“You do not trust me.”
“How can I?” Keishin got up and marched over to Hana. “You just told me that you’ve spent your entire life being taught how to lie and manipulate people into giving up part of their souls. How do I know that what you’re telling me now isn’t a trick? What if I get back home and remember everything? How am I supposed to go on with my life and pretend that everything I’ve seen in this world doesn’t exist? How do you even know what happens to your clients once they leave your pawnshop? All you know is what your father told you, your fatherwho abandoned you to chase after his dead wife.” Keishin regretted his words as soon as they tumbled out of his mouth. “I…I’m sorry.”
Hana stood up. “Why should you be sorry? It’s the truth. My one real skill and duty in this world is to lie, and my father did abandon me. And you’re also right that I don’t know what will happen to you when you go back. All I know is…” Tears watered her voice. “You will be safe.”
Keishin fought the urge to gather her to him. “Please don’t cry.”
Hana dried her eyes with the back of her hand. “You are right. Parasites do not deserve to cry.”
“Don’t say that. You are not a parasite.”
“I am.” Fresh tears filled Hana’s eyes.
“No, you are not.” Keishin circled his arms around her. “I don’t know why your world works the way it does or why it needs mine to exist, but I know this. You have given me more than you’ve taken. You’ve shown me things beyond my imagination and…” He tilted her chin up. “And made me feel things I never thought I could.”
“Things that you shouldn’t.”
“Because Haruto is your fate.” Keishin lowered his eyes.
“Haruto has nothing to do with this.”
“He loves you.”
“Yes.”
“And one day, you’ll love him too.”
“I won’t.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do. I kissed him,” Hana said. “And it was different.”
“From what?”
“From when I kissed you.” Hana pulled away from him.“But whatever we feel for each other has no place in this world or yours.”
“It doesn’t have to belong to either of our worlds, Hana. It just needs to belong to us.”
Hana leaned her head against his chest, letting her tears fall.
Chapter Forty
Ghosts
The small village had slipped out of time’s hands and tumbled to the wayside of life’s road a long time ago. It stood, a shell of its former self, waiting to crumble in the late-afternoon sun. Once it had longed for visitors, but now it was too tired and it had too much dust in its eyes to notice the two people that had climbed out of the puddle next to a footbridge that might have once been bright red. A bed of round, dusty rocks ran beneath the bridge, their edges smoothened by a vanished river.
Hana tightened her ponytail and surveyed their surroundings. She and Keishin had barely spoken during their hike out of the forest, and even after traveling through the puddle, she still did not possess any words that were worth the air and effort to speak.
“The chimes made it easier,” Keishin said.
“To do what?” Hana asked.
“To not talk to each other. The chimes filled the void.” Keishin looked around the empty town. “But the silence in this place makes the air feel stale. It’s hard to breathe. I’m sorry, but if you don’t say anything, I’m afraid I’m going to have to bore you with a lecture about quantum physics and other extremely tedious things just so we don’t suffocate.”
“Welcome!” A man waved at them from across the footbridge. “Welcome!”
“Oh…hello.” Hana bowed. “I did not realize that anyone still lived here.”
