Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie

Author:Asha Lemmie [Asha Lemmie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2020-09-02T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Nori tried to speak to him again the next day, but he brushed by her without a word. She could feel a cold wind blow as he passed. She let it be, and for the next month, she saw very little of him. Soon Akira would return to school for his last year. Though she did not look forward to him being away during the days, it was better than him actively ignoring her.

At eighteen, he was only part adult. It was not until twenty that he would reach full majority. She comforted herself with the thought that it would be several more years before he would be expected to return to Kyoto. But she knew that he would never be content to sit by the fire and knit, as she was. He was ambitious and restless, and sooner or later, the tides would carry him away.

She found things to do, as she always did. In the mornings she helped Ayame with laundry. They hand-washed the delicate silks in large basins full of soapy water scented with rose petals. Then they would hang them on the line and watch them blow in the breeze. They didn’t say much to each other. But Nori didn’t think that Ayame disliked her. So that was something.

She spent her afternoons reading. This house had a great library, full of all kinds of books. She asked Ayame to pick out some that girls her age might be reading in school. It seemed like, for now at least, the issue of her education had been dropped. It was likely that after the incident in the dining room, Akira had decided it was best not to push the issue. Her existence was not the closely guarded secret it once was, but they didn’t flaunt it either. He’d finally gotten her papers through the black market, not the courts, but he’d assured her this would suffice if they were needed.

Her evenings were reserved for music. Sometimes the few remaining servants would gather around and listen to her play. Afterwards, there was a contented silence that enveloped the room like a warm blanket.

The nights were the worst. She avoided sleep like it was a deadly plague. She walked the house aimlessly, trying to keep her eyes from drifting shut.

The nightmares she’d had as a little girl had returned. But they had grown, just as she had. And they were bigger than she was now. She couldn’t fight them. She would wake up gasping for air, sure that there were hands around her throat. And then she would cry and cry until she retched all over the floor.

Tonight, she was determined to stay awake.

“No sleeping,” she mumbled, pinching the cold skin on her inner elbow. “No sleeping.”

It was nearly morning. The sun was just starting to peek over the clouds, casting a blush-colored hue across the tops of the trees. From her perch in the oak tree, Nori could see it perfectly. It was cold today, but she barely felt it.

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