question for you. Sorry to interrupt your lady getting ready for bed stuff."
What was it now? Was there one last gripe about Takumi's relative lack of involvement in the story? "You're only interrupting the important lady task of hair brushing and delaying the other lady task of face cream. I think I'll manage."
He nodded, padding on in. He mostly kept out of her room, especially now that he had the perpetual scent of fried chicken lingering on his clothes. He usually only knocked on the door in the morning to wake her for breakfast. She could sense that he was nervous from the way he slowly moved towards her. It was then that she noticed the book in his hand, and she went numb.
"Just one question, really, and I'll let you get back to those things," he said before lifting the book and opening it to the inside cover, finger tapping on her handwriting. "So um, do you sign every book this way?"
"I don't."
The air in the room seemed heavier with her answer, and she watched him nod a few times before he looked up from the book in his hands to meet her eyes. She saw nothing of the obnoxious boy who'd run into her so many years ago, telling her to watch where she was going. She was happy to find the smile of someone who was a man grown, a shy smile he couldn't tamp down. A look in his eyes she'd never forget.
"I lied," he whispered. And just like that, the obnoxious boy was back. "I have another question."
She waved her arm weakly, gesturing with her hairbrush. "Ask away." She was surprised by the strength in her voice, given how ready she was to melt into a puddle on the floor of her bedroom.
"How long ago did you write this in here?"
She cocked her head, lifting her gaze to the ceiling. "Oh, well...a month ago I'd say."
"A month ago, you'd say."
She nodded.
"I see."
She nodded once more. And then her jaw dropped when he simply grinned again and said "okay, good to know!" and turned on his heel, walking out of her bedroom.
"Hey!" she shouted, flinging her hairbrush across the room in her shock. She stomped out of the bedroom angrily, catching him in full retreat as she chased him down the hall toward the living room. He stood there with his hands on his hips, his back to her. "Hey, you come back here, you jerk! Those are my feelings you're walking all over right now, and you know what, they're true! So you can accept them happily or say thank you, but I can't return them. That's how normal people respond. They don't just snicker like a kid and run off so why don't you just..."
He turned just before she could punch him in the shoulder, wrapping her up in the best, warmest hug she'd ever received in her life. He still smelled like chicken, but she didn't much mind, feeling one of his arms settle around her back as his other hand came up to stroke her hair.
"You're in love with a jerk," he chided her, his head resting atop her own. "What will you tell your parents?"
"That I'm an adult, and I'll love who I like."
"Well, I'm glad," he said, squeezing her tight. "Because I've been in love with you for most of my life."
She supposed that shaking uncontrollably with laughter wasn't the route a normal romantic heroine would take. It wasn't something she planned to write in her second Mako Village novel, that when the hero confessed his love the heroine had a giggling fit. But then again, when Aiba started laughing too, she knew that they'd never be the type of couple who'd appear in any novel.
"Say it again," she said, wrapping her arms around him, head pressed against his chest. She'd waited so long for this. "Just so I know you're not teasing me."
"I wouldn't tease about something like this," he protested. "There's so many other wonderful things I could tease you about anyway."
"You still haven't said it again!"
"I could tease you about the cute way you crinkle your nose when I come back from work. You'd think I smelled like animal poop or something."
"Aiba-kun...just say it again and I won't scream."
"Or the way you call Maki-chan in a panic every time you screw something up when you're cooking instead of just trusting yourself...I've only been here a month and I've already lost track of how many times."
"Hey now..."
"And there's the old standby, the fact that you are vertically challenged and probably have to buy your clothes in the kids' section of the store..."
She shoved him away with a growl. "You're hopeless!"
He pointed at her. "You're beautiful!"
"You're obnoxious!"
"You're perfect!" He bit his lip to keep from cracking up, staring at her like he'd clearly won.
Her hands were fists at her sides now, shaking. "You smell like a deep fryer!"
He leaned forward, hands sliding down her arms to unball her hands and take them in his own. "Shihori-sama," he said, "I love you."
She looked up at him, squeezing his hands. "There, was that so hard?"
Shihori closed her eyes when he bent down, kissing her for the first time. Don't go into the forest, Grandpa had warned her so many years ago. You'll only regret it in the end.
But there were no regrets, not a single one, as she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him back.
--
Maki actually screamed the next day when Shihori called her during a break from work.
