“A Story of the Laivencoth“

Saturday dinner

It is a glimmering night with all the stars hanging on the clear, dark sky. A gray, misty fog merges with it and covers all the light, telling the mysteriousness of the unpredicted future. The village below the fog is a remote place from the urban world, it is called the Laivencoth. In the Laivencoth, all strong people work in the fields to feed their families. The Sanakas is not an exception.

Sanaka Onera is the backbone of the family who joints together his gerontic parent, his graceful wife and his childish son. He had worked in the field until the sun set and cleaned all the used farming tools as he did every day. As he walks into his house, his wife, Chiu Adelynn is cooking in the kitchen intently with their only son Sanaka Akimoto peering over her right shoulder as she is putting in tomatoes and onions into an iron pot to make spicy-favor curry.

“I am back! You are all doing great, is it?” exclaims Onera with his big trumpet-like mouth.

“Welcome back, my dear. We are going to have curry rice for dinner, is that okay with you?” greets Adelynn with her appealing smiling on the rosy face.

“Good evening, daddy! We are going to have dinner very soon!” babbles Akimoto.

“Thank you, my boy, for sharing the housework with mama,” replies Onera. Then he turns to his wife, “And thank you, my love. Your juicy curry always makes me think of those precious time we shared. I will be at the dinner table very soon.”

Onera goes into the room besides the kitchen, takes a quick shower that washes away the sticky, odorous mud on his body and changes into a set of clean clothes. He stretches his rigid legs and aching back and slowly wanders out to the poorly decorated dining room.

It is five minutes later when the family meets again at a rectangular, ticklish table. There lays some hot, delicious food on its bumpy surface and they start to eat under the soft, saffron lightbulb.

“How’s the field?” asks Adelynn, “If you need my help, just say so. After all, it is not reasonable for one person to work in all of our fields.”

Onera consoles, “The field is great. There is a lot of sunshine in these days, and the crops are almost ready for the first harvest of the year. I studied the sky just now, it is going to rain very soon. The field is working quite well. There is no need to have extra help”. He pats her diminutive hands under the table repetitively, “I know I am a little too old to work, but we have our father and son to feed, Adelynn…” Onera calls softly, trying not to make his wife too worry about him.

Adelynn sighs along with a familiar compromise, “Be careful, the weather in Laivencoth changes every moment. Beware of the endless deep holes when you are walking on the muddy roads.”

Onera nods heavily with obedience. Akimoto listens to the conversation silently and remains quiet.

Like this, the family finishes their dinner and goes to their room to have an after-meal chat.

In the room

Three ‘sleepy cats’ are lying casually on their only bed with their breath echo in a synchronize pattern. All of them are thinking about what they are going to do in the upcoming meaningful day.

              “Mother, father, tomorrow is my 15^th birthday. Can I go to the field with father and learn how to grow crops?” asks Akimoto innocently.

              The two parents glance at each other and starts, “Akimoto, you may have a look at our vegatable fields but it is still too early for you to work in the field. You were once taken away by a male wolf at the field. Don’t you remember that? We think it is safer for you to overcome the fear of the creatures in the field first before you work in there. Or maybe you are just too young… What about this, I am going to teach you how to grow crops when you are 16, okay? The mud is slippery, the edges of the crops are sharp enough to cut your skin. It is too dangerous for you,” replied Onera.

              “But…” Akimoto knows his parents are right, but he cannot overcome his fear, as well as, he does not want to miss the chance to help his family. He can see how hard his parents have been working in these years to support the big family. Akimoto does not want them to work for too long and get too tired, especially when they are entering their fifties.

              “Don’t be upset, my son. I will have some of my Greek books in the old leather luggage as a present for your fifteenth birthday. You wanted them for a long time, isn’t it?” interrupts Adelynn, “Let’s have a nice sleep and we will see what will happen tomorrow.”

              The three folks lie on the bed and try to catch the sense of frustration, but none of them can.

              Suddenly, the rain pours into the floor outside the house and makes a splashy sound of waterfall. The sky flies into rage, silvery, reflective whips are swaying in the bright sky.

              The father cannot stand this situation, “I will go and have a look at the field. You all stay in the house and wait for my message,” he says severely.

              “Be careful…” whispers the wife.

              “I will…” murmurs the man.

              Onera gets off the bed, changes into a set of short pants and blouse, and dashes towards the house entrance facing their field a mile away.

              Adelynn sights and hugs her shivering boy, trying to warm him, “Have a sleep, my dear. When you wake up, your dad will be at your side,” says the mother to Akimoto with her bright eyes wide open. She pats his back gently and tries to rock Akimoto to sleep.

              She knows – he is afraid of lightning. It was also a lightning day when Akimoto was taken away by a mid-age wolf.

              Adelynn has been waiting for an hour, and there is still no news from her husband. Hundreds of ants come and bite her skin while she is watching the blaze of dancing fire. Meanwhile, she feels like her heart is roasted in the crimson fire.

The midnight arrives, striking the reassuring lavenders into dusts in the soil. The neighbor, Ito Eguchi comes to the window of the Sanaka’s cabin and tells Adelynn her husband is safe, and he has saved a wounded man who does not belong to the village. That man is a soldier.

              The lethal manjusaka binds Adelynn and buries a budding seed inside Akimoto.

The armed team

              It is such a surprising news, but Adelynn knows it will not be a good news. In the next day, she sees her husband by her side with his black eyes. They wake up and Onera starts the day with an announcement, “The soldier I saved yesterday mentioned there is a big war that is going to be ended, and the defeated arm forces might spread war into our area when heading backwards. The soldier told us to be careful and be ready for it. The village has decided to form an armed force to fight against the possible danger.” He continues, “I might be joining the team. After all, there aren’t many men in the village…”

              Adelynn listens and sobs, “When will you be coming back?”

              “I am not sure, really,” answers Onera.

              “Dear son, sorry for disappointing you on your fifteenth birthday, but I promise I will be joining you on your sixteenth birthday. Happy birthday and you can pick whatever you like in our field as your birthday gift. Be happy,” ended the father.

              “How, how many, how many people will be in the team?” Adelynn asks chokingly.

              “About 50,” the voice disappears in the wind.