Now she ran past the walled daimyō estates above the merchant district. Soon she left behind the summer villas that clung to the hills, following a narrow, winding road up into the forest. The air grew cooler and thinner. Junko’s heart thudded and her lungs heaved, but she didn’t slow her frantic pace. Taking a shortcut through the woods, she scaled bluffs, climbing over rocks and tripping on fallen branches until at last she reached her destination.

A tall, thin structure with a pointed tile roof, the watchtower was one of several that crowned Nagasaki’s hills. Narrow, barred windows pierced the weathered plank walls; from the room at the top, a larger, unobstructed window overlooked the harbor. There Junko saw a glint of light. Joy shot through her. He was there, watching through his spyglass for approaching ships.

Out of breath and belatedly cautious, Junko hesitated beneath the trees at the base of the tower. Evening’s chill darkness seemed to rise from the loamy, fragrant earth, absorbing the daylight. Crickets and locusts shrilled; birds twittered; the cool wind rustled the leaves. But Junko detected no sign of human presence. Quickly she slipped through the tower doorway and ascended the stairs that spiraled upward into the shaft.

From the top, a young, male voice shouted, “Who goes there?”

“Kiyoshi, it’s me!” Junko cried eagerly.

His footsteps pounded down the stairs. Almost sobbing with happiness, Junko climbed faster. They met halfway up, beside a window that admitted light into the narrow stairwell. Junko halted two steps below Kiyoshi. She drank in the sight of him.

He looked as beautiful as ever, but his sensitive face had somehow aged since they’d last met. New shadows in his eyes lent him a somber maturity far beyond his fifteen years. In his gray uniform, he seemed an unapproachable stranger. A chord of alarm reverberated in Junko’s breast. Then Kiyoshi smiled, and the familiar youthful exuberance animated his features. Junko’s alarm yielded to joy, and she smiled too.

“It’s good to see you, Junko,” Kiyoshi said, “but you took a big risk coming here. Your father will beat you if he finds out. There are hoodlums in the streets, outlaws in the hills. You could have been hurt. Promise me you’ll be more careful in the future.”

“I promise,” Junko said happily, taking his hand.