Heart of a Samurai Chapter 33

Tori

• Setting: February 1849 (2nd Year of Kaei, Year of the Hen)
• They're on an island to refuel and restock.
• The crew dropped their captain back in Manila and things are all good now.
• Manjiro's going around looking for a present for baby William Henry, who will now be five; when he hears a parrot say "Konichiwa!" he buys it for William.
• He also hopes to find the person who trained the bird.
• But before he can, his crew is all excited—there's gold in California.
• So guess where they're off to now?
• They head to California, where Manjiro will use the gold he finds to fund his trip back to Japan.
• But before that happens, they all head back to New Bedford, Connecticut.
• By now, Manjiro's taught the parrot—called Tori—all sorts of Japanese and English words.
• When they get to New Bedford, the Whitfields are waiting for him; it's a good welcome back.
• Except for William Henry—apparently, he died of a fever some years ago.
• Manjiro's depressed.
• He's also sad that he took Tori away from his island home to go with him to Connecticut; the bird is kind of like him.
• But what can he do about everything now?