Shihori had woken that morning in her futon, completely exhausted and in need of several hours' more sleep. She didn't know how long they'd stood there in the middle of the living room, simply learning how wonderful it was to kiss one another, to feel his mouth on hers. Eventually her neck had grown a bit sore from having to lean up, and he'd sent her off to bed with a whisper in her ear telling her again how much he loved her despite his "many deficiencies" in her eyes.
It was kind of sickening to say it all out loud, even to Maki who had never minded when Shihori gushed about boys. She'd even told Maki about the rather odd ways their confessions had come out the night before, her cousin laughing at her and Aiba's mutual pigheadedness.
"A perfect match," Maki decided. "Nino always said the two of you together would be exhausting to watch."
"And how long has Nino been gossiping with you about this?"
"If I told you, I believe I would be uninvited from the festivities in a few weeks."
Shihori sighed. "That long huh?"
She headed back to finish up her shift, watching the clock slowly tick forward. Finally it was time to go, and she was both surprised and pleased to find Aiba waiting outside for her. He didn't seem to care that other people were coming in and out of the store, running up and kissing her soundly in the store's parking lot. She finally had to push him away, blushing at the little cheers coming from two of her co-workers, waving goodbye.
When she pulled out her car keys, he shook his head, gesturing to the bike he'd ridden. "Handlebars?" he asked, "or will the lady be sitting?"
It was an entirely different feeling this time, sitting on the bike's seat and holding on to him while he pedaled them all the way home. Because this time he wasn't the boy who'd go back to the village and disappear. He was the person who was going to stay.
Tonight she doubted he would let her sleep alone. He was rarely away from her side, holding her in his arms and kissing her by the shed after they locked up the bike. They nearly burned dinner in the oven because he discovered how much he liked the sight of her perched on the kitchen counter, her arms around his shoulders, smacking him away every time he tried to sneak his hand inside her blouse. They watched TV together, and he lay with his head in her lap, legs stretched out while she smiled and stroked his hair. She could get used to this.
Shihori was actually the one to hold her hand out later that evening, tugging him along behind her. Thankfully he'd had his bath and was in a soft cotton t-shirt that smelled like laundry soap. They closed her bedroom door and took it slow.
When she woke she didn't want to move, her scent and his tied together under her blankets. He'd wrapped an arm around her in his sleep, his hand clutched around her middle. She could get used to this, too.
--
They walked to Matsuo Village hand-in-hand, Maki ahead of them holding her head high, prepared to drag Nino kicking and screaming if she had to. She after all was generously preparing to house an unemployed person with no identity papers in her tiny Tokyo apartment, paid for by her dwindling university scholarship money and her part-time job. She'd even told her parents about him, save for the freeloading stranger from a cursed, invisible town bit. Nino had no choice but to follow through on his promises, though Shihori doubted he was anything but loyal.
Aiba tugged her along, choosing not to let her go as they ran from the edge of the forest and into the valley, teasing her about her short legs holding him back from reaching his full speed. He only released her upon catching sight of his mother, nearly knocking the woman over in his eagerness to embrace her. They told everyone that Jun and Mirei were back at the house with the baby, which set off a round of cheers.
Maki and Nino decided to take a different way back to the house once they reunited, which made some of the older Matsuo villagers laugh. Eiko-san walked between her son and Shihori, arms around both of their waists. Aiba informed Eiko-san that he and Shihori were now together, and Eiko-san laughed. "You two have been together a lot longer than you think," she insisted.
Baby Taiyo was the star attraction of the day, the poor little one screaming his head off as he was passed from person to unfamiliar person until Mirei finally intervened and took him away for a feeding. "Luckily he didn't inherit your eyebrows," Nino informed baby Taiyo's father, earning himself a light kick in the backside.
For once Shihori was forbidden from her hostess role, Maki and Jun ruling the kitchen and distributing the food. Instead Aiba, with her hand in his, sat with the residents and filled them in on his four years of adventuring and his unfortunate (for Shihori) calling in the fried chicken business. Maybe if he got some fake papers, he was saying, he could take over a franchise someday. Eiko-san met Shihori's panicked glance with a roll of her eyes. Her son, the impulsive dreamer.
The time finally came. Nino officially had something to say. Everyone sat quietly while he got to his feet, holding up his glass to Maki. Only baby Taiyo made a sound, gurgling onto the towel on his Papa's shoulder.
"I'm moving to Tokyo," he announced before making everyone gasp as he got down on one knee. "Where I hope to have the honor of marrying Horikita Maki-san."
