Silk Page #3

The French Consulate in Yokohama

have been sending dispatches.

They say it's chaos.

And this, uh,

Italian fellow, Ferreri,

he's come back from China

with eggs, tons of them,

Healthy from first to last,

same with Bole.

They're offering us a good deal.

Seven francs for the gram.

And they'll insure them.

And with the work

that Pasteur is doing,

we might get by on our own.

It would be madness

to go back there.

It's too risky.

I don't want to lose you, Herv.

I'm going to Japan,

Baldabiou.

Even if it means I have

to pay for the trip myself.

All you have to decide

is whether I'm...

selling the eggs to you

or someone else.

We've heard that

the eggs coming in from Turkey

Are perfectly healthy.

That's where

the Lyon breeders go.

The Italians, too.

Well, then

why don't we do the same?

Japan is too dangerous.

We can no longer

afford the risks.

Gentlemen.

Gentlemen, please.

These eggs are unreliable.

The Japanese eggs are pristine.

Who really knows

what's going on there?

Very few people have seen it

with their own eyes,

and one of them

lives right here.

This is my son

you are talking about.

He's made the voyage twice.

If anybody understands

the dangers, he does,

and he believes it can be done.

Now, I, for one, am staking my

money on another trip.

You gentlemen must

make your own decision.

Isn't there some way

you can stop him?

I'm afraid not.

There is

something else.

There seems to be some trouble

over there...

an uprising.

It could be dangerous.

Then I suppose all I can do

is give him a reason to come back.

You're not to...

worry about anything.

I know.

I won't.

I have protection there.

I will...

I will be fine.

This time, it really was

the end of the world.

The rebellion

had reached the village.

Are you alone?

Are you hurt?

Where are they?

Hai.

Hai.

Hara Jubei.

Take me there,

do you understand?

Wait.

Arigato.

How did you find us?

Who brought you here?

Answer me!

There is nothing

for you here.

Only war,

and it's not your war.

War is an expensive game.

You have need of me.

I have need of you.

You should not have come here.

Keep your gold and go!

Hyah!

Hara Jubei!

Japan is an ancient country.

It has ancient laws.

There are crimes here

for which it is acceptable

to condemn a man to death.

This is a rifle, my friend.

Keep your head down.

The boy committed

one of those crimes

when he carried a love message

from his mistress.

He was carrying no message.

He was the message.

He was a boy.

Keep your eyes down.

Now go and never return here again.

It took me 11 days

to reach Sakata,

Where I finally found

four boxes of eggs.

I packed the boxes

in crates filled with ice,

fearful that they

would hatch early.

I reached the Russian coast

by the end of March,

which was one month later

than usual.

Summer had

already come to Europe.

And then, one morning,

I knew it was over.

The eggs had hatched.

The worms were dead.

Millions of them,

all dead.

Ludovic!

Hyah!

I thought you were dead.

And in the whole world, there

was nothing beautiful left.

That was a terrible summer.

We had to close

three of the four mills.

Baldabiou had to make up

stories to explain my failure.

And with the thought

of all that had happened...

how I'd failed the village,

how I'd failed Helene...

I sank into silence.

So, here you are.

What's wrong with you?

You haven't come around for ages.

Listen, Herv...

Sooner or later,

you're gonna have to talk to someone.

It might as well be me.

It might as well be now.

What happened?

What happened in Japan?

There's nothing more to say.

I told you everything.

That's rubbish.

There's nothing more to say.

If things continue like this,

we'll all starve.

Something has to be done.

Do you have any ideas?

Baldabiou.

We'll build a garden.

I'll hire everyone

in the village...

anyone who's

strong enough to dig-

men, women, children, too.

And, together, we'll

build Helene's garden.

We started to work

in late summer.

Whoa!

May I have some water?

I don't think you're working.

And we finished

most of it by the fall.

You pull that one up?

Weeds are bad for trees.

They take their food,

so you've got to pull them out.

Then why do we have them

if they are bad?

God made them to keep us busy.

In nomine patris,

et filii,

et spiritus sancti.

So winter came, and

everyone had enough to eat.

Then a letter arrived.

It took me five days

to open it.

It was stamped in Oostende,

but it had a Japanese seal

in the corner.

I'm going to bed.

I'll be up in a minute.

I shall read it for you,

but this time, I want no money.

What I want is a promise

that you will

never come back here.

I promise.

"My dear master...

"do not be afraid.

"Do not move.

Do not speak.

"No one will see us.

"Stay as you are.

"I want to look at you.

"We have the night to ourselves,

"and I want to look at you.

"Your body over me...

"your skin, your lips.

"Close your eyes.

"No one can see us.

"And I am here at your side.

"Do you feel me?

"When I touch you

for the first time,

"it will be

with my lips.

"You will

feel the warmth,

"but you will

not know where.

"Perhaps,

it will be on your eyes.

"I will press my mouth

to your eyes,

"and you will feel

the warmth.

"Open your eyes now,

my beloved.

"Look at me.

"Your eyes on my breast,

your arms lifting me,

"letting me slide

on to you.

"My faint cry,

your body quivering.

"There is no end to it,

don't you see?

"You will forever be

throwing your head back.

"I will forever

be shaking off my tears.

"This moment had to be.

"This moment is...

"and this moment will continue

from now until forever.

"We shall not see

one another again.

"What we were meant

to do, we have done.

"Believe me, my love,

we have done it forever.

"Preserve your life

out of my reach,

"and if it serves

your happiness,

"do not hesitate

for a moment

"to forget this woman,

who now says,

"without

a trace of regret...

"farewell. "

That year, in Edo,

they signed a treaty,

authorizing the export

of silkworm eggs.

A few years later,

they opened the Suez Canal.

After that, a journey to Japan

would take twenty days,

Even less to come back.

A new era had begun.

So the years passed.

We traveled.

We accepted the fact that

we would not have a child.

Nine plus

seven equals sixteen.

Now, sometimes it may seem like

numbers keep their secrets.

And a sort of peace

Entered our lives.

But you have to be patient.

You have to keep trying.

Do you understand?

But it didn't last long.

Not long enough.

Yes, but are you certain?

No change.

She needs to rest.

But you've been saying that

for weeks.

All she's been doing

is resting.

She's just getting weaker.

Be patient.

I am being patient!

Good day, Ludovic.

Good day, Madame.

Do you have a moment?

I have a favor to ask you.

Whatever I can do.

I would like you

to help Herv with the garden.

Of course.

I mean, in the future.

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