Rakka!
Hey!
Found her?
I hope the snow won't get any heavier.
Don't worry, it'll probably stop soon.
Rakka...
Who are you?
I wish we could talk with them, don't you?
They're said to carry lost things.
How did it feel like when you were being born?
It felt like someone was protecting me in my dream.
Well Rebirth Riddle
Someone who protected me.
Dad...?
Mom...?
I don't know.
Who's there? May I ask who you are?
The ladder is broken, and I can't get out.
I'm Rakka, a Haibane who lives in Old Home on the outskirts of town.
Are you from the town?
Wait! I can't get out! Help!
Help!
Excuse me...
Thank you very much for rescuing me.
Wait!
A Haibane girl called Kuu went beyond the walls!
She's my friend! Do you know her by any chance?!
I'm sorry.
I know I'm not allowed to speak to you.
But Kuu is my friend.
I'm concerned because I don't know anything about outside the walls.
Is Kuu all right?
If you can't speak, please at least nod if you've seen Kuu!
That's not much to ask. Is it?!
This is...
Kuu!
It's cold!
What are you doing?
You must not touch the wall.
Were you not told to stay clear of these woods?
Have you sprained your ankle?
Use this.
You are a Haibane from Old Home, are you not?
Your name is, Rakka.
Yes.
You may explain this situation later.
Stay here if you cannot walk.
I will get someone.
I'm fine!
Being rescued from the well was inevitable...
but you must not make contact with the Toga.
Only official Communicators are allowed to do so.
Kuu, my friend, went beyond the walls.
So I thought the Toga might know something about it.
Oh, yes!
I heard Kuu's voice from inside the walls.
Your mind thinks that you did. It was merely that the walls echoed...
your inner concern for the friend who had taken the Flight.
Only those whom the walls recognized as ready to live outside...
may go beyond the walls.
Therefore, you need not worry.
But why did you wish to check the well?
I found a dead bird at the bottom of the well.
And that is the reason you went down, risking danger?
I...
Since I came to this town, I've always felt that bird was calling me.
I can't explain it, but I feel that it died on my account.
Birds are the only creatures allowed to go beyond the walls in this world.
Hence, they're said to carry the things we've lost.
Did you feel fear when you saw its dead remains?
No.
In that case, the dead bird is proof that you now know what you should know.
The bird was proud knowing it completed its mission and showed you its body.
There is no need to grieve.
What the bird let me know was the true meaning of the dream...
I had in the cocoon.
I had a dream at the bottom of the well.
That bird!
That was someone I used to know. Someone who cared for me!
But I didn't even make any efforts to realize that!
Why do you grieve so much for one you cannot even remember?
I don't know! But I hurt that person.
Please sit.
Talk to me and take your time.
For what you said is very important.
Somewhere, not here, in a place I can't remember...
I was obsessed with the idea that I was all alone.
And that nobody would even care if I was gone.
So I wanted to disappear.
Then, I had this dream about being in the sky.
But I just remembered that the bird was also in the dream.
That it was someone in the form of a bird, trying to call me back.
I wasn't alone.
But I...
You must not think in such a way.
Your wings and halo are proof that...
you have no sin to be atoned for in this world.
But I... My feathers are...
Sin-Bound?
You are covering the mark of sin by dying your feathers with medicine.
Who told you how?
I see.
What is Sin-Bound? Am I a sinner?
Is the dream I had for real?
There is no way to be certain.
What you lost in the dream inside the cocoon cannot be retrieved.
Even if you did hurt someone, you will never see that person again.
What should I do?
If I am a sinner and not supposed to be here...
Please take me to the Place where I belong.
Here... this town is too nice for me.
Everyone is so caring. Everyone treats me so kindly.
I feel so guilty. I can't bear it.
If the dream I had is real, I want to go back.
I have to go back and apologize.
One who recognizes their own sin, has no sin.
What?
That is a riddle called the Circle of Sin.
Think about it. One who recognizes their own sin, has no sin.
Now I ask you, are you a sinner?
I...
If the dream in the cocoon was for real, then I think I am a sinner.
Then are you one who recognizes your own sin?
