Tide Between Two Worlds

I'll Do This On My Own

       The very next morning, silence continued its tenure at the Minamino home. Even when Shiori made breakfast for the family, everyone walked on eggshells around each other. It wasn't until Kazuya broke the silence that changed the mood. Over servings of sweet tamagoyaki, seasonal fruit, fresh rice, and cooked slices of canned pork, Kazuya set the tone.

       "I was thinking, Shuichi. Perhaps I could...take you down to the pier and show you where you were found today."

Shuichi never gave that part much thought. What good would it do anyway?

       "I guess," he said while twirling a piece of tamagoyaki in a small pool of syrup, "We can do that after I meet up with my friends."

       "Oh, you already have plans today."

       "Yes, I do. I...need a diversion of some sort after last night."

       "Shuichi, you may not hear us say this often but...we're sorry for keeping things from you. We didn't realize it would cause you to feel this way. It's like your mother said, you were ours from the moment we first saw you, first brought you home. You've been our son ever since. If anything, take that."

       "I understand completely. Believe me, I do. It's just...it doesn't make sense for my birth parents to abandon me like that."

By the time Shiori joined her family at the table, she brought a small blanket that sat in a dusty, extra large ziplock bag with her and placed it on the table. It was dingy green in color, made of a fabric unknown to anyone, had a small amount of blood on it, looked more like a quilt of some sort, and reeked of the waters it came from. Shiori had it in her possession for the last fifteen years.

       Shuichi immediately closed his nose, "Ugh. What is that? That smell..."

        "It's the very thing you were found in," Shiori answered in a convicting tone, "Don't know where it came from but you were in it."

       Shuichi inspected the material, "Is this...my blood?"

       "Yes," Kazuya replied, "The doctor who treated you said you were bleeding pretty badly especially for a child your age at the time. Whoever or whatever bit you barely missed an artery. If we waited any longer for treatment, you would've been in some serious trouble."

       "I...I recognize this scent. Why do I recognize this scent?"

       "Easy. It's the same smell from the water. The same water you fell into a few years ago. Remember that?"

       "Yes but...I'm getting something else that's familiar. Why is that?"

       Kazuya shrugged, "Even after fifteen years, neither of us know the answer to that. Both you and that blanket were quite wet when you were found and it was a dry night, weather wise."

That response gave Kiyoni's assumptions from last night some merit. Unless Shuichi's birth parents were a couple of deep sea divers who just so happened to experience the miracle of life while underwater, how else would a baby be found in a wet blanket? Still doesn't explain the bite mark.

       "I went to every clothing store and tailor in town trying to figure out what that blanket is made out of," Shiori added, "Not a single person knew. No one had ever seen something like that before."

Despite the smell, the blanket had the look and feel of dried seaweed and kelp but with material similar to cotton for softness and color. It was definitely unusual.

       "Mom, would you mind if I tried my hand in investigating," Shuichi inquired.

       "I don't see why not. You'd probably do a better job than I could."