Chapter 5
「Two Years Earlier」
Hoku knocked three times on the study door, holding a book against his chest.
"Come in."
Jiang Hao was still writing as Hoku entered. He finished a note in the margin, then calmly set his pen aside.
"I thought you might need this back," Hoku said, offering him the book. "I haven't quite finished it."
"There's no hurry. I won't be using it for my lectures for a while." His uncle removed his reading glasses and rested them on the open notebook. "How are you finding it?"
Hoku handed him the book without answering.
'I can't very well tell him it was dull. He chose it for me… But if I say I enjoyed it, he might find me another just like it.'
"There were parts I liked," he replied. "I think I'd rather try a story next, though."
Jiang Hao leaned back in his chair and smiled ruefully.
"I ought to have asked before lending you something from my lectures. There's plenty of fiction in the library. Come and have a look."
He left the book beside his glasses and accompanied Hoku into the hall.
In the library, Jiang Hao switched on the lights. Hoku paused inside, surprised by the height of the ceiling. Shelves continued above the doorway, and the books covered walls much farther apart than those of the study. A dark wooden desk stood clear of the bookcases, with a lamp at one end.
His uncle brought him to one of the lower shelves and selected a book.
"Try this one. There are several writers in it, so you may find someone you'd like to read more of. The novels are on the other wall."
Hoku opened it at the contents. He read through the titles, then found the beginning of one of the stories while Jiang Hao moved a stack of books from the desk.
"You can read in here whenever you like," his uncle said. "Or take a few books to your room. I thought the use of the library might make a better birthday present than another book chosen by me."
"Thank you. Do you work in here as well? I wouldn't want to interrupt."
"I use the study. There's less to distract me there." Jiang Hao put the stack on a side table. "Leave whatever you're still reading on this desk. I'll know not to put it away."
Hoku examined the books on the opposite wall. From the hall, he had seen only the shelves facing the doorway; there were more on either side, with smaller books filling the spaces above the upright rows.
"I didn't realise you had so many."
"My last partner used to call this 'the eternal library.' I kept promising that the next bookcase would be the last."
Jiang Hao gave a quiet chuckle and collected a few papers from beside the lamp.
"Most of the books down here are reading copies. You can borrow them without waiting for me to come home. Leave the highest shelves to me, though. Some of those bindings are fragile."
Hoku looked at the worn cover in his hands.
"Should I keep this one in the room?"
"That one can go wherever you're comfortable reading it. I have an older edition on the shelf above."
Hoku returned to the story he had opened. He read the first few lines standing beside the desk, then checked its title in the contents.
His uncle switched on the lamp mounted on the wall.
"So, does it look promising, or would you like to try one of the novels?"
"I'd like to start with this one, thank you."
"Very well. I'll leave you to it." Jiang Hao gathered his papers and made his way back to the study.
Hoku sat at the dark wooden desk, opened the book beneath the lamp, and began to read.
. . .
Hoku set off with Cheshire a few paces ahead.
The path was firm underfoot, its pale grit mingling with grass and soil at the edges. Where the tulips grew thickly, their broad leaves brushed his trousers, and he held back the hem of his coat as he passed.
Cheshire slipped between the flowers to investigate a fallen petal. Hoku slowed, but the cat lingered over the spot and began washing one paw. By the time Hoku had walked past, Cheshire was winding around his boots to regain his place ahead.
After that, Hoku kept to the path without attempting to accompany every excursion into the flowers. The cat could find his own way amongst the stems and usually emerged a little farther on.
From the top of a low rise, the pale strip was visible on the slope below, winding through the tulips. Hoku let the front of his coat hang open. Sunlight warmed his shoulders, although the breeze was still cool against his shirt.
They continued over several more rises, each offering another view of the field.
Hoku began to wish for something to drink. A cup of Earl Grey with orange peel and honey, left to cool beside a book, would have been welcome. Even the thought of it made him more conscious of his thirst.
However, when he tried to judge how long they had been walking, the glass he had emptied in the parlour seemed absurdly recent. He remembered setting it down when the clocks began to strike.
'The man who wrote about this place must have had some idea where he was going. I wonder how long he walked before he thought to write any of it down…'
After some distance, Hoku shaded his eyes from the light. A dark roof had become visible beyond the flowers, with a balcony along the upper storey and a columned porch farther down.
He recognised the house before he was close enough to see the windows.
Hoku quickened his pace, keeping to the narrow strip of grit until it ended at an iron gate.
The manor faced him across grounds filled with tulips. They grew over the approach almost to the porch steps, occupying the space where he remembered walking beside Polaris.
Around the gateposts, however, the flowers had withered. Blackened stems hung through the lower bars, with several dry heads resting against the iron.
Hoku stopped with his hand on the latch.
'Have I come back as well? Polaris said this happened whenever he tried to leave… He might still be inside.'
Cheshire squeezed between the bars and continued across the grounds.
Hoku opened the gate, tearing a few brittle stems loose from the iron, and went in after him. The approach was overgrown, but he could still walk between the flowers without leaving it. Moisture brushed onto his coat as he passed.
From close by, the porch looked much as it had when Polaris accompanied him outside. The front door stood ajar.
"Polaris?" Hoku called as he went up the steps.
Cheshire slipped through the gap. Hoku pushed the door farther in and leaned towards the hall.
Patches of daylight moved over the boards near the arch, as though branches were swaying outside a window.
He waited momentarily for an answer.
The light faded from the doorstep, and Hoku glanced across the grounds. Beside the lowest step, a tulip had bent almost to the soil. Its head brushed the stone, shedding discoloured petals, while farther along the approach the leaves were darkening.
Hoku stepped inside after Cheshire.
The board under his boot creaked and split before he could draw his foot back. He seized the frame to pull himself onto the sill, but a strip of timber broke away in his hand.
He landed hard on one knee, his free hand sinking into the damp leaves and closing around the rough curve of a root.
For several moments he stayed bent forward, working his aching leg beneath him. The broken wood shifted in his other hand, and a splinter scraped his palm. He winced and let the piece drop into the leaves, blood smeared along its painted edge.
Sunlight fell across his sleeves as he sat back.
Bare branches spread overhead, with more trees descending the gentle slope ahead. Hoku remained on one knee for a moment. By then, Cheshire had come to his side and was nosing at the hem of his coat.
Bracing his uninjured hand against the trunk, Hoku pushed himself to his feet.
The Memoir Chapter 4
Objective 3
Lost Section
The Memoir Chapter 4 End