Ever since the mysterious disappearances of my crops, sleep hardly felt like a possibility anymore. Getting started in the morning became more and more of a chore, harvesting produce took longer than it should have. I even had to cut back on my training just to stay at the booth longer.
Hell. My whole routine had been thrown off course.
"Excuse me. Do you have any peaches for sale? Everyone is out for the day and I'm in desperate need."
Rub it in why don't ya.
"Sorry," I yawned. My eyes didn't even catch the customer's face, "None here."
And if things couldn't get any worse. Sales were dwindling because I lost all of my produce that are in season. All I had in stock were cabbage and Brussels sprouts, which are available year round and commonly sold amongst farmers markets and grocery stores alike. Well, I have that and karate lessons nobody seems to want.
It's a hard pill to swallow. But no sales equals no money.
"Sorry to hear about that," Farmer Ono handed me a cup of water, "Things'll turn around soon enough."
He's an old family friend of mine. Well, of the family. He runs one of the best farms in Japan, just north of the market. Plenty of farm hands work there whom all toil under his masterful guidance to create quality produce in even greater quantity.
We're sitting in the back of the market beneath a large tent. Where farmers and booth runners get to take a break from the hustle and bustle of the market.
Wish I could say the same.
The till in my pocket has a little weight to it. Farmer Ono's, on the other hand, looks stuffed close to bursting.
He smoothed his thinning grey hair, "You know. If you need some help all you have to do is ask. I've got more farm hands than I can handle."
No wonder he thrived amongst the rest of us. Where I strived to work with my father in Rindoukan karate, Ono was the guy to be in terms of growing and selling product. Not to mention, his friendliness and good customer service brought in good money. Enough money to have other farms hands.
"Yeah," I stared into my cup, "I know, but-".
"This is something I gotta do myself."
He took the words right out of my mouth. Probably because I said that phrase all the time. The rough palm of his hand tussled my scruffy black hair, "You are just like your father. Always the Do-It-Yourself type of person."
"I've been told a lot."
"Welp. If there's one thing I can tell you. Is that your father always kept his chin up and a stiff upper lip," he flipped his sun hat onto his head, "That's what got him to make so much somethin' outta nuthin'."
Ono is right. My father told me that when he was young, his family didn't have much but the clothes on their backs, a run down pile of wood in the middle of nowhere, and the knowledge of Rindoukan karate in their heads.
With his resilience, he created a dojo where he taught many students, a farm where he earned about half of his income, and a family where I come from.
"I gotta get back to my booth," Before he left, Ono picked one of his own apples from a nearby basket and rubbed the outer wax off. He handed it to me with a wink. For the first time in a while, I smiled.
"That old man. He always knows how to brighten someone's day."
I bit into the apple and enjoyed the sweet succulent flavor his hard work brought from the earth. It tasted almost identical to my apples, he taught my family how to grow them, but there was something he held from us that he uses to bring fourth the entire quality. Smart move, old timer.
At one o'clock in the morning, my head finally felt the gentle caress of a pillow. I skipped another day of training to make up for missed farm work, yet my muscles felt more tired than ever. I closed my eyes and hoped for a better day tomorrow.
As expected, I couldn't sleep. I blame the damn thoughts in my head that keep swirling around and around.
Thoughts about before.
How I always kept a positive attitude or as Ono would say, "A stiff upper lip and my head held high." Nothing really changed after…after he passed. Well, I can't say nothing changed necessarily. A lot changed. Not a lot of positivity in that though.
Afterward, things sort of built back up. My family had received help from relatives, friends, and the community alike. Things were looking up for a while. As time would have it, people got busy and branched off into different paths in life.
My brother, who used to be a sparring partner of mine and fellow lover of Rindoukan karate, became a highly positioned accountant at the Master's corporation in America and my grandfather moved with him to be under his care.
I on the other hand, couldn't leave. Not after the promise I made to him.
Ever since, things have stagnated. I won karate tournaments here and there with the practice I put into it, but I don't think my style will be taken seriously unless I go into a major tournament in America.
But, I'm way too busy at the booth trying to sell my produce to travel that far.
Speaking of the booth, what happened to one of my customers?
Ibuki, that one odd slutty girl, who bought a ton of corn. She hasn't showed up to my booth in a while. Was it because our last encounter was kind of awkward? I know I was a little off putting, but it's hard to be at your best when the threads you're holding onto start to unravel.
STOP
GAH! All this worrying is keeping me from getting the sleep I need. Makoto! Tomorrow is an important harvest day!
I bury my face in the pillow and shut my eyes tight. There's no time for thinking right now. Just drift off into…sleep.
The next morning, I rise before the sun has a chance to peak over the horizon. The four items constantly list in my head. Onions, Kale, Celery, and Bok Choy. They're all waiting to be picked and sold for an almost fair price. I robe into my farmers gear; a brown sun hat, blue jean overalls, baggy over pants, and boots. I slip the wicker basket onto my back and run out the back.
If I hurry up and wash the vegetables after I harvest them I could be the first one at the booths!
I first stop at the onion patch. Immediately, I spot no peaking heads. Not a single one. And the surrounding leaves had already been torn off. That means…
"No."
This-this had to some sort of fever dream or maybe I'm at the wrong patch! Yeah, that's it! I ran for the bok-choy and it too had vanished. Same with the kale. And sadly enough with the Celery.
"All gone? ALL GONE?! THIS IS THE THIRD TIME THIS HAPPENED!" I flung the sun hat from atop of my head and furiously stomped on it. Something had to pay.
Losing a cabbage patch to infesting insects used to be the worst thing that would happen around here. Someone is out there raising the bar. Now an entire crops worth of vegetables and fruits disappearing overnight is slowly starting to become the norm around here.
I breathed deep, as much as my lungs could, "SHOW YOURSELF! BRING YOUSERLF OUT HERE AND FIGHT ME!"
Nothing.
Not even a little forest creature poked it's head out in curiosity.
At this point, I couldn't direct my anger towards anything properly at this point. Really, I just wanted to beat the living shit out of something. Instead, my tantrum left me slamming my balled hands into the dry dirt below.
WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? Why? Why? W-why…?
My emotions, I don't know how, had changed from rage to sobs. I tried my hardest to fight it, but those damn tears rolled hot down my cheeks. Right now, I felt like a child at a supermarket who's been told "no".
"Be sure to keep your chin up Farmer Ono said. How? How in the hell is that possible when someone is out there screwing me over?!"
The dojo. My father's legacy. My family history. I've tried so hard to uphold it, yet the longer I go on the worse things seem to somehow get. The stunning relaxation that the dojo may not be here for long sets me back. I lie on the ground and basically cry it all out.
I'm not sure of the exact time it took me to calm down, but once I came to I could feel the rays of sun heating my clothes I knew I had missed the market opening.
After I picked myself up, I swiped the dirt from my clothing and tucked the sunhat under my wing. The scruffy black hair atop of my head too felt the warmth of the sun, "This can't go on," my eyes a little damp, "At this point, I'm already sunk even with the emergency crops I have left."
My brown eyes scanned across the surrounding forestry, "There's someone out there. Able to just clear a field in one night." Makoto sighed and turned back to the dojo, "If the emergency crop is stolen. I'm sunk for sure."
I step inside the dojo and open the closet in my room. The gi. The one I've worn for battle hangs in front of me.
"That sure as hell isn't going to happen."
