Child of the White Ink

Geki would only see his father when he came to visit. She knew that Kanji barely had any days off, but he devoted them to being with him. The days off for the two rarely coincided, so his father would come to the temple and retire where he would not disturb while he watched him study and practice.

When he was younger the monks used to give him the day off every time his dear father appeared at the temple door, but as he grew up they became stricter with him, resulting in extremely few days when father and son were both free.

If the messenger didn't suffer any hardship, Geki would occasionally receive a letter from his father announcing what day or night he could come by. Yes, during the night! Although night time was the sacred time for rest for the residents of the castle of the noblenin Kanji served, his position as guardian included a somewhat unusual schedule. Eventually, he would be released from his duties at night, during which he would approach the temple to the interior of Geki's room without waking him up, leaving him some gifts or mementos in the morning before he left. Geki asked him to wake him up, but Kanji refused unless there was a holiday nearby: his son needed all the rest he could get so that he could devote his full attention to training and study the next morning.

Today was the seventh day of the month before spring, and thus it was a day off for Geki. Unfortunately it was not a day off for his father, but Geki had a plan: he had always received small gifts from his father, so this time he was going to arrange a gift for him, to show him how much he appreciated that he was always looking after his son.

Geki walked out his room door. The sun was just beginning to rise, and in front of it stretched the temple grounds, which consisted of a large circular expanse of white stone slab-covered floor around the main building. One could tell that the slab was cared for daily, but one could not help but notice that there were some cracks here and there, where the humidity had given room to the moss that usually covered the stones in Kyendi. From time to time, if the area was very frequented, one would try to change the slab, as the moss was always slippery and therefore dangerous. Looking up at the horizon, above the endless jungle of trees, one could see high mountains whose peaks could not be seen because of the dense fog, and through which the first rays of sunshine streamed. Nor could one see the floating islands from which waterfalls fell unless the day was free of clouds, which was not the case today, giving the impression that water was rushing down from the very heavens.

Geki bit his tongue. He was planning to go and collect materials from those mysterious islands. He was always curious about them, and during a day of rest he managed to gather information about them: they seemed to be easily accessible by creatures with the ability to fly, especially the playful faenin, but for those without wings there was no choice but to either ask for help or use other tools or... as it was the case for Geki (with so few resources, so few acquaintances and so little freedom), to pray that there was an island that could be reached by climbing a tree. Luckily, the dense jungle that covered the sunlight left a gap through which he could glimpse just what he was looking for.

Several hours' walk from the temple to the north, there was an island next to a very tall tree whose highest branches were at "ground level" of this floating rocky formation. Geki set out on the path towards his proudest discovery. He carried only a few long ropes, a compass, and food in a sack (courtesy from the monks) hanging from his back. They would never have allowed this excursion, but they always imagined that Geki would not put himself in danger or go play too far.

It was not an easy path, since it involved going into the dense jungle. In those areas, the most dangerous thing would be to be affected by whimsical spirits that would cloud the mind and confuse the heart, but for some reason, if the spirit was not very powerful, they did not seem to have such a strong effect on Geki. Everything around him felt damp, and the millions of shades of green from the vegetation were still too dark because of the little light that managed to slip through the leaves. Geki continued north as he grew more and more tired and his legs began to get covered in mud and leaves, and he would have to wipe them off before he could climb anywhere! He finally reached the destination tree. He prepared himself as best he could and began to climb branch after branch (fortunately there were plenty of them!) until at the end of one of them he dropped down to the island's ground. Catching his breath, he looked around with his mouth open: in front of him he could see an esplanade covered with brightly colored grass, with just a couple of old but sturdy trees on the side opposite to Geki's. There were small rocks, remnants and ruins of ancient times. The trees did not cover the sky, the clouds were low. All the light blue booby that was the sky was shining down on Geki's head.

The kid smiled and started to walk slowly around the island. "Grass blades, mossy rocks..." Geki was mentally listing the materials available, but they were not what he expected. For some reason he had faith in finding treasures of ancient runes, the remains of fairy circles still with latent magic, gold and silver egg shells... But the same existed on his idealized floating island as in the land a few feet below. The sun was already high by the time Geki fell to his knees on the fluffy grass. "Nothing" he thought. Nothing that could be used to make a gift worthy of his father. He stood for hours admiring the jungle that stretched out to the horizon, gazing at the beauty of Kyendi. The view was beautiful, and he felt freer there, away from all the responsibilities of the temple, which although Geki did not detest them, he had not felt free from those responsibilities in a long time.

...and that is when a small light illuminated his mind.

~ ~ ~

Two nights later, Kanji slipped into Geki's room without awakening his son. He had written to him that he would be visiting, but that unfortunately it would be late at night, and he asked the little one not to stay awake for him. He settled down on a soft, sakura-printed mat (a gift from Geki's mother) beside the bed at ground level, and watched his little boy sleep. It did not take him long to notice something out of the ordinary: a scroll rolled up with a scarlet ribbon, and a note that read "To Dad", with a heart sketch next to it and stylized calligraphy. Kanji took it and unfolded it very carefully.  His son knew that he was quite skilled with ink, perhaps he was trying to learn this art beyond the scripture the monks were teaching him? Or was he showing him some stroke that he was proud of?

Kanji's heart felt warm at the unexpected drawing made with various pigments that painted the sky and the vast jungle of Kyendi in blues, greens, and oranges. Geki must have reached a really high place to get those wonderful views. You could really feel how impressive the landscape must have been through this painting. He sighed and smiled slightly, closing his eyes ready to rest for a few hours. Kanji appreciated any token of love and appreciation from his son. After all, while Kanji was trying to guide and direct his son along the path he believed was best based on his experience and his studies in the temples, he also knew that his judgment was far from perfect. He only hoped that Geki would find the place in the world that would fill his heart with the most happiness, and what better place than the one for which you are destined.

Or so Kanji wanted to believe...