Kalheka prepared a dugout canoe for Demba and Kanga, and they headed back down the river to the Kaifumaru.
“Oh, Demba! You’re alive!”
“Hey, Kanga! Where have you been wandering off to?”
The sailors, seeing the two climb up the gangplank, shouted greetings, patting their backs and shoulders. Hearing the commotion, the captain, Ichinai, came out to meet them.
The two bowed their heads.
“Sorry we’re late.”
“Oh, I’m glad you both made it back safely. It must have been quite the ordeal,” Ichinai said, his unshaven face breaking into a smile as he patted Demba on the shoulder.
They reported the gist of their experiences.
“I see… It’s good to hear that the discussions with the elder went well. The lord will be relieved. We need to return quickly to report to him. For now, get some rest,” Ichinai said with relief.
A few days later, Ichinai went again for negotiations through Kalheka’s intermediary, and the trade talks concluded amicably.
It was recorded that the basic price was 100 fresh salmon for one to and two sho (about 18 liters) of rice.
* * *
The schedule for returning to Mito was set.
Although the voyage was initially planned with provisions for two years, Ichinai decided that further stay was unnecessary since they had achieved their initial goal.
Preparations for departure began.
Cargo wrapped in straw mats and tied with rough rope was carried onto the ship.
“Gorobei, the new cargo goes in compartment three.”
“Got it. Compartment four is still empty.”
The sailors moved busily, calling out to each other. Demba and Kanga also worked silently.
However, even while working, Demba couldn’t calm his mind.
He would suddenly recall silver hair and ocean-blue eyes.
While unloading cargo, he would gaze out at the sea.
The color of the waves reminded him of Irika’s smile.
Demba was confused.
–What am I thinking?
A sailor noticed his distraction and called out.
“Hey, Demba, you’ve been out of it lately. Ha! Did you fall for one of the famous beauties, the pirikamenoko?”
Demba looked back expressionlessly.
“Ha ha ha, just kidding, just kidding,” the sailor said, patting him on the shoulder before walking away.
Demba thought for a while.
–Have you ever been in love with someone?
Irika’s words flashed through his mind.
The feeling surging from deep within his chest, he still didn’t fully understand it then, and now it was overwhelming him again.
–It’s painful not to have someone you can be close to.
He had never thought it was painful before. But now, just the fact that Irika wasn’t by his side felt like a small but unbearably heavy weight on his whole being. He had a vague sense that, just as one gets hungry with time, he had to accept this feeling.
Irika, I want you by my side.
Not being able to recognize this simple emotion made Demba uneasy. It meant he had to accept the fact that she was no longer there.
He glanced at the waves. The sunlight shimmered on the water.
He had never felt so frustrated by his own feelings.
They were gone now. Remembering them wouldn’t change anything.
Demba shook his head in frustration.
“Hey, I wonder how they’re doing,” Kanga said, standing beside him, also gazing at the sea.
He was thinking the same thing.
“Who knows,” Demba replied, but he couldn’t calm his turbulent thoughts.
–I’ve always been alone. I’m just going back to that.
Even though he thought this, he couldn’t accept it.
Days passed, and he couldn’t shake off the feeling.
* * *
The day before departure.
Everyone was gathered on deck.
“–Everyone, thank you for your hard work. We set sail tomorrow. Is roll call completed?”
“Yes,” replied the boatswain.
Demba listened absent-mindedly.
“Everyone staying behind has disembarked, right? And we have new crew members to introduce.”
Ichinai stepped aside. Two small figures, previously hiding behind him, stepped forward.
Standing there in new sailor uniforms with towels wrapped around their heads were Irika and Emariya.
Demba and Kanga’s eyes widened.
“Oh,” their mouths opened.
“This is Irika and Emariya. They will accompany us to Mito as envoys of Elder Hawukase. Everyone, please welcome them.”
A rare smile appeared on Demba’s face.
“Eh-heh. –We came,” Irika said, smiling shyly after everyone dispersed. Demba couldn’t help but return her smile.
Irika made a slightly mischievous face.
“Oh, you smiled. –Good.”
“Was I not supposed to?”
Irika shook her head.
“Ha ha, it’s just that you were so cold when we parted. I thought you might hate me.”
“That’s not true. –You spoke to the elder then?”
She nodded.
“He laughed heartily. He said, ‘Go to Mito as my envoy. Tell the lord, –This is Hawukase’s answer.’ That’s what he said.”
“That’s just like him.”
Demba smiled softly.
“What about your house?”
“I left it in someone else’s care. There’s not much there since my parents died. –I didn’t have anything I absolutely needed to bring.”
“I see.”
There was a brief silence.
“I thought I’d never see you again.”
Irika looked into his face.
“Did you miss me?”
She asked teasingly.
“Yeah.”
“Oh, you’re not being cute. Say you missed me properly.”
Demba’s mouth twisted into a smile.
“I missed you. For the first time, I felt the weight of being alone.”
Irika slowly moved closer and touched Demba’s arm.
“I told you. I’d become your water, so you wouldn’t dry out. Always –so you wouldn’t dry out.”
She looked straight into his eyes. Her ocean-blue eyes gazed into his jet-black ones.
“As long as you allow it, I’ll stay by your side.”
Demba took Irika’s hand and nodded.
They looked up together. The northern sea stretched out before them.
Kanga also held Emariya’s hand, looking at the sea.
The blue ocean spread out.
Three seagulls flew across the waves.
They survived today. They would survive tomorrow. That belief hadn’t changed.
The difference was that they were no longer alone; they were together.
Together, they would live.
That lay beyond the sea, a shining light.
It was a light called hope, something he never saw in Africa.
It was the hope for tomorrow.
The four of them kept gazing at the sea for a long time.
* * *
In August of the same year, the Kaifumaru left Ishikari and arrived in Nakaminato in December. The domain was elated with the results.
The achievements of this expedition were compiled into “Kaifumaru Ezo Written Records” and “About Kaifumaru.”
* * *
After the Kaifumaru mission, the Ishikari Ainu agreed to trade negotiations with the Matsumae domain.
There are no records of the letter Mitsukuni sent to Elder Hawukase, so its contents remain unknown.
* * *
Upon arriving in Mito, Demba and Kanga, along with the sisters, went to the castle to report.
Hearing Irika’s story, Mitsukuni laughed heartily.
Later, officially recognized by Mitsukuni, Demba married Irika, and Kanga married Emariya, forming families within the domain.
* * *
–A man from the southern country married a woman from the northern country.
Mitsukuni mused on the veranda.
–It’s like the very foundation of this nation.
He thought.
Why do the Japanese head north?
That’s what Mitsukuni pondered.
–Lord Yishikawa came from Kyoto and headed north.
–The Fujiwara clan of Oshu also perished in the north.
–Even the Tokugawa clan, when it falls, will likely head north.
Eventually, we too will be buried in the great river of history.
–Where are we Japanese headed?
That’s something future generations will witness.
Mitsukuni gazed at the night sky, his face tinged with melancholy.
* * *
The two Africans were later employed as retainers and granted several hundred koku. Their achievements remain unrecorded.
Their families reportedly continued until the abolition of feudal domains in the Meiji era.
Their subsequent whereabouts are unknown.
(End)