Page 136 of Psync
On his epic list of things to do in Japan, visiting the Daibutsu in Nara was in the top five. He’d planned on dragging Haruka there, but that was out the window now. Eli would have to go on his own.
He sat in the back of a very nice car—probably not Kamakura’s, since it was loaded with expensive-looking snacks, drinks, a flatscreen TV, a Nintendo Switch, and a half dozen other things Eli hadn’t yet figured out the purpose for.
He bit into something that was a bit like a waffle and a bit like a cookie while scrolling through his phone, searching for other things to do in the area. A name caught his eye. Tenkawa Benzaiten.
It was a shrine he’d read about in his History of Japanese Religion class. He’d found himself doing more research on the kami of the shrine because something about her had spoken to him. The kami’s name was Benzaiten, and she was the goddess of things that flowed—music, water, knowledge, and words.
Eli sat up and tapped the button to open the window between him and Kamakura. “Stop here, please.” He passed his phone through the window to show his unhappy driver the location.
???
The shrine was breathtaking even in late fall.
Eli leaned against the car and took in the vibrant red torii—the massive gate found at the entrance of Shinto shrines.
“I’ll be right back,” Eli said to Kamakura.
He started toward the torii and stopped when he realized he was being followed. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
“Sir—” Kamakura began, looking conflicted.
“Listen, this relationship of ours is built on compromise. I recognize that I can’t shake you entirely, and you understand that you can’t actually stop me from doing what I want, right?”
Kamakura nodded slowly.
“Excellent. Now, I’m going inside this shrine for, hmm, about thirty minutes, and you’re going to stay by the car and wait for me. I’m not going to run off. You have the car, after all.”
“I don’t know . . .”
“Let me—” Fuck. What was the word for rephrase in Japanese? All he could come up with was the word in Spanish—which was ridiculous because he only knew ten words in Spanish. “Say in a different way, only not so nice. I’m going in there alone, or I will hug you and take a picture of it to send to your boss. Okay?”
Kamakura went pale and stepped backward, nearly tripping in his haste. “Please don’t do that.”
“Great! I’m glad we’ve reached this compromise. If I’m not back in thirty minutes, you can come get me.”
“No hugging?”
“No hugging.”
Eli whistled as he walked away. Haruka’s employees were going to get a very skewed idea of Eli during this trip. Kamakura probably thought Eli was a cuddle-happy touch-freak.
He burst out laughing as he walked toward the torii, startling two tourists taking a selfie. Before he entered, he remembered to bow before walking through the gate. History of Japanese Religion was really coming through for him right now.
For a time, he stood on a small, red bridge and stared unseeing at the landscape, not entirely sure what he was doing there.
It was peaceful, probably because it was late in the season. Most of the trees had lost their leaves, and there was a bite to the air. Eli wrapped his arms around himself, snuggled into the sweater he’d stolen from Haruka’s side of the closet, then moved further into the shrine.
When he reached the main shrine building, he bowed and placed a handful of yen into the offering box. Then he rang the bell, bowed twice, and clapped his hands twice. Then he pressed his palms together and lowered his head.
Hi. Um, I’m Eli Talosa from Massachusetts. I know I’m a foreigner, but I really love your country. Thank you for having me? Ugh, this is awkward, I know, sorry. It’s just, you seem like someone who might get where I’m coming from. I know this sounds crazy, but I think I might be cursed by a god and . . .
What the hell was he doing? Was Eli actually coming up to a foreign god and begging for help? What else was he supposed to do? Either he was crazy, and he needed help, or he and Haruka were cursed, and they needed help. In any case the only way to get help was to ask.
If there is anything you can do to help, I’d really appreciate it. Thanks!
Eli bowed again and ran away.
Sheesh. He felt like he’d just tattled to a teacher because someone was bullying him. And all he could think about was whether he was supposed to have rung the bell and then clapped, or the other way around. He really should have paid more attention in class.
