I was lost in thought for a moment.
"···Hmm! You'll know once you complete the quest."
Just then, a noise was heard outside.
'It's a little late today.'
He greeted her with a voice full of joy at the later-than-usual breakfast.
"Come in!"
What was the name exactly? Was it 'The moon rises'? Was it 'The moon rises'? She came into the hut, looked at the moon rising in the night sky, and told him her name.
She put down her basket of food and handed me something.
"here!"
The people here were wearing leather clothes and shoes.
"What is this? Did you bring this for me to wear?"
She nodded her head slightly, avoiding my gaze, as if a little embarrassed.
"huh."
"······."
I could understand basic words like 'yes' and 'no.'
"I just needed a change of clothes… Thank you. The moon is rising!"
"No, the moon is rising!"
When I got her name wrong, she immediately corrected me.
"Ah! Sorry. The moon is rising!"
I thanked her again, speaking in a mixture of Korean and the words of these people.
"Arika!"
Does that mean dress well? After saying that, 'The Moon Rises' left the shack as if he was busy. After a while, after eating all the corn porridge and charcoal-scented meat, I looked down at the leather clothes neatly arranged on one side of the hut.
"Thank you, but... how do I wear it?"
I got up from my seat and walked towards the leather clothes. A total of four sets of clothes and one pair of shoes. I picked up the clothes and shoes one by one and smelled them.
It had a distinctive leather smell.
"What animal skin is it made of?"
At that moment, I heard a noise outside and a voice calling my name.
"Two... a thousand days! Two... a thousand days!"
Is my name hard to pronounce?
"Come in."
The leather door opened and a short man, who had become quite friendly with me over the past few days, came into the hut with a smirk.
"Wow! Ramaka! Makara!"
"······."
I briefly interpreted the words he was saying.
'Come out with food.'
Does that mean I should come out after I finish eating? I spoke to them in their language.
"Makara! Makara!"
He nodded his short head and answered.
"Yeah. Makara!"
'Great. I guess I'll just have to ask that guy how to wear those clothes.'
I nodded willingly and left the shack with my friend, carrying the clothes.
* * *
Crackle crackle!
I left the village and immersed myself in the river, washing every nook and cranny of my body.
"I feel like I can finally live. But I wish I had some soap."
People are really tricky. Just washing up was a blessing until a little while ago, but now I look a little pathetic, desperately looking for soap.
At that moment, the young men who had washed up with me came out to the river one by one, and the still taciturn 'brave wolf' spoke to me.
"Two. Thousand. One! Makara!"
"I washed up and you want me to come out? Okay."
It was today that I learned the name of that friend with sharp eyes. A short man, the 'fast-footed deer', explained with gestures of his hands and feet.
Even making animal sounds. I woke up in the shallow river with a smile on my face.
"······."
And then there was a long silence. All the young men were staring blankly at my bare body with astonished eyes. In particular, my precious belongings···
The 'fast-footed deer' looked at me with envious eyes and gestured as if to say, 'Amazing!' I felt a little uncomfortable with their gaze.
I walked out to the riverbank, slightly covering my private parts with the panties I had washed clean in the river. And he hurriedly saw the 'swift deer' and pointed to the leather clothes and asked for help.
The 'swift deer' readily agreed to help me, as if he understood what I said. After a while, I was standing awkwardly, wearing the same clothes as these people.
Should leather pants be considered tight leggings? The trousers, each divided into two halves, wrapped around my two legs.
In addition, the pants were tied tightly with a string around the waist to prevent them from falling down. The important parts and the buttocks were covered entirely with wide and long leather, leaving ample space in the front and back outside the waistband.
And the top is something you wear in the fall or winter, so I didn't wear it like the people here.
'Is it because I haven't gotten used to these clothes yet? They're really uncomfortable to walk in.'
Luckily, the leather suit fit my body perfectly. However, the sight of me walking unsteadily, following the young people who were hurriedly moving into the village, caused bursts of laughter here and there.
In particular, the 'fast-footed deer' rolled on the floor laughing as if he had been holding back laughter for quite some time.
"Fast-footed deer! Aren't you laughing too hard at how ridiculous my appearance is?"
"Hahahahahaha!"
Moreover, the 'Brave Wolf', who was usually reserved and blunt, smiled and showed his yellow teeth. And when our eyes met, he stopped smiling as if nothing had happened and gave his group a stern look and urged them to walk faster.
"Come on!"
My group, including myself, followed the 'brave wolf' in a hurry.
* * *
As they entered the village, the young men began to get tattoos in a rush, amid excitement. Should I call it makeup rather than a tattoo?
I politely declined the offer from the 'swift deer' to tattoo me, even though it was said to be washed off by water. After a while, all the townspeople gathered in the large square in the middle of the town.
About a hundred and twenty people. It wasn't as much as I expected. I stood to one side and listened to the words of the chief of this tribe, the 'Forest Hunter'.
"······Makara! Watta! Marita!"
In fact, I could barely understand what he was saying. But when his speech was over, the townspeople cheered. And then I heard my name from the chief's mouth.
"This place... a thousand days!"
"······."
All the townspeople were looking at me.
'Why are you suddenly calling my name?'
The 'fast-footed deer' next to me was doing something like hitting my side. I walked forward with a bewildered expression, looking at the 'fast-footed deer' that was waving at me to go away.
