[Book of Eros] Chapter 4: Noroi Island and Okurimono Village. (Patreon)

W-What!? That was really too much of a coincidence! The same destination, on the same day, with the same purpose. It was enough to make one believe that…

…

“Did…” Leonardo swallowed. “Did you get invited here by an old lady named Delilah Wisler?”

The woman’s jaw dropped, and her eyes widened even more. She closed her mouth and also swallowed audibly before nodding slowly, her hands gripping the ferry’s rail tightly.

Then… did that mean…?

“You’re one of the Gifted, too?” It was her who asked him.

Leonardo’s heart started to beat faster, and his muscles tensed. As quietly and calmly as he could, he answered “Yes. Or so Mrs. Wisler says.”

So she was one of the Gifted, too. And if so, one of the Cursed as well. Then that meant… she also couldn’t feel a thing.

They both let out a humorless snicker at the same time. Like he thought, there was no chance from the beginning.

“She told you everything, then?” she asked him, leaning forward lazily on the metal rail. Somehow, she looked more relaxed than before. “About the curse?”

“I don’t think she told me everything, but I also don’t think she’s trying to hide anything.”

“She has us on a need-to-know basis, then?”

“Probably,” Leonardo sighed, but asked her what had been on his mind from day one. “Think we can trust her?”

“Yeah,” she nodded casually. “My dad knows her and encouraged me to come here.” Her face twisted in something resembling disgust. “I hate my old man, but not because he’s a bad guy. I trust him enough to believe him when he says Mrs. Wisler means well.”

Not wanting to probe into family issues, Leonardo asked another question he’d been pondering. “You think she actually found a cure?”

“She told me it wasn’t certain, but that it was possible. She said it wasn’t up to me, though.”

“Then why are you here?”

“…” she sighed. “Using my Gift is the only thing that distracts me from… you know. She said I could learn to use it better if I came here, and my dad agreed.”

That was… different from what Mrs. Wisler told him. She told him he could be a key player in getting rid of the curse, and that she’d trust him with the power to do it. It was the kind of esoteric talk that made him believe her less.

“So,” the woman said, looking towards the horizon with a small, tired smile. “That’s gonna be home, huh?”

From the coast of Naha, the island looked like a small patch of land. But now, only minutes from arriving, he could see it for what it truly was. Green, tall and steep cliffs surrounded nearly the entire perimeter of the island save for the western side, and a set of taller mountains sat at the very center of the almost circle-shaped landmass. He had read that one of those was actually a volcano with extremely low risk of eruption. The shape reminded Leonardo of those biscuit molds that left a whole in the middle. Its length, according to some quick internet research he did before even accepting Mrs. Wisler’s invitation, was about 6 kilometers. Greenery covered most of it, but buildings could be seen extending from the coast and further in.

Before their ferry docked at the port, Leonardo realized something.

“Have I really been stupid enough to not even tell you my name?” he asked rhetorically, which earned him a hearty laugh from the blonde.

“Holy shit, you’re right!” she extended her hand for a friendly shake, and Leonardo took it with the smallest hint of hesitation. “Angela Straight.”

“Leonardo Contreras,” he answered.

“I’m gonna ask the obvious, but you’re not American, are you? Where are you from?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Chile, in South America,” he answered. “Though I spent the last two years living in New York.”

“Huh. Then we took the same plane, even,” she laughed.

Their ferry docked at the small, but busy port. Leonardo could see people working, carrying boxes and loading boats. Some of the people looked like tourists, but he and Angela seemed to be the only foreigners in this trip.

They stepped out of the ferry, and they were quickly approached by someone. It was a 74 year old lady wearing a white cardigan and a long, beige skirt that reached her ankles. Her step carried a certain energy to it, and though her years showed in her short, curly, greying hair and wrinkled face, her face looked proud. She had told Leonardo that she was half-Japanese, half-Italian, but her Asian features were more predominant. Both he and Angela quickly recognized her as Delilah Wisler, the woman who had invited them to live on this island.

“It seems you two made yourselves acquainted already,” the old lady chuckled softly.

“You didn’t say you had already invited someone else, ma’am,” Angela said, crossing her arms below her chest.

“I contacted him only a week after I met you, dear,” the old lady explained. “Let me apologize for not being able to wait for you at the airport. I had things to take care of here, and missed the ferry. It only leaves twice a day, you see.”

“It’s no issue.” Leonardo shrugged. “People here seem used to dealing with tourists, so it wasn’t difficult to get here.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Mrs. Wisler said, visibly relieved. “Let me welcome you to the land of our ancestors: Noroi Island. This is the town they founded, Okurimono Village.”

When the old lady had said ‘remote Japanese island’ back when they met, his first thought was something like an old, countryside town, behind on technology and all that. But it turned out everything looked fairly modern. Buildings weren’t taller than four stories, but streets were paved and well maintained, as were the walkways with thin trees adorning them. There weren’t many cars on the roads, but he did expect that, and it did give off that classic yet modern Japanese feel with its architecture.

The three of them took a cab, barely five minutes away from the village center. It followed a long, sloping road until it reached a residential area at the outskirts of town and stopped right in front of a residence surrounded by stone walls. Mrs. Wisler, Angela and Leonardo exited the car and the old lady walked to the big, double wooden gates.

“Welcome to the Tensai Residence, children,” she said.