Chapter 50

“Ryuu, thank you for coming.” I shake his hand.

“Thank you for honor to Dina-chan.” He bows to me.

Lenora steps forward and hands him a bouquet of white and yellow chrysanthemums. “Ryuu, we have ordered a headstone, but we need to wait until the ground has settled for six months before we place it. In the meantime, we have a bronze placard with her name and birthdate being made. We’ll place that until we can install the headstone. It’s our tradition to not include the day she died, because we believe her spirit’s journey will continue. If that’s okay with you.”

“Yes, thank you.” He takes the flowers and bows again. “I speak about her?”

“You mean during the service?” Lenora smiles sympathetically. “Oh yes, absolutely. We would be honored if you would join us for dinner as well.”

When we have the details of his visit solidified, we walk quietly and meet Bronx, Reggie, and the rest of the unit near Dina’s grave. The closer we get, the more difficult it is to breathe. Lenora takes my han