Beastars: A Symphony of Life

Chapter 67: A Quickly Curable 'Sickness'

Yuji walked up to the door and looked up at the address on the door. It had been a while since he'd seen his neighbor, so he was surprised to get a call from the old lizard asking him to bring his mail up to him. There was a lot of it, given he had isolated himself in his room for two weeks. Komodo dragons weren't usually social creatures, but they still liked the company of a select few others. So when they lost a friend, or a loved one, they took it harder than most other animals. The stork reached up and knocked on the door with three raps. He waited with the paper bag filled with envelopes, newspapers and magazines. He had tried to stack them all nicely but some of them ended up sliding around anyway. There would definitely be some creases anyway, given how long some of the pieces had been stuffed in the mailbox. Hearing no response, he knocked three times again.

"Just leave the bag there Yuji," he called through the door. "I'll grab it."

The bird got a nostalgic feeling from when Gosha still had venom. This was how he treated them back then.

"Gosha," Yuji called. "Open the door, please."

There was a moment of silence before the stork heard the sound of a lock being unlatched and the lizard opened the door. He was half expecting to be doused in anti-venom, but then remembered that time had passed. The komodo dragon looked sick, probably the side effect of being inside and being in a state for two weeks. His scales were duller than normal. He had lost a noticeable amount of weight, but wasn't grossly skinny. He had bags under his sunken eyes, as though he hadn't slept in a long time.

"Are you alright?" Yuji asked.

"No," Gosha said. "A little under the weather, but I'm sure I'll get over it."

Isolation wasn't what he needed, the stork knew it. The old reptile had always been a good neighbor to everyone else and it pained Yuji a little to see him like this.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "You look terribly ill."

"I'll be fine," he said, grabbing the bag and pulling it inside before closing the door again.

"My offer still stands," the heron called through the door. "You're welcome to come to my weekly poker night."

"Thank you," Gosha answered.

~~~~~

He just wanted to be left alone. He'd had enough loss in his life. First Toki, then his daughter, Leano. He couldn't help but still blame himself. It was his komodo dragon genes that had manifested in her fur and caused her to morph and eat away at her body. And now Yahya. He had played along with his game and caused him to believe he could handle a criminal by himself again, and took on a much younger adversary. And Gosha hadn't been there to watch his back. The only one who remained that he cared for was his grandson, and his grandson's wife. He could do less harm within the confines of his room than out there, inadvertently hurting others.

He dumped the mail onto a table and sifted through it. Nothing of importance or anything that interested him. As he shifted through to the bottom of the pile, he came across a small bundle of letters. They all had the same return address, and he knew the place. They were all from the kindergarten for hybrids. The school had been spared from the demolitions and was still in working order. He looked at a folded letter that was on top of them all. He was afraid to read them. He didn't know why, but he just didn't feel in any state to read anything. He didn't want to let any of the children down either. He opened the first bifold letter and recognized the handwriting of the teacher.

Dear Mr. Gosha,

I hope that you are well, or at the very least, feeling better. Personally, given everything that's been going on, I don't blame you for taking time for yourself. I send this letter with my condolences for your loss. I know you and the Beastar were good friends and I was just as shocked to hear the news. There is no rush, but the children are wondering where you've been. I've stayed them off the subject, telling them what you told me to; That you are recovering from a sickness. I'm still confused as to why you won't just tell them the truth, but I respect your request.

Attached are letters the class wrote, wishing you the best in your 'recovery'. It was Saeko's idea, and once she starts talking about a project for her and her classmates, it's hard to quell the other children's approval. She's going places, let me tell you. Every student made you a little drawing with a short blurb/message. Again, take your time, but these children are starting to get restless.

My very best,

Ms. Rokujou

Gosha put the letter aside and undid the twine that was wrapped around the stack of envelopes, his heart starting to weep up into his throat. He took the first one and immediately recognized the handwriting. It belonged to that of a raccoon-weasel hybrid named Yoson. He was the smallest of the children. He opened the letter and saw a picture drawn in crayon resembling what appeared to be a stick-figure of Gosha, surrounded by other stick-figure students.

hi Gosha its me. i hope u feel better soon. im doing my best and hope that i can see u soon. ill try and keep the rest of them behaveing good. get better soon. love yoson.

The rest of the letters followed a similar outline. Picture followed by words wishing him to get better. Except one, with really nice handwriting and no grammatical errors. The handwriting of Saeko, a caracal-rat hybrid.

Dear Gosha,

Though I know not what it is you suffer from, I wish for you to know that I will watch after everything until you get back. I'm not sure how much help I'll be, but all I can promise is my best. That may not be much, but it's the best I can do. Please get better soon. You're the only one who Keizo listens to. I can do my best, but he won't listen entirely to me. If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know.

Sincerely,

Saeko

The innocence of children. It was very refreshing. They were so wonderfully unaware it was, heart calming. He couldn't help but smile. In all the darkness that was filling their world, something kept the mind of a child sacred and untouched beyond everything else. It was a sad hope. Eventually they would be turned by the world and made into servants for itself, but for this brief moment of their lives they could live. Truly live. He seemed ashamed of himself now, for acting so selfish. Now he truly understood something he had read a long time ago. Adults could learn from children, just as they learned from them.

He looked at the pictures of his family, the smiling faces of Leano and Toki. The picture of Legoshi on his wedding day with Haru. Snapshots of time that he could look back on. He didn't have one for Yahya, the horse had been against pictures of any kind if at all possible. All he had were memories to look back on. It would be different, but not by much. Gosha sniffled, wiping away the water that had streamed down from his eyes to accumulate on his face. He didn't know how long he had been weeping, but now that he was aware a sense of relief swept over him. It didn't stop the tears, but it gave them a purpose. It eased the stress on his heart, and made his chest feel lighter. He couldn't explain why, but he was feeling better. Yahya's death had still hit him like a freight train, but something was healing the damage done by the blow. He looked at the fridge. He would need to eat something before seeing the children.