Chapter 6: Fantajī no Nami

                                    

                                          
There lived a frail man who owned a small traveling boat. He cherished this boat dearly as it was the last thing to remind him of his wife. It was difficult for his family to make ends meet. He was afraid they would get kicked out soon and would have to move onto the streets. That was the last place he wanted to be, on the ground covered in dirt to the point nobody wanted to visit their businesses anymore. He watched the water move in a circular motion as an elderly woman crept near him. He felt the presence of someone beside him, so he turned to face the person. He glanced at the woman’s appearance. She was bent in an odd way while wearing all black. She had a sunhat with a piece of clothing covering her face. Her hair was long with luxurious black curls, most would hardly recognize her to be an elderly woman until they saw how bent she was. “Afternoon Ma’am,” he said as he bowed. She pointed at his boat while stating, “Would you be such a kind young man and take me to the island across this body of water? I’ve been trying to find a way back home, but no one will give me a mount. They say I am too old and fragile. Sometimes they even rejected my wish while complaining that the trip would be too long.” The man smiled kindly in reply, “Of course! It’s not too dangerous to cross the sea to that island. It only takes a few days, if you don’t mind. Your safety is my priority.” He assisted her onto the boat while analyzing if everything was in check. He had a sick feeling inside that something bad would happen. However he ignored that feeling, for it would get in the way of his business and he was in need of money. 
	While on the way toward the island, he started humming a melody he cherished for years. It was a song he used to comfort his wife and put his little ones to sleep. He decided to glance at the woman to find her looking into the water, as if she was searching for someone. He became curious over what or whom she was looking for. He asked, “Ma’am, did you lose someone in the sea? You look as if you are looking for someone.” The woman ignored his question and asked instead, “What was that tune you were humming? It was quite lovely.” Shocked at his question being ignored, he replied sadly, “It’s a song I hum for my daughters, they won’t go to sleep unless I hum it for them. I used to hum it for my wife as well, to comfort her every time she seemed distraught. Well… that was until she decided to move on.” He found himself staring at the water as well. 
He missed who his wife used to be. She was the woman of his dreams, or well, the fake version of her he loved deeply. Even though she left the family, he still loved her. He wanted her to come back to the daughters she once cherished as he had. A tear slowly swam down his face. You left me to take care of such beautiful children that you abandoned for that man… I hope you come back someday darling. The man silently cried while thinking about her. It had been a few days since he saw his daughters because of this trip. He wondered how they felt about their mother and that they were sleeping well despite him not being available. 
Suddenly, the boat snapped him out of his deep thoughts. He gazed around himself to see trees full of beautiful blooming sakuras. It was a sight he wished his daughters could see, but they were afraid of the ocean. He turned to the woman while asking, “Is this where you live?” The elderly woman responded, “Yes, it is where I live. However, before I go I would like to give you something as payment besides money. I’m afraid I don’t have much.” “Oh Ma'am, your place is very lovely. And don’t worry about the payment if you don’t have much, I don’t want to rid you of everything you have.” She shook her head as she made her way to her house. “Nonsense young man. You should learn to take what you can get.” He gulped his nervousness and worries. After waiting for a few minutes, she came out with two biwas. She held it out to him as he gawked at the instruments. Astonished, the man asked, “Are you sure you want me to have this?” She nodded with a gentle smile, “You can use it for anything you need. It will bring you good fortune.” “Oh, thank you very much! I will take good care of these and use them to the best of their abilities. I wish good things upon you.” He bowed several times in front of the woman before taking the biwas and placing them into his boat. “It was a splendid pleasure serving you! I hope we can meet again someday,” said the man as he waved excitedly while drifting away. He finally had something he could bring fortune to his family with, a new hope in the time of chaos. 
Shore was within reach from his boat, he hummed his cherished tune as he stopped his boat, tied it up with rope, and made his way up the rocky path while holding the biwas in hand. He arrived home to be attacked by his youngest daughter and dropped the biwas. She always wore flowers in the strands of her hair. There wasn’t a day she didn’t bother her older sister to put them in for her. The little girl exclaimed, “Pa! I missed you so much! You took forever and today is my birthday.” He smiled in reply, “I know, my little Hana. How could I forget something so important? I missed you more than anything, let’s go inside!” He set his daughter down and picked the biwas up. He walked inside the house with her. Hana seemed depressed about something, so he asked, “Little Hana, what is wrong?” “Mihari is still sick, Pa.. I hoped she would get better by the time my birthday came, but she’s been stuck in bed for a while now.” Hana shed a small tear as her father comforted her. “Shh, it’ll be okay. Mihari will get better soon. I promise.” Her little voice asked, “Really?” He replied, “Yes, in fact I have a gift for both you and your sister.”