The room was alert, everyone looking between the couple, wondering what Maki's answer would be. Even Aiba was squeezing Shihori's hand tight, nervous for his friend. Shihori seemed to be the only one in on the joke though, looking between her cousin and Nino, seeing the wicked looks in their eyes.
Maki grinned. "Get a job first."
Nino staggered back, hand clutching his chest before giving up the act. "Ah, yeah I suppose that's a good idea. Never mind, folks. Wedding's off."
Jun groaned, and Mirei gave Nino a smack. Unlike in most years, the party didn't end by mid-afternoon. In fact, Eiko-san had an announcement of her own on behalf of the village. The curse had taken its toll for too long, and the time had come to finally put Matsuo behind them. For the sake of the younger residents who had so much potential, and for the sake of the older residents who needed better medical care and comfort as they aged.
Apparently Eiko-san had reached out through Nino's letters and through Maki's assistance over the past year. People who'd left the village had been found. Not all, but many. People like Nino's parents, who had left years earlier, leaving their son in Eiko-san's care. Aiba's aunt and uncle. Officer Katori's wife. Some of them were doing well, some were struggling. But all were willing to open their homes and their hearts to the people they'd left behind.
Shihori listened to each of them, each of those who were departing. To where they were going, what people they'd be reconnecting with. She was happy for them, but it meant the end of a long chapter in her life. The chapter where Shihori had taken over for Grandpa, had taken care of the village.
It was decided that they'd all go back, take their belongings with them and see what happened come midnight when nobody was there and it was time for the curse to take hold. Jun and Mirei departed with the baby, and a few of the other residents had nothing to their names and decided to be on their way. But it was around 10:00 PM when those remaining made one last walk to Matsuo. They gathered in the valley, chatting about what they'd miss and what they definitely wouldn't miss.
Plans were made to keep holding the annual Matsuo parties, and Shihori insisted they all come back to stay with her in Hachimantai. Other relatives and friends were invited, though Shihori wasn't sure where she'd house them. But she had a year to figure that out.
It had taken Nino five minutes to run into town and run back. He had an old backpack with some clothes and all of Maki's letters bundled together. They were clearly eager to start their life together, difficult as it would be. Shihori smiled as each member of the village came out with their belongings. Elderly Takahashi-san who would be taking a train up to Aomori in the morning to reunite with a daughter, Katori-san who had spoken on the phone with his wife that day at Shihori's house for the first time in fourteen long years. She hoped that they'd be able to reconcile.
Soon only two residents remained, and Maki checked her phone. The screen's glow told everyone it was 11:56 PM. Almost time. Eiko-san and one of the teenagers, Yuto-kun, had not returned. "It's probably because he's hauling all of that manga," Yuto-kun's friend Chiaki was telling everyone. "Doesn't he know he can get more out here?"
Shihori shivered a bit even in her jacket. It was dark and the fog was growing heavier. Aiba squeezed her hand. His mother would stay with them at the house for a few days before heading for a reunion with her sister and her husband.
"Finally!" she heard Nino say when Yuto-kun came running, waving his arms as he came down the hill towards them. He seemed to have left his manga behind.
But Yuto's panicked cries pierced the darkness. "Aiba-chan!" he shouted. "It's your mom! She fell! Aiba-chan, she's still by Block 8!"
"But there's only two minutes..." Maki said, and as Yuto-kun crossed the end of the road, meeting the group where the village's boundary ended, Shihori felt Aiba's fingers slip away from her own.
"Masaki," she whispered, holding her hand out in surprise.
Aiba didn't even turn back, ignoring everyone's shouts for him to wait. He took off running, screaming for his mother. Shihori could only stand there, horrified, at the thought of what might have happened. Everyone stood waiting at the edge of town. The fog swallowed Aiba up as he ran to help Eiko-san.
Everyone was gathered around Maki's phone, staring at the numbers. "He's fast," Chiaki said. "He always ran really fast."
But as 11:58 became 11:59, Shihori panicked. She remembered the night she'd walked Eiko-san back, how quickly Matsuo Village had turned back to ruins right before her eyes.
"The fog!" Takahashi-san cried. The buildings were already changing, and the road was slipping away into the mist.
