Village.

Country of Fire. Year 20 since the End of the Warring States. Spring.

It was broad daylight in the humble village called Midori no Hi. Clouds covered the skies over their small stretch of land. A downpour threatened to fall at any moment and yet there was no wind.

A crowd hovered around the Kikuchi Inn.

It was an old, two-story inn, built in the purest traditional style. It was made of wood and had four sliding entrances to its credit. It was painted green and white. From inside and from my position I could barely make out a bar. A bar occupied by several people, mostly unkempt looking men. Drunk men whose stench could be smelled from where I stood. A stench of cheap sake that was very discouraging.

Outside, in the crowd. A crowd made up essentially of older men and women.

Among that crowd were Midori and me. A young mother, her small infant and a bamboo umbrella to protect us from the likely downpour.

We had both arrived from home relatively recently.

Our goal was to head to the village market to do some of the usual shopping. However, after seeing so many people gathered in one place, Midori had decided to stop and say hello. Theoretically, many of the elderly were regular customers at the temple where Midori was working nowadays. Therefore, my mother had decided to stay and socialize with her patients for a while longer.

Currently, Midori was carrying me in a baby carrier strapped tightly across her chest. An opaque blue baby carrier. A baby carrier that brought as an added benefit a good visibility of every thing or entity in front of me.

Thanks to this particular benefit I had discovered that the specific reason for the congregation among so many people was none other than to hear a story. A story narrated by a stooped old man as old or older than me during my past life.

A story that, by then, was already coming to an end.

- ...And so ended the period of clan warfare. Then the ninja villages were built. Of the rest of the story, well. Of that history, we, the older ones, are already part of it -. Said the old man while gesturing with his hands dramatically.

*Plas, Plas, Plas*

*Fiu, Fiu, Fiu*

The crowd gave him a standing ovation amidst much clapping and whistling.

Midori adhered to the tangent with a smile on her lips and several complementary claps.

My expression became hesitant for the moment. Frankly, I didn't understand at all the reason for all the hoopla. It was a rather implausible story, fiction at best. There was nothing to celebrate. But in the end. In the end I ended up attributing the oddity of this mysterious situation to my own ignorance on the subject.

On the other hand, the old man was smiling warmly thanking each of his onlookers. Many of them approached him to praise his stupendous narration. Others began to discuss with remarkable eagerness the story in question.

The man of the hour was a somewhat plump, visibly short fellow with tanned, brown skin. He wore a loose-fitting, somewhat worn white kimono, tied with a white ribbon, and stood staggeringly on two brown wooden "getas". He was bald, with a small forehead, bushy white eyebrows, large ears, mischievous brown eyes, flat nose, prominent lips, broad jaw and finally a pronounced chin. He was missing almost all of his teeth and consequently emitted a slight hissing sound every time he jumped from one word to the next.

Honestly, the said man reminded me quite a bit of myself. At least, during the home stretch of my life, he did.

The only visible difference would be that, while he was able to walk relatively normally even this late in life, I had never been able to do so before without outside help. It was a great and sad joke of fate, no doubt.

- Siwgh -. A strangled sigh escaped my lips very slowly. A sigh of frustration. A baby sigh.

So far, this world was so similar and yet so different from my own. So much so, that I always managed to end up stressed out at the end of the day. This place had a strange mix of modern and archaic objects and ideologies that puzzled me most of the time. I hoped that the inscrutable passing of the years would manage to eliminate this annoying feeling for good. Not possessing common sense had become one of my worst nightmares during these past few nights. Although, honestly, only time would tell.

- What a tasty little thing you have here, Midori. Your Kiyoshi is still as beautiful as I remember him, just look at those cheeks, yes, and that seriousness too! Oh, how I adore him! Jojo. Hum. But you know, my friend? About your husband. Well, just. Sigh. When you need help with this little angel, you can count on me, okay? I just wanted to say that -. Offered Mako, our neighbor.

As usual, she had come out of nowhere. As usual, she now found herself adding to my frustration as she playfully squeezed my cheeks. What a great torment.

