One-Handed Eden (Sagrada Reset 5) - Chapter 2: Fake Blue (September 24th, Sunday, 13:00)
[INDEX]
"No. I tried, but I couldn't meet him.", said Nonoo Seika.
It was Sunday, September 24th. Like in the previous day, Asai Kei met up with Haruki Misora and Nonoo Seika at the park near the hospital.
"The old timer from the Stray Cat Manor lived in my neighborhood. His place was one of those 100-year-old Western-style houses, that had become a den for street cats. But when I got there, his house was missing."
"What do you mean by missing?"
"The literal meaning. It had been turned into a parking lot. Because in the real world, his house had been demolished about 5 years ago. Not much surprise on that front."
"Do you have any clue where this old man could be?"
"None. I spent my day yesterday wandering around in the dream. But he wasn't that easy to find. I had just blindly assumed he'd be at his house.", Nonoo Seika told. "I simply couldn't imagine him being anywhere other than the mansion."
"Got it."
Kei nodded. He imagined it was a similar case to Nonoo always being found in the mountain shrine. It felt wrong when she was anywhere else. But, as reality was proving in real time, she was capable of standing at the park.
Haruki Misora was confused.
"Nonoo, do you not have the perfect ability for searching for someone?"
She had the ability to share her consciousness with any cat in Sakurada. She practically had countless eyes all over the city.
But Nonoo disagreed.
"It's pretty difficult to use my ability in the dream world. They don't mesh well."
(I can see why.)
To use her ability, Nonoo needs to reach a state so absentminded that she forgets her own existence. The easiest way to accomplish that is falling asleep. But the dream world has different rules. Sleeping in that world causes her to awaken in the real world, banishing her from the realm of dreams.
Haruki had another suggestion. She was more proactive than usual, presumably because she was talking to Nonoo.
"Then how about you wait at the dream hospital?"
The idea seemed reasonable at first glance.
People don't sleep forever. When they wake up, they're sent back to their original world. Then, when they enter the dream world again, they must pass through the entrance of the hospital. This should also apply to the old man.
But Nonoo shook her head.
"I feel that would just raise the likelihood of us missing each other. I'm just as susceptible to getting kicked from the dream as I wake up."
(There's a decent chance of that.), Kei thought. (People spend more time awake than asleep. The time she'd have to stand guard at the dream hospital is pretty limited.)
She'd be sure to get there eventually if she could lie in wait for multiple consecutive days, but that was the last day the Bureau gave them permission to enter the dream world. She should prefer a more reliable method.
"So, Asai, can I get a stupid conversation in the dream? I need that idle and pointless chatter to let me forget myself.", Nonoo continued after a large yawn.
Nonoo's ability could also be used while she was awake. All she needed to do was forget herself. Doing so, she could search the person she was looking for through the eyes of every cat in Sakurada.
But Kei promptly refused.
"I like the sound of that, but I know another ability that can search the man more efficiently."
Murase Youka. She could find him more reliably than the cat eyes.
(I've been so dependent of her lately… Well, her ability is just that useful for pretty much anything. Besides, she never says no when asked for help, unless she's seriously busy.)
Nonoo peered into Kei's face.
"Would this person come all the way to the dream world if you asked?"
"I think she would, but that's not necessary."
The trio would likely be sent to the same sickroom as yesterday. Asking Haruki, Nonoo, and Murase to sleep on a single bed would be pushing it.
"If reality is being replicated exactly as is, we should be able to find her in the dream world. Let's enter the dream world first, and then request her help."
"Okay, thank you.", Nonoo agreed.
"Well, I'll just call her phone. If she's busy, we come up with something else."
(The most reliable option would be asking Tyltyl for help, but finding God should prove harder than find the old timer from the Stray Cat Manor. Factoring in how easy to contact she is, Murase is indeed the best option.)
They decided to enter the dream world before thinking about their next step.
—————————————————————————–
As usual, he couldn't fall asleep all too easily.
Kei meticulously, attentively avoided thinking about anything. It was like balancing himself atop an oiled up ball. With every slip, he was immediately drowning in a swamp of thoughts and worries.
Tyltyl, Mytyl, The Blue Bird, the One-Handed Eden, Monster, sour grapes and sweet lemons, Souma Sumire, Haruki Misora—-
It was only after dispelling everything concerning those subjects that Kei entered the world of dreams.
His eyes opened to find the same unchanged sickroom ceiling. Kei raised himself and opened the curtain surrounding the bed.
