Chapter 4: The Birthplace of Shizen
For the next few years, I upheld my responsibilities as a Windtalker, relaying Shizen's wishes and singing Her songs. My mother was very proud to call me her son because, according to Obasan, I was the youngest Kaze for many generations that had been able to fully perceive Shizen completely. I had honed my skills at keeping myself open to Her voice at all times. It was for this reason that Obasan decided that I should visit Shizen's birthplace. She felt that this would make the bond I had with Her stronger still, nearly unbreakable.
On a warm summer night, when I was around nine years old, Obasan and I traveled into the heart of the forest. I tried my best to quell my nerves as we ventured onward closer and closer to the site. Once we reached the center of the forest, we came upon a giant, centuries-old, weeping willow tree. The branches were so long that they brushed the ground around it, creating a curtain that hid the trunk. The wind blew through them, singing a soft lullaby in my ears. I closed my eyes as I took in Her song.
"This is the very heart of the forest, Munsuta." Obasan said as we both stood before that glorious tree, "Beyond this curtain lies the home of Shizen. As the chosen one, you must go and meet Her face to face. This will make your bond with Her stronger than ever." I opened my eyes to look at her as Shizen's lullaby came to an end. My people believed that Shizen could take on any physical form within nature; this meant that She could appear before us as anything She wished, whether it be a plant or animal. Obasan told me that She had once materialized in the form of a crane, but She never took the same form twice.
Relaxed and calm, I walked through the branches toward the trunk of the tree. At first, I saw nothing but the bark on the tree and the fallen leaves scattered about the ground, but then I could hear Her song again:
Oh child of mine, with silver eyes,
Inside of whom my soul resides,
Come look to me, my dearest son,
And sing my words for everyone.
Look closely now, for you shall see,
The form in which I chose for thee,
Fear not, as I materialize,
Oh child of mine, with silver eyes.
As Her song ended, I looked above myself to find the source of the song. After a few moments, I could see a large figure flying towards me. Shizen had indeed come to me in the form of a tawny-brown owl which had swooped down and landed on my shoulder. She clicked her beak and lifted Her head up with pride as I reached over to stroke Her head gently. She hooted softly and sang many more songs to me; the more She sang, the closer to Her I felt. My mind and body felt light as a feather, like I was floating through the breeze, lost to Her soothing melodies. All sense of time and space were lost to me as I remained in this state: it was a glorious feeling. Never in my life had I even felt so close to Nature.
Once She had finished Her final tune, the owl flew back into the tree with a farewell hoot. I came back to my senses and slowly made my way through the branches back to Obasan. Up until that moment, I had not realized that my eyes were wet with tears. It seemed that I had been moved by Shizen's blessings. Obasan smiled and took my hands in hers, "You did well, Munsuta. Let your tears flow, for they are a sign that you are truly a chosen son of Shizen." At that time, I thought that that immense sense of joy I felt within myself would never be duplicated for the rest of my lifetime, until just now with you, Shion.
At that, Nezumi paused his tale to look at Shion. He could see that he had been moved by his story thus far, for his eyes were misty, as if her were holding back tears. Karan, on the other hand, had already been crying, it seemed, because her cheeks were damp and he could see where her tears had left tracks down the sides of her face. Shi and Lili had both fallen asleep, their heads resting on the table they had been sitting at with Inukashi, who piped up to say, "This story is all well and good, but it's a bit boring. Look, you put the little ones to bed with it!"
Nezumi made a sour face at her and said, "Well, why don't you take Shi home? Lili and Karan can go too if they want to. Rikiga already snuck out a while ago. If my story is so boring, then I won't force you to stay."
Inukashi clicked her tongue. She was torn because half of her was curious about the rest of his story, while the other half just wanted to take Shi home and go to sleep. "Well, what if Karan takes Shi and Lili to her place next door? They'll be okay by themselves."
"Oh, I see," Nezumi said in a mocking tone, "my story is interesting enough for you not to want to leave just yet." He shot her an evil smirk as she grunted with indignation, not wanting to admit he was right.
"I don't mind, Inukashi," Karan spoke up, "I'll take the little ones to my place, you three can continue on. Nezumi can just tell me the short version some other time. This really is Shion and his moment after all." She stood up from her seat and roused the two children enough for them to walk out of the shop together. Shi and Lili gave both Shion and Nezumi a sleepy hug before they left with Karan. Once the three had gone, Nezumi looked at Shion again. His eyes were still misty, however his expression had changed to that of confusion.
"What's the matter Shion?" He asked his lover with a hint of concern, "Surely my story couldn't have moved you to tears just yet. I haven't even gotten to the good part!" Shion stared at him for a few moments, trying to collect his thoughts.
Finally, he spoke up to say, "So, your real name in Gin'nome Munsuta. That is such a pretty name, why don't you go by that!? It's way better than being called 'Rat' all the time!" Nezumi smiled as he walked over to Shion's table to sit beside him. He reached out his hand to stroke his lover's hair gently, looking into his amber eyes.
"If His Majesty will allow, I still have quite a long way to go before my tale is through. I shall explain all of this in due time, so please be patient." He paced his other hand on Shion's cheek, still stroking his white hair. Once Shion seemed to have calmed down a bit, Nezumi took another deep breath, "Now then, my sweet prince, shall I continue?"