Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou Fan Fiction ❯ Alpha's Travels ❯ The Road Weary Traveler ( Chapter 3 )

The outboard motor sputtered pushing the long wooden fishing boat over the top of the water. Two months had come and gone since Alpha arrived in Kamakura. The repair work to the tiny restaurant was finally completed and the weather was changing. No longer were the warm summer winds blowing in from the ocean. Instead, autumn and its cool breezes had settled upon the land. With the work to the restaurant finished, Alpha was ready to continue her journey. As the boat passed the familiar red torii gate Alpha folded her hands and prayed to the gods of the shrine that once existed beyond the now flooded stairs.

 

“Thank you for everything.” Alpha said to the gods.

 

The fishing boat pulled up to the dock on the other side of the bay and Alpha grabbed the rope tied to the post to keep the boat in place. With the boat secured to the dock Alpha picked up her pack, placed it upon her back, and climbed out of the boat. Alpha decided to leave the little cart she had brought with her from home at the restaurant. The cart was hard to maneuver along the road and Alpha wanted to lighten her load during her travels.

 

Akira climbed out of the boat a moment after Alpha had and tied the back end of the boat to dock. He then pulled a box out of the boat that he was transporting from the restaurant and set it down upon the dock. Alpha turned around and smiled at Akira. She had come to enjoy his company over the past two months and was going to miss seeing him around. The elderly fisherman reminded her of Ojisan and became someone she looked forward to seeing at the restaurant each day.

 

“I'm going to miss you Akira.” Alpha told him.

 

“I'll miss seeing you too Alpha. You be careful on the road.” Akira replied with a smile of his own.

 

“Goodbye Akira.”

 

Alpha gave Akira a small wave goodbye, turned around, and made her way up the tree lined stone steps that ascended from the end of the dock. Upon reaching the top of the stairs, Alpha smiled once again and looked out at the landscape before her. Off in the distance Alpha caught the sight of the island held the Enoshima shrine. In the past, the island connected to the mainland by a large bridge. In the years since the great floods, the bridge fell into the sea and the island with its shrine became a desolate and lonely place. People that once came to the area to see Enoshima stopped coming and soon the roads became covered in large reeds and grasses.

 

Alpha watched the scenery for a while before reaching into the side pocket of her pack to pull out her guidebook. She leafed through the pages to choose the next place she marked down where she wanted to go on her journey. Looking at her chosen destination Alpha calculated how long it would take her to get there. The capital of Kanagawa was nestled amongst the mountains of Chigasaki near Shounanko. Alpha looked at its location on the map in her guidebook and saw how far it was from Enoshima and Kamakura. She hoped to reach the capital by nightfall but knew she would be unable to do so. I was hoping I could get there before sunset, but…it's a very long walk there, Alpha thought with a heavy sigh.

The road on the map looked long and winding. On any given day, using her scooter Alpha would be able to reach the capital in one hour. Without the use of her scooter, the journey to the capital would take a long time for her to get there. Sighing once more, Alpha put her guidebook away and began the long walk to the capital.

 

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Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou

Alpha's Travels

Chapter Three: The Road Weary Traveler

 

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Alpha slumped a bit as she trudged along the cracked stone filled road. Her pack felt as though it contained several heavy stones inside it, which added to the pain in her legs and shoulders. Her face had a pained look upon it showing her displeasure at having to walk along the old road. Alpha was grateful for the cool autumn breeze that blew against her face as light perspiration beaded upon her forehead. Alpha hoped there would be a place she could stop for the night and rest. It was slightly past midday and already Alpha wanted to end her traveling for the day. She knew the road to the capital would be a long one she did not realize just how long it actually was.

 

Alpha perked up when she saw it. Off in the distance was a rather small looking municipal building where people gathered to do government business. Her pack now seemed lighter and her back straightened. The pain her legs and shoulders had felt seemed to disappear as she walked towards the municipal building. The look upon her face changed from one of pain to one of joy and happiness. A small smile came across Alpha's face as she picked up her pace and walked towards the municipal building. Once at the gates to the municipal building, Alpha smiled and took in a deep breath letting the sweet smells of the autumn air fill her nostrils. It was then she saw her.

 

In the yard of the boarding house stood a little old woman with soft wrinkles upon her face and eyes that were so tiny they looked as though she kept them closed. The woman wore a white apron over her clothes and a matching kerchief upon her head. In her hands, the elderly woman held a bamboo broom as she whistled a small tune. It was evident to Alpha that she had been busy that day sweeping up the leaves that had accumulated in the yard of the municipal building. Next to the woman on the ground was a pile of leaves that she was watching over as they burned. A plume of smoke and the smell of burning leave wafted through the yard from the pile of leaves filling Alpha's nose.

 

Alpha walked through the front gates of the boarding house with a smile on her face hoping to get a room for the evening. Gently as not to startle the elderly woman, Alpha tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention. The woman turned around and smiled at the female robot wondering why she had stopped at the municipal building that afternoon.

 

“Hmm? We're already closed for today.” The woman said gently when she saw the pack on Alpha's back.

 

“Oh…I see…” Alpha replied a bit dejected, “Um…where's the town?”

 

The woman turned her full attention to Alpha and answered her question. The burning leaves could wait for a bit while she answered Alpha's questions.

 

“There really isn't anything here other than the Diet. The closest town from here…that would have to be Yokohama and Atsugi. After that there's Achida in Musahino.” The woman explained.

 

Upon hearing where the next town was, Alpha became even more dejected. Letting out a sigh Alpha's shoulders slumped once more and the smile on her face disappeared. She had walked so far for so long that it felt like a defeat when she heard the nearest town was still miles away. The old woman turned back to her pile of burning leaves for a moment and continued her end of the conversation.

