Cherry Blossom Snow

Zorislava

"I thought you said Rico was up to the challenge," Dalziel pointed out.

Mia nodded in agreement. "He is, to a point. But I'm still suspicious of his boyfriend, despite my best efforts at getting him to open up."

Evangeline chimed in, sharing her insights. "I think Yuki knew some things about Satori's personal history. And he was awfully talkative."

Mia, intrigued, sought clarification. "Who's Yuki?"

Evangeline explained, "The doctor. He loved pestering Nikita."

Mia tried to recall. "Doesn't sound familiar."

"He took Lida with him when he returned to Japan," Evangeline clarified. "If we could contact Yuki, you may finally be able to get the answers you seek."

"I don't know how to contact either of them," said Mia. "But we can find out. Let's go to Japan."

"If I may interrupt, I talked to Alice recently, and she said she wanted to see you," said Dalziel. "Now that the British troops have withdrawn, she figured 'twould be nice for you to visit. If you're planning on traveling the world anyway, maybe you could consider visiting her along the way."

"Wow," said Mia. "I thought she found me annoying."

Dalziel shrugged. "She does. So do I. But that doesn't mean we don't like you."

"Very well then. Evangeline, would you like to visit Nigeria?"

"Sure," said Evangeline. "What about Japan?"

Mia's plans were open-ended. "We'll get there when we get there."

Evangeline, practical as always, raised a particularly crucial question. "How do you intend to get there?"

Mia confessed her oversight. "I hadn't considered that."

"I could get you an air taxi," Dalziel offered.

"That would be great," said Mia. "Thank you."

Mia and Evangeline departed from Dublin Air and Space Port, arriving in Lagos, Nigeria, which had been hit especially hard by the war. The destruction left the city looking like a war-torn wasteland. However, despite the damage, Lagos had managed to rebuild and was still thriving. The streets were bustling with people and the air was filled with the sound of music. Mia and Evangeline were greeted at the airport by Alice and Hendrika. Zwoylemft and Pwalvaserk joined them.

"Pwalvaserk, what are you doing here?" Mia inquired, genuinely puzzled.

Pwalvaserk gave a confused look. "I'm not really sure how to answer that."

Alice stepped in to clarify. "Zwoylemft and I have been dating for quite a while now. Her daughter is very dear to me. Why wouldn't she be with us?"

Mia was a bit surprised by this revelation. "Who's Zwoylemft?"

Zwoylemft responded with a touch of exasperation, "Pwalvaserk's mother. I literally introduce myself to you every single time we meet."

"Oh. You're a couple? I thought you were just roommates."

Meanwhile, Evangeline and Pwalvaserk shared a heartfelt hug. Tears welled up in Evangeline's eyes as she said, "It's been too long."

Pwalvaserk concurred, "I know. How have you been?"

"Fairly well, all things considered. What about you?"

"Better than you might expect considering the war that's been going on. It's been nice having Iminathi around."