Waves lapped against the shore. Seagulls soared overhead. And there, on that small island, Kajai read from the journal of Tsukihime Himiko.
Month of al-Harth, the first day. On this day we performed Himiko Diana's blessing. Immediate family and local elders were in attendance. Lord Arlton of Inber honors us with his presence. Himiko Hecate offered this tome. Blessings are given to Hecate...
The month of Mawu the 25th day. No moon. Himiko is still levitating in her sleep. This is peculiar. Our older child, Griselda, did not exhibit this behavior. She is not an air sign. Perhaps this is the manifestation of a deus? Elder Beatriz offered this incantation:
Heavy as lead,
Tied as if thread
Tired child, lay back on your bed
"Blessings? Incantations?" Kajai questioned aloud. "Himiko must be..."
For each day of her life, the book held a corresponding passage. The pages were thin, on parchment similar to rice paper. With each page, Kajai was eager to turn another. While the book held none of his secrets, he was eager to learn those of another.
With each new passage, the book switched back and forth between her parents. That was, until her sixth birthday.
Month of Octubre, day 33rd! My birthday! It's a full moon. I can write in my book now. Mum taught me the altar setting. I got to fly on Petalbroom all by myself. Petalbroom is Mum's familiar, but he'll be mine when I'm a little older. I like him because his bulb leaves petals everywhere. Grizzy gave me a piece of moon rock. Mum says it's not real, but it's pretty and I like it. When I become a full-fledged witch, I want to meet Hecate on the moon!
"A witch..." Kajai spoke the word with heavy breath. The notion seemed so wildly fantastical. But here he was, on a barren isle, with a book that had not been there before.
Another hour passed before the sun began to wane.
The sound of a loud horn startled him. Fearing that he had been caught by the coast guard, Kajai grabbed for his belongings. .He began to quickly pack his things, the book included.
"Hey! Boy!"
Kajai looked up. Instead of the coast guard, a speedboat was barreling towards the island. As it grew closer, Kajai could recognize the vessel's three-man party as fishermen from the island. The man who ferried him over was among them.
"Ossan!" Kajai waved at them with one hand, he squashed his backpack against himself with the other.
In no time he was aboard the boat and headed back to Yumekoji.
"What were ya doin' out here kid?" One of the fishermen queried. "This is no man's land."
"This fool was sleeping in his boat." The second man clapped a hand on his original ferryman's back and laughed. "If we hadn't woken him up, you'd be out here all night!"
"I guess that would've been pretty bad, ha ha..." Kajai laughed nervously. He kept one hand in his bag, still grasping the book tightly. The whole experience felt like a dream, and if it were, he had no desire to wake up.
He let the men reprimand him for the rest of the ride, offering no knowledge of his true intentions. Once they returned to shore, he collected his collapsible bike from outside the station and pedaled home as fast as he could.
The sunset was steadily bleeding into twilight. Warm shades of gold and purple spread across the sky, ringing the clouds with color.
Kajai entered his house, folded his bike, took off his shoes and took his backpack upstairs. He went to his room, sat at his desk, and checked his bag. The book was still there.
He continued to read.
Month of Celt. Day 15. Grizzy is so mean! I was practicing swordplay in my room, and she came and enchanted my hair! It was full of knots and clumps. It was terrible. And then. That. BOY came. I can't forgive him. I refuse!
Kazuto Arlton, you stupid jerk!
Month of Aprilis. Day 8.
Mandrake! Screaming mandrake! Terrible wrinkly baby monsters! They were running around the school and we had to go catch them all. I'll be hearing that squeaky noise they made for weeks. And of course, it turned out that it was Griselda who put vigor in their pots to make them run about. Mrs. Tumble didn't believe that I had nothing to do with it, and then we both had to practice our levitating after school for hours. My legs hurt, and I'm glad to be on solid ground.
There was something charming about Himiko's journal entries. It was like reading a children's book. Every day there was a new spell or incident.
Kajai rubbed his eyes. He was starting to feel sleepy. With one hand on the book, he kept his eyes on the pages until he nodded off.
The stereo 's alarm system went off, jarring Kajai from his sleep. He looked around confused. "It's only been a few minutes! There's no way..." He headed downstairs to turn off the stereo. The display confirmed his fears.