If so, will my sin be erased?
Then I ask you again.
One who recognizes their own sin, has no sin.
Then are you a sinner?
Oh, if I think I have no sin, then I do become a sinner?
Perhaps that is what it means to be bound by sin.
To keep going around in the same circle looking to find where the sin lies...
and at some point losing the sight of the way out.
Then, how should I answer?
Think.
You must find the answer by yourself.
Come.
This is where I must leave you.
Take my cane and have a safe walk home.
Can I see you again?
I will need to have the cane returned.
Thank you for everything.
Rakka!
Reki?
Rakka, Rakka, thank goodness.
Ouch, Reki, you're hurting me!
I'm sorry.
You're covered in mud.
What happened? Where are your shoes?
I fell in to the well in the Western Woods.
Wha...?
Hey!
Don't run off by yourself like that!
Did you find her?
She's here!
Hey!
Over here!
That cane...
Oh, the old Communicator let me borrow it.
He seemed frightening, but he's really a nice man.
A truly nice man wouldn't leave an injured girl by herself.
Oh no, your nails are broken.
So cold.
This isn't normal. They feel like ice.
Strange, I can't feel anything.
Oh, my ankle doesn't hurt any more, either.
It's not that it doesn't hurt, you've gone numb.
Can you walk?
Did you by any chance touch the wall?
What's wrong? You look so pale.
I'll go ahead and take Rakka home.
Wait!
She touched the wall.
Rakka, get on.
What? What happened?
Reki, what happened? Hey...
Hikari, we have to hurry, too.
My body seems to be getting lighter and lighter.
Don't talk. Go to sleep.
I'm afraid to close my eyes.
It feels as though I'Iljust disappear if I fall asleep like this.
The walls are dangerous.
Especially near the Western Woods and the pond.
Did I not tell you over and over again?
I'm sorry.
The bird called me.
The bird?
At the bottom of the well...
the dream in the cocoon I couldn't remember came back to me.
The well... Rakka?
All gone.
It wasn't the medicine. Why...?
Is she alright?
Is she asleep?
Kana, sorry to ask, but can you go to town and get some fever medicine?
What?!
Why didn't you tell me while we were out?
Come on, you can take my scooter.
OK. But is the store still open?
Make them open it, if you have to.
And don't say anything about the walls.
I know. Key?
Oh, I left it in the ignition.
Why do you always do that?
Reki, I don't think she has a fever. Just the opposite, she's cold as ice.
The fever will probably break out sometime after midnight.
Reki, how do you know that?!
Hey!
Reki, did you let the housemother know you found her?
Oh, not yet.
Come on Hikari, we have to check on the kids, too.
Thanks... for the help.
I'm good at putting them to sleep.
Don't fall asleep before them.
Sorry, did it hurt?
No. It feels as though my body is gone.
I can almost feel the pain just by looking at you, though.
It's like the night my wings came out.
I guess it is.
You take care of me every time.
I'm a meddler. I've always been.
Your hands are so warm.
No, it's that your hands are cold. They're freezing.
Reki, my body keeps getting lighter. Am I still here?
Don't worry, you're still here.
I don't want to disappear.
You won't. Don't worry.
I want to stay here. I don't want to go anywhere else.
It's okay to stay here, isn't it?
Of course. You can stay here. You are a blessed Haibane.
Reki, you've always helped me.
Rakka...
you no longer...
How is she?
Stable for now.
I hope we'll get the medicine before the fever breaks out.
Is it something medicine can cure?
I don't know.
If the fever hasn't come down by the morning, I'll take her to the Renmei.
Tell them what happened, and...
Reki!
I know you know a lot of things...
and you may be able to handle anything by yourself!
But...
you don't have to shoulder everything alone.
Tell us anything that we can do to help.
We are all friends.
Yeah, sorry. Let's take turns looking after her.
Can you watch her for a while?
Of course.
Thanks. I'll take a quick rest. Call me if you need me.
You know, Rakka doesn't need my help either.
There's no need to get depressed. I should be glad.
Rakka isn't Sin-Bound any more.
I'm used to being left alone.
It's happened over and over again for the past seven years.