Chapter Five: Time to Fly:

Ichiro didn’t stay too long around his new girl. It didn’t take long for the police to catch wind of where their suspect turned up. The people around Kate’s village began to talk.

“They are housing a dangerous criminal?”

“I heard he killed his wife.”

“But why?”

“I heard that he couldn’t afford to take care of him anymore.”

“Nah, I bet it’s something crueler than that.”

“Would he really do such a thing?”

“I think so.”

Kate refused to hear any of it. She already loved Ichiro and refused to hear of anything bad about him. She raced home from the latest bit of gossip she heard surrounding him. It’s not true! It’s not true! Kate battled herself to keep a stiff upper lip and wipe away the tears from her eyes. The heartache would only build up when she came back to her house. To her dismay, she found Ichiro packing up what little he had. Kate’s eyes grew wide as she realized what was taking place before her.

“What are you doing?!” she cried. Ichiro didn’t stop what he was doing as he stuffed his clothes into his bag.

“I can’t stay here,” he told her.

“But why?” Kate asked. “Don’t listen to them. They don’t really know anything about you.”

“You don’t know anything about me!” he shouted. Kate blinked at him with a confused look on her face.

“What are you saying?” she asked. “You can’t mean…” Ichiro buried his head in his hands.

“I knew this would happen,” he muttered to himself. He looked up at his worried sweetheart. “Come here,” the man said. Kate tilted her head at him.

“What is it?” she asked. She sat down on the bed next to him.

“It’s about my wife,” Ichiro answered. Kate gave her crush a strange look.

“Your wife?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Ichiro said. “I loved my Setsuko for years.”

“So… what happened?”

He clasped his hands into his lap. “She got sick and died.”

“Oh…”

“I couldn’t really take care of her anymore,” Ichiro answered. “I couldn’t afford medicine or a proper doctor.” He closed his hands into fists on his lap. “I had no choice back to ease her suffering.” Kate’s eyes widened with such shock.

“Don’t tell me you…” she began to say.

“No!” Ichiro shouted. “It’s not like that!”

“Then what happened?” Kate asked. Ichiro lowered his hands to his sides as he sighed.

“Look,” he said in a calm voice. “I can’t explain it. You wouldn’t understand.”

“What do you mean?” Kate asked in desperation. “Why wouldn’t I understand?” Ichiro grabbed onto her hands.

“I can’t explain it to you!” he shouted. “Why can’t you just accept that?!” Kate pressed her lips together nervously. Ichiro shook his head, upset.

“I’m so sorry,” he said. “I just can’t explain anything to you right now. I have to run.” The man let go of her and went back to packing. Kate stood there with a blank look on her face.

“When can I see you again?” she asked. He paused and turned around to see the desperate look in her eyes. Ichiro gave her a stressed-out smile. He took her by the hands.

“I will come back for you in one year’s time,” the man promised her. Kate’s eyes widened and sparkled at his words.

“You really mean it?” she asked. Ichiro pulled her into an embrace.

“You have my word,” he insisted. The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a small carol charm. “Here,” Ichiro said. “Take this and think of me.” Kate closed her hand around the little pink colored shell.

“There,” he said. “When we reunite, you can give it back to me. It is something so dear to me. My mother gave it to me before she died.” Kate gave him a sharp nod.

“Alright,” she said. He gave her a kiss on the lips.

“Wait for me, okay?” Ichiro told her. He finished packing up his bag and walked out of the house. Kate watched him as the door slid closed. She held the charm close to her breasts. I will wait for you forever if I have to, the girl thought.

Sadly, neither would live to see that promise carried out in full.