After so long in Japan, it didn’t bother him when female staff entered the men’s baths while he was dressing or undressing, or when cleaning himself at the washing area and soaking in the hot water. While he and Nozomi were dating, they had visited same-sex baths at Nyūtō Onsen in Akita, and Hōshi Onsen in Gunma, and his nervousness being there had evaporated as soon as they’d entered the baths and submerged themselves. It was as it had always been done in old times.
“Promise to forewarn me if you get transferred to the men’s baths while I’m here.”
“Promises are so boring. I’m afraid I can’t promise you anything.”
Sedge realized that they’d crossed a line they’d been tiptoeing along. But if word got back to Yuki and Takahashi about their flirtation, he knew their disapproval would be stronger than before.
He stayed in the lounge all afternoon, hidden by a large panel on which hung an old calligraphic scroll. The only people who could see him were those who entered the lounge and walked toward the window. The only person to do that, however, was Mariko.
When Sedge returned to Mariko’s house for their second English lesson, he was impressed by how much she had calmed her stepson. Riku was waiting for Sedge’s arrival from the kura door, and this time when he waved to Sedge, Sedge waved back. Riku jumped down from the wall and ran to the rear of the house. He opened the front door from inside before Sedge rang the bell. As Sedge removed his shoes at the genkan, he saw Riku struggle not to say anything. Preferring this version of the boy to the one he’d met before, Sedge smiled at Riku but didn’t encourage him by starting a conversation, either.
“A-ra-ra,” Mariko exclaimed upon seeing Sedge. “I was waiting for the doorbell. Riku let you in, did he?”
Sedge gave Riku a chance to answer, but he remained silent. Whereas he’d appeared happy a moment before, his face was now darker. Sedge had no idea what he was thinking.
“I was surprised he recognized me,” Sedge said, smiling. “I guess I don’t blend in well with the people who live around here.”
Riku’s expression didn’t change.
As Mariko and Sedge sat where they’d studied before, Riku settled himself at a low lacquered table in front of the Buddhist altar. He started working on his homework while Sedge and Mariko began their lesson. Whenever she laughed, Riku jerked his head up and stared at Sedge.
The only time he spoke was when an hour had passed. “Your lesson is over,” he told Mariko, jumping to his feet and coming up behind her.
“You were good while we studied,” she told him. “Thank you.”
Riku looked from her to Sedge and said, “Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course.”
“What’s your favorite bird?”
“My favorite bird? In the world?”
Riku shook his head. “That you’ve seen around town.”
“There are far too many to choose from.”
“No, there aren’t. There are far too few.” He had grown excited, but when Mariko touched his arm he calmed down. “My favorite is the kingfisher. But every week it changes.”
“That’s an admirable choice.”
“I know. So what’s yours?”
“Since coming to Yamanaka Onsen, I’ve been interested in the Asian gray heron.”
“Everyone knows what that is,” Riku said, and began listing some of its characteristics. He was particularly keen to talk about its courtship patterns. He also described its monogamy and parenting, which he said he’d learned about on TV. Sedge added to what Riku said—how they sometimes use bait to catch fish like fishermen do; how powder-down they produce from special feathers in their plumage make them water-repellant; and how those same feathers never stop growing, but fray rather than fall out—without saying all he might have.
“Have you seen the movie Milky Way Railroad?” Riku asked.
“No, but I’ve read the book.” Sedge had read it several years ago, a strange, wondrous novel by Miyazawa Kenji about two boys who run away from a summer festival in their rural town to ride a train that travels through the stars. Regretfully, he’d forgotten much of it.
“Do you remember the part where a man boarded the train at the Cygnus constellation carrying bags stuffed with birds? The first bag he opened was full of herons. When they flew above him he simply raised his arms in the air, and just touching their feet made them drop all around him.” He lifted his own hands toward the ceiling, showing Sedge how he imagined the man did it. “I don’t understand how, but he said they were made of sand from the Milky Way.”
Riku’s mention of the bird-catcher brought the scene back to mind. But Sedge and Riku remembered it differently. “I thought the herons were made of candy and weren’t real.”
“You’re wrong,” Riku said, excited again. “The man’s bag of wild geese tasted like candy, but all his birds were edible. Before the herons could be eaten, he had to hang them under the light of the Milky Way or bury them in the sand. His other bags were full of cranes and swans, but the boys in the story didn’t eat them.”
“It sounds like a sad fate for those birds,” Mariko said.
Riku shook his head in disagreement, then turned back to Sedge. “What’s so special to you about herons?”
Mariko was watching Sedge with equal interest. “Is it because of what happened at Kenrokuen back in March?”
Riku shushed her. “I asked him first.”
“It’s not because of that,” Sedge said. “Maybe it’s because of their majesty. But if I had to be a bird, I wouldn’t choose it. I’d rather be a powerful seabird. But herons are beautiful. And there are many in this part of Japan.”
Riku was listening to him intently; perhaps struggling to choose from among a thousand things he wanted to say.
Sedge said to Mariko, “I should go. If we continue studying together, I’d better leave on time.”
Mariko led him to the front door. “Are you worried about Takahashi and Yuki?”
“Only for your sake. I don’t want rumors spreading about us.”
That she didn’t respond made him think he’d offended her. Sliding the door open she said, “Please be careful walking back in the dark.”
