Lost Childhood

After a ten-hour ride, the train finally left the tunnel, and the light marked a new morning. “Yokohama Station”, the voice from the speaker announced. Seeing the big city for the first time, Shouta’s noises woke everyone up rather pleasantly. Himawari tamed him and apologised, keeping up appearances.

“To put the seal in Yokohama of all places…” said Seishiro, his voice odd-sounding through the face mask he wore—he was not fully healed yet. “The Guards must’ve lost their minds.”

“They have, literally.” Akihiko answered with a humorous smile.

The Guards’ intent was clear: “Want the seal? Then someone’s gonna end up hurt.”

Akihiko opened the paper he got from the man at the bar; there was an address and a note “the keys are under the carpet.” The keys to an apartment, presumably. The train stopped and Shouta raced time itself to get out, the city was impressive even by his standards—those of a boy who saw literal magic in front of his eyes; that sure counted for a lot.

The horizon hid behind buildings taller than what one’s field of view covers, the salty smell of the sea, the millions of shoulders that bump into one another every day. The city with all its glassy structures and white cloak was a pale god itself, one made by human efforts only, yet capable of magic, nonetheless.

They navigated the city and eventually found the apartment. Not really a fancy one, as if it were built to accommodate their current needs, namely: space, multiple beds and toilets, a round table with a marked map. “Could he not be a little more direct,” thought Akihiko while examining the marked location, it looked like a new amusement park—very new, actually; only a month old, and people were swarming like hordes of locust.

Underneath the map were three tickets to the park, “Seishiro,” called Akihiko, “I need your opinion on something.” He showed him the map, the tickets and told him what needed to be told. Seishiro decided to take the map for a night and come up with a plan on his own, many lives were on the line, and it was not worth hiding than he didn’t trust his teacher’s moral reasoning anymore. Akihiko was too goal-oriented, and his tunnel vision could be costly.

The rest of the day was themed emptying the bags and taking turns for the shower. Seishiro locked himself in a room due to the unprecedented levels of noise. From the natural background voices of Yokohama to the unusual energy everyone had all of a sudden. The simple fact that everyone overlooked was that, whether to break a seal or visit a newly opened park, it was a family trip—the first one they had in years.

“What would you like for dinner?” The teacher asked.

Shouta immediately answered as if he’d been waiting for his chance since forever, “Nabe!”

“Nabe? No way, It’s summer?” Himawari refused. She was interrupted by Yuusuke who found a fan, solving the heat problem.

The teacher then announced, “Nabe it is. I’ll get the groceries, you find a pot.” On his way out, Shouta followed him without a word. The city was still alive, though it had a different spirit than that of the day. Nocturne hostility—the day was for the hard workers, the dream chasers. The night was for the wounded and the sinner. The sky was clear except for a giant moon and the light cast by the city itself.

“Shouta.”

“Yes, sensei.”

“Have you been enjoying the travel?”

The boy nodded.

“Does it still hurt?”

“Sometimes.”

Akihiko stroked his hair, “Try to stay near me from now on, okay?”

The two entered a convenience store to get what was needed for the pot, vegetables, mushrooms, Akihiko chose to buy the very luxurious beef rather than pork, some spices and they were done, almost. An ice-cream for Shouta followed by the cashier’s usual “Thank you for visiting” to put an end to their little night walk.

One pot at the centre of the table, the troubled Seishiro exiting his den to join the rest for dinner, Himawari and Shouta fighting for the seat closest to the fan… A family dinner.

The next morning at breakfast, Seishiro explained his plan. He was not happy with it by any means, but was forced to accept that there was no way to enter a crowded amusement park, fight the crazy mages and break the seal with no real risk. “Yuusuke, Hima and Shouta, you will use the tickets to search the park for clues, the rest will find a way into the staff rooms. We’ll use our cell phones for communication so don’t lose them. Not much of a plan, I know, we’ll need to improvise.”

“Hey, Seishiro.”

“Shouta?”

“Can I go with sensei?”

“Is it necessary?”

“Yes, very.”

After some thinking, Seishiro decided to switch places with Shouta, a decision for which he had a good set of reasons: Akihiko needed to be on the second group since it was more likely to face the Guards. Yuusuke was needed in the park; in case something bad happened, his help would be needed. Himawari had next to no experience facing a mage, but instead much needed crowd control skills. The only flexible positions were his and Inori’s, but he settled on his.

August 2006, Luminaria Park, Yokohama.

Morning hours were when the city thrives, the entrance full of people before the park even opened. Himawari, Yuusuke and Seishiro held to their tickets, hats and water bottles as the visitors passed through the slow security check.

“While we’re here, why not try some attractions, we don’t get free tickets every day,” Himawari suggested.

Yuusuke was unconvinced. “Do we even have the time for that?”

“She’s right, we must blend in. Besides, the other group will need to do most of the work, we’re mostly here to help people escape if things go south.”

Watching the three be swallowed by the crowd, slowly dissolving into mere colours, Akihiko felt grateful.

The night is home to the wounded and the sinner, the day to the dream seeker. Thanks to you I dreamed in the night, and today I sin.