V. The Pillar of the Weather Wheel

by Kenji Miyazawa

Behind the ranch, gentle hills stretched out. Their dark, flat tops appeared lower and more vaguely connected than usual under the Great Bear in the north.

Giovanni climbed steadily up a small, dew-soaked forest path. The path was illuminated by a single white light, winding between dark grasses and bushes that took on various shapes. Among the grass, small blue glowing insects could be seen, and some leaves shone with a translucent blue. Giovanni thought they resembled the snake gourd lights everyone had earlier.

After passing through the dark forest of pines and oaks, the sky suddenly opened up, and the Milky Way appeared to flow from south to north. The Weather Wheel Pillar was also clearly visible at the summit. All around, bellflowers and wild chrysanthemums bloomed as if their fragrance emanated from a dream, and a bird flew past, singing, over the hill.

When Giovanni reached the foot of the Weather Wheel Pillar, he threw himself down onto the cold grass with a thud.

The town lights glowed in the darkness like a palace at the bottom of the sea, and the singing and whistling of children, along with faint shouts, drifted from afar. The wind howled in the distance, the grass on the hill swayed gently, and Giovanni's sweat-soaked shirt felt cool and damp.

The sound of a train came from the field. The small train's windows appeared as a row of tiny red lights, and thinking of the many travelers inside, peeling apples, laughing, and going about their various ways, Giovanni was overcome with an indescribable sadness and turned his eyes to the sky once more.

However, no matter how much he stared, the sky did not seem to be the desolate, cold place that Mr. Hyl had described. Rather, the more he looked, the more it seemed like a small forest, a pasture, or a field. And Giovanni saw the three or four blue lyre stars flicker and twinkle, their legs extending and retracting many times, finally stretching out long like mushrooms. He also thought that the town directly below him looked like a hazy cluster of many stars, or a single large cloud of smoke.