“I want you to come with me when I escape. You must. This is no life for the likes of you, for anyone for that matter.”
“Takumi, you don’t understand. He will catch us. He will catch us leaving his lands and bring us back. I saw what happens to girls who attempt that—you don’t want it for yourself.”
“What is the worst he can do? I would risk anything to be free of him.”
“The last girl, Denee, was English. Her family sold her to him to get rid of a massive debt. Her brother came for her one night. He disagreed with the way her family had cast her off for monetary gain.”
“How sweet. How far did they get, Mae?”
“They never made it out of the house. She was thrown into a cage in the dungeon, and he, well, he was never seen again. The poor girl quit eating and starved herself to death. Some men like that emaciated look, and he used that to his advantage. When she became too weak to speak, he sold her off to such a man. I heard that she died soon after.”
“Don’t the authorities come looking for some of these missing people?”
“He sells to them also, Takumi. There’s no hope to be found in this situation. Please, promise me you won’t attempt it.”
“I can’t make you that promise, Mae. In fact, I wish you would promise to come with me. There’s no honor in staying. There’s no hope that things will improve. At least this way you have an inkling of salvation on the horizon.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am. I don’t have it in me after all these years. I’m tired. It’s a sad, lonely life to be sure, but it’s the life chosen for me to live.”
“I don’t understand your thinking, but I’ll respect your wishes, my friend.”
Takumi formulated her plan in her mind over lunch and into the early afternoon. Mr. Nagumo gave her many strange looks throughout the time she spent with him.
“How are you enjoying your stay here, girl?”
“It is fine, sir. I’ll come to be used to it, I expect.”
“A very good attitude indeed. Some come here with thoughts of returning home, but those must be squashed immediately. You belong to me now. My property is quite valuable to me. I fight for what’s mine.”
A sinister glare greeted her when she looked up into his burly face.
“Of course, sir. I wouldn’t dream of trying to leave you or the good life you’ve made for me here.”
Seemingly satisfied, Mr. Nagumo looked down into his dish and continued to tear into the food before him. He didn’t speak another word during the meal.
Takumi wandered the household looking and listening for a sign. Aiko had said she was coming for her. Surely she would announce her presence with some sort of sign. By dinnertime Takumi became withdrawn and sullen. Aiko should have been here by now.
“Is something wrong, girl?” Mr. Nagumo had no patience for those around him.
“No, sir. I don’t seem to be rested up from our long trip quite yet. May I be excused to my suite?”
The old ogre didn’t even answer verbally but waved her away from the table with the back of his hand. Takumi slipped a steak knife into her sleeve, stood up to push her chair in, and left the dining room.
She walked up the stairs as if they were a carpet leading to a death sentence. I can’t do this again and again. I can’t live with this hideous creature who calls himself a man. If Aiko doesn’t show up in some form tonight, I will end it myself. Better to be dead than mating with a monster!
Mae assisted Takumi with her nightgown and stoked the fire on her way out. Mae didn’t speak of the escape out loud but she pleaded for normalcy when she looked at the young geisha. Takumi didn’t have the words to tell her the plan had changed.
Aiko’s plan must have been thwarted. It was the only explanation. This would be Takumi’s last night of sleep. At dawn she would hike to the top of the hill behind the mansion and watch the sun rise. When the rays were shooting through the air with hope and the day was at its pinnacle, Takumi would stab herself through the heart.
“I want you to look over my mother. She never understood me, but she did the best she could with what she was given. Please let Aiko move on and lead a happy life. Mae needs to get away from this prison household. Give her the courage to attempt her own escape. I’d ask you to forgive Mr. Nagumo and Madam Oy, but that is something I can’t do myself. Please do forgive me for what I must do in the morning. It’s my only way out, the only way to preserve what is truly mine—my body and soul.”
Takumi unfolded her hands and folded them under her head. The knife she put beneath her pillow. Maybe it will cut the pain of losing my true love in half. She was asleep within minutes.
10
THE OLD BUILDING was before her. Takumi looked down and she was standing in the street looking up at the magical doors. If only she could reach those doors. Aiko must be waiting for her there. Try as she might her feet would not move. The doors opened and Aiko stood before her. Madam Oy was holding her by her unraveled hair.
“Help me, Takumi. We must be together. I love you. Don’t let them take that away from us!”