The Dragon's Pearl Chapter 8
CHAPTER 8
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“Grandpa!”
Akihito ran to the stooping figure watering the little peach trees in the garden, his face full of excitement. His grandpa turned around and ruffled his thick mop of hair.
“Where have you been?”
“I was helping Sato-san make the dragon’s boat.”
The old man’s face clouded over for a moment, but he managed to smile.
“You wan to be a carpenter like Sato-san?”
Akihito nodded enthusiastically.
“I’m making a present for Ryu-san, too.”
“A present?”
”Yes, I’m making an Aki doll for him, so he won’t...”
“Akihito!”
Akihito turned in the direction of his grandma’s voice.
“Go help Grandma pack,” his Grandpa said gently.
“Do I really have to go, Grandpa?” Akihito’s lips trembled.
“It’s better for you to go live with Auntie. You’ll have Kou and Suzume to play with, and Grandma will have Auntie to look after her.”
“But who’ll look after you?”
“Don’t worry about me, little one.” Grandpa stroke his head gently, his eyes full of compassion. “I’m fit and strong. And it’s not like we won’t see each other. I’ll come see you...”
“Can’t I...can’t I stay till the dragon’s feast.” Akihito looked up imploringly, eyes brimming with tears. “Please, Grandpa?”
“That’s more than a month away, and your aunt needs you and Grandma to help her in the shop. We have talked about this, haven’t we?”
Akihito lowered his head to hide his tears. Grandpa held him and the tears began to fall freely.
“Don’t cry. Grandma will be very sad if she sees you cry. You don’t want her to be sad, do you?”
Shaking his head, the boy wiped his face with the sleeves of his kimono and told his Grandpa that he’d better go help Grandma pack. Looking at his grandson walking away, the old man marveled at how he had grown. A few days shy of his fourth birthday, Akihito was much taller and less chubby than he had been just a few months ago, and though he was still the same sweet child, sometimes he would grow suddenly quiet and the old man often caught him looking out the window as if searching for something. He had stopped asking to go see his friend “Ryu-san” on the other side of the Dragon’s River, but sometimes he would cry out for him in his sleep. Every time that happened, when he or his wife checked on their grandson the next morning, they would find scattered around his little body large, lustrous pearls shaped like tears. There was nothing they could do but gather the pearls and put them in the wooden chest that contained the stones they’d found inside Akihito’s kimono the day he returned home after his mysterious disappearance. And every time that happened, his wife would grow more and more anxious and he knew she couldn’t wait to take their grandson to live with their daughter’s family, far away from the Dragon’s River and the forest that was said to be his domain.
On the day of the dragon’s feast, dark clouds followed the revelers to the edge of the river, where the dragon’s boat was moored. Sato, the craftsman who made the boat, carefully lowered the dragon's bride doll into it along with a smaller, roughly crafted doll in a miniature boy’s kimono.
“What’s that?” asked the new village headman, who had replaced the late beloved Suzuki-san just a few months ago.
”It’s-it’s an offering from...from someone who--who cannot be here,” stammered the carpenter.
“You can’t put that in the dragon’s boat!” said the village headman, grabbing the little doll and flinging in to the ground. “Do you want to offend the dragon?”
Shaken, Sato picked up the doll and gently brushed off the dirt on its kimono. As the village headman cut off the rope that tied the boat to its moorings, the carpenter felt a hand on his arm. It was Akihito's grandfather, his eyes full of sadness and anger.
“Can I have that, Sato-san?”
Sato handed it to the old man, who thanked him with his eyes. Turning back to the river, the two men felt a chill take hold of their bodies. Right before their eyes, the normally placid river turned foamy white as if stirred by an invisible hand. Out of nowhere a strong wind rose up, whipping the trees this way and that, and the sound of thunder sent people running for shelter. Suddenly the sky broke open and a wall of water rose up from the turbulent river, sweeping away the people on its bank. The carpenter grabbed the old man’s arm and dragged him away. The rain impeded their progress, and it was only with Sato’s help that the old man made it to one of the trees left standing, and both of them clung to its trunk with all their strength. Using the doll to shield his eyes, Akihito’s grandfather saw a dark slithering shape rushing toward him through the rain. It was the most frightening moment of his life, and the old man felt his body grow weak. But before he let go of the tree trunk, something made him stretch out the hand holding the little doll. He felt it fly out of his grip and, just as abruptly as it had begun, the wind and rains stopped and the river turned calm. Only the fallen trees and scattered debris told the old man that he hadn’t been dreaming. He slowly got to his feet and helped the still shaken Sato get up. Ignoring the leaves and mud on their clothes, they grimly followed the cries of those frightened and injured and tried to help them as best they could.
