Fate and Sakura
Fate and Sakura
Photo credit: wallyir from morguefile.com
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Chapter 3
New Life
Days went by so quickly that I didn’t even realize that am able to walk without any support or pain. It had been seven months now since I had been here. How bad my condition was when I came here. Now am able to walk freely without any support. Though I had to take precautions but life has a new beginning for me. It’s autumn now and the whole village was preparing itself for the upcoming winter. Nights are already chilly and one good thing I had discovered was that we don’t have to bath at the village bathing spot. But instead we have to walk further towards the foot of the mountain where there is a hot spring.
I had never experienced a hot spring bath before and by observing how they are bathing I was bit reluctant in the beginning. It is common that we have to first take a dip in the mud pool which they had dug up before entering the pool. Actually the villages had divided the main pool into two parts where there is one with murky water while the other one is clear. There is a protocol about the one having clear water is that we have to dip into it before we dry ourselves. So after rubbing ourselves with mud all over the body we have to enter the murky pool first.
About separate pools it is ok but the time span we have when exchanging pools is terribly chilly and sometimes I don’t want to exchange pools. But the best part is that after the bath you feel really relaxed. Life at Jako’s place is filled with activities. With the newborn now Hitomi and Yuralria are now sharing in the household chores. I don’t see Aiko a lot nowadays for she is taking incharge of the kitchen whereas Hana is helping Shila with the newborn. Normally the main meal is prepared by Hana but it seems like that Aiko is now taking over Shila’s responsibility temporarily. Hiroto is whole day out in the fields with Sato while Jako spends most of the time in the sea.
The family had named the newborn as Chiaki. The family preferred a Japanese name because she was Shila’s firstborn in Japan. So it could be inferred that Yuralria and Miki were born in Alaska and Shila must have come here after birth of Miki. So much for the family history but I didn’t ask anyone about it for I thought this may offend Jako. Dried meat, fish,fruits, vegetables and grains had to be stocked up for the approaching winter season. Jako manages to get stock of salt supplies from Alaska.
Now I am in a much better condition so occasionally I help Hiroto and Sato in storing the dried food stock. I still cannot understand what they are saying but being with them makes me more comfortable and entertaining at times because of Sato ofcourse. Whenever Jako calls at the beach I accompany Hiroto and Sato in bringing up the catch of the day. Salmon, seal meat and salt are normal contents but sometimes he gets blubber from whales hunted in Alaska. Blubber is a good source of fuel during cold winter months.
Nowdays the days are getting shorter and it is really beautiful to see the sunset. The colours of the sky lasts quite long and sometimes I wonder if I could capture it for a moment. Truly I miss Aiko now. Maybe someday we will continue with our next lesson in cross culture underneath the painted sky. Since am ok now I don’t have to share room with Sato. Am transferred to Hiroto’s room which is just next to the childrens room across the kitchen. Jako decides usually whose room he will spend night in. Nowdays since Chiaki sleeps with Shila, Jako sleeps in Hana’s room. Aiko sleeps with Shila now to help her with the baby or else she used to sleep with other children.
Hiroto’s room is much bigger and brighter than Sato’s. Actually Sato’s room was a storeroom before but since I was there it had converted into a temporary sleeping room for me. Hiroto is not like Sato but since he is a young men at times he smokes near the window. I also join him but we have to wait for the right moment when everyone are asleep especially Hitomi. Once she opened the door while we were smoking near the window but it took Hiroto a lot of time to convince her that it wasn’t us. I mentioned about Sato and Hiroto made up a story that Sato was standing near the window talking to us before she came.
Hitomi is kind of girl who will sneak out to Sato to investigate whether we were not lying. Thank God Aiko came along to call her for sleep. She left the room complaining that she will tell the parents perhaps but we knew that she will forget by the morning. I have to wake up very early in the morning with Hiroto. We grab the food parcel which Aiko had prepared overnight and head out to the fields. It’s quite cold at this time of the hour and still dark but when the work starts it feels much nicer. Hiroto loves smoking in the cold and I can’t resist for it really does feels good. In the beginning I usually got tired and sometimes had trouble waking up early. Then I learnt a trick which was to take a long nap during the meal break. Can’t argue with Hiroto for he is used to this type of schedule and for me everything is new.
