The teams edged toward the gate, one behind another. Nobody pushed ahead. First come, first served.
A long table stood beside the gate, with two stacks of scrolls on it. Their corners faced outward, neatly aligned.
One stack was the Heaven Scrolls, the other the Earth Scrolls.
The person handing them out weighed down the corners with a stone, passing out scrolls without much talk.
It was brighter by the gate than at the back of the line. In that light, the characters on the scroll covers were clear. They were all in the same hand.
Those who received a scroll tucked it inside their clothes and left once it was secure.
Nobody opened one on the spot.
The two stacks on the table visibly dwindled. The wind stirred their corners but failed to lift them.
The Heaven Scroll stack shrank faster. A little under half the Earth Scroll stack remained.
When their turn came, the scroll handed to them was an Earth Scroll. The ink was dark and solid.
Kiyoshi took it and stowed it close to his body, tightening the knot once more.
Nobody could say whose hands held the half they lacked.
Anko stood beside the gate, watching each team collect its scroll, her hands tucked into her sleeves. She watched one team, then let it through.
Someone looked up at her. She waved them on without a word.
She quietly repeated what she had said at the assembly, every word distinct.
At the end, she added only, "Keep your scroll safe. Go."
Five days. Kiyoshi set those two words at the very bottom of his heart.
What lay beneath them was written neither on the paper nor on the scroll cover.
The scroll inside his clothes pressed a hard edge against the fabric.
After a few