Jiyuu na Karada - Prologue

Japan, January 1947.

The sudden sway caused the young man to tilt to the side, causing his left shoulder to hit the cold wall of the crowded bus. The sudden movement also surprised the middle-aged man who sat beside him, bringing the large body against his arm. He took a deep breath, containing the horror of the irrelevant touch, but was soon relieved when he realized that his fellow-traveler was returning to his original position.

" The roads are shit ... " the man grunted.

" They say that General MacArthur will start renovating the roads soon ... " the young man commented without thinking.

The other shook his head, saying nothing more. Then he turned his face forward and rubbed his nose as if the sour smell of the bus bothered him too much. The same was not true for Shiromiya Kazue. He was used to the stench that gave off the country since 1945, a mixture of gunpowder smell of corpses and dirt in the air, as well as an endless misery that accustomed. What did that matter? He was going to find his happiness.

He smiled, clutching the cloth bag in his hands. The money from his savings and the jewelry sold, safe inside it, made him feel calm. Farsighted, he had spent very little since leaving the house of the trader Ryo Satoshi and worked during that one and a half years to support himself. Shiro didn't have much, but I had managed to save a good base to start over.

" Where are your lands?" The man asked.

" According to the information in the letter I received, they are in a village near Kyoto."

"You were lucky." The seatmate smiled. " Kyoto practically escaped the war unscathed."

Shiro nodded.

" Kibou[1] is the name of the city."

" Hope? " The man looked surprised. "It looks like a prelude to a good future," he laughed.

" I thought so, too, when my friend read the name for me."

The man ignored the fact that the young man could not read. Most of the people on that bus didn't know.

"Not by name, but by location. I know Kibou, it is a small village, where about fifteen families live. It is in a mountainous region, but the soil is fertile. You were lucky, young man, you will be very happy there " he patted his hand. "Have a family?"

"A daughter," Shiro said proudly. " She stayed at my friend's house so that I could take possession of the hectare we won."

" Ah, she will be very happy in Kibou! It is a region for children to grow up healthy. She can run through the woods, bathe in the river, eat the fruits of the trees ... You were very lucky " he repeated.

Shiromiya felt hir eyes moist with happiness.

" A happy childhood is what I could most wish for her."

***

The dirt road was long and narrow, but not terrifying. A small house near his property made everything extremely welcoming. The chimney gave off smoke and he groaned, smelling baked bread. He hadn't eaten since the previous day and was hungry. However, it was not from hunger that he approached the house and clapped his hands.

" Yes? " a old lady, with a gentle face, appeared.

Shiromiya held up the letter, showing the letterhead with the seal of the government that had occupied power since the end of the war.

"Ah," the woman nodded, walking out the door. " I didn't know they would give my son's hectare anytime soon ..."

Shiro was ashamed.

" I..."

"No need to explain," she cut him off. " You signed up to win land and won it. You did nothing wrong."

" I did not think they had taken it from your son" despite the selflessness shown by the woman, she tried to rectify the situation.

" My son died " she eased the stagnant guilt on the face of the newcomer. " Just like my daughter-in-law, my grandson ... The war took my whole family. So, don't worry about it."

" However ..."

" The house" she did not allow him to interrupt " is not a big deal, but it will be enough to occupy it. You just need to clear the land and put things away. You can keep the furniture and clothes if you want. Nobody has opened that door since the death of my family, so everything is dirty ..."

The woman's eyes clouded, and she turned her back on him.

"I'll get the keys so I can open the locks," she said, after a moment of commotion.

Shiro saw her walking away, her slumped shoulders. He knew he should be silent, respecting his pain, but he couldn't bear to see so much suffering in the female eyes.

" I have a child, a small daughter. She is completing five years ... " his voice lowered. "We are alone, she and me," he explained. " So, if you allow, we can keep your company sometimes ...

The old woman turned to him.

"I'm Ume Higurashi," she introduced himself.

" Kazue Shiromiya " bowed. " But everyone just calls me Shiro.

"Welcome, Shiro, " she smiled for the first time. " I hope you take good care of the lands that once belonged to my son."

"I'm good with the land, lady," he said. " I promise to treat it with respect and get good results from it."

The woman nodded.

"So now I'm going to get the keys," she said, for the second time. " The keys to your house."

The final phrase echoed in Shiro's heart, who felt his eyes flood with happiness. When the old woman disappeared, he murmured, in an intimate prayer:

" See, Nana? " he looked at the sky. " I have a house now. My house. Mine " he repeated. " And I will take care of her the way you taught me to do. I promise.

***

" Where did Snow White know the Prince Charming?" the little girl asked, making Saito raise his eyebrows.

" They didn't know each other ... that I know."

" So, the prince found a dead woman he never saw in his life and kissed her? " The daring and black look seemed ironic.

" According to the German soldier, from whom I heard the story, that's exactly what happened. That's what true love is about[2]" persevered.

" True love if they didn't even know each other?" insisted.

Saito bit his lip irritably. Sitting under a huge cherry tree, he used the sunny afternoon off to tell stories to Shiromiya's daughter. However, it was not admiration he saw in the small eyes, but irony.

" You are five, Miya! " scolded. " At that age, you listen to the stories and don't ask questions, understand? You should be dazzled like all the other children!"

The girl shrugged, seeming to give up the fight just so as not to tire her beauty. Saito took a deep breath, pulling her onto his lap and filling her cheek with kisses.

"Stop, Uncle Jiro, " she complained, trying to escape the tickling hands.

