To see the previous installments, click on the following links: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15
Rodrigo sat in his cell, staring into nothingness. The days passed without illusion or hope. His bushidō training did not help him endure the uncertainty of his fate. He knew that, as a samurai, the only honourable way out was seppuku.
Although he did not fear death, he was worried about his last moment, the loneliness of the instant of iron penetrating his abdomen. Who would be his kaishakunin? Who could he ask to perform the last act of mercy?
In the midst of these thoughts, the silence of the prison was interrupted by the echo of footsteps in the corridor. They were not the slow, monotonous footsteps of the guards. There was something different, a determination in their cadence. Rodrigo slowly sat up, his heart pounding for the first time in days.…
The door creaked open and, against all expectations, he saw two familiar figures: Masaki Hayato and Aoi.
Aoi's eyes, big and dark, searched Rodrigo's, and when they finally met, he knew the truth before she could say it.
She had been freed!
To be continued
Header Image:
A samurai faces the compulsory seppuku with the collaborator who must behead him behind his back. Source: Photo: AKG / Album. historia.nationalgeographic.com.es
I'm very glad that she was freed but ........ I really hope Rodrigo will be saved too!!!
Curious as to how a (former) Catholic would view a ritual suicide.
I think, Yumi @yumiyumayume , he will suffer a bit but I have to tell you that life is always clouded with some drama to live happiness more intensely.
I believe, @Sprouts , that Rodrigo undergoes a process of ‘acculturation’ where his Catholic roots are lost by the force of a superior culture for him. He thinks that he left Seville (Spain) as a mestizo and arrived in Japan and became a samurai.