Warm spring sunlight poured down over Saita Village.
The trees in the forest were now covered in fresh green leaves.<\/p>\n
To the west of the village, the many chestnut trees were stretching out their new leaves, growing stronger day by day.
Before long, small white flowers would bloom in long, soft clusters.
And in autumn, the trees would bear many large chestnuts, bringing joy to the villagers.<\/p>\n
On the south side of the village, seeds of millet and barnyard grass had been sown in newly cleared fields.
Tiny sprouts soon pushed their way up through the soil and began to grow with energy.
By autumn, they would be covered with countless small grains\u2014precious food to be made into soups and porridge.<\/p>\n
Other vegetables, too, had been planted in the fields.<\/p>\n
Soran had come to a charcoal hut deep in the forest.
He was there to help Hayato, Takeru\u2019s father.<\/p>\n
Takeru and Satoshi were there as well, along with Satoshi\u2019s little brother, Yoshimichi.
Yoshimichi was only five years old.
Takeru and Satoshi were both eight\u2014one year older than Soran.<\/p>\n
Hayato had been a close friend of the village chief, David, since long ago.
Today, he was teaching the children how to cut wood for making charcoal.<\/p>\n
There was no place more pleasant than the forest in spring.
Soft sunlight filled the air, along with the fresh scent of grass and trees.
The sounds of birds, animals, and insects made the forest feel alive, delighting both the eyes and the ears.<\/p>\n
\u201cHo-ho-kekyo, kekyo-kekyo\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
The song of a bush warbler echoed through the woods.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaha! Soran, you\u2019re swinging like a scaredy-cat!\u201d<\/p>\n
The children\u2019s laughter blended into the forest, as if it, too, were part of nature.<\/p>\n
Hayato showed Soran how to use an axe.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe iron axes David makes are amazing,\u201d he said.
\u201cThey work many times faster than stone ones. Cutting wood and making charcoal has become much easier.\u201d<\/p>\n
He smiled as he went on.<\/p>\n
\u201cEver since David came to this village, many things have changed.
This village itself\u2014Saita\u2014was a place he searched for over a long, long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Soran tilted his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t really know much about him. My mother said there was someone she grew up with like a brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI see\u2026 Tomo did marry and leave the village,\u201d Hayato said.<\/p>\n
He nodded several times and continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid and Tomo were very close\u2014just like real brother and sister.<\/p>\n
At first, David couldn\u2019t speak our language at all. But he worked hard and learned it.
Before long, everyone in the village came to like him.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s a straight and honest man\u2014kind to everyone.
And the way he prays\u2026 it moves people\u2019s hearts.<\/p>\n
Sometimes he becomes so still, praying for a long time without moving.
But everyone knows\u2014
afterward, he\u2019ll come back with a big smile.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hayato laughed softly, as if remembering something dear.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt must have been eight years ago\u2026
Three young men came to Saku Village, riding fine horses.<\/p>\n
One of them was your father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis name was Toku.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s right\u2014Toku. A fine young man.<\/p>\n
He saw Tomo swimming in the lake and fell in love at first sight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Soran smiled brightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father told me that too.
He said he had never seen anyone swim so fast\u2014or so beautifully.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds like Tomo,\u201d Hayato said with a nod.
\u201cNo one in the village could match her.\u201d<\/p>\n
By afternoon, the work in the forest came to an end.<\/p>\n
Yoshimichi stayed behind with his father, while the other children returned to the village.
They were going to help build new houses.<\/p>\n
In the village, two young men\u2014Morishige and Yukio\u2014were leading the work.
They had to build ten more houses before autumn.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t go wandering off!\u201d Hayato called.<\/p>\n
The boys took off running all at once.<\/p>\n
It was a race.<\/p>\n
They ran as fast as they could toward a large red pine tree ahead.
If they stumbled or lost their way, they would lose.<\/p>\n
Satoshi reached it first.
Soran came next.
Takeru tried a shortcut but failed, and fell behind.<\/p>\n
The three boys sat down beneath the tree, catching their breath side by side.<\/p>\n
High above them, an owl had made its nest in a hollow.<\/p>\n
\u201cI looked inside the nest the other day,\u201d said Takeru.
\u201cThere were three eggs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cReally? I want to see them!\u201d Soran\u2019s eyes sparkled.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s come back on the Sabbath,\u201d said Satoshi.
\u201cI also found a titmouse nest nearby. It had nine eggs!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlright, it\u2019s settled! \u2026But hey, didn\u2019t we say we\u2019d build a raft too?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Sabbath sure is busy!\u201d<\/p>\n
The boys looked at one another and burst into laughter.<\/p>\n
That evening, the sea seen from the western hill of Saita Village was breathtaking.<\/p>\n
Soran and his mother, Tomo, sat side by side on a rock.
It was their favorite place.<\/p>\n
\u201cSoran,\u201d Tomo said gently,
\u201cI\u2019m thinking of going to Saku Village with David.
I want to tell your grandparents that we\u2019re safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay,\u201d Soran answered right away.
\u201cI\u2019ll be fine. I have Takeru and Satoshi.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt takes about four days for an adult to walk there. It would be hard for you, wouldn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah. I\u2019ll stay here. There\u2019s so much I want to do with my friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tomo smiled with relief.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m glad. You like this village, don\u2019t you?
I never imagined we would come to live here\u2026
It must be God\u2019s guidance.\u201d<\/p>\n
For a while, Tomo gazed quietly at the sea and the setting sun.
From the village came the ringing sound of iron being hammered.<\/p>\n
Soran remembered how uneasy he had felt during their journey.<\/p>\n
(How peaceful it is now\u2026)<\/em><\/p>\n As he thought this, a gentle warmth filled his heart.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Warm spring sunlight poured down over Saita Village.The trees in the forest were now covered in fresh green le […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":873,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-871","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-short-novels"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/primitivechristianitystudy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/871","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/primitivechristianitystudy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/primitivechristianitystudy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primitivechristianitystudy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primitivechristianitystudy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=871"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/primitivechristianitystudy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/871\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":872,"href":"https:\/\/primitivechristianitystudy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/871\/revisions\/872"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primitivechristianitystudy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/primitivechristianitystudy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=871"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primitivechristianitystudy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=871"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primitivechristianitystudy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}