myrrh

Go on then, I'm listening.

Mika always loved apples. Not the sweet ones, but the sour ones.

I could never handle anything too sour. It makes my teeth curl.

My Mika always had such great teeth...

The air outside smells so fresh after last night's snow, doesn't it?

Stopping by so early? Don't you have work to do?

Don't worry, my schedule isn't that packed.

You doctors always seem so busy. Didn't think you'd have time to listen to me babble.

Hehe, would you rather I didn't come then?

Girl...

To be honest, it's good to see you.

I feel the same way. I couldn't stop thinking about you.

Why? What do you see in a washed-up old woman like me?

You're about my grandma's age, and you even look a little alike. Seeing you reminds me of her.

If I had a granddaughter, she'd be about your age now.

You must've really loved your grandma then.

Yes. She taught me everything I know about wild forest herbs, and how to use them for medicine.

She also taught me how to find my way, so I'm never lost no matter where I go.

Do you miss home?

Very much.

Me too... but I won't see it again. And I won't ever see my Mika either.

Don't cry, Mrs. Luba. She'll come back to you, someday.

What are you on about? How can somebody who's dead come back to me?!

Please, don't get angry. It's just what we say in my clan.

We believe that the spirit of the woods guides the dead to the Great Green, where they become one with nature.

Whenever someone in my clan dies, we gather by the river and send down a little boat holding a candle, in order to light the way back for them.

Even if what you said is true, and Mika really came back... what would she become?

I don't know. Maybe the stars and the wind in the sky, or the snow and the rain on a lake.

Or the grass under our feet, soft and lovely...

But the land's so big. How could I find her?

We... we can't find them ourselves. We can only wait for them to find us.

That's why our chief leads the guiding dance at funerals, so that those who are gone can find their way back and reunite with us.

Girl...

Do you... know the dance? Can you dance for her? For Mika?

I want to see her. No matter what she's become.

Alright.

Myrrh did not know how bad her dancing was.

Her steps were slow and out of sync with her arms. Even a farmer tilling the fields would look more elegant and coordinated.

Her movements were clumsy and comical, like a baby fowlbeast flailing in the snow.

But Luba did not laugh. As Myrrh made circles in the snow, waving her arms, a cold morning wind brushed against the hair on Luba's brow.

She closed her eyes and felt the air rush past her cheek. Something warm filled her eyes.

Girl...

(Falls) T-The world's spinning... I'm spinning...

Mrs. Luba? W-What is it?

Let's go back. I'm in the mood for some sour apple pie.

One month later...

There you are, Adelaide. Good to see you one last time before I leave.

Your symptoms are under control, and should remain stable for the foreseeable future. As long as you watch your diet and take the suppressant regularly.

Thank you so much for doing all this for an old sack of bones like me.

I'm just doing my job. Oh, before I forget... here, I got you a sour apple pie to eat on the way.

Aw, aren't you just a sweetheart? You remember my favorite.

I'll see you off then.

Sure thing, love.

Before I came here, I was all outta hope. I would just sit on my bed all day, wishing to kick the bucket already.

Until I met you.

Now I can feel Mika by my side all the time. I see her whenever I look at the mountains, the trees, the flowers, the grass, the rain, the snow...

I want to see more, to keep seeing her.

And to do that, I've gotta keep on living.

I'm sure she'd be happy. Take care, Mrs. Luba. I'm not sure how often we can see each other again...

Come now, pull yourself together.

Myrrh smiles and takes the old woman's hand. The two of them walk quietly over the snow.

Only when they have arrived at the village gate does the old woman hesitantly begin to speak.

Adelaide... let me ask you something. Answer me honestly.

All that stuff you told me... is it really true?

Mrs. Luba...

I mean, do you believe it? Be honest.

I don't know.

When I was little, the chief would brew me medicine whenever I was sick. And I always got better soon after taking it.

I used to think it was so amazing.

But when I came to the landship, I began to study its composition, to learn medicine in a systematic matter.

That's when I found that it was just a common herbal drink, with no special effects.

So I put away my research on it, and turned to studying other medicines.

But I still find myself making it whenever I get sick, simply out of habit.

And not just when I'm sick - I do it when an experiment didn't go well, or when I can't sleep, or when I scrape my knee after a fall.

Why do you keep drinking it, even though you know it has no effect?

I'm not sure why... sorry.

Why... why, indeed?

Is it all true, Harmonia? Does this dance really bring the dead back to our side? Does the Great Green really exist?

Adelaide... I can't answer that question, because I don't know either.

Why do you join the chief in the guiding dance then, if you don't know sure?

Because I hope that it's true, and that someday we'll reunite with the ones who have left us.

That's why I dance.

This land has too many troubles and hardships. The helpless must learn to help themselves, and the lost must learn to find their own answers.

That's why we place our hopes on the ethereal, on the supernatural.

That's why we have superstitions.

But, Harmonia...

I suppose it becomes true if you believe in it.

Never mind. Who cares if it's true or not, at my age?

There isn't much I can give you, but take this necklace that my man left me.

No, I can't accept that.

Just take it. It's nothing valuable.

I appreciate it, but the Medical Department has rules against accepting gifts from patients.

It'll bring you good luck. Take it, girl, and take care.

As she watches Mrs. Luba leave, Adelaide rubs her eyes and recalls sitting by Harmonia, gazing at the river in the distance.

That night, the canopy was bathed in the silver light of the twin moons, shining through the gaps in the leaves.

The night wind carried the wailing of the clanspeople as they pushed floating candles into the river one after another.

Their light brightened the night sky, forming a band of radiance embracing the people gathered on the bank.