Thud thud!
As I walked, the shaman who had healed me came out carrying heavy objects in both hands. Spears, clubs, shields, bows and arrows.
'What? Are you trying to give me those weapons?'
I felt anxious for no reason. Just in case they give me that weapon and chase me out of this town. Before I knew it, I was standing in front of the chief.
As the weapons were handed to me, the 'Hunter of the Forest' began his speech again.
"······Makua! Maraka! Icher··Cheonil! Wanishi!"
And as expected, when his speech ended, the townspeople cheered and thanked me all at once.
"Wanish!"
"cheonil! Wanish!"
After a while, I returned to my seat, still standing there with a dazed expression. Then, after the shaman finished blessing the village with the protection of the gods and spirits and prayed for peace, the festival finally began.
* * *
Young men stood within a long line drawn on the ground. At the urging of the 'swift deer', I too stood within the line with him.
Of course, I had no choice but to participate in the 'running' race because of the quest.
'Winning···'
The elder who was watching the judgment struck the animal thigh bone he was holding in his right hand hard against the palm of his left hand.
Percussion!
As the starting signal rang out, the young men inside the line began to run at full speed.
Hudadadak! Hudadadak!
After a moment of lost thought, I started out late and hurriedly ran forward. At that time, by coincidence or not, my eyes met with 'The Moon Rises'.
She was cheering me on with both fists clenched.
Phew!
I looked straight ahead while running. Before we knew it, the 'fast deer' was running at incredible speed and taking the lead.
'I can't lose!'
I smiled and increased my speed. Since I was young, I had a strong competitive spirit to the point where I hated losing to others in anything.
Since I had already started the game, I wanted to cross the finish line in first place. He had some athletic ability and thanks to his outstanding physique, he was able to catch up with the people behind him in no time.
Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!
Would he be surprised to see me, who had been left behind, catching up in an instant? Cheers erupted from the townspeople watching from one side.
"White people! Win!"
"Big guy! Speed up!"
"Cheonil! Come out to the front!"
I don't know what they were saying, but the cheers fueled my competitive spirit even more. The rules of the 'running' race held in the village were simple.
Running ten laps around the fence in a wide arc. The match between the children and the women was already decided a little while ago.
And this run is not a sprint, it is a long-distance race. It wasn't a race where you run with explosive power like in a 100m dash.
It is a race where you control your speed and breathing like a long distance race and observe the condition of your competitors.
Long distance running is a sport where the players secretly compete fiercely for numbers.
'First of all, it is important to join the leading ranks.'
If you stray too far from the lead, you may give up or be left behind. It's not too late to start a water fight after joining the leading ranks.
I started to pick up my pace a bit more, with steady breathing. By the time I had made one circuit of the village, there were five people behind me.
I had already reached the middle of the line and looked at the 'fast deer' running alone in the distance.
'That's unexpected.'
I thought he was a sociable, talkative, and funny guy, but I never expected he had such a talent for running. So that's why it has 'fast-footed' in its name?
At that moment, the 'fast deer' glanced back, made a leisurely expression, and twitched the corners of its mouth as if it had won first place.
But that laughter didn't last long. He was startled to see me in the middle of the line, then quickly turned his head with a look of tension in his eyes.
'What? It's going faster than before.'
The 'fast-footed deer' moved further away from the second group of three, making it impossible for them to catch up. I was secretly puzzled by the behavior of the 'fast-footed deer'.
'If you play like this, you'll get out of breath later and lose your rhythm.'
Worrying about the 'fast deer' made me speed up even more before I could further distance myself from him.
Phew! Phew!
The sound of the stream lingered in my ears, and before I knew it, I had walked three times around the village. I quickly caught up with the second line of 'brave wolves' and chased after the 'swift deer' fiercely.
The townspeople's cheers and cheers grew louder as time passed.
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
Meanwhile, the chief and elders of the 'Big Turtle' tribe, who were watching the 'Running' game, were talking with interested eyes.
"I thought the 'fast deer' would win unilaterally… but the match turned out to be very interesting."
"That's right. I thought the 'white guy' would be slow because he's tall and big, but he's pretty fast."
"Do you think he's only tall? I've heard from young people that his penis, which is an important part of a man's body, is also very big."
"Well, at first glance, you can tell he's different from other young people."
"I envy you. I envy you! By the way, Lee. Cheon. Il? It's hard to even call him by his name, so from now on, when you call the white person, since he's big and tall, it would be good to add the title 'very big' in front of his name."
"A very big two thousand days...? That's a very good idea."
As the elders talked, the game became more exciting. The distance that the 'fast deer' had painstakingly made in one lap was caught up by the 'white man', Lee Cheon-il, in half a lap.
There are now three laps left. And as time went by, the distance between the two people began to narrow. Not only the village elders but also the tribesmen stood up from their seats with excited looks and eyes that said, "Are you sure of it?"
Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!
"The white guy is speeding up again!"
"It's really fast!"
"Perhaps the swift deer will win."
In particular, middle-aged women with unmarried daughters were watching the 'white person' with even more sparkling eyes.
'You must be good at hunting too.'
'My daughter won't starve.'
'It's big and I like it.'
Lenape Tribe – Native American tribe living in the Delaware River Valley, New York City, western Long Island, and the lower Hudson Valley. Lenape means "real people" in their language.