"No!" Shihori's scream was so loud she hadn't even known she was capable of it. She made to run across the boundary, to pull Aiba back, but then Nino and Maki were holding onto her. She screamed again, wordlessly. For Eiko-san, for her son. For the life she had with Aiba that was still just beginning. She struggled in their arms, could hear Maki begging her to stay back on this side with them.
Her short time with Aiba flashed before her. His arms around her, the feel of his mouth against her own. The sound of his gasp in her ear the first time they came together. How safe she felt to wake at his side.
Midnight arrived, and the Matsuo residents, save for Aiba-kun and his mother, were safely outside. When the moon came out from behind the clouds, revealing the ruins again, Shihori took off running. Nino and Maki were at her heels, calling for her.
She ran until she tripped and fell, landing hard on her hands and knees in the center of town. Empty. Matsuo was empty. The curse had taken them both away for another year, and she barely registered Nino's arms slipping around her, lifting her to carry her back to the house. The joyous mood that had been felt all day had been snuffed out.
"Come back," she mumbled, her words lost in Nino's shirt. "Aiba-kun, come back."
--
When she woke, it didn't feel right.
Her bed was empty, and she was still in yesterday's clothes. She'd fallen pretty hard, limping her way to her bedroom door, finding bandages on her knees and her hands wrapped up. She slid open the door. The house seemed quiet, although she heard quiet talking coming from the kitchen. Shihori found Nino and Maki there, serious looks on their faces.
"You have to get back to school," she said quietly, and her cousin turned.
Maki's arms were around her instantly, holding on tight. "Oh Shii-chan, I'm sorry."
Nino explained that the two of them had already been to and from the village that morning, leaving a first aid kit for Eiko-san and hoping that would be enough. They left pens and tons of paper in case she needed anything more urgently. Nino was going back soon to check and see if Aiba had responded yet.
They made her sit, forced some buttered toast and coffee into her. The residents of Matsuo who had intended to stay with Shihori until relatives came for them or it was time to catch a bus or train were gone, having spent the night with Jun and Mirei instead. Shihori could barely remember anything after seeing Aiba disappearing into the fog, and she was embarrassed that she'd made such a scene.
It wasn't like Aiba was gone forever. Only a year.
But, Shihori knew, it would be the longest year of her life.
Nino kissed the top of her head before leaving for the hike down to the village. Winter would come to Matsuo in a month, and if Eiko-san was truly injured it would be very tough indeed. Maki sat with her in silence, for once unable to find the words to say.
When Nino returned, he had good news. Eiko-san had only twisted her ankle. If she stayed off of it, she would heal soon enough. Shihori was relieved to hear it. There was already a note for her from Aiba, and Nino handed it over. He and her cousin made to leave the room, but she shook her head. She didn't want to be alone just yet.
She unfolded it, finding his rather sloppy handwriting. There was no apology, and she didn't want one. It was his mother, and she couldn't blame him for what he'd done. Instead he had a simple message for her: "The truth of the matter is this - I love you." The same words she'd written to him not so long ago.
Nino and Maki stayed for a week. Nino had even gone into Hachimantai, explaining to Aiba's boss that Aiba would regretfully be taking off for a year to care for his sick mother, and that he hoped to still have a place at the restaurant when he returned.
They went to the village each day, and Shihori went to her favorite lookout place. It didn't feel as lonely. She shut her eyes and knew she wasn't imagining it when she felt a sudden warmth, almost like an embrace, knowing that somehow Aiba was there with her. They'd get through this, the both of them. Together.
--
December brought her birthday and Aiba's too. Twenty-four and twenty-seven. They still had many years ahead of them. Despite how busy she became with work and starting to write her second novel (as Aiba insisted she do in one of his letters to her), she visited Matsuo every day.
In heavy rain or in the snow, the winter was as cold in Iwate as always. Visiting daily and having only two residents to care for, Shihori was able to make do without the cumbersome wheelbarrow now. She only had to bring food and entertainment. Jun had even shown up one day with a tiny portable TV set that ran on battery power so Aiba could keep up with his precious variety shows.
Nino had found work in Tokyo and he paid to ship baked goods Maki had made north to Hachimantai. They were making a life together, and when Maki graduated in spring they were pondering a move of their own. Morioka maybe, depending on the work they could find.
Letters flooded in to the house among the cedar trees, from points north and south and all in between. From Katori-san, whose wife had a new family, but she still helped him get a fresh start. From Jun's parents and Mirei's as well. From people who had come for an annual Matsuo party and from those who'd only heard of them and hoped to be invited come November.
