Chapter 12
Yoshirō's Awakening
My eyes snapped open, my senses on alert despite the hangover hammering at my skull. The light of the bar assaulted my retinas, but I did not blink. A familiar scent, sweet and heady, reached me.
I stayed motionless, my face still pressed against the chessboard. That was when I felt it. The ring... in my clenched fist... A shiver ran down my spine. I half-opened my fingers. That perfume was coming from the ring, as if she had left her essence in it. The free gold lay beside it, its bare face turned toward me. At the edge of the chessboard, there was nothing left. Strangely, the white lady had vanished.
The memories of the evening came back to me: her dark kimono, that laugh that made me shiver, her lips... That fabulous figure, handling the ōgi pieces between her slender fingers.
Her face was coming back to me little by little. Her black hair framing her features, her deep eyes that seemed to read me, her gestures of fascinating precision...
Had she left me this ring on purpose? Or was it a simple oversight? Her sudden departure puzzled me. Had my dozing off driven her away? Or had she had to leave, leaving this ring as a pledge of her return?
As my mind grew tangled with questions, I noticed a note2, carefully folded, on a corner of the chessboard. Perplexed, I slowly picked up this mysterious paper. My fingers trembled slightly as I unfolded it.
A handwritten message. I read it, short of breath, a smile already forming on my lips. Was it her handwriting? I slipped it into my pocket, like something precious.
Reassured by those words, I turned my attention back to the golden ring. It was heavy, and incredibly soft to the touch.
I brought the ring up to my eyes, examining it from every angle, turning it over, scrutinising it, trying to make out a barely visible inscription... My heart raced when the characters 駒妖3 suddenly revealed themselves, engraved in the metal.
A wave of happiness swept over me. Komayō... At last, I knew your name.
Without hesitating, I slipped the wedding ring onto my finger. It fitted perfectly, as if it had been made for me.