'Was I up all night?'
He rubbed his face. 'Wait, why was I up so late?' His eyes widened. 'The book!' Kajai ran back upstairs, slipping on his way back up. He scrambled back to his bedroom and went to his desk.
The journal was there.
"Not a dream." Kajai pinched his face and winced. "Still there..." He closed his eyes and opened them again. The book did not move. He backed away slowly, watching the book before leaving the room.
Kajai hurried through his morning routine, wolfed down his breakfast and rode his bike to school. He let the hill incline do most of the work before turning off down the road. The old school bell was still chiming as he approached. He brought his bike to a quick halt at the rack, folded it down and headed in.
If the lessons that day were engrossing, Kajai wouldn't know. Staying up most of the night had left him unable to focus. Every lecture went in one ear and out the other. As his eyelids drooped, a thought occurred to him. Why not take another peek at the book?
'Just for some brain stimulation of course. Just a day or two.'
He reached for his backpack as he looked across the classroom. Sure enough, there was one student with manga hidden behind his textbook. Another student had propped up her notebook and was quietly snacking.
Propping up his book, he pulled out the journal.
Month of Yue. Day five.
Mum had a talk with Mrs. Tumble about my alchemy marks. Mrs. Tumble says I don't measure anything properly, so anything I make is wrong. It's so silly. I've been making these tinctures with Mother and Griselda my whole life--That's what happens when your family runs a brewery. I can make anything in that textbook if Mrs. Tumble asks, and all my brews are highly potent but she calls me a rule breaker. She says if I can't follow instructions, I won't get my classification. I know I need a class certification to run Blitzkrieg, but I doubt Father will ever let me set foot in there. I guess I can get marks for broom flying. Maybe I'll run a delivery service or something.
Month of Elul....
Month of Octubre...
Month of al-Harth...
"Ahem."
Oblivious to voice trying to reach him, Kajai continued to read.
"Ojunko."
Kajai looked up just as his teacher hit him with a rolled-up book.
"Ow!" Kajai rubbed his head.
"Looks like you're awake now." The older man said, standing over him.
Kajai narrowed his eyes at the man but said nothing.
As his teacher returned to the head of the classroom, Kajai slipped the journal back into his bag.
Having learned his lesson, he added the journal readings to his daily routine, slipping them in right before bed. He did this for three days straight.
On the fourth day, he came home and went to his room as usual. As of that point he had reached Himiko's twelfth year.
Month of Octubre, 20th day.
Mother gives me orders to do on my own now. I thought things would be more interesting now that I received my certification, but all I get to do is make potions and help the elders. Grizzy runs off to do as she likes, because Mother has learned not to trust her with the brewery work.
I suppose choir practice is nice. I enjoy singing, but I don't like the looks I get when I perform. Griselda says my deus must be siren song. I'm starting to believe her. Maybe if I try it on Kazuto, I can convince him to leave me alone!
He writes to me from his college frequently. You would think a prestigious school for pompous airheads would leave little time for activities like that. He also sends me spell work to study like I'm his ward. 'A wife of a Duke would know such things'. I'm not going to marry you, idiot!
"Kazuto again..." Kajai huffed. While the name rarely appeared in the journal, Kajai had gained a clear dislike of the boy through Himiko's words. Unlike Griselda, who teased her frequently, Kazuto thrust expectation after expectation on her.
As he reached for the next page he stopped.
The book was so small, and yet somehow, he was sure he'd read at least four hundred pages at this point. The passages had varied in length, making it easy to get through. However, when closed, the journal did not seem to be over a hundred pages. Was the paper really so thin?
He stared at it. How far into Himiko's life did the book go?
'Just a peek into the future...' He decided. What would it hurt?
Month of Juno, the first day
He's back and more insistent than ever before. This may be the end. Or not. But, perhaps, tomorrow I'll find myself engaged to
The rest of the page was blank.
Kajai's heart sank. That couldn't be right. Not after all the spells, the mishaps, the potions, and tinctures. What had happened next?
It wasn't right. After all that, there needed to be some sort of event, some big change. He glanced over at his pencil case.
The story didn't have to end here.
But, perhaps, tomorrow I'll find myself engaged to Ojunko Kajai
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