Matsuri Yume

Dearest Rachel –

Six forty-five. After a brief moment of wakefulness around four, I’m finally, actually waking up.

“Oyaho.” Daniel, it seems, has been awake for an hour or so. And up until now, I’ve been the one to wake up first.

I turn and open the curtains to the veranda – we’re still sailing into Kitakyushu – and take a look. Every time he greets me in the morning in Japanese like that, I give him a stock dad-joke answer based on the sound of it (usually, “Nope, still in Illinois” when we’re at home). But this time, it’s a little different.

“Ya know, it kinda does look like it, son.” What with the little islands we find ourselves passing, it does resemble our ferry trips to Middle Bass. You might actually find it familiar, apart from the fact that these islands aren’t exactly levelled off like the ones in Lake Erie.

I think I’m starting to get used to it here.

What I’m not getting used to are the dreams.

***

This morning had us visiting a local Christian church. And by ‘us,’ I don’t mean just Daniel and myself, nor was it one of the standard coach tour groups. Honestly, it felt like the group from our Israel trip, although I didn’t take a good look around to confirm who was there.

As far as I could tell, this was a group that we had, as a church, just sponsored to assemble. Basically, it was like a satellite outfit based here in Japan; not necessarily in Kitakyushu, specifically, but somewhere over here. And thanks to us, they had been able to obtain a building in which to meet for services and the like. So we were being shown around the new facility.

Somewhere along the way, we were shown footage from their grand opening, complete with a matsuri-style procession. And there, being carried on an open palanquin, was you.

The story I received was that you had made a particularly generous contribution to the campaign to acquire the building, and they were honoring you for it, but it puzzled me as to how you were there in the first place.

“Silly,” your voice at my side came to me, “I can be anywhere I want.” And for whatever reason, you had become a sort of guardian spirit for this congregation, and they recognized you as such in turn. Not exactly doctrinally correct, but seeing as there you were, it wasn’t out of line with the rules of this particular dream. You have to accept that dreams follow their own logic, after all.

Still, it would have been – and still would be – nice to have you as a guardian spirit as well. As it is, I feel like I have to ask you to keep an eye on us every day, and wish us luck. Because, no matter what the day may bring, we’re still going to need it.