The Truth Shall Set You Free (1)

Yuuna and Mahiru had been walking together for some time, and by now, they had ventured into a deserted area of the East. Looking around, Yuuna couldn’t stop the scenery from sending involuntary shivers through her body.

No matter what direction she turned her head, all she saw was the aftermath of destruction – numerous destroyed buildings that were little more than skeletal remains, inhabitable and devoid of any life. What used to be trees and clear grass had been reduced to ash and rubble. If one were to search for the term “ghost town” in a dictionary, this exact place would probably come up as an example.

“Uhm, Mahirun… That internment camp you mentioned…” Yuuna’s voice wavered while she clinged onto Mahiru as if scared for life.

“It’s not far from here. I’ve never been there, but according to the address, we should be almost there.”

“O-okay.” Yuuna muttered, though her anxiety was still palpable.

Crossing the border had been surprisingly smooth once they’d shown the guards their permits. The guards checked for any dangerous items, asked for their identity card and made sure they weren’t carrying any criminal history. Some eyebrows shot up when the guards spotted the name “Watanabe” on Mahiru’s card, but in the end, nobody in the West could even know the name of the youngest Watanabe daughter. After all, she had officially never set foot in the West.

At the beginning, the atmosphere didn’t seem too different from what Yuuna was used to in the West, but the deeper they went, the more the atmosphere around them started to change. The air felt thicker, colder, as if the very land itself had absorbed a lingering tension.

“T-this town, Mahirun…”

“If I’m not mistaken, this should be Waimaa. Apparently, it was almost completely destroyed by a series of airstrikes, just months before the end of the war. Or at least, that’s what I’ve been told. Might or might not be true,” Mahiru explained, her voice steady, but carrying a weight of uncertainty.

She could only share what she’d been taught. The “official” versions of history the government presented never quite matched the stories her grandfather had told her. Even when it came to the destruction of a whole town, Mahiru wasn’t sure what to believe anymore.

“But why… Why didn’t you try to restore this place? Many cities were also completely destroyed in the West, but our government spent lots of money in making them habitable again.”

Mahiru clenched her teeth at Yuuna’s question, a brief flash of frustration crossing her face.

“We don’t care about the war here. What’s gone is gone, so there’s no point in repairing it. We can’t change the past, so we might as well abandon it. That’s how things have been done here for the past thirty years.”

“I…see.”

Yuuna was surprised to hear how different their two countries were. Yes, she couldn’t know if everything that was taught in the West was actually the truth. After all, it was hard to expect an objective account of the war from nations directly involved

Still, at least there was an attempt to talk about the mistakes from the past to make sure future generations wouldn’t repeat them. Here in the West, they just seemed to…erase the past.

The two of them walked for a while longer until they stood in front of cold, gray stone walls rising sharply into the sky. Rusted iron bars crisscrossed the entrance, guarded by giant watchtowers that loomed overhead. The air around them felt thick, heavy, as if the very earth around the walls was suffocated by their presence.

“This…must be Hindenburg camp,” Mahiru said, catching her breath.

There was an eerie stillness to the place, as though the world beyond had forgotten it existed – or perhaps, this was exactly what had happened.

“What is this place? It can’t be…” Yuuna asked, her eyes shivering in fear.

Mahiru’s voice was grim as she answered. “You probably know of the internment camps during the war, back when our country was still united, right? Where we used to kill so many people from other ethnicities, just because our leaders didn’t see them as equal.”

Yuuna nodded slowly. This was obviously taught in the West, but she had never seen one in person. The reality of it, the tangible horror of the place, was far more overwhelming than she'd imagined.

“Well,” Mahiru continued, her voice regretful, “this camp is called Hindenburg. It’s supposedly the biggest one our country built.”

“Hindenburg? I’ve never heard that name. But more importantly… What are we doing here?”

Crossing her arms, Mahiru looked up at the imposing towers.

“To be honest, I have no idea. This place was abandoned over thirty years ago, so there should be no reason for us to be here. What is the meaning behind all this, Mamoru?” she said firmly, pointing to a shadow behind the gate.

“Very well, Madam Mahiru. I see your eyes are as sharp as ever. It is my honour to welcome you back.”

A figure emerging from behind the wall, Mamoru stood in front of the two girls, only the gate separating them.

“Eeeek! Who’s this shady-looking man? And where did he come from?” Yuuna winced at Mamoru’s sudden appearance.

“Don’t worry, Yuuna. This is just my butler. He’s by far the most trustworthy person in my household. After all, he was the one who allowed me to escape to the West.”

Opening the gate from the inside, Mamoru stepped closer to them, wearing a serious expression. Yuuna backed off reflexively, while Mahiru stood still in place.

“I am honoured to witness you speak so highly of me, Madam Mahiru. Forgive my rudeness, but who is this woman next to you? Where is Mister Satou?”