Spring did come, and Maki was hired by a company in Morioka. By May she and Nino were in Iwate, driving over weekly and sometimes more often. Through other Matsuo connections, Nino had gotten papers and an identity, and he charmed his way into a job with decent pay.
By summer baby Taiyo was walking, and by fall Jun and Mirei announced that Taiyo would soon be a big brother.
As the days slipped away, so did Shihori's sadness and loneliness. She was surrounded by friends, and if she really wanted to feel Aiba's presence she had only to go to the village and walk among the ruins. He always found her somehow. She could always sense his closeness.
It had been her parents' worry that she'd come north and be isolated, but it was the furthest from the truth. Her years living in Iwate had been difficult but rewarding. She turned in the final draft of her second novel as November arrived. She cleaned the house from top to bottom. It would be the largest Matsuo annual party yet.
Aiba had left a message in the village for her the night before Matsuo was due to reappear. "I've been storing up a year's worth of short jokes. I hope you're ready."
For the first time, she was eager to hear them.
--
There had to be at least seventy people in the valley. There were flashlights and lanterns for when it grew dark, along with folding chairs and picnic baskets. This year's event was held just outside Matsuo, and this time everyone was going to firmly say goodbye. Shihori herself had instituted a ban - nobody in the village limits after 10:00 PM, no exceptions. They didn't need a repeat of the previous year.
Eiko-san was healthy and embarrassed when she emerged, hugging Shihori and not letting her go for some time. "My son, it turns out, is not the only clumsy one in the family," she apologized.
When Eiko-san let her go, he was already waiting for her. His hair needed a cut, and he looked like he'd gone a year without sleeping properly. His smile, however, hadn't changed.
"Well," she said, trying not to cry. "Aiba-kun, welcome back."
He wiped his eyes, laughing. "Did you shrink while I was gone?"
Despite the November chill, the party was warm and noisy. There was enough food to allow everyone to gain a few pounds, and it was like a large family reunion. The village loomed above them, the concrete buildings emptied out and clotheslines barren.
The sheer number of former village residents allowed for Aiba to tug on Shihori's hand, pulling her away from the valley and into the forest by mid-afternoon. He miraculously kept all his wisecracks to himself. It was Aiba's preferred route this time, the one they'd taken when she was nine and he was twelve. A steeper ascent and not actually faster than Shihori's, but she decided not to say anything.
They ended up in a tangle of limbs on the floor of her empty house. They eventually lay side by side facing each other, Shihori shutting her eyes at the blissful feeling of Aiba's fingertips tracing along the curve of her hip. "I've been unemployed for a year," he said. "So I hope you don't mind me coming to this empty-handed."
She cracked open one eye, seeing him staring at her. "Coming to what empty-handed?"
He pulled her hand into his, pointedly tapping on the ring finger of her left hand. "I don't have one to give you."
Now her eyes were fully open. "You're doing this here, on the floor?! Aiba-kun, we're naked right now..."
He smiled. "You'd prefer me to propose to you in my underwear and socks then? Because if that's not romantic, I don't know what is..."
She shoved him onto his back, hearing him laugh. "You're the worst!"
"So is that a no?"
"Say it properly!"
He got to his feet without shame. "Shihori-sama, marry me and this is all yours forever."
She turned away from him, shutting her eyes tight and curling up in a ball in her horror. "Can't you do anything right?! I can't tell my children this story!"
She could feel his cold, ticklish toes prodding at the back of her thigh. "Come on. You know you want to say yes."
"Disgusting!"
"You didn't think so twenty minutes ago!"
"Really disgusting!" she screeched. "You're such a jerk!"
There was a loud knock on the front door. "Are you done yet?" came Nino's voice on the other side. "You didn't even pull the curtains shut, you freaks!"
She scrambled her way across the floor on hands and knees, mortified, heading for her bedroom. She changed clothes and when she returned she found Aiba had casually wrapped himself in a blanket, chatting with Nino in the living room about the cake Maki had made for Eiko-san to thank her for her many years as Village Elder in Matsuo. He'd only come up to the house to get it from the refrigerator. Shihori turned scarlet. Her and Aiba's clothes were still strewn everywhere. Her bra had somehow ended up hanging from a lamp shade.
That was it.
"The pair of you. Out of my house, right now!"
