The Bridge To Nihon (BOOK ONE)

Chapter 16 - A Theater of Shadows

Sofia's room was indeed tiny, but what it lacked in size, it made up for in coziness. The bed was a bunk in the wall. It was so small that Sofia had to be careful not to toss and turn, or else she would fall out, but there were a bunch of heavy woollen blankets laid out on it, looking so inviting and soft that Sofia immediately felt the urge to lay down. She resisted the temptation because she knew that she would fall asleep right away, and she didn't want to miss the theater, not for anything in the world.

She figured that this would be a good opportunity to gather some information and continue her journey in a more informed way, maybe even learning which way the school was. This alleviated the bad conscience she felt because she was looking forward to seeing the show. After all, she hadn't undertaken this journey for her own pleasure, but to rescue Orì. And Orì certainly wasn't enjoying herself at this moment.

Sofia stored her bag under the bed and took out some fresh clothes. She washed away the sweat and smell of travelling at the sink and then installed herself in the stone seat at the window.

Her room looked out to the back, and the view stretched over a wide field of blue flowers that seemed to dance and wave and stretch out their heads as if they were little people performing a languid, sun-drenched, tired choreography. The sun was lowering in the distance like a fat, lazy cat whose head was slowly sinking as it fell asleep.

Sofia laid her head against the cool glass of the windowpane and allowed her eyes to close for a few minutes.

She woke to find herself sitting on the floor, and her backside hurting.

She had dreamed that she had been climbing up the tower, trying to warn Aunt Sybil of something. She couldn't remember what it was, only the feeling of urgency. Then, in the dream, she fell. She fell and fell, much longer than she should have, not accelerating, but almost as if she was about to start flying.

"Ow," she said, looking around herself, remembering where she was. It took a while.

Then her eyes shot towards the window, and she sighed with relief. It was dusk outside, the sun had not yet gone down all the way, but it was high time to go downstairs. The Shadow Theater would soon be beginning.

*

Downstairs, the room was filled to the brim with people. Conversation buzzed loudly into an indistinguishable humming. For a moment, Sofia was dismayed, but then she thought that this would allow her a certain anonymity which was more than welcome after she had caused such a stir that afternoon.

She found a spot at the farthest corner of the room, crammed between the wall and a table of three women with large bodies, big laughs and eyes that eagerly looked her up and down.

"Are you here all alone?"

"Why don't you join us?"

"Such a sweet girl, we could use some youth at our table!"

"Someone to mother a bit, eh?"

"Or at least play aunt!"

Sofia tried to decline politely, but she couldn't keep them from turning around their chairs so that she became part of their table despite herself. The innkeeper's wife came and put a glass of elderflower syrup on the table without asking, and Sofia had to put her chair even closer. Now, this was her table, too.

There were dozens of people in the small room, each looking stranger than the next. She recognized the man with the horn. He seemed to be with the theater, setting up a large mulberry paper screen. The woman with the high-piled hair was behind the screen, lighting candles. The extraordinary silhouette of her headdress was visible through the transparent screen as if it to test if the screen worked. It made for an amusing sight as it bobbed up and down while she worked.