 

“It gets quite busy here when the Diet is in session though.” The woman said before noticing Alpha's expression, “What's wrong?”

 

“Nothing…” Alpha replied, “I was kind of hoping for a place to stay tonight like an inn.”

 

The woman thought for a moment. She knew of one place along the road to the next town that was an inn. Turning her attention fully onto Alpha again the woman gave her the information she was seeking.

 

“An inn? Well, there is one quite a ways down the north road from here.” The woman told her.

 

Alpha slumped a bit more when she heard where the nearest roadside in was and began to look quite sad. The woman knew of one way to cheer up the dejected looking robot.

 

“Cheer up. I know I'll give you a persimmon for the road.” The woman offered.

 

At the offer of food, Alpha brightened and smiled once more.

 

“Thank you.” Alpha replied accepting the offer.

 

The woman took Alpha behind the municipal building to where she kept her persimmon supply. The trees behind the municipal building were enormous in size. Towering over the building, they were at least thirty feet tall with large thick branches. Alpha looked at the tree in awe. Never before in her existence had she seen such a sight. The scent of persimmon blossoms and fruit filled Alpha's nostrils with there sweet fragrance. Alpha let out a whistle at the sight before her on the ground. There in a rather large crate were several persimmons each at least the size of her head. Alpha couldn't believe that fruit could be as large as the persimmons before her.

 

“Amazing simply amazing. How do they get to be so huge?” Alpha wondered.

 

“It must be something in the ground that causes this. The trees have been producing head sized fruit as long as I can remember.” The woman replied as she went to the crate to pull out a ripe persimmon.

 

The woman handed Alpha the fruit who took it from her trying hard not to drop it onto the ground. Alpha found it hard to believe the elderly woman was able to lift the fruit with great ease. The sheer weight of the fruit mad it hard for Alpha to carry it and walk at the same time. With great determination and sheer willpower, Alpha followed the woman back to the front yard and said goodbye to her.

 

“Thank you for the persimmon ma'am and thank you for the information about the inn as well.” Alpha said with a strained smile.

 

“You're welcome and do be careful on your travels miss.” The woman replied.

 

As heavy as the persimmon was Alpha was grateful the old woman had given it to her. Flanking the North road on either side were old stone foundations, tall grasses, and dead trees. There was no sign of water for quite some time and the persimmon would provide Alpha with the fluids her body needed with its juice. Continuing down the North road Alpha sighed when she saw the first signs of water in the area. What was once rice fields amongst the plains Sagami River became Shunanko, a brackish lake of shallow water.

 

Alpha knew her chances of getting clean water were impossible to do without the proper equipment. Drawing out another sigh Alpha sat down on an old concrete wall, took off her pack, and decided to take a short break in her travels for the day. Wanting a bit of a snack Alpha took a bite of the rather large fruit and found it to be sweet and very juicy. The first bite of the fruit was a bit difficult to take but once she figured out how to handle the persimmon Alpha continued to eat it taking a few more bites to lighten the fruit's weight some.

 

“This is very delicious.” Alpha thought aloud before she took another bite into the fruit.

 

Satisfied that she had eaten enough of the persimmon Alpha put her pack back onto her back and stood up from the wall. She then continued down the North road heading up a small hill. Along the side of the road, Alpha noticed several lamps on either side placed there to provide light for travelers at night. The road reminded Alpha of a small bicycle path due to its width. It was large enough for one person or bicycle to travel down it. The road ran along the ground to the right of the lake. Even though it appeared to be old and unused, the North road was clearly visible amongst the tall grasses that lined it. As she walked along the road, Alpha could hear only the sounds of her footsteps ringing through the thick air.

 

Continuing down the road Alpha began to feel a chill as the sun started to set. The persimmon was still quite heavy and made traveling the road hard. Looking around Alpha could find no sign of an inn along the road. Standing in the middle of the road the soft glow of a streetlamp bathed Alpha in its light as it turned on for the night. Continuing to stand under the lamp Alpha weighed her options for the remainder of the day.

 

“What should I do? Do I keep walking until morning or do I stop here for the night?” Alpha thought aloud.

 

Alpha looked down at the persimmon and then looked up at the streetlamp before making her final decision about continuing with her travels for the day. With a heavy sigh, Alpha began to walk down the North road once more. The road seemed to go on forever with no sign of a building in sight. After a few hours of walking Alpha began to tire and slowed her walking pace. Groaning and yawning Alpha silently wished for some place to spend the night. Her eyelids were becoming heavy and she found it hard to continue walking down the road. Looking ahead of herself Alpha saw a blurry building. Reading the sign lit by three lamps hanging above it Alpha saw what she had ran into. The building housed an eel restaurant and inn.

 

Happy that she had finally found a place to stay for the night Alpha walked into the restaurant and saw a little old man behind the counter. The man took one look at the persimmon in her hands and began to laugh heartily.

 

“That's Yuki's calling card if I ever saw one. She always gives anyone who stops by the municipal building a persimmon before sending them my way.” The elderly man said with a chuckle.

 

“Then you have a room I can use for the night?” Alpha wanted to know.

 

“I have a free room upstairs to the left that you're more than welcome to use.”

 

With a smile on her face, Alpha descended the stairs and settled in the room for the night. Alpha felt good to have a room to sleep in for the evening with a soft warm bed. Tired and wanting to get some sleep Alpha slid open the sliding screen door and looked out at the bay below as she rested her arms upon the railing of the small balcony connected to the room.

 

“It looks like that nice elderly woman knew what she was talking about after all.” Alpha said with a bit of yawn.