He was expecting Mytyl to visit his sickroom again, but it didn't happen. The only ones there were Haruki on the other bed and Nonoo on the folding chair. The two were much better nappers than Kei was.
Kei put on his socks and sneakers, and got on his feet.
"Sorry for taking so long."
"No problem. Let's get to business."
"Yes. I'll give Murase a call."
He took his phone out of his pocket, but something happened when he was about to dial Murase Youka's number.
His phone started vibrating despite being set to silent mode. The screen read "Tyltyl". A row of asterisks occupied the place where his numbers were supposed to be.
(Is he watching us?)
Despite his suspicions, he didn't see any point in checking his surroundings. Tyltyl was God in this world now. Anything was possible, coming from him.
Kei pressed the green button and put the phone to his ear.
He heard Tyltyl's voice.
"Hey, there. Rise and shine."
"I've just went to sleep."
Tyltyl laughed from the phone.
"This side is practically reality from my perspective. Hence, the wake-up greeting."
(Good point.)
"Then I'm up and about, Tyltyl. I'd like to see you, if that's possible. Would you mind talking face to face?"
"We will, in time. But not yet."
"Why?"
"I have no reason to see you. Besides, you're busy with something else. You need to help the girl find the old timer from the Stray Cat Manor."
(He knows what we're up to?)
"Yes, we've been having difficulties."
"I'm sure you are. After all, no one can see the old timer without my permission.", Tyltyl heartily laughed.
(Why? Is this an order from the Bureau? I can bet it is.)
The Bureau didn't let people get too close to the dream world. The only exception Kei was aware of was the old timer from the Stray Cat Manor. The Bureau considered him special.
And, naturally, Tyltyl was in no position to disobey the Bureau. He was God in the dream world, but the world's creator was Katagiri Honoka, never to wake up from a hospital in the real world.
(If the Bureau happened to move Katagiri Honoka outside Sakurada, this world should return to nothing. With the Bureau mobilized in the real world, Tyltyl will have no means to resist them. If the Bureau forbids meeting the old timer, we're in a rough spot.)
Deceiving Tyltyl in this world would prove challenging. The old timer could be found in the real hospital, at the very least somewhere near Katagiri Honoka, but approaching him through that route was likely to be stepping on the Bureau's toes. With that in mind, requesting Murase's cooperation was no longer an option, and getting too close to him started looking like a bad idea even for Nonoo.
"Could you authorize us to meet the old timer from the Stray Cat Manor?", Kei resumed the conversation.
(I obviously don't think he will, but it never hurts to try.)
And yet, Tyltyl's answer was effortless.
"Sure. Fine by me."
"Seriously?"
"Well, yes. That's what I called you for. I'm a pretty nice dude, don't you think?", he snickered before continuing. "Pay his old home a visit at 3 PM. I trust you know where it is. The tall Western-style house with the tall fences, where the street cats settled down."
"I hear that place is a parking lot now."
"Never was. The house had been there the whole time. It just tends to look like a regular parking lot to the unattentive eyes. You can go inside and still not tell the difference. But actually, the house is still there. And today, from 3PM to sunset, it will regain its original form."
(What is he getting yet?)
"Dreams don't need to play by any rules.", affirmed Tyltyl.
Kei decided to take his every word at face value for the time being. God can do anything. Doubting that wouldn't get him anywhere.
"May I ask one question?"
"What is it?"
"What's the old timer's ability?"
The only plausible reason for the Bureau to give him special treatment would be an ability.
"Ok…", Tyltyl answered without hesitation. "His ability is to transcribe The Script. He never stops writing his manuscripts. All alone, in that house no one visits, or even knows exist."
(Transcribe… the Script?)
Asai Kei remembered things.
─ "What comes to mind when you hear the word transcription?", Sakuin said.
─ "Pay attention to the No. 407 of The Script.", was Souma Sumire's message.
The two dots suddenly connected. Kei didn't understand the link, but it clearly existed.
"Bye, then, Asai Kei. Let's chat again if we get the chance.", Tyltyl greeted from the phon.
"Wait. Please tell me, what does 'transcribing the script' mean?"
But Tyltyl didn't answer. All Kei could hear was mechanical beeping. The call was already over.
(You've gotta be kidding me.), he mentally groaned. (Since the old man gets special treatment from the Bureau… Since they instructed him to not let anyone get near him, then meeting him is, by itself, a potential issue. Now I'm starting to think I need to keep Nonoo away.)
