Why O-bousan-34 had sent a boy incapable of hearing his message as his envoy was something that Yuri had failed to understand, but now, as she ventured out into the cold of the night with the boy, along with Bunnu, Raju, and the two unfed Mumta, she wondered if the O-bousan hadn’t, in fact, forgotten to make the arrangements that they’d agreed upon earlier in the day. She quickened her pace with her arms folded in front of her chest and her head down as the wind blew dust into her face.
Walking a few paces behind Yuri, nearly side-by-side with the Mumta, Raju began to wonder if it might not have been best for Bunnu to stay home while they were away, as his fever still hadn’t subsided. The wind had gained a great deal of intensity due to the cold of the night and he was worried that Bunnu’s cold would get worse with continued exposure to these conditions. But Raju also knew it wasn’t safe to leave Bunnu alone at home like that…and he certainly couldn’t let his wife go meet the O-bousan alone, lest the two of them should collude in another attempt on his life.
Treading several paces behind Raju and the Mumta, Motiwala and Bunnu walked together. “Papa was really happy to see you last week,” Motiwala carried on, “I don’t know why he’s taken such a fancy to you in particular, when I have countless other friends of greater wealth and status than the likes of you. But I do have to say, since you gained my father’s favor, you have started to catch up on some of the stragglers and deadwood who occupy the lower echelons of my elite acquaintanceship. If I were to rank my friends according to a hierarchy, I would place you at about better than average, if not within the top third. That’s a pretty good spot to be in, considering your social standing, and I think that even by giving you that much credit, I’m really sticking my neck out for you. Who knows what’ll happen if my other friends find out that I spend my time with you? I won’t be taken seriously! I hope you appreciate what I’m doing for you! It certainly isn’t winning me any new friends. I heard that’s why Takeo stopped playing with you, after all. By the way, are those Mumta? They are, aren’t they? You weren’t going to eat them, were you? Egad…I thought civilized people stopped doing that, years ago. I guess it must be a Vasalla thing, huh? Still…pretty barbaric if you ask me…”
Bunnu, who was very much used to Motiwala’s garrulous nature, ignored his words, hoping they would be swallowed up by the Karakaze and woven into something that he cared to listen to. They’d already walked far beyond field 011235 and he could now see the faces of the people holding the torches.
There were 4 or 5 of them standing around in the middle of the path, looking down in silence. O-bousan-34 looked up and approached Yuri, saying, “Ah…did you get my…?” He paused as he noticed Raju and the Mumta a few steps behind her. “A-Are those Mumta?”
“The boy didn’t tell us anything, except to come,” Yuri said quietly. “Does this have to do with what we talked about earlier?”
“As a matter of fact, no…” O-bousan-34 replied sotto voce, still momentarily distracted by the sight of Raju. “I wanted to-“
“What’s that?” Bunnu interrupted.
He had joined the circle of people carrying torches and he was now pointing down at something in the middle. Raju and Yuri slowly walked in their direction before they were able to see, in the flickering light of the torches, a round, silver reflective ball about fifty centimeters in diameter in the middle of the road. The ball itself didn’t seem to be made of a very firm substance, as its weight caused its bottom edges to flatten against the surface upon which it sat. Its exterior was soft and gelatinous in nature.
“Whoa! Gross! What is it?” Motiwala exclaimed in half-horror, half excitement.
“What the hell is…?” Raju said slowly to himself, as the two Mumta next to him looked down with similar expressions of awe.
“Oh, my dear Lord! How adorable!” Yuri sang in a piercingly jubilant tone. “But how did he get here? The poor dear must be so cold.”
Everyone looked at Yuri curiously. “What do you mean ‘he’?” Raju said. “You mean you know what that thing is?”
“You’re a lovable little guy, aren’t you?” Yuri said, attempting to tickle the gelatinous mass, only to find that her hands were penetrating the inside of the jelly. O-bousan-34 stood aside with a look of curious amusement on his face. “O-bousan! Was this little boy abandoned by someone?”
“Little…boy?” Raju repeated.
“I’m afraid I’m as mystified as the rest of you,” O-bousan-34 said with a shrug. “O-bousan-21 and I found it…uh…him…found this thing here on the road first…and then other people…just…started showing up.”
“Hear that, Raju?” Yuri looked up with her eyes glowing in the light of the torch’s flame. “He doesn’t belong to anyone. Raju…he’s got to be some kind of gift from heaven. Don’t you think? Oh my God!” Her voice was overcome with profound joy, “I just can’t express how…how-“ she broke off, unsure of how to continue, before settling on simply saying, “Oh…thank you, God! Thank you! Something has been missing from my life. Something has been missing from all of our lives, causing us to be unhappy. Now, it seems we’ve found a purpose!”
The O-bousan shrugged his shoulders again. “Our salvation often comes from mysterious places. As does our sense of purpose. Sometimes they are two ends of the very same vine—one of those long vines that twist and fold around themselves and other objects until their ends become obscured. And yet, when we find those ends and where they lead, they become the defining roles in all of our most crucial human relationships,” he said with a self-satisfied smile on his face.
“Um…Wha- …oh…uh…W-Well said, O-bousan! So very well said!” Yuri exclaimed. “Raju, don’t you think the O-bousan has a way with words?”
“Well, I…” Raju started, unsure of what to make of the situation.
“That’s why I followed through on my first inclination to send for you.” O-bousan-34 continued. “This little ball…er…boy...uh…O. Let’s call him O., shall we? Whatever O. is, it could very well be the next step on your path to finding yourself!”
“Hold on!” Raju said impatiently to the O-bousan, “What are we talking about here? Are you saying we should take this thing home?”
The O-bousan smiled peacefully, “Not only that. You should clothe it, feed it, and teach it right from wrong.”
“Hear that, Bun-bun?” Yuri crooned sweetly. “You have a new little brother!” Her demeanor had lost the intensity and frustration that it previously seemed to possess. There was a certain serenity that had now overtaken her. Everyone standing around her couldn’t help but notice the difference. Raju saw it too. He could no longer see bitterness and anger in her eyes. In their place, he saw love. It reminded him of how she’d been the day Bunnu was born. He found himself wondering if the absence of this something, this O., whatever it may have been, could have been the very source of her frustration.
She was now sitting on the road, legs folded in front of her, embracing the gelatinous ball, as her hands momentarily disappeared beneath its reflective surface.
She whispered again with her eyes closed, “You have a new little brother!”
Back at the Inn