I love the food which Aiko always prepares for us. It’s nothing special just rice balls stuffed with fish and wrapped in a kind of dried seaweed companied with pickles and dried fruits. We have frequent tea breaks which Hiroto prepares on a temporary ‘rock stoves.’ I prefer some sweetner with it to taste better but over here it is meant to be drank like that. The farm is not that big but still requires a lot of work. It’s autumn now so we have to remove all old plants and make the field flat because in winter the ground will be frozen and in spring it would be much easier to plough the field I guess.
The farm consists of many kind of vegetables both ground and leafy ones. There aren’t much fruit trees around because they are abundant in the mountains. Once a week either Sato or Hiroto make a journey to bring fruits and wild vegetables. I haven’t been there but when spring comes I wish to accompany them. I learnt a great deal of Japanese words from Hiroto and at the same time taught him easy English words. He is also like Aiko. Learns very fast but I guess he knows far more than Aiko now. When the last work on the field was done we did not have to wake up early in the morning. Instead we tugged into our floor beds and slept more for it was really getting colder nowdays.
Winter came along and stayed indoors mostly. Women and children stayed indoors most of the time since they don’t have to gather food or fruits. Men usually carried out short duties like feeding the animals or getting firewood. Though Jako was quite strict regarding children outside in the snow but sometimes he allowed them to play if Miki insists. At that moment all of us went out to join the party.
Once I tried to make a snowmen for the kids. It was interesting for them since I involved all of them. They call it ‘Yukidurama’ in Japanese. But the following day it rained so the ‘Yukidurama’ was spoilt. I felt sorry for little Miki because he was most touched by the spoiling. However on the following week the temperatures dropped further and it was really uncomfortable even inside the house. Jako has a big house but it is quite old. Ofcourse it belongs to Hana’s parents and by it’s structure I could analyse that it is very old. Infact it is well ventilated which makes it terribly colder now.
Outside it seemed like the skies had opened up the refrigerator door and snow kept on piling everywhere. Jako was worried about the roofs for if the snow is too thick then it may bring down the roof. We waited for three days for the snowing to ease but it seemed like that it is worsening day by day. On the fourth day I told Jako that we should do it now or else it would be too late. Jako didn’t want to take the risk but he had no choice. Straight after the morning meal all the men went out.
Since the snow had piled high on the ground the roof seemed much nearer then before. It was easy to climb but Jako warned everyone that the snow is soft and underneath there are rocks which could result in serious injuries. Hiroto had to lay the ladder against the roof and ramped the foot of the ladder as hard as he could till it was rock steady. Indeed Jako was right. The ladder had sunk atleast two feet down but still it was much easier to climb the roof now. Jako and Sato went first followed by Hiroto. When it was my turn Jako insisted that I should not come since I have just recovered from injuries.
But I wanted to see how thick the snow was so he allowed me to watch from the edge of the roof. The snow had piled up quite thick but wasn’t enough to bring the roof down. However it was good to remove now for if we waited for snow to ease it would be quite unfortunate. It was very slippery on the roof so the men had to be very careful about their balance. Sato almost tipped over once for I guess it was due to too much wine the previous night.
During winter Jako does not stop him from drinking because it keeps the body warm according to him. He even allows children to take few sips before going to bed. Calmly I watched Hiroto and Jako clearing the roof. I wondered that these people aren’t educated but I was amazed by the skills they possessed. It didn’t take an hour I suppose, and the job was done. Hiroto slowly walked up to me and passed over the shovel and iron rod. Sato brought other equipments and Jako stayed behind to inspect if there were any damages done while removing the snow. Sato returned all the equipments to the storehouse while I stood with Hiroto holding each side of the ladder. Jako came down looking satisfied with the job well done. He gave a pat on my shoulder maybe to thank me for insisting him to clear the roof. Hiroto gave me a very satisfied look.
