Sureiyazu

Episode 43: The Exchange of Secrets

He does know someone who knows magic, though - Aya. Maybe this book was hers and someone found it and brought it here for safekeeping until she looks for it. He should bring it back.

When he arrives, everyone at Aya's house, too, is gone. He isn't surprised. It's a festival day in the village. Taichi might have gone, but these are the only days when he can stay home alone and think. He doesn't have that chance often.

He decides to leave the book on Aya's bed, and hope that she sees it. He wants to write a note, but he doesn't have any paper, so he resolves to tell her later about it. 

---

Wizards in town? 

Taichi knows that is strange. He sees them walking by in the market, and they're hard to miss, with brightly colored robes free of holes, jewelry hanging from their necks or ears or wrists. 

They take their wealth for granted, Taichi silently thinks as he walks by. They flaunt it too much. Here, he is happy with having a new shirt, and he's lucky if it doesn't come with a few imperfections when he receives it in the first place.

He wonders if that is why Aya is so fixated on Summoning - so she can leave this poor village and move to somewhere grand, with carpet flooring and metal-plated faucets - faucets! Such a thing doesn't exist here.

And their clothes! The colors are so bold and odd: blue, purple, green, red . . .

What life do they live, Taichi wonders. It sure isn't so mundane as this life of his.

---

So thirsty. 

Taichi has never been so thirsty in his life. He has left his friends out in the streets for the cool inside of the house - though not much cooler. He imagines them going house to house, begging for water. But no one has any. That's the problem.

Then he imagines Aya, training to be a Summoner, twice - or maybe three times - as thirsty as he, and he instantly hates himself for complaining so much about the drought.

His thoughts wander to the book he returned to her. He wonders if she found it . . . He keeps forgetting to tell her he returned it. But then, that was too long ago for it to be relevant, now.

Taichi stands and goes to the window. There is hardly anyone outside, for good reasons. With no water, there's no work that can be done. 

Distantly, he hears a rumbling. Could it be thunder? No, there are no clouds overhead. Disappointing. But there it is again . . .

And a shout.

Taichi hesitantly goes out into the street, and looks towards the hills, where he heard the noise. 

And then regrets it. 

Down the hills the water demon comes, flooding everything in its path. Could they have wished for water too hard? Could the demon all the way in Jufuku have heard them and come just to spite them?

Fields flood over rapidly. Taichi runs as fast as he can in the opposite direction.

He can feel the water rising on his heels, but he presses forward - and then remembers.

His parents went to the market. That's where they are now. 

He turns to the left, though his survival instincts scream at him not to, and finds them running toward him, the water demon so close behind -