The trip back to London was uneventful, to say the least. Lucy could only offer a few words of condolences before hurriedly leaving, just in case someone saw her in her monstrous form. Duncan, on the other hand, simply opened a portal back to Hiroshima’s Ghost Market.
Everything else was pretty much a blur. Buying the tickets, waiting for the train, ignoring the unconventional-looking passengers… It felt almost routine by now.
Hilda spoke as much as a smothered hamster throughout the ride, and wasted no time burying herself in her medical books the moment she boarded the Witch’s Train. Meanwhile, Duncan couldn’t muster enough energy to think or do anything other than deal with their immediate needs. Every other thought was burned away, replaced by a stinging numbness.
They reached the empty mansion earlier than expected despite taking a taxi instead of Duncan’s portals. He was too wrapped in his thoughts to notice the time passing. Hilda, on the other hand, only continued reading.
Clouds swept overhead, obscuring the light from the moon and stars. A chilly breeze cut through the air, rustling the leaves of the giant oak tree in the middle of the mansion. Duncan took a moment to appreciate it while Hilda made her way upstairs on her own.
Had it always looked this weary? There were dead branches littered around the tree, and fungi were growing at its base. It took Duncan another moment to notice the deep gashes on its trunk, barely noticeable from far but painfully obvious up close.
He made his way to Hilda’s room as well, but paused just outside the door. What more business did he have here? It was over; they had won. Both Miguel and Kubo were dead. The Second World War was almost over. And knowing how governments operated, Kubo’s monsters would be simply treated as some form of mass hallucination. So it had to be over. After all, they had won.
Right?
Duncan pushed open the door anyway. If he was going to disappear from the world again, he wanted to at least make sure Hilda was alright before he left.
Sure enough, Hilda was at her table, reading her medical books again. Her bag was barely unpacked, and all that she had taken out were her books. Duncan put his hand in his coat pocket, touching a marble that he had used to magically contain Yuri’s corpse.
The idea was for Hilda and him to bury her as a final send-off, but the girl didn’t exactly look like she was in the mood to do so. So Duncan stood silently at the doorway and waited for her to be finished with her reading. After all, he had plenty of patience.
It didn’t take long before he noticed how wet the medical book was.
Hilda barely flinched at the handkerchief offered to her. Her eyes were puffy, and the book she was holding looked like it had been dipped in a river for a full hour. She tilted her head, looking up at Duncan before taking the handkerchief.
“It hurts…” Her voice was choked from all the silent sobbing. “These books… they were supposed to make me happy, but… but—”
“When a patient is wounded, the bleeding must needs be staunched. Or he will die in no time. This—” Duncan reached over and closed the book gently. “—is no tourniquet. This, right now, is but a distraction.”
“This is all my fault—”
“No—”
“But it is!” Hilda insisted, slumping on her chair. “If only I’d just listened to mother— If only I’d just listened to you! None of this would’ve happened if I’d just listened and stayed home. Mind my own business, leave the world to its own devices… But no! I just had to leave the house, all for some… stupid sense of justice! And now… I have no one left. What even is the point of living in this world if I’m always going to be left alone?”
Duncan held her close and felt the small pair of hands squeeze him back tightly. The girl bawled this time, trembling with every choked sob.
“Not all consequences are a result of your actions.” He patted her head gently. “This is no punishment, lass.”
“Sometimes, I just wish I could ride away from everything. Just get on a train, and just— just get away from it all.”
“You cannot ride away from the world. Trust me, I’ve tried it countless times,” Duncan said. “The only thing we can do is ride towards a destination.”
Hilda held him close for several more minutes, keeping so still that she looked like she had fallen asleep in his arms.
“You have a way with words, y’know?” She finally let go as a short laugh escaped her throat. “Cheesy at times, but you truly do.”
“It comes with all these centuries of living.” Duncan shrugged nonchalantly. “How else am I to justify all my years?”
The girl wiped her tears and sniffled one last time before getting out of her chair. “Thank you for everything, Duncan. Come, let’s bury Mother and Father together.”
~ ~ ~
Yuri Kitagawa and Bertram Harvey were laid to rest beside each other, just outside the mansion. It wasn’t a proper graveyard, but Duncan knew Yuri wouldn’t have wanted that anyway. She was always the type who preferred being close to home.
Besides, there were flowers, grass, and even a hint of saline coming from the nearby sea. It was a nice place to rest, all things considered.
Duncan wiped the mud from his palms. He had decided to dig the graves without magic out of respect for both of them. Hilda helped out as well, of course, although she was a little more clumsy with the shovel.
“The Royal London Hospital has been sending letters while I was away,” Hilda said as they walked towards a filled mailbox outside the mansion. “They’re asking me to help with the war efforts.”
“Even when the war is almost over?”
“They’ve been asking for months now. I’ve just never bothered to entertain them, what with Father’s funeral and all.” She let out a short laugh. “But I suppose it’s time I head back into the real world. No more hiding, no more running. Riding towards somewhere, like you said.”
Duncan broke into a small smile. “I’ll be there for you, whenever you need me.”
“So will I.” Hilda threw her arms around him again. “Friends forever.”
“Friends forever, indeed…”
Duncan’s voice trailed away as his ears pricked upwards like a dog. The voices were coming from several metres away outside the mansion’s fence, but he could still pick up what they were saying.
“Strange, ain’t it? A strange tornado just whipping up in Hiroshima out of nowhere.”
“How strange is that? Aren’t typhoons normal in that place anyway?”
“It disappeared in seconds! That is absolutely not normal!”
“What? Are you going to trust everything the newspaper says now? It’s probably just some freak weather.”
“Duncan?”
Hilda’s voice brought him back. Duncan turned his attention back to the girl, who had already let go of him.
“What is it?” she asked, clearly oblivious to the conversation outside.
“I— I…” Duncan stuttered as his mind worked furiously. No way it was him. That man was already dead, wasn’t he?
Then again, Kubo’s body had simply dropped into the ocean. His death was never properly confirmed, especially since they had left in such a rush. It was entirely possible that Kubo had simply endured his injuries through sheer strength of will and swam back to shore.
Duncan’s gaze sharpened with apprehension. Dammit, could that truly have been Kubo? What was that madman plotting this time?
A terrifying consideration crossed his mind. Bloody hell, could Kubo have already taken the elixir of immortality?
“Duncan?” Hilda asked again, her face filled with concern now.
“It’s nothing.” The man forced a smile as he ushered her back into the mansion. “It’s getting late, Hilda. Have a good rest."21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqkSPX8CI6k
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