Maybe now Jako had started to build trust in me. We were welcomed by warm meals which tasted really nice in the cold weather. For the first time since I had moved into the house Aiko came to me with same sparkling eyes. Even in this winter her smile was enough to bring warmth in my heart. That night all children came to Hiroto’s room and the house liven up with laughter and entertainment all night along. Even Jako joined the party but it was short-lived since Hana came by and ordered the children to go to bed. Aiko helped her to take them to their room. Before she left the room I requested Jako if she can bring us all the hot beverage. Jako told Aiko after helping her mother she can bring us the hot beverage.
It wasn’t for the hot beverage I had the craving for but actually it was to take a glimpse of Aiko before I go to sleep. Don’t know why but it seems like that am falling for this girl and I cannot express it because if I do I didn’t how this family will react. Just before Sato gave a big yawn Aiko came with a stone vessel and drinking bowls. She shared few moments of laughter with her father and brother before she looked at me and gave the same heartwarming smile. She said “goodnight!” and went. How peaceful it was and ofcourse I will sleep well tonight.
For some moment I couldn’t forget her smile and really made numerous turnovers whole night. Once I saw Hiroto’s large eyes staring over mine and in a cautious tone he said “daijobu” and instantly I replied “daijobu.” For a moment fright screamed over my shoulders because I thought he must have guessed it but hope he doesn’t. I turned my face towards the window and in the silhouette of frost I could see the cedar branches swaying with the soft wind gusts. Don’t know when I fell asleep but for the first time I slept really well.
The winter season was a terrible experience for me but I can’t forget those lovely meals prepared by Hana and Aiko. During the day we had hot soup served with dried fruits. This was to keep the stomach full because during winter we often felt hungry and food supply had to be rationed since there is an extra member in the house. They didn’t mind feeding me but I felt bad at times since I can’t give anything in return. However I do provide a helping hand in the house whenever it arises.
One morning in the mid-winter season Jako asked me to join him for seal hunting. I was really excited about it. Seals gather in huge numbers in this season because cold waters are rich with nutrients and food stock supply. The sea waters are below freezing temperatures and I could see ice-bergs at distance. Jako pointed out towards a long band of clouds setting in the far north-eastern and said “Alaska” upon hearing Alaska’s name I knew that it’s my home continent, but don’t know when I will see States again. They don’t know whether am still alive or not. Hopefully someone still has hope in me.
I could hear a strange barking noise at a distance but it doesn’t seem like that to be of dogs. Jako looked at me and smiled and said “seals.” We walked casually towards the site and Jako insisted that we should not rush or else we might scare the whole party off. The barking sound grew louder and louder as we approached the destination. There was a huge colony of seals gathered upon the rocky shore. I was desperate to see how Jako makes his kill. Jako pointed to one juvenile seal partly away from the main colony.
We walked up to the animal but it took us a while to get there since we had to go through the sharp pointy rocks. Actually it took me a while since I wasn’t used to these and Jako had to wait for me. But a few yards away from the target he did not wait for me. He rushed towards it and harpooned the creature mercilessly. I couldn’t get how he made the kill because I was still trying not to lose my grip but I saw the creature struggle to death. I saw Jako bringing seals home before but they were much smaller than this one.
I wondered how are we going to carry this animal home. Jako tied a sling around it’s neck and fastened a rope to it. And then I watched him dragging the animal out of the rocks and then onto the beach. I felt sorry for the poor animal for being treated in such a manner but Jako wasn’t mean in cruelty. The animal was already dead ofcourse and wouldn’t feel anything now. A good Alaskan manner I would say. A large seal means long-lasting supply of meat and blubber. I witnessed how Jako gutted the animal and was thrilled to see the amount of fat and meat it had. No wonder why seals are much preferred meat over here.
