Chapter 6

The Sheriff and his men reached the Narayama Ocean of Trees quickly, taking the fastest, steepest, trail.

"Dump the woman by the Jizo," the Sheriff commanded. Not sure if she was dead or alive, and not caring, either, he pointed to the marsh where the fallen statues lay. The soldiers threw Chizuyo down. A little whirlwind picked up, blowing feathers and an unseasonable dusting of snow, coloring the ground where the unconcious Chizuyo lay. One of the troops caught sight of movement as he turned to the trail and called out, pointing, "There's the toki!"

In the woods behind the church, Shota, in sparrow form, hid in the trees with his fully sparrow kin. They'd welcomed him. They showed him a small shelter attached to a nice clean cave, by a little spring that ran both cold and hot. He was not afraid any more, for the sparrows agreed with Chizuyo. For a sparrow, at least, the forest was perfectly safe, though Shota couldn't help jumping at unexpected sounds.

When the soldier shouted, Shota knew immediately Azuki had escaped. She was free, but they were hunting her! He must help her! His sparrow cousins held him back. They must learn more if they were to help, they told him. Cautiously, they flew to perch where they could see.

Azuki labored as she flew, heading for the Temple of Mary. She didn't know what she'd find there. Perhaps Shota? Even Chizuyo? If she could only get there. She flew so slowly, weighted down by this huge iron thing that surrounded her body, unable to tuck her legs up properly for flight or even get a full stroke of her great wings. She couldn't maneuver; if she lost her balance, she would crash. Concentrate, she thought. She had to concentrate and stay aloft! Then she saw it at last the building with the cross on the top, the bell in the tower, and Mary standing in front. She was going to make it, yes, she was.

"Bang!" The shot echoed off the valley walls. The sparrows leaped into the air.

Oh, no, Azuki thought. They've come for me! Mother! But all she could do was keep going, hoping her mother and brother would save her. There was the top of the church

"Bang!" One shot hit the side of the kettle! Desperately, Azuki tried to right herself, but the kettle began to spin. The sparrows dove for the soldiers.

"Bang!" Another shot hit the kettle, knocking off one end of the lid. Azuki began to wriggle, even as she fell. The lid slid away from the top. Her wings were free, and with a big downstroke she tried to regain control, but her feet were stuck! Another big downstroke gave her a little room to maneuver. Carefully, she calmed herself, using an updraft for support, while she worked first one foot out of the hole and then

"Bang!" The kettle spun even as the sparrows circled the faces of the soldiers. Azuki was thrown free! It seemed like forever, but it was over in seconds. The sparrows launched themselves into the air, cheeping, "Fly, fly, Azuki. Get away! Go now!" So fly she did, as hard as she could, while the sparrows dove into the faces of the Sheriff and his soldiers, dodging swinging rifles and batting hands. She had to get out of there! She was the cause of all this trouble, just by being a Toki-girl. All she caused here in the human world were pain and trouble for those she loved.

Shota rose with the other sparrows, but was immediately distracted by what he saw on the ground. Azuki was getting away, safe for now, so he focused on the small figure in blue he saw lying near the Jizo in the marsh. Mother! He dove to her side, landing just as the kettle crashed into the church, with the top of the cross poking through one of the leg holes, the rest of it bent askew, and the lid, thrown free at last, laying upside down on the roof.

"Mother, Mother!" Shota cried as he landed. "What happened? You're hurt!"

"Azuki?" Chizuyo whispered, trying to rise.

"Got away. They're chasing her down the other side of the mountain, but I think" he warbled a query and got a warbled response "Yes, she's getting away clean. She's going cross-country, where the soldiers can't follow her."

"Good." Chizuyo lay back down. A last little snow drifted down from the sky, with a few stray toki feathers, though it wasn't the season for it, Shota thought. It wasn't even cold up here.

"Mother, what are we to do"

"Hush, Shota. I'm badly hurt, and I think I am dying. But before I go, there is something I want you to do."

"Mother, no!"

"Mother, yes," Chizuyo smiled faintly. "Help me put the Jizo back where they belong, and did your sister leave feathers behind her? Do I see some?"

"Yes, of course, like always," Shota said. Sparrows rarely lost feathers, but toki seemed to shed constantly. "There are plenty," he said, surprised at the number that had somehow drifted their way.

"Then we will dress the Jizo as best we can, with the best we have, once we get them back in place."

"And you?"

"Shota, love, I am dying and I have no regrets, for you both are free and I will join your father. Please help me do this, and when it is done, I will help you in any way I can that is within my power."

"I must get you help!"

"From whom? Figure that out while we return the Jizo to their proper places," Chizuyo said, a faint smile again crossing her face.

Feeling he had no other choice, but still wracking his brain for ideas, Shota called his sparrow kin and they called bigger birds from the trees and animals from the forest, and together they moved the Jizo back to the clearing by the church and set them upright. The smaller birds gathered Azuki's feathers, and Chizuyo's clever hands wove them into capes for all six of the Jizo.

When they were finished, Shota, now a boy, helped Chizuyo to her feet. Carefully, she dressed the Jizo.

"O-Jizo-sama," she whispered, using the ultra-polite "O" and "sama" form in the most respectful way to express her gratitude, "thank you so much for the wonderful gifts you gave us. Our clever Azuki, our graceful Shota, for all the joy that Hachibei and I had in this life, we are grateful." Abruptly, she sat down, pulling out of Shota's hands. He knelt as she crumpled to the ground.

"It's all right, Shota," Chizuyo whispered. "It's time for me to go. I just wanted to express my thanks for everything I have had in this life, because it's been a good life. You and your sister gave us both so much joy! We are forever grateful for you and to you. I will join your father now, and we will be happy to be together again."

Shota was only able to shake his head, as tears ran down his face. He could see the truth of his mother's words in her pale skin and clouding eyes. Yet even so she rallied to tell him one last but vitally important thing.

"Shota, you must find your sister. Find Azuki. Bring her back. You will have until the equinox quarter-day before the Sheriff declares you dead and strikes your names from the records. To do anything in the human world to travel, to buy and sell, to own property, to work in a business or to start one you must keep your human identities! By the time you return, things will be different here. I promise you. You will be able to live in the human world as and how you choose, if only you can get back in time. We wish for you happy lives, just as your father and I had. Please." Chizuyo seemed to sink into herself even as she spoke. "Follow her. Bring her home. Get here in time. I love you both, so, so much." Chizuyo quietly breathed her last, Hachibei's name on her lips, as if perhaps she saw him.

Shota gently let go of her hand.

"We will take care of her now," said his sparrow kin. "You must go if you are to find your sister."

"Yes, I must go, and thank you." Shota stood. If it seemed unfeeling to leave, it seemed worse to ignore his mother's dying wish, and if he were going to catch Azuki, he must hurry. He changed into a bird. "How will we find you when we return? We would honor our mother's grave and erect a stupa at the Temple."

"You will find us," his sparrow kin said, rising with him and circling on the wind. "Azuki left us this lovely kettle to nest in. We will be right here."

"I'll no, we'll be back," Shota said, "Before the quarter-day." He waggled his wings in farewell as he flew off after his sister.