“Why? You know that you are always welcome here. You are like a father to me.”
“I wish that was not the case.”
Haruto frowned. “Why?”
“Because a true father would never ask what I am about to ask of you now.”
“I don’t understand. Are you in trouble? Do you need help?”
“What happened to my wife, Hana’s mother, is not a secret.”
“Every child is told her story. The Shiikuin made sure that no one would ever forget the punishment for her crime.”
Toshio stood up and walked over to the window. He leaned out and checked in both directions.
“What are you doing?” Haruto asked.
“I need to make sure that we are alone.”
“The museum’s visitors never come up here. Only the cranes keep me company while I work.”
“Then we need to talk elsewhere, because what I am about to say is only for your ears.”
—
“Will you tell me what this is all about?” Haruto asked as soon as he stepped out of the paper door and into his home. “I assure you that we are completely alone.”
Toshio drew a deep breath. “I believe that my wife is alive.”
“What?”
“I saw her in a dream, just before I crossed the bridge into morning. I heard someone call my name and I opened my eyes. When I looked back, I saw her on the other side.”
Haruto shook his head. “That is impossible. The dead are not allowed at the Midnight Bridge. You must have been mistaken. It was probably just someone who looked like her.”
“That is what I told myself too,” Toshio said. “Until I saw her again the following night. And the night after that. On both nights, she called to me just as I stepped into the dawn.”
“But the dead do not dream.”
“Which is why I believe that she must be alive,” Toshio said. “I think that the Shiikuin lied to me about her death.”
“Why would they lie?”
“I don’t know. All I know is that there is only one way to know the whole truth. I must see what really happened on the day they came to the pawnshop and took her from me.” Toshio’s voice cracked. “And from Hana.”
“Does Hana know you are here?”
“I do not want to involve her in any of this. It is too dangerous.”
“But you want to involve me,” Haruto said. “Because I am not really your son.”
“You know that is not true. You are family, Haruto. I would not ask for your help if there was another way. But there isn’t. Iam trusting you with this secret because you are not like Hana. She is too much like her mother. Impulsive. Questioning. Free. She tries to fight her nature for my sake, but it is in her blood. If she believed that her mother was alive, she would defy every Shiikuin to find her, no matter the cost,” Toshio said. “You would not.”
“You are asking me to lie to her.”
“To keep her safe.”
“And you do not care for your own safety?”