Hiroto took incharge of slicing large chunks of the carcass. Hana was there to instruct Hiroto how to slice it down even though he had done numerous times. Maybe she was sorting out which portions goes in which heap for various cooking styles. I could see that the Jako’s did not take out the fat and later in the evening when we were served the seal meal I could see that seal fat is a delicacy for the family. For me it tasted alright but am not used to eating large amounts of animal fat. We did not go out for anymore hunting because we had ample supply of food now.
As time went by winter slowly withered away. Early spring season was a delightful site. Now we don’t feel that cold at night times but outside we still have snow and nights are still chilly. Every morning I join Hiroto in feeding the animals or going out to mountains to get fresh grass of the spring season. It’s always interesting to see how nature slowly wakes up from a long sleep. Each day I see something new and fresh blooming. Now I understand why we call it Spring season for everything just springs out from the ground and it’s really interesting.
The sea is quite murky now since the glaciers and frozen water bodies are melting. Village pathway is often slippery and wet and not ideal for walking. I don’t use it now since am not going out to the sea. Instead I spend most of the days out in the field with Hiroto. Now the ground is turning softer and it is good for ploughing. However we are still awaiting the word from village elders since they have a strong belief regarding lunar positions and farming. Why they are still in the dark ages I often question myself sometimes. This is twenty-first century and they are still stuck up with old system. I mean the field is ready what else they want.
We waited for whole week and then finally Jako walked up to us one day while we were feeding the animals. He confirmed that now we can plough the field. What a great relief it was. Without wasting any moment we prepared the horses and by midday we were ploughing the fields. The ground was soft and the horses were strong so it took us three days to plough the field twice. How good we felt when the work was done. Jako was pleased with the field being ploughed. He told us to rest for one day and the following day we started hoeing the fields and making beds for planting. Hiroto seemed not that tidy while preparing the beds whereas I took my time to have a neat row.
Later I got from Hiroto that we don’t have to worry about neatness because we are running out of time. Before the moon changes it’s shape we have to plant the seeds. I was bit disappointed but did not complain and quickly finished making beds for the whole field. Next morning I was bit reluctant in going out and delayed myself. Hiroto was already in the field with Sato, Aiko and his friend Daisuke. Seeing Aiko made feel bit ashamed of myself for because of my stubbornness she had to take my place. I walked towards them quietly with a lump of guilt in my chest then Aiko looked at me welcomed with a big smile. Others did the same and Hiroto showed me how much work they had done. Aiko grabbed my hand and took me to the row in which she was planting. She showed me how to plant seeds. It was too fast for me but somehow or the other I got the message that dig deep holes with fingers, place the seeds and cover with little soil. Maybe digging deep is for plants to hold the soil firmly and little soil cover for the seeds to sprout easily.
Before the morning break third of the field was planted. We sat down for a short tea break. Daisuke and Hiroto went to the animal yard pretending to inspect them but instead it was for smoking. Hiroto signaled me to join them but I pointed towards Aiko and told them to go and I will catch up next time. Aiko was busy chatting with Sato and I was enjoying their conversation. It appeared to me that Aiko is teasing Sato and he is trying to defend himself. At times Sato picks up dirt and tries to scare Aiko with that and the atmosphere is filled with excitement. After sometime Hiroto and Daisuke returned from the animal yard. Aiko went home afterwards.
Hiroto told me that in the morning when he saw me sleeping he didn’t wake me up because he thought I must be tired. Ofcourse I was awake but felt really bad with what I had done. He told me that planting seeds is not an easy task because Jako does not like any seed to go waste so planters have to be careful while planting. Now since I got that information I knew that atleast I did the right thing. We continued chatting while planting the seeds and by the end of the day we had completed planting the whole field. It was really tiring since we had often bend down for planting. My back ached whole night and thank god we didn’t have to go to the fields next day. We slept whole day.
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