When Shihori made it to the valley again, cake in her arms, the assembled crowd burst into applause and cheers. Apparently it wasn't applause for the cake. Aiba had apparently returned first, Nino in tow, to inform everyone that he was soon to be a married man.
She considered shoving the entire cake in his face, but Maki had gone to a lot of trouble and it would be a waste of a very delicious cake. She settled for eating half of her slice and dumping the rest of it onto Aiba's lap, licking the frosting from her lips with a satisfied smirk.
He chuckled, looking up at her. "But you'll marry me anyway, won't you?"
She nodded. "Of course."
--
The sun set, and the lanterns went on. The party continued into the night. Eiko-san pulled Shihori aside, and together they looked at the village on the hill.
"I came upon an old woman in this very forest," Eiko-san explained. "I was maybe six, seven years old. My parents were always saying that people were leaving Iwate Prefecture, that the future was in the big cities. In Tokyo, in Osaka. That nobody wanted to live here any longer. I didn't know the woman, and she looked the same as anyone else. She was just sitting on a tree stump, resting."
Somehow Shihori knew that Eiko-san hadn't told many people this story. She wondered if even Masaki knew.
"I was picking mushrooms, probably further away than my mother liked. The old woman was friendly, so I told her these things. I told her that I was sad for my parents, that all their friends were leaving. I said that it would be for the best if everyone stayed in Matsuo forever, that nobody left. I was a child, how could I have known? It took us so long to adjust once it happened, and it was all my fault. I had cursed us. The old woman granted my wish, only allowing one day a year for people to leave. I ruined so many people's lives..."
"Eiko-san, that's not true..."
The older woman looked sad, looking up to where the buildings were shrouded in fog. "When I fell last year, I thought 'suits you right, Eiko. Stay here all alone and remember what you did.' But then Masaki came to me. I screamed for him to go back, to go back to you and back to his friends. But he said he wouldn't go if I wasn't going with him. You can't force people to stay and you can't force people to leave, I realized, not forever. Curse or no curse. People go where they're wanted, where they're needed. Where they can be the person they wish to be. Whether that's Iwate or Tokyo or the other side of the world."
She finally turned, squeezing Shihori's hand.
"You helped us, and I thank you. But will you stay here? Even when there's no one in the village?"
Shihori didn't have an answer. Not yet.
She walked back, finding Aiba in one of the circles of lawn chairs, bragging about his special seat at the Tokyo Dome. He kept speaking, pulling her by the wrist and settling her in his lap without stopping the flow of the conversation. She wrapped her arms around his neck, breathing in the scent of him as his arm settled around her back. Curse or no curse, people go where they're wanted, where they're needed.
The Matsuo Village residents saw something different this time when the fog came to swallow up the buildings. There was a flash of light, nearly blinding them all. When they looked again, the hill was completely empty.
--
"You're silly, Mama," Mai said with a chuckle as they moved through the forest, clambering over fallen logs. "Towns don't just disappear."
"This one did," Shihori said, holding her daughter's hand tightly.
Seven-year-old Mai turned back with her skeptical expression. "Papa, it's just one of her books, right? One of her Mako Village books."
"Mama's not a liar," Masaki said, carrying their picnic basket. "Mama is many things. She's short and she's funny-looking, but she doesn't lie."
"Don't tell your child that her mother is funny-looking!"
Ten-year-old Taiyo-kun came running up alongside them, his parents telling him to slow down. He brandished a stick, holding it in the air. "It's true, Mai-chan! There was a whole town there. My papa and mama lived there, and so did your papa."
Mai was still skeptical, especially when they hit the edge of the trees, spying the grassy valley and the hill just beyond covered only in wildflowers. "But there's nothing there!"
Nino came up from behind, ruffling Mai's hair. "Right? What a bunch of untrustworthy parents you have."
Maki elbowed him, and together the group headed for the hill for their annual picnic. Maki, Nino, and their toddler. Aiba, Shihori, and Mai. Jun, Mirei, and their brood of four. The fog had long since cleared, leaving a sunny spot hidden here at the break in the trees. Sometimes Taiyo-kun found a few things that were out of place. An old, empty cup of instant ramen noodles. A Hanshin Tigers t-shirt.
Proof, Taiyo-kun said, that his parents and Mai's were telling the truth. Proof, Nino said, that littering was wrong and to be sure and clean up your mess before you leave.
Shihori supposed that it didn't matter, really, if anyone else believed or not.
She'd always come back.
THE END