The Bridge To Nihon (BOOK ONE)

Chapter 5 - Shadows Can't Do Somersaults

The days and weeks passed like the water running through the river. All alike, gone in an instant, yet never to return in exactly the same fashion.

Sofia felt restless. It had only been one day, one single day, in which the world had suddenly opened up and had revealed itself for the large and old place that it was, full of people, stories and history. It had scared her, but it had also filled her with a tingling sensation, like blood running wild through a foot that had been asleep. Now, she felt as if her limbs were slowly going numb again.

She had hoped that Aunt Sybil would continue to teach her about Nihon, about the bridge, about the Assessors, but she had not said another word about any of this, and she seemed even more reluctant to have her niece around than she had before. The few times Sofia had ventured into her room, Aunt Sybil had treated her as if she wasn't there. Sofia had sat in a corner, silently, turning the words and questions around in her head until they were fragmented beyond recognition. Then she had gone out, throwing stones into the river without even trying to make them jump.

She spent more time at the riverside. She would strain her eyes towards the other side of the shore, but the harder she tried, the further it seemed to move away as if it was deliberately escaping her view.

She started to think that she had dreamed up Orì like an imaginary friend that only appears in the moments of greatest boredom. Sometimes, she would whisper her name as if she could be summoned like an apparition. But nothing happened.

When she went to the store, Mr Borrealis treated her with cautious detachment, and he always seemed relieved when she left. He probably felt like he had said too much, Sofia thought, or maybe he dreaded her questions. It was the same with Pip and Tin. The peculiar boys wouldn't even meet her eyes, and moved away from her as if to shield themselves.

"I don't want to play with you, anyway," she said with disdain, but she felt increasingly lonely.

One evening, Sofia, Uncle Tomas and Aunt Sybil were sitting in the kitchen after dinner. Aunt Sybil looked up from the book she had been reading and said without forewarning,

"The Assessors are coming next week."

Sofia looked up. Her mouth went dry. The mere mention of the Assessors filled her with dread, but with a kind of impatient anticipation too.

"Those guys again?" Uncle Tomas said. "Weren't they here a month ago?"

"Six and a half weeks ago. Your sense of time is somewhat flawed, Tomas. I wonder why that is."

Uncle Tomas shot her a conciliatory look, but she didn't return it. He sighed.

"The Assessors give me the creeps."

"You don't have to talk to them."

"They make everything around them feel cold."

"I don't feel that way."

Uncle Tomas snorted. He had obviously given up on his short-lived plan to keep the peace. "That's because you might as well be one of them."

Sofia thought that Aunt Sybil would be pleased with the comment, but she saw an expression of hurt playing around her aunt's thin lips. She opened her mouth to say something, maybe to explain herself or defend herself, but then left it unsaid, and returned to her book. She was reading about the development of insects from eggs or larvae to full-grown creatures. From the look of it, this matter demanded her full attention.

Uncle Tomas looked conflicted, but soon his gaze wandered towards the window. A few minutes later, he got up and left the house. The door fell in its hinges, and Aunt Sybil made a point of not moving a muscle as if she hadn't noticed his departure. Soon afterwards, she went to bed, and Sofia was left to herself, thinking about the Assessors. She had a vague picture of them in her mind. Tall and skinny men with earnest grey faces, wearing blue suits with red-banded collars and red button plackets running down the front of their lapel. She had once caught their sight a few years ago without knowing who they were. Usually, they came and went like ghosts, leaving no traces, never crossing paths with those they didn't have an appointment with. Sofia had not noticed them six and a half weeks ago, and she couldn't recall any difference in her aunt and uncle's behavior.