Chapter 46
"Then, why is this her favourite tree? why did she prefer these tangerines over the other ones?" I am seriously confused as to the answer. I can see no reasonable explanation for such an opinion if not to do with the size of the tree.
"It is her favourite because she used to climb the tree herself and pick the tangerines with her hands. She said the tangerines tasted better when you worked hard to get them. That the labour you put in makes the reward you get out of it all the more sweeter." Nami tells me, and I nod my head in understanding, even though I don't really get it. It must be some kind of parent lesson thing for her daughters to help them grow up into fine responsible people.
Still, I would like to see if there is any truth to what she is saying and if these tangerines are sweeter. I have already tasted the normal tangerines, having usually gotten a batch every month or so as a treat for myself and George through Genzo-San, so I want to compare it with these ones. So, moving forward and past the grave, giving it a slight birth, I reach out and touch the tree, intending to climb it before realising I might be jumping the ball a bit.
"Uh, can I? I want to see if Bellemere-San was right." I say, looking to get permission from Nami since this is no longer just any old tangerine tree. It is now the sight of her mother's grave, and maybe climbing it would offend her, though I am reassured when she gives me the go-ahead. And so I begin to rise, putting my arms around the tree and starting to shimmy up its length.
I grab the branches when I rise high enough and start to rapidly ascend to the very top, breaking through the leaves and poking my head out of the very top of the tree. Finally, taking Bellemere's opinion to the max, I have climbed to the very top, and I reach my hand out to pluck the highest tangerine.
With it in hand, I jump and leap away from the tree, effortlessly landing on the ground a distance away from the grave since I didn't want to risk disturbing it. Now standing back on the ground after having easily scaled the tree, Nami watches me, not too shocked at my abilities. I guess she saw my attempt to murder Arlong and the power I exerted there, so she was aware of my capabilities.
Under her gaze, I peel the skin from the tangerines and then bring the tangerine to my lips and bite a chunk out of it, the delicious juice quickly filling the inside of my mouth with its terrific flavour. Indeed, this is one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten, which doesn't say a lot given I have hardly tasted cuisine off of this island, and when I was on Troga, I only at those weird fruits and poorly cooked meat.
Still, while this is one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten, arguably the most, I have already tasted it multiple times over the past few months in the batches delivered to me monthly by Genzo-San. This is no different from all the other tangerines I have already eaten, but looking at Nami's face, I can't help but feel the urge to tell her it is the most delicious tangerine I have ever tasted.
"Ah... This is, uh... It is delicious, but it is not any better than the other tangerines, in my opinion." I can't help but feel giving a disingenuous answer would be wrong, and, honestly, I don't really feel like being the type of person who lies for any reason, especially about small stuff like this. I expect Nami's face to falter and turn into a frown, but she actually smiles and starts to laugh.
"Haha, well, obviously it doesn't taste any better than the other ones to you. Did you see how easily you climbed that tree? It was like breathing for you?" Nami giggles, wiping a tear from her eye, though I think it is a remnant from earlier rather than her obvious enjoyment at my puzzled face now.
"What?" I say simply because I just don't get it. What does my quickly climbing the tree have to do with the taste of the fruit? She said I obviously that it obviously doesn't taste any better than the other ones because I effortlessly climb the tree, so then the opposite is true. If I had struggled to climb the tree, then the fruit would taste even sweeter? Is that right? and if so, why? Again, I don't get it.
"Bellemere was trying to give us a lesson. The things that you work hard for and that you struggle to achieve are so much better when you finally get them rather than if you got them with no effort at all. If you had worked hard to climb the tree and get the tangerine, then it would taste much better." So she says, explaining the meaning behind the tree, which is some fortune cookie nonsense, I am guessing. What is it about the struggle that makes the end result so good, really?
"Oh, is that so. I don't really get it. It is what it is. Whether you struggle for it or get it given to you, at the end of the day, isn't it still the same thing in the end?" If someone were to give me a tangerine and if I were made to climb a giant beanstalk to the sky to get one, I don't think either of them would taste differently from the other. The only thing different is that I would much rather have the one given, as the other requires an expenditure of energy for the same thing.