At the rate things were going I probably wouldn't grow my hair normally.

Mako was a young woman, short, plump with very well-groomed pale skin. She wore a light gray kimono with yellow flowers that was tied with a black ribbon and wore two black "zoris" on both feet. She had an oval face, short straight black hair, large ears, small forehead, thin eyebrows, arrogant green eyes, pointed nose, thin ever-smiling lips, narrow jaw and finally a short rounded chin.

Except for small details, Mako bore an uncanny resemblance to Midori. We were probably related and I hadn't even realized it yet. Although such an approach was more of a guess than anything else for the moment. Again, only time would make it all clear.

- Thank you so much, Mako, you're the best. Now I have to go run some errands, okay? See you later? Yes? Take care of yourself -. Midori affirmed as she waved goodbye to Mako, waving her right hand nonchalantly.

- The same, my dear -. Mako returned the greeting and was soon lost from sight in the crowd.

Then, Midori began to move forward again. The inn disappeared in the distance not long after.

We walked through the village using the main road. A road built mainly of stone and mud. On that route I saw many people coming and going around me. People mostly of humble origin but happy people. Although the standard of living still could not be considered average, still. Still, these people looked healthy and visibly well educated. People who worked all day long without complaining too much. People who helped each other in times of need. It was almost idyllic. Except for the occasional drunk giving his wife trouble, there were no beggars or paupers anywhere in the place. Except for a few barefoot children, the little ones enjoyed playing in the street without fear of being harmed by anyone or anything. It was not bad, in my also humble opinion

There were a multitude of different and frequented businesses on each side of the path. From gastronomy to shoe shops, the village had everything, whether to a greater or lesser extent, it was basically a self-contained place. However, a moderate but constant flow of carts could also be observed entering and leaving the village along the main road among several other secondary streets. A flow that superficially indicated the influence of foreign trade in Midori no Hi. Thanks to this data, I could conclude with partial conviction that Midori no Hi was a relatively good place to live. A good place to grow up, meet people, set up a business or two and then start a family. The perfect place for men with small ambitions.

It was not a place for me, I knew that for sure.

My ambition was bigger than this place. Much bigger. Much more complex.

Fortunately for me, not long ago I had been able to hear Midori mention something about a move to other sites. Those sites were a place. That place was the capital. A vast and in all likelihood also challenging place that would prove unequivocally be in harmony with my objectives.

*Tlin, Tlin*

A bell rang. The bells of a store called: Himiko no Pan.

It was a somewhat old, small, traditional style store. It was located between two other stores that I had not been able to identify during that precise moment. Although I probably would on our way out.

The tent in question was constructed mostly of wood and clay. It was painted mostly in shades of vermilion and white. A few swallows and sparrows were nesting on its roof. A small red flagstone roof visibly worn by the passage of time.

The inside of the tent was very warm. That was the first thing I felt when I entered the place. The smell of freshly baked bread was another common thing. At the back of the shop was a large table. Around that table were a few people choosing their favorite breads from a large and succulent variety. On the other side of that table was a woman, probably the owner of the store. Her eyes fell on Midori after the ringing of the bells. Lively brown eyes filled with mischief and playfulness.

- Huh? Oh. Good morning, Midori! Long time no see, girl! Welcome! And I see you didn't come alone, eh? Hehe. What did you name the little one? Was it Riku, as I recommended, eh? You can't deny it was a good choice, can you? Right? -. Asked the owner of the shop while Midori went to select some products.

The woman in question was young, slim, of average height and light brown skin. She wore a white kitchen apron with sunflowers and two gray "zoris" on both feet. She had jet black frizzy hair, small face, large forehead, medium-sized ears, sharp dark eyebrows, lively brown eyes, flat nose, thin lips, thin jaw and finally a long graceful chin.

My eyes ignored her and then focused on the products in the store. It had been so long since I had tasted anything besides tasteless breast milk. So long that nostalgia for the taste of bread broke my mask and then invaded my childish features for a short lapse.