Despite his conscious thoughts, the unknown phrase "transcribes The Script" was in control of Kei's actions.
"What's the matter?", Nonoo asked.
Kei returned his phone to his pocket and asked her a question.
"Nonoo, do you know the old timer's ability?"
"No, never heard of it."
"From what I hear, his ability is to transcribe The Script."
"What does that mean?"
"I don't know either. Does it ring any bells at all?"
Nonoo squinted, then answered.
"It does. He was always writing. No idea what, though."
"Yeah, that checks out.", Kei nodded before continuing. "I imagine the Bureau won't like the idea of us getting anywhere near the old timer. Do you still want to see him?"
Nonoo nodded with no signs of hesitation or discouragement.
"Yeah, I do."
Kei didn't know what her relationship to this old man was like. He has only known her for two months himself. But despite his lack of genuine familiarity to her, her strong desire to meet someone felt natural to her personality. He could tell how rare and special this feeling was.
"Asai, will you try to stop me?", she raised her eyebrow, mildly concerned.
Kei shook his head.
"No, I'll go along."
It wasn't just for Nonoo's sake.
With Souma Sumire's designs involved, he needed to know what it meant to transcribe The Script and what was written in No. 407.
—————————————————————————–
(As far as I know, my ability originated from a fixation to life.), thought Souma Sumire. That was the thought that crossed her mind while she lunched chicken sauté in a small restaurant filled with accessories from various countries.
Souma Sumire almost died upon birth.
Since she was in the womb, the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck, and she couldn't get any oxygen beyond the necessary. By the time she left her mother's body, she was already on her last legs.
She didn't believe she already had what could be called a real intellect at that point, but, presumably through her instincts, she knew she was going to die. She knew, and it frightened her. She wished for a proper chance to live her life.
And then she gained the ability of precognition.
Basically, she tried to use the little time she had before her life slipped away from her baby hands to peer into the distant future and experience decades worth of simulation. Her life was going to end shortly after birth, and she wanted it to have the same worth as a life fully lived to a typical length.
(No, there's no way my mind was complicating this so much. I just wanted to live. I just wanted to see the future.)
That's how Souma Sumire gained the ability to see the future from birth. She saw the future through her mother desperately screaming her name. She didn't remember it anymore, but she was sure that's how it went.
The future she saw as result of it could be described as anticlimax, as Souma Sumire ultimately didn't die.
(And the fact that I… I mean, the real Souma Sumire… wanted to live so bad, then threw away her own life in a summer two years ago feels a sick joke.)
She brought a small bite of chicken sauté to her mouth. She didn't pay attention to the flavor. She felt a hint of guilt. Did someone who chose to die have the right to eat living beings? She swallowed that foolish sentimentality along with the meat. Working under the excuse that the world was a dream.
That was when the restaurant's door opened.
The bell on the room rang, sounding like echoes in a deep cave. It was an old, rusty bell, resembling the type cows wore on their necks.
From the door, entered light and a girl with a blue bird atop her head. The brightness was uncomfortable to Souma's eyes.
"Sumire."
The girl dashed straight to Souma and jumped to her chest. The blue bird flew into the air in a hurry.
Under the creaking sound of her chair, Souma pondered on whether or not to deliver a lecture on the dangers of jumping on a person holding a fork and a knife. She turned her gaze to the blue bird and decided she shouldn't bother, as the girl already had someone else to be her tutor. The blue bird landed on a corner of the table.
She put her knife and fork on the table and used her free hands to pet the girl's head.
"It's been a while, Mytyl. How have you been?"
"Great. And you, Sumire?"
"Fairly alright. Feeling like a morning glory?"
"Morning glory?"
"That flower that's always withering then blooming again."
(I guess it'd be more accurate to say I planted my seed to grow another one of the same flower.)
Mytyl didn't get it, but decided she didn't care, and randomly pointed to the air.
"Why are you here when you could have come to see me?"
Souma traced the path of Mytyl's fingers, despite knowing it meant nothing. A speaker was installed on a corner of the ceiling. She hadn't paid attention to it until now, but it produced a strange, lax rhythm. Souma guessed it was a Bohemian folk song.
(Why, though? I'm not exactly familiar with Bohemia. Naturally, I don't know their folk music. Am I actually thinking of bohemianism?? If I recall correctly, bohemianism is something like being a wanderer. This jumbled mess of a store certainly has wanderer vibes.)
"Hey, are you hearing me? Why didn't you come see me?"