"I would have gone for the easy option as well, but then one day, I decided to climb the tree to see what Bellemere was talking about? It took me hours, but I did it, and the tangerine was the most delicious thing I have ever tasted. Bellemere said it tastes even better for her because she is the one that grows them, but she only said that to me after I took way longer climbing back down the tree." She smiles, remembering it, and I am sure that it must have been a beautiful memory, given the big smile on her face.
"Ha, I guess you still don't get it." She says, looking at the obviously confused look still on my face. "Then, how about this? Let's think about an example, how about your house?" She asks, obviously testing if I was okay with that given that it was just destroyed and it is a bit of a touchy subject. I give her a nod, gesturing for her to continue. I am still angry about the destruction of my home, but that is all pointed directly at those Fishmen.
"So, you worked hard to build your house over the last four years with George helping you all the while. Building it all, buying all the materials and tools yourself and toiling away day after day to improve your home, right?" I nod. "Then, how about if you were simply given that same exact home without having to make it or buy it yourself. Which one would you care about more? Which one would you take better care of and be upset about if it were to be destroyed?" It dawns on me.
"See, you get it right?" Nami says, happiness on my face at my understanding. I understand it now, and I have even felt it before. Her example worked very effectively. If I had been given that house as it was before it was destroyed, I wouldn't have cared much about it or taken so much pride in it, and I would not have been so upset about it when it was destroyed.
However, since I built it and put so much time and effort into my home, I cared about it more. I always looked after it, keeping on top of repairs and improvements, constantly cleaning and keeping it spotless. As a result, I was proud of my home. I could easily just sit and look at it and be filled with an incredible feeling, and every time, it brought some unknown good feeling to me. Was that fulfilment, pride or something else?
The more effort and work you put into something, the better the results you get out of it are. Would such a viewpoint apply to anything else? Everything else? Would living life in such a way give me a better enjoyment of life and more fulfilment out of it? Instead of being cautious and conniving, living a sly life hiding in the shadows and using people, is it better to live an upfront, straightforward life?
Before I can think about it further, I can hear footsteps approaching behind me, and by the look on Nami's face, she clearly recognises them. Nami immediately runs, tears gushing from her eyes, no longer held at bay. Rushing past me, I can hear Nami slam into someone behind me. Her cries are joined by another youthful voice, another girl.
Turning around, still eating the delicious tangerine, I bear witness to the reunion of two sisters, I assume. Though I can only really see the back of Nami, the other girl only reveals two small arms wrapping around her and a head of blue hair embedded into Nami's shoulders. I can understand the emotional response, as their mother had just been killed, and then Nami had just been kidnapped and taken, her fate unknown.
I look on as they both fall to their knees, still hugging and crying, softly whispering to each other. From down the hill, I can see the front door has been left open, so I am guessing the sister had seen us from the window and rushed straight outside to meet her sister. Still, the three women of this family sure have unique hair colours and are somehow related. Bellemere's hair was a reddish-purple, Nami's is a bright orange, and this new girl is a bright blue. So either the two girls both have different dads, or this family is in more of an adoption-type situation... or was, at least.
Still silently watching, I notice Genzo-San walking out of the front door, and then detecting the two girls near the top of the cliff, he runs up to meet them, but as he nears them, he slows down, and when Genzo comes to a stop he just watches them with sadness, as well as some guilt. He looks like he, more than anything, wants to go and hug them both, but for some reason, he can't let himself.
Finally though, he seems to get out of his funk and notices me standing behind them, still munching on this juicy tangerine. Damn, I would protect this island just so I can keep having these things. They are damn delicious... George loved them.
"Detoro-San, what are you doing here?" Genzo asks, obviously confused by my presence as he rightly should be. Last he saw, I was in my own village where I assured everyone that I could pay for myself, which I couldn't. After I saw that everybody could pay for themselves, I decided to leave instead of staying and fighting, endangering everybody else. That obviously didn't work out.
"Hello, Genzo-San. It is good to see that you are okay. As for why I am here, well, I am in the same situation as Nami." I say, answering his question. Though I am not sure if he is fully aware of Nami's circumstances, but I quickly move on and ask another question.
"More importantly, how are the rest of the villages?"
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