- Not again, Keiko, we talked about this, remember? I called him Kiyoshi, like my father -. Argued my mother while she began to select some bread.

Keiko pouted and then walked over to Midori turning around the table.

After that followed the usual torture. Keiko started to tease me. Midori allowed it and everyone finished happily by the time it was time for us to leave. Everyone except me, of course. The injured one had no words other than those few used to shriek when he wet himself. What a sarcasm of life.

For the rest of the shopping each circumstance was not so different from the last. It was always a simple guideline of: Arrive at the place, then shop, then annoy Kiyoshi, then depart for other areas of the market to continue the routine.

The only satisfaction I could get from everything that happened was merely informative, such as: Names of people. Names of places. Functioning of the market. Among other less remarkable things.

- It's starting to rain -. Midori muttered as she opened the umbrella over our heads.

It was already late afternoon when a few drops of rain announced the beginning of the long-predicted downpour.

Midori trotted, loaded like a mule, to the entrance of a small temple. The temple where she herself worked every day she could. The Amano temple.

The temple was essentially a small establishment built in the traditional way. It was located right in the middle of the village and had no premises or residence near it. It was made primarily of bamboo from the base to the roof. Consequently its color ranged from different shades of green to various nuances of yellow. All around it one could notice several flower gardens and medicinal plants. Medicinal plants which immediately reminded me of the smell that my mother had during many occasions in the recent past.

Slowly Midori opened the sliding doors that gave entrance to the sacred place. Today's opaque light illuminated the interior of the temple.

The interior of the temple in question was visually quite spartan to me. There were no decorations beyond the golden Buddha at its center. The rest of the space was used almost exclusively to care for injured or sick people. People who were currently resting on the floors on "futons" placed not too far apart. A fact that I found strangely practical but at the same time also quite unhygienic at first glance.

Those who I assumed were an integral part of the temple wore long white robes rather baggy. Robes that I could not relate at all to the Buddhist "uttarasanga" to which I was accustomed. Each of these so-called priests was attending to a different patient at this very moment. Some of them were applying ointments, others were performing prayers and a few were making recommendations to their patients.

Midori entered the place as a common occurrence. But not before leaving the umbrella on the floor to drain.

She then headed for a room on the right side of the temple.

I noticed how many of the patients and priests greeted her politely as she passed by. She returned the greeting very cordially. Apparently my mother was someone quite well known and respected in this type of environment. Which had not been much different in every place we had visited during this day.

Once in the room my eyes fell upon a meditative figure with his back to us. The figure of a man sitting "seiza" style on the floor. A balding, middle-aged man who also wore a white robe. Around his left arm glowed faintly a "japamālā" crafted from pristine white beads. In front of the subject in question was a statuette of Buddha. A statuette of Buddha before which the said man was passionately praying. I too decided to perform a little prayer in my mind. A prayer to the inner peace that had been mercilessly taken away from me during the last few months.

By then Midori had already deposited the groceries on the floor.

Then she silently leaned her back against the door frame.

- Sigh -. A light sigh followed. Her sigh. A sigh of obvious exhaustion.

Several minutes passed in which Midori only waited standing and the man continued praying. I, on the other hand, closed my eyes and immediately went to take a nap. I was relatively tired at this point in the day.

- Amitabha Buddha. Huh-huh? Midori. Good afternoon. Hum. I see you've come with the little one. Hey, is something wrong with young Kiyoshi? -. The man in question asked as he stood up from his sitting position.

The prayer of the apparent priest had finally concluded.

- Yuwn -. A strangled yawn followed. A baby yawn. My yawn.

I slowly began to enter dreamland.

- No, nothing like that, doctor. I was just dropping in to get watered down. It's raining pretty hard outside. That's all. Although if you need any help with a patient, just let me know, okay? -. Midori offered cordially.

Those words were the last thing I heard before I fell completely asleep. My last conclusion prior to the longed-for snooze had been that the one I had designated as priest was ostensibly a doctor. Consequently, so were all those men and women in white robes. Of course, at the time I was just rambling because of fatigue. That was the most likely.

To be continued...