A knot formed in Keishin’s throat. Freedom, at its most absolute, was more terrifying than the Shiikuin.
“What you felt for Hana was not a lie,” Ramesh said. “And now, like Hana, you have a choice to make.”
“Kei?” Hana’s voice found its way into Keishin’s thoughts. “Did you hear what I said?”
“No, sorry,” he lied. “I was just trying to figure out how to get back. I don’t think that we’ll be able to hitch a ride on any rumors from here unless wildflowers like to gossip.”
A Shiikuin’s shriek tore through the field.
Keishin and Hana scrambled to their feet, their backs pressed against each other. A chorus of shrieks echoed around them.
Keishin’s eyes darted around the field. “Where are they?”
“Everywhere.”
Chapter Fifty-six
A Gathering of Cranes
Soft tapping noises, like raindrops hitting the ground, filled the air. The rain, Keishin thought, had finally decided to show up. He applauded its timing. It could wash away the blood from the field when the Shiikuin were done with him. He waited to get drenched. A small paper crane hit him on the nose. Another struck him on the left shoulder. Keishin glanced up. Origami cranes of every color circled above him like a storm cloud and fell like rain over the field. “What in the world…”
The shrieks of the Shiikuin grew louder.
Hana picked up a crane from the ground. “This is Haruto’s work.”
“What are the cranes doing here? Why did he send them?”
The carpet of cranes stirred over the wildflowers. They flapped their wings and lifted off the ground. They swarmed Hana and Keishin, whipping up the wind. Keishin could see nothing through the blur of paper wings. He took comfort in knowing that the thick curtain of cranes worked both ways. The Shiikuin could not hunt what they could not see.
Hana pointed to the ground. “Look.”
Keishin looked down. His feet hovered an inch over the tallest wildflower. The siege of cranes thickened, sweeping Hana and Keishin up to the sky.
—
It took a while for Keishin to get used to drifting through the night on a cloud of paper cranes. The cranes bobbed and shifted beneath him, taking turns carrying his and Hana’s weight. He imagined that flying beneath Hana was more difficult. Her burden was heavier than his. He had not left his parents at the mercy of the Shiikuin. “I’m sorry about your parents.”
“They were together in the end. Like they wanted.”
“They could still be alive.”
Hana shook her head. “I need to believe that they are not. It is easier to put grief on hold than to sit still. If I allowed myself to think that they were still alive, I would jump off these cranes, run back through the tunnels, and try to save them. Believing that they are gone allows me to tell myself that I will grieve them when you are safe.”
“Hana…”
“My parents made their choice, and I made mine. They chose each other, and I chose to finally do the right thing.”
—
A paper house built on a sharp cliff came into view as the cranes descended. The moon cast a pale glow over its crisp white paper roof and walls. “Why are they bringing us to Haruto’s home?” Keishin said. “Isn’t Haruto supposed to be hiding at his mother’s house?”
“Maybe he thinks that the Shiikuin believe that we would never dare to come back here.”
The cranes hovered over the ground, allowing Keishin and Hana to hop off their backs. They took flight and scattered over the cliff.
“I wonder how Haruto made all of those cranes,” Keishin said. “His hands couldn’t have healed that fast.”
“There is only one way that could have restored his hands that quickly, but I am hoping that he was not foolish enough to try it.”