Hearing Mytyl's annoyed voice, Souma nodded.
"I was going to, after eating this chicken."
"Is the chicken more important than me?"
"No. I realized just now that the chicken didn't matter much."
(I've got no appetite. At all.)
"Will you also eat?"
Souma offered her a menu.
"Ice cream, then.", Mytyl answered, taking the opposite seat.
Souma opened the menu and checked the dessert list.
"They've only got vanilla ice cream and chestnut gelato."
"Hmm, I'll take the vanilla, I guess."
"But the chestnut gelato is September's monthly special."
"What item is limited doesn't matter."
Souma swiftly raised her hand to call the waiter. She added a vanilla ice cream to her order and asked to take away the uneaten half of her chicken.
"Throwing away food is bad.", Mytyl reacted to what she saw.
"Even in the dream world?"
"Huh? Does this work different between dream and reality?"
After some thought, Souma asked a new question.
"Mytyl, why do you think wasting food is bad?"
"Because Tyltyl said so."
"Ok, I get it now."
(This wasn't about the lives of the ingredients at all. Kei wouldn't be saying that throwing away food is bad in this situation. Forcing yourself to swallow food is not that different from dumping it in the trash. I don't believe that eating every part would make the chicken more content with its murder. If there's one thing you should be criticizing me for, it's ordering food without being hungry. If I had never ordered anything, we might have had one less chicken killed by humanity.)
Mytyl leaned toward her.
"I met Tyltyl, and when I did, he told me Sumire was here."
"Oh, I see. Still in good terms with Tyltyl?"
"Obviously. We're Mytyl and Tyltyl."
Tyltyl and Mytyl—the protagonists of The Blue Book. The brother Tyltyl always protected his little sister Mytyl. With love absolute and unconditional.
"Say, Mytyl, are you satisfied with your world?"
The waiter brought a vanilla ice cream and a hot coffee. The coffee comes with the chicken sauté Souma previously ordered.
Mytyl scooped some ice cream using one of the accompanying wafers.
"Satisfied? Why wouldn't I be? No world is happier than this one."
"Happy, is it?"
"Yeah, duh. I can walk, run, and eat ice cream. Tyltyl will protect me from anything. What else could I want?"
(Sweet lemons.), Souma blurted in her mind.
Yesterday, Kei told Mytyl what that was.
People convince themselves that what they got is a sweet fruit. This faith protects their hearts.
(But not everything can go your way. It's natural to envy what others have and you don't. Look no further than myself, here to eat chicken sauté despite not having an appetite. But I didn't get any satisfaction out of doing something I already knew would be a complete waste of time. Who could have guessed? Sigh, deceiving your own heart is so difficult. There's no one in the world harder to fool than yourself. My lies can't swindle me…)
Souma looked out the window. There were crumbled streets outside. Last night, Monster destroyed a portion of the town, and it haven't been cured yet.
Mytyl, with a spoon in hand, gazed into her face.
"What's wrong? You're weird today, Sumire."
"I was just taking in the facts. This place is as happy as you say."
With this answered, Souma poured milk into her coffee. Black and white stir and come together at the center of it.
(But this happiness can't save you.)
"Hey, Mytyl, do you ever meet the old timer from the Stray Cat Manor?", Souma changed the subject.
"Who?"
"You know, that old man who is always alone, transcribing The Script."
The only real person living in this dream world, aside from Mytyl.
"Oh, I've heard about him. But I don't care."
"Why?"
"That's my question. What would I meet some old man for?"
(To have a nice talk, for one.)
But before Souma could answer, Mytyl let out a little shout of surprise.
Souma found a spoonful of ice cream on the girl's chest. Seems like she dropped it.
"I'll get that washed.", she groaned.
"Sure, go ahead."
Mytyl got off her chair and trotted to the restaurant's bathroom.
Souma turned her eyes to the little blue bird perched on the table. But she didn't say anything. The blue bird talked first.
"I don't want you talking to Mytyl about the elder."
Tyltyl's voice. He made the ice cream fall to remove Mytyl from scene so he could have a private conversation.
Souma Sumire didn't accept the request.
"Why? The old man is the only one who can save her."
It could be anyone, in fact, but he was the only one in this world.
The bird shook its head, in an eerily humanlike gesture.
"Mytyl is afraid of the elder. I must protect her."
Souma had strong opinions on this matter, but didn't protest.
"Ok, you do you."
But of them were true cowards.
Their cowardice prevented them from leaving Eden.
