See You in the Next Life
Epilogue One
“ Y ou wanted to see me?” Tatsu remarked when he entered the room.
Eira had been staring at the beautiful, smoky black vase with golden veins she had been mesmerized by the moment she had first seen it. “Yes.” She held on to the cloth-wrapped package that sat in her hands with slight fear. Not wanting to prolong the guilt any longer, she decided to get on with it. “There’s something I’ve been needing to show you.”
He looked at her with a raised brow. “Yes?”
Slowly, Eira unwrapped the package to reveal the necklace of his late wife’s that had been broken. The shattered look on his face matched the item that only broke her heart in the same amount of pieces. There had been no time to fix it, and without Yuri, she had no one to trust in fixing it now.
“I’m sorry I didn’t wear it on our wedding day.”
“I wondered why you didn’t, but I only thought you didn’t think it suited you. But, Eira … what in the world happened to it?”
Her fear grew. She had known he’d be furious. Luckily, she didn’t have to lie about her being the one to break it anymore.
“When Yuri took it upstairs to put it away, it broke in her care. She said it was an accident, and even though some things have come to light about her, I’m sure that it was.”
“Oh, Eira …” Tatsu carefully took it out of her hands to inspect it closer. “This was no accident.”
“It wasn’t?” she asked in disbelief, unbelieving Yuri, no matter how truly evil her colors, was capable of doing that to a belonging of Tatsu’s late wife’s.
But alas …
“No, this was destroyed on purpose and with such hate,” he said with disgust.
“So”—Eira bit her lip, not knowing what to think—“you’re not mad at me?”
“Of course not,” he soothed her fears.
Relieved of any guilt, Eira took a deep breath. “Can you fix it?”
“It might not look the same as it did before, but I should be able to,” he said, still inspecting it.
“Oh.” Sadness filled her that the piece couldn’t be brought back to its former glory. “That’s a shame.”
Putting the shattered necklace in his pocket, he pointed to the vase Eira had been looking at when he had come in. “Did Ryu ever tell you the story about this vase?”
Eira simply shook her head. “Just that his mother picked it out.”
“That she did,” he agreed, picking it up himself. He spun the delicate glass in his hands to reveal the gold veins that spanned across all sides. “The day Ryu found out about his mother’s illness, he broke it. Much like the necklace, it was no accident and done with powerful emotions. I admit I was quite mad at him for doing it, even though he was young. I expected more—no, too much—out of my son,” he corrected himself. “And before my Kana passed from this life, she repaired it.”
It was as if Eira could suddenly see the item in a whole new life as Tatsu went on talking and turning the piece in his hands to show off his wife’s work proudly.
“It’s an old art form called Kintsugi, where you repair what’s broken with a precious metal, like gold, and give it new life,” he explained where the veins came from. “I remember when she revealed it to Ryu, she told him how something broken could become beautiful again …”
With a single tear streaking down Eira’s face at the touching story, Tatsu gently wiped it away from her just as beautifully scarred face.
“And I couldn’t agree more, daughter.”
Eira stared out at every islander who slowly began to bow before her. The intricate crown on her head only accentuated the burns on her face that she had grown just as proud to wear, along with the red kimono that was embroidered with gold stitching. It was a flamboyant outfit that made her look as if she was a phoenix rising from the ashes.
And that she was, Ryu thought delightfully of his wife.
Black was no longer a color she clung to, to hide behind, as she wore the Tei family colors with pride now.
Looking out at the love in his people’s eyes for their new queen, the last person he watched bow was a frail old lady who looked as if she were reaching the last of her days.
Itako could only merely bow for a single moment before she smiled at them with such honor. It was obvious she took credit for the match, and watching Eira finally be crowned queen showed her that her duty had been fulfilled.
As he watched the seeress walk away with her cane, Ryu knew it would be the last time he saw her. Itako’s voice, carried on the wind, told him that he was right.
See you in the next life.
Epilogue Two
“Another surprise?” Eira asked suspiciously as they headed toward the Sakura tree that they hadn’t been under together since they had wed.
“You liked my last surprise,” he reminded her.
“One time out of two isn’t the best odds.”
“True.” He laughed, sitting down on the lovely bench, and she sat down next to him. “This one, you will like, too. I think …”
She gulped nervously, waiting for him to tell her what it was. Growing impatient after several moments, she said, “Well?”
Over the last few days, Eira hadn’t felt the best, and maybe it was the anticipation of something good, or bad in this case, that had her feeling as if her lunch might come up at any moment.
“Look up,” Ryu said with a kind smile, paying her ill-patience no mind.
Eira did then, looking up at the big, desolate tree with still only the one cherry blossom sitting upon it at the tippy-top.
“Right”—he tilted her face a bit to see it—“there.”
“Is that”—Eira almost couldn’t believe it—“a new blossom?”
“Yes.” Ryu’s smile grew bigger.
“It’s starting to regrow.” She brightly smiled back. The tree had found new life …
That was when it began to finally dawn on her.
“Ryu?” Eira gulped rather loudly. “And why is the magical tree starting to regrow now ?”
Her soul and fated mate’s hand touched her belly to hold it in a gentle embrace. “I think you know, darling.”
Epilogue Three
The five newly sprouted buds were as if the tree was whispering the promise of a new dragon. Looking over to his father, Ryu swore Tatsu had aged five years overnight.
“Son, there is one last thing I haven’t told you about bearing the dragon,” he said, his voice sounding just as much older.
Adjusting himself on the bench to sit more comfortably, he didn’t understand how there could possibly be something he didn’t know. Thinking maybe he was going to tell Ryu that his days of shifting into a dragon were coming to an end, Ryu was prepared to tell him he, of course, already knew that. But that wasn’t at all what his father began to say.
“While there is only one dragon that can exist at a time, there may only be one former dragon that can exist at a time as well.”
Suddenly, Ryu’s heart stopped beating once he understood exactly what his father meant. When his heart began to thump back to life, it was with a vengeance beating madly in his chest. “But that means—”
“I know,” Tatsu said, taking his son’s hand in a firm yet calming grip.
Heartbroken, Ryu felt the same in this moment as he did when he had found out his mother was destined to die. It had taken him so long to recover. He had finally realized it wasn’t until he’d met Eira that he actually fully began to heal from those broken wounds.
With tears streaming down his face, Ryu had to remind himself that a Tei dragon never died and that his ancestors lived on in the heart of his dragon.
Wiping the tears away, he continued on, saying what he was going to, but this time, he wasn’t the scared little boy anymore who was losing a parent; he was a man who understood life and death with his own wife and soon-to-be son who depended on him.
“That means”—he cleared his throat—“we only have eight months, if we’re lucky.”
Tatsu smiled, at peace without any fear of leaving his son, knowing he would see him again in the next plane. “Then let’s make them the best eight months to exist.”