The worst drought in memory destroyed the villagers’ crops and dried up the Dragon’s River that year. The next year things got worse, and those who hadn’t moved away could barely eke out a living. The village stopped holding the dragon’s feast and no one dared mention his name. Akihito knew nothing of this, having never been allowed to go back to the village where he had spent the first four years of his life. He adjusted to life with his aunt’s family, who loved him and took good care of him. He got along well with his cousins and loved to help out in his uncle’s silk shop. Soon he became popular with the customers, and some ladies would come in just to talk to the adorable little boy with big brown eyes and ready smile. They never left empty-handed, and some of them ended up buying much more than they had any use for, unable to resist the boy’s enthusiastic pleas to let him show them this or that beautiful thing his uncle had brought back from the city.
For several years after the last dragon’s feast, Akihito’s grandfather stayed on in the village, refusing to leave the only home he had ever known. But the winter after Akihito turned nine, he began to feel weak and since the nearest doctor lived several miles away, his daughter and son-in-law decided it was time he moved in with them. The morning he was to leave his beloved home, the old man carried a small wooden chest into the garden and buried them between two young peach trees. The trees had grown from the stones of the peaches he had found in his home one night after his grandson had been missing for several weeks. Not knowing where those peaches came from, he didn’t dare eat them and later decided to bury them in his garden. Then one day after Akihito came back, little trees sprang up from the ground and despite years of draught here they were, looking robust and healthy. He stood looking at the garden he had lovingly tended for many years, knowing that he was unlikely to see it again. Hearing his daughter call out for him, he wiped away a tear and resolutely walked back inside.
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“You bastards! I told you not to show your faces here again!”
The trio of tough-looking youths who had been loitering outside the silk shop turned around in alarm, but before they could move, each of them was struck squarely in the head. Stunned by the blow, one of the young ruffians dropped to the ground but the others quickly recovered. Signaling to each other with a movement of their heads, they rushed at their attacker with a blood-curdling cry. Two lightning-quick strikes of the bamboo sword sent them sprawling, but the swordsman still wasn’t satisfied. Jumping on top of one of the slumped bodies, he hit him repeatedly with his fists. Seeing movement out the corner of his eye, he ducked his head in time to escape a blow from a wooden club one of the other troublemakers was wielding. Leaping to his feet, he launched himself feet-first at his would-be assailant, knocking him to the ground. But before he could do any more damage, he was interrupted by a high-pitched cry.
“Akihito, stop it!”
Turning around, the young man saw a petite girl standing with her hands on her hips. Sensing an opportunity to get away, the three young ruffians scrambled to their feet and ran down the little alley next to the shop, leaving their nemesis shaking his fist and shouting profanities in their wake.
“What is it, Suzume?”
Akihito turned to his cousin, who was looking at him with resignation.
“I thought Mama told you not to get in a fight.”
“That wasn’t a fight,” said the young man, his eyes full of mischief. “I was teaching those little thieves a lesson. I told them not to show their faces around here again and they chose not to listen.”
“You’re always looking for trouble,” his cousin complained.
“I’m not, but when trouble comes looking for me, I deal with it.” He shrugged. “But why are you here? Does Auntie want to see me?”
“Oh!” Suzume gasped. “I forgot! It’s Grandpa.”
“Grandpa?”
“He just fainted again. Mama said to go get the doctor.”
“Tell her I’m on my way. Oh, you’d better look in on Kou first. Make sure he’s not napping under the table again.”
“Alright! Be quick about it!”
But Akihito had already hurried off. Suzume silently counted the number of heads that turned to watch her cousin as he half-walked, half-ran in the direction of the doctor’s house. But as usual, Akihito was oblivious to the glances of admiration. Sometimes I wonder if he has any idea how attractive he is, thought Suzume as she walked into the shop her brother was supposedly minding.