The Choosing – Part One

~ If the fish is kind to water, then the water will be kind to the fish. ~

After eighteen cycles of the moon, working for Mister Ryoshi, he finally began making friends with the boys his age. They had grown to accept the boy with the strange eyes as one of their own. The first friend he made was Granny Obachan. Granny had sharp eyes and a sharper tongue. Granny was a large, loud, and forceful figure. She was a force to be reckoned with. Granny ran the business end of things for the Ryoshi net business.

On his second day of work, she looked keenly at Kimyo and stated, "My, you sure are small to be working the nets, boy. Do your parents approve of this?"

Kimyo responded, "No, ma'am, both of my parents are dead."

Granny studied him shrewdly. "What about other kinfolks?"

He sighed. "No one, ma'am, just me."

Granny responded, "Well, you are too skinny, boy. We need to put some meat on them skinny bones of yours. Here, you take this." She pulled a sweet rice cake from her apron pocket and pressed it into his palm. "Now, don't you tell them other boys about this.? It will be our little secret."

Kimyo turned to walk away, suddenly stopped, and said, "Thank you kindly, ma'am."

Granny chuckled. "You are most welcome, young sir."

Granny would usually slip the young boy sweet rice cakes or a piece of sugar candy. Always under the pretext of fattening him up for the job. Kimyo realized that Granny Obachan, much like Mister Ryoshi, had a rough exterior, hiding a kind heart.

After eighteen months of working the nets, Kimyo wasn't much taller. However, he had put on substantial weight, primarily muscle. He wondered whether it was due to the hard work or Granny's sweet rice cakes.

*****

More than anything, he could dream; in his wildest dreams, Kimyo wanted to become a warrior like the warriors on the Island. Every month, there was a Choosing; this was an official ceremony where anyone could be selected to train and become a warrior. Months or even years might go by with no one being chosen by the Master Masuta.

According to these boys who worked with him at Ryoshi's nets, no one knew the criteria the Master was seeking. Masuta walked into a circle of potential recruits as they sat around a fire ring. The Master would circle the eager group studying them. Occasionally, he might stop and ask a circle member a question or two.

Then, he would continue his pacing and studying. On rare occasions, Masuta would select some lucky applicants who would have one day to pack their belongings, say their goodbyes to family and friends, and then report for training.

Some returned after a short time, refusing to speak of anything that had happened during their training, while others left and were not seen for years. Eventually, they would be observed visiting the village with their fellow warriors.

Early on, one of the boys from the nets, Tomo, warned him to avoid taking the path home that crossed over another route. He said the course was a road to the nearby wooded area. Tomo warned Kimyo that these woods were inhabited by bandits who would use the path to plunder the villagers.

Ryoshi told Kimyo it was true. Four or five robbers were living in the woods. All they were interested in was money and women. Kimyo asked Mister Ryoshi why Masuta's warriors didn't go after these bandits and destroy the threat. The fisherman didn't have an answer but warned Kimyo to be careful after dark on this road.

When he first heard about the Choosing, Kimyo knew he would have to present himself as a candidate. The young man wondered if his excitement was the thought of becoming a warrior or simply any chance at upward mobility in the island class system. The next full moon was coming in fourteen days. Kimyo did not doubt that he would be there.

*****

Two weeks later, Kimyo found himself sitting around a campfire. There were about a dozen boys and a few older adolescents. They were staring deep into the fire pit flames except for Kimyo. The youth sat a few feet away from the rest of the group.

He had chosen this location because it was beside a large, flat dirt area. Kimyo brought his counting stick and used the dirts surface to practice the frustrating island alphabet to pass the time.

The early night grew cold, and the other candidates for the Choosing leaned in closer to the warmth of the fire pit, which was ringed with stones. The heat of the fire was reflected off the rocks. None of the candidates were speaking or making much, if any, noise at all. The night was eerily quiet, but for the crackling of the fire and the soft scratching of Kimyo's old counting stick…

END