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The first month of marriage, Nagamasa taught Moonflower how to fold origami. “It is considered an art in my homeland,” he explained. “Unfortunately, it is difficult to find the proper paper for it in Eorzea.”
Her eyes widened. “The paper is special, anata?”
He nodded and began measuring the paper he had in front of him. “It’s as perfect a square as can be made, with three ilm by three ilm.” Cutting it to the proper size, he pushed a sheet over to her. “I am going to teach you how to fold a cat.”
She laughed and got to work, learning the names of the folds as they went along. Her first attempts were clumsy, but eventually he deemed her passable and taught her how to fold a boat. The boat was her favorite of the patterns he taught her by far, but there was another she admired. It was the crane, a pretty little thing that looked impossibly complicated.
“They say that if you fold a thousand paper cranes,” he said, folding the pretty blue paper, “you can make a wish. A crane lives for a thousand years, and so one paper crane is equal to one year of its life.”
“What do people wish for?” she asked, fumbling with the steps quite badly. “I’m afraid, anata, that my crane is more like a crumpled tissue.”
Nagamasa snorted, surprised by her comment, but took pity on her and gave her a new sheet. “People wish for health, luck, wealth, and love. You can wish for anything if you fold enough cranes.”
She concentrated on the folds again, trying to make a perfect crane so that he would be proud of her. “What would you wish for?”
The look in his eyes did not go unnoticed despite her attempts at concentration. “I think… perhaps I would wish to see my father again. I had to leave my family behind, as you know, but it was most painful to part from him.”
Moonflower abandoned the origami to climb into his lap. Her tail curled around his waist as she snuggled into his chest. “You don’t need a thousand paper cranes for that, Masa. You’ll see your family again someday! Oh, I hope they like me!”
He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. “I do not see how they could feel anything but love for you, Princess.”
She purred and kissed him back, and the origami was forgotten.
The sixth month of marriage, he presented her with a gift. It was her nameday, after all, and she was his beloved wife. Moonflower opened the long box to find a kimono. A crane was woven into the cloth, wings spread in flight. “Anata, it’s beautiful,” she exclaimed, running her fingers along the fabric.
“Only the best for you, wife.” He smiled that perfect, secretive smile that was just for her. “Would you like me to help you put it on?”
“Oh, yes, please!” It took quite a lot longer than it should have to put it on, but neither of them really minded. When she was properly dressed, the crane looked as if it were her wings, which was exactly what he had intended.
Moonflower adored her kimono. During their time in Kugane and over in Doma, Nagamasa gave her two more. She hung each so that they might be purified by the incense, and their colorful layers lit her chambers. When they had a free moment, she put one of them on and they spent time together, either by going for walks or by sitting side by side, working on their separate crafts.
She loved those moments more than anything. Her strong, handsome husband told her stories of his people’s history, and the legends of his country. He was a wonderful storyteller, as he always had her captivated. Truly, no one could possibly be more perfect in her eyes than he.
It hurt to look at the kimono after his death. The pretty pink one with cherry blossoms was folded and put into a corner where it would be easy to forget it. The gorgeous purple one with the moon went in the same corner. But when she went to fold the crane kimono, Moonflower held it to her chest and wept.
“Why did you fly away somewhere I can’t follow?”
If the crane could live for a thousand years, then surely he deserved to live a tenth of that? Why was he stolen from her so soon? They were supposed to have at least fifty years together. There were supposed to be children. New adventures. So, so much.
Moonflower could not fold a paper crane. Her lines were too clumsy and crooked. Instead, she bought paper from Kugane, and folded paper boats. She prayed for her friends’ safe return with each little boat, and set them adrift on the sea.
Maybe the sacred crane had accepted her boats anyway, because she was able to safely bring them home.