" Will you miss me?" He asked, stopping the tickling but keeping her in his arms.

The child did not respond. She just leaned her head on his shoulder and kept quiet.

" What's?"

Saito wanted to question her, but suddenly the little girl jumped. Following the childlike look, he noticed Shiromiya walking towards them, still far away.

Within seconds, Miya fired in that direction. The small, plump legs ran like a jaguar towards the prey. And when, at last, she reached her father, she threw himself into his arms, squeezing him tightly.

"It was only three days, Miya" Shiro laughed, kissing the pink cheek. " Did you miss me so much?"

He noticed his daughter's moist eyes. Weird.

" What's it?"

"Mrs. Saito said you wouldn't be coming back," she said suddenly." She said that I would be fine, that she would take care of me, and that you would take care of your own life."

"But you are my life, Miya," he said angrily. " I'll never leave you alone again, I promise. But, promise me, in return, that you will never believe when anyone says that we will part."

The child nodded, hugging him again. And it remained that way, loaded until they reached Saito Jiro, who was waiting for them near the cherry tree.

"I'm leaving, Jiro," Shiro said. "Come with me," he asked.

The friend denied, his expression wan.

" I got a job in Okinawa. I will help new soldiers who come to the American base to communicate with people."

" But it's far..."

" I would not go if you were in a bad situation, homeless or job. But you got a house, you have some money saved and can start planting. Schools will open in all regions, including Kibou, and Miya will learn to read and write. You will have a peaceful life."

The ex-soldier put a hand on his friend's shoulder.

" I will always be in contact and will see you, my dear," he said with a smile. "But I also need to start over, have something to occupy myself with."

Jiro was, since the end of the war, helping on his parents' farm. Shiromiya also took care of the same work. However, it was perceived from a distance that the Saito was cold, and there was not much love there. They barely looked at their son, so there was not much left to do in that place. He needed his own space, a place where he was not seen as a cause for shame.

In the same way, they treated Shiromiya. Luckily, Miya was naturally charming and Jiro's mother, in a short time, had already become attached to the girl.

" They say that the Americans will install small bases all over Japan, and also in Kyoto. As soon as I can, I will request a transfer and go closer to you " Jiro promised. " Do not worry, we will not distance ourselves."

Shiromiya agreed, looking back at the house.

" Your mother..."

" Miya is your daughter and she will not try to stop you from taking her. Only, she thinks that men like us are not fit to have a family. She sees us as irresponsible, dirty ... She thinks we're different from other men, just because we don't want women.

" Your family welcomed me at the worst moment of my life, and I'm very grateful for that " Shiro sighed. " However, now is the time for me to move on."

Jiro nodded.

" You are a fighter, my friend. It will be very happy."

Kazue lowered his face and looked at the child who was watching him.

" I already am."

***

As Jiro said, Mrs. Saito did not try to stop him from taking Miya from his home. However, Shiro was sorry for the woman's tears, who seemed lost by a lost daughter, when she didn't even look at the fruit of her womb.

" Is our new home beautiful? " Miya asked while biting a piece of cake they had bought at the bus station.

"It is still not very pretty," he replied truthfully. " Needs some repairs, like painting and repairing some tiles. But it has two rooms, so you will have a room just for you, your futon " he said. " Aren't you happy with that?"

"Yes," she said, excitedly. " Tell me more."

" It has a kitchen and a bathroom " and that was it. The house and bathroom were small and unattractive, but he would do anything to make it a home. " We will have a large yard to raise chickens and plant a vegetable garden. We can buy a cow, so you'll always have milk."

The female eyes brightened at the mention of animals.

" And can I have a cat?"

" A cat?"

"I love cats," she said. " I always played with Ms. Saito's "cute".

Shiro smiled. He didn't know if he could raise a cat, he still had no idea of ​​the costs he would have with his new property, so he chose not to create hope. It was said that the new government was giving subsidies to new farmers - like him - but it was unaware of the veracity of the information.

" Did you know that in the house I lived in Tokyo there was a cat? "

" Yes, Uncle Jiro told me. Minikui, isn't it?"

Was Minikui still alive? The memory hurt Shiro. Then the image of a courtier with long black hair touched him, but he pushed away the memories, anxious, afraid to remember the other emotions he had experienced and to falter in the face of his lonely destiny. Shiro had no more time for those feelings. At that moment, all that mattered was Miya.

"Does the night, when you cry, miss Minikui??"

The question startled Shiro, who was stunned, speechless, in front of his daughter.

" What?" He murmured. " I don't cry at night, Miya."

" Cry, yes, I've seen it."

" Saw?"

" Yes."

" And why didn't you say anything?"

" Because Uncle Jiro said that sometimes people feel ashamed if they are caught crying and that we had better pretend that we didn't see anything. So, I pretended I was sleeping ..."

Shiromiya caressed the little girl's face, moved. How could such a small being be so sensitive as to avoid curiosity and worry, just to not embarrass him?

" I lost a lot, Miya. Like you, I have no mother, no relatives. I had a brother, not of blood, but soul, that I had to leave behind because I ran away from ... " interrupted the words, refusing to quote a certain name that he had not spoken since he left Sapporo. " But, now I have you, don't I? So, I know that one day this crying will stop."

The little girl smiled, understanding the intent of the words. Then he looked at the approaching bus.

" Is it our bus, Daddy?"

" It is, daughter. "

Extending her small hand, she held tightly to her father's fingers. She trusted him completely and knew that he would do everything possible to keep her safe and well.