World Shaking

October 27, 1891

During those days, when Takumi began to devise a plan to flee, he looked at all the possibilities, all the options. He knew his parents had Souta. But his brother had just turned 10, which would force his father to keep working for at least another eight years. 

To keep his father calm, his routine consisted of going to the factory, trying to spend time with Haruna, who he found to be a boring woman who didn't talk beyond what was strictly necessary. It was with her father that he talked the most, but it was purely business matters.

Businesses he had to sustain so that his father's factory would prosper. He did everything successfully, making those rumors lose validity for his father, so that he would forget about Sachie. But at the same time, it made him reaffirm his decision.

He tried to imagine his future as the main owner and administrator of the factory, being the husband of Haruna, a woman whose ability to decide and think for herself had been suppressed. He knew that this was what Sachie hated about her sister, something that caused their relationship to break in two.

He smiled, thinking that if Sachie could sacrifice her family to be herself, then he could too. He had decided. During that week, Takumi began to set aside some of his savings to flee as he had proposed. He could try it.

On the afternoon of October 27, Takumi sent an urgent telegram to the address of the apothecary where Sachie worked. He sent it to Miss Happiness.

The telegram arrived, and Sachie read it, excited. Her boss saw her smile and even blush. He sighed in frustration, knowing who the sender was. Since she had arrived with Mariko that day, Sachie was different. She looked happier, hummed, and her efficiency improved.

"Miss Sachie. Tomorrow morning I must close the deal with you. I want you to tell me your proposal to expand your traditional medicine business in Tokyo. I am willing to do anything to make it a success. I will see you tomorrow at the train station. At 8:30 I will leave with you to formalize the business. Takahara T."

Sachie, thanks to Mariko, had managed to understand how she felt. 

"Do you feel happy when you are with Takahara?" she asked her while they both sat down to eat some sweets. Sachie nodded. "Do you find yourself thinking about him at various times of the day? Does it bother you when you find him with other women?"

She answered yes to everything. Mariko knew it. She had seen it many times. People who have the freedom to love, to be able to create their family as they wish.

"You have the advantage of not having a family," Mariko told her. She didn't care that Takumi was the heir. "Takumi-san chose you. What I can tell you is that it's going to be difficult, I assure you."

That night, Sachie gathered her savings and managed to collect some important belongings: some notes, her kimonos, and books she wanted to take with her. Going to bed, she felt relieved. Yes, she was nervous, she was scared. But if she had already fled once, she could do it again.

She prayed for her the forgivness from her grandfather. She thought Tooru will be mad about leaving Shimizu and Sachie wanted his forgivness. So, after her pray, she finally, win tranquility fell asleep

Sachie woke up before dawn to get ready. She did her hair and put on a kimono that Takumi had helped her choose almost three weeks ago. Closing her door silently behind her, Sachie began her definitive escape. It was not yet dawn, but the color of the sky announced that it soon would be. She passed by the Mizutani pier to see it for the last time.

Seagulls flew and cried; some sailors came and went with varied cargo, ignoring Sachie as they finished or started their work. She began to walk to the train station, but she was curious about a strange movement that the sea was having. It moved back and forth in a slow motion that was not usual. 

Suddenly, the ground trembled. Sachie was thrown to the ground. Houses shook violently; trees fell. Disoriented, she heard people screaming, trying to run. That monstrous seismic movement seemed as though it would never end. 

When it finally stopped, Sachie tried to stand, but her knees were trembling. A sailor helped her up and guided her to a safe zone, letting her rest. She began to look around. Everything was destroyed: roofs had collapsed, trapping inhabitants inside; some people had managed to escape in time, while others cried out for help to rescue their relatives.

She began to walk aimlessly, without a direction. She was in shock. Without realizing it, she arrived at what was her home, and Mrs. Aizawa saw her.

“Sachi-chan, dear!" she said, hugging her. It was then that Sachie finally began to regain her senses. She saw Mrs. Aizawa who was somewhat wounded, but mostly dirty. "We thought you were trapped. The stairs are broken. Many people are still there."

“Are you well, Aizawa san?” Sachie asked to her. She nodded silently.

"We must find a way to attend to those families," a worried man commented, he tried to enter the building, but several neighbours told him it was dangerous.

For the first time, Sachie allowed herself to worry about her family. She could go on foot, and she didn't know the road conditions. But she wanted to try; she felt it was a matter of duty.

She didn't understand why she was doing it, but she had nothing to lose. She started running. But she stopped when she saw the street where she worked. Yes, she should first prove her worth. She went to the apothecary, which was half destroyed. The windows were broken, the door was also broken and fallen, but it looked stable.

She looked for her boss, who was still on the second floor, where he lived. Except for some beams that blocked the passage to the boss's room, which she managed to remove with some difficulty, the rescued person was fine. Both went down and assessed the damage.

"Try to take as much as you can to the warehouse," he ordered, knowing that the wounded would soon come, those who would try to steal. "We will have a lot of work, and I want to minimize losses."

Busy with an activity she hadn't planned, Sachie dedicated herself to doing what she was ordered without blinking, without complaining. As her boss supposed, some injured people arrived asking for help. But the medicines, syrups, and ointments were not going to work for all the wounded.

They had to take them to the nearest public hospital, which was expected to also be destroyed and, expecting that it would be crowded with people. The apothecary owner sent Sachie to assist and help the doctors at the public hospital, where she would be more useful.

But Sachie did not obey him. She didn’t go to the public hospital. Stealing some medicines, she went directly to where she wanted to go from the beginning with a single objective: to prove that now, she could be needed.