Sea of the Wind, Shore of the Maze, Prologue

part of their family.)
    When he thought back to his family at that moment, he still felt its warmth. He missed his father and  his mother, and his grandmother and his brother.
    Perhaps if he put more effort into it, everything would change. No one would have to get mad or cry  because of him.
    (But I can't go back again.)
    At this thought, he couldn't hold back the tears any longer.
    Yet those weren't homesick tears; they were tears of goodbye.
    He knew that he would never again return to that family.

Chapter 3
    "Are you awake?"
    Hearing Sanshi's voice, Taiki rubbed his eyes, and then suddenly opened them up and stared at the  ceiling for a moment.
    The white ceiling was made of a milky stone with a design carved upon its entire surface. A bird was  cut into each corner, matching intricate flower and grass patterns that surrounded a circular design engraved  in the center. Though the ceiling wasn't painted, it had been set with a multitude of different colored stones.
    "What bird is that?" he asked as he pointed at one of the birds in the corner.
    "That..."
    It looked as if Sanshi didn't know how to answer, so he responded with an "Oh!" In truth, he didn't  really want to know what bird that was. It was just that because he had suddenly remembered his crying  yesterday, he felt a little embarrassed.
    "What time is it right now?"
    He had made up his mind and turned to look at Sanshi. This was a small room, just smaller than his  study at home. A thin, beautiful covering had been laid upon the floor, and pillow-like cushions filled three  sides of the walls. The top portion of the white stone walls were inlayed with small stones, forming the  image of a tree.
    Only one side was without a wall, having layers of curtains instead. The curtains were rolled up now,  and Sanshi was standing on that side.
    Sanshi puzzlingly tilted her head.
    "Well, what am I supposed to do right now? Don't I have to go to school?"
    Taiki knew that his life had undergone a tremendous change. He had a feeling that nothing would be  like it had been before, being awakened by an alarm clock, and then changing into his uniform, washing his  face, eating breakfast, and going to school.
    "What should I do now?"
    "You don't have to do anything," said Sanshi as she shook her head. "Would you like to get out of  bed?"
    Hearing Sanshi ask him this, he took it to mean that he could get up, or he could continue sleeping. He  didn't know if these were temporary privileges or if it would always be like this, but he didn't really care  either way.
    "Yes, I'm getting up."
    Taiki sat up in the small room.
    When he saw Sanshi stand up, he realized that this small room was a step higher than the ground.
    Behind the curtain were doors carved with decorative flower designs, and through the doors he could see  another room.
    Taiki curiously looked around at the small room he was in and the room outside. Yesterday, he had  cried very hard under the tree, so hard that he had felt a little embarrassed, and afterwards he had wearily  27
    fallen asleep. Thus, someone had carried him into this room, and it wasn't until this morning that he had  gotten a good look at it.
    He discovered that this room let people feel at ease, while the other room also looked very comfortable.
    The other room appeared not to have any walls, but stone railings instead, and beyond the room were cliffs  covered in green moss. The light shining between the cliffs and the building made the moss gleam. The grass  and small bushes on the cliffs had grown into the room, and this gave Taiki a fresh feeling.
    Sanshi walked in, carrying a water bucket and a ladle. She set the bucket on a table in the corner and  called Taiki over. Taiki rolled out of bed and walked over beside Sanshi.
    "Good morning."
    Sanshi smiled and told Taiki to sit down. He did as she said. He discovered that he wasn't wearing any  clothes, but he didn't care. This was because Sanshi and Youka and all the other nyosen wore styles of  clothing that he had never seen before, so he figured that here, things were done differently than usual.
    Though he was naked, he didn't feel cold, nor did he feel hot. He thought that it must have been a  moderate season.
    Sanshi used a very peculiar method to wash his face. Even though this made him feel like a little kid  and a little embarrassed, he didn't resist. Sanshi took the bucket outside and brought in a pile of clothes. He  felt those clothes looked a lot