“This is Kousei’s sister, Yuuna,” Mahiru declared, inviting Yuuna to come closer. “I didn’t want Kousei to follow me, and in the end, she just came along. It’s a long story.”

There was a hint of sadness in her voice, her shoulders trembling just slightly. She knew what she had done was for Kousei’s well-being, but only now did the realisation hit that she wasn’t here with him.

Mamoru sighed, bringing a hand to his forehead.

“Very well,” he said with resignation. “This shall work as well. Good thing that I always anticipate your ability to make decisions on a whim.”

Turning around, he spread out his arms, then continued.

“This is Hindenburg. Or as you might call it in the West, Buchenwald. Madam Mahiru, I brought you here to finally enlighten you with truth. Today shall mark a new page in the history books of our country.”

“T-the truth?” Mahiru asked incredulously.

“What is he talking about, Mahirun? Buchenwald?”

Approaching the open gate, Mamoru urged them to follow him.

“Madam Mahiru perfectly explained how we run away from our own past, erasing the mistakes that shaped us into who we are today. Of course, this includes renaming anything that might remind us of the war. What you call ‘Buchenwald’ on the other side doesn’t even exist for us. It’s Hindenburg.”

Yuuna could feel her legs shaking, her throat closing up, the sound of her own heart thundering in the back of her ears. Just how far were people willing to go to avoid confronting their mistakes?

“I must admit, your short history lesson was impeccable, Madam Mahiru. After all, you were taught by a wise man that lived most of his life in the West. But there was one little mistake in your explanations. Something not even your grandfather could have been aware of.”

Mahiru’s gaze snapped to Mamoru, a flicker of surprise in her eyes as she heard him mention her grandfather. But what could possibly be so hard to grasp that not even he knew?

“You know… You said Hindenburg was abandoned more than thirty years ago. Unfortunately, that is far from the truth. In fact, it serves the same purpose it did during the war.”

“W-what?” Mahiru and Yuuna shouted simultaneously.

Passing a large open space inside the walls, they heard the sound of hard objects striking stone. As their gazes followed the direction of the sound…

What they saw made their blood run cold.

They spotted multiple men standing around a big chunk of formed stone, seemingly crafting a statue with just their pickaxes in hand.

“M-Mahirun, I’m scared.”

Yuuna hid behind Mahiru’s back, unwilling to move. Her legs didn’t respond anymore, and her heart felt like it could burst out from her chest at any moment.

“During the war, we imprisoned minorities and anyone who opposed our ideologies here. We forced them into cruel labour that would slowly distinguish all hope in them. Of course, we were severely punished for this unforgivable crime once we lost the war. The wall was built, we had to pay war reparations to governments we fought against, our military was weakened significantly… And, naturally, we were also prohibited to ever use an internment camp again. But…”

Pausing, Mamoru looked up at the sky and smiled bitterly, as though he regretted the words before they even left his mouth.

“It’s easy to hide something if you don’t let any information in or out. It’s ironic, isn’t it? The wall was built to destabilise our nation, but in the end, it only enabled us to commit even more crimes.”

“This…can’t be.”

Mahiru fell to her knees, an impossible force pulling and yanking at her heart.

She couldn’t believe what Mamoru was saying.

She didn’t want to believe it.

How could humans be so cruel to repeat the same mistakes over and over again? Was this the inevitable consequence of erasing the past?

“Have you ever wondered why there are no protests in the East, Madam Mahiru? Or what happens to those who oppose the system? They don’t just die in some ‘accident.’ They’re brought here, where their lives are stripped of all meaning.”

Accident…

The way Mamoru put an emphasis on the word made Mahiru’s thoughts run wild. After all, her grandfather had supposedly died in an accident as well.

“N-no, it can’t be.”

Struggling to breathe, Mahiru was overtaken by a feeling that the world itself was swaying. She curled her hands into fists, her fingernails digging so deep into their palms that it ached unbearably.

“Mahirun!”

Yuuna ran over to Mahiru, her own anxiety bubbling just beneath the surface as she tried to offer some semblance of support.

“Madam Satou,” Mamoru spoke up, unfazed by the emotions the girls were currently going through, “I suppose you have an electronic device on you?”

“Y-yes…?” she responded in a murmur.

“I need you to take as many pictures of this place and the workers as you can. Then, go back to the West and show them the highest-ranking person you know.”

“What?”

“I’m afraid this is as far as I can take you. I apologise for making you come all this way, just to ask you to return so abruptly. But please, do not hesitate. If you’re not fast enough… Madam Mahiru and I might be no more once this is all done.”

Her eyes tearing open, a wave of energy rushed through Yuuna’s entire body, making her run as fast as she could.

“And as for us, Madam Mahiru…” Mamoru turned to Mahiru, her body still on the ground. “Do you want to meet him again after all these years?”