An elderly man sat under a canopy, sheltered from the usual midday heat, repairing gear for a night fishing trip. He was born on this island, his wife was from the neighboring one, and they spent their entire lives in this hidden territory, knowing the reasons.
Three children were born into their family, and two were gifted enough to take a good place among the clan servants. He himself, a man, and his wife had no gift, and the couple worked all their lives with ordinary human methods: he is a fisherman, and she is a seamstress, and they keep a small vegetable garden.
And now the old fisherman observed an unusual picture — a teenager, about fourteen years old, standing alone on the pier. The boy is dressed in ordinary summer clothes in light colors, a light gray Panama hat and sandals.
Next to him was a large bag and a backpack filled with luggage. No, people come to the islands, and often, but this is the first time he has seen such a picture. It did not escape the fisherman's attention that the man was not at all confused and was looking around with interest.
The presence of wide bracelets on the wrists (it was impossible to see them from a distance) and some kind of shoelaces only confirmed that the guest was not a coincidence. On these islands, people are familiar with the concept of "magic" in all its manifestations, so everyone wore talismans and amulets, and a man can distinguish a real thing from a piece of jewelry even with his eyes closed. After all, my daughter makes them in church and has done so more than once at home, and before that she studied for a long time.
But the age is not the same anymore, and the man did not bother his head with stupid assumptions, he just noticed that a young man who worked on a farm growing special purple algae had come on a bicycle to meet the guest. Within a few minutes, the fisherman forgot about the man's arrival and focused all his attention on the octopus traps.
***
Haruno Soichi, who met me, turned out to be an open, talkative person, and the way to my place of residence for the next few months was not boring. He said that a lot of things are grown on the islands, and that he himself had always been interested in plants while studying at Mahoutokoro, so he got a job here to combine business with pleasure.
There are quite a few people like him here, but the main work is done by the locals, while visitors are magically gifted and have other responsibilities. He didn't elaborate right away, but I think I'll find out in time. By the way, absolutely everyone here wears straw hats that are so wide that you feel like you've entered the kingdom of the mushroom people.
It's also very difficult to breathe here — the air is very humid, and the constant stuffy air makes you sweat. I don't know, this is my first time on a resort island, but my first impression is that I don't like it, I don't like it when your shirt sticks and you feel like a cornered horse.
Slowly we reached the hills at the foot of a huge mountain. As Soichi said, this island is of volcanic origin, meaning that this mountain, which is the center of the island, is a volcano that has been extinct for a long time. But the height peak is not evenly distributed, and on three sides of the island there are good beaches, slopes suitable for agriculture and relative plains.
From the south, sharp rocky peaks rise, sharp depressions and cracks, outcrops of rock layers that form sheer cliffs near the sea. On this side there is little normal soil, and only fragile trees and thorny bushes grow there, unlike other parts of the island where all life is concentrated.
So, closer to the center, on a hill, there was a temple complex, although it looked more like an estate or farm — I saw so many different buildings. There was no fence as such, just boulders and wooden posts dug in here and there, and only bushes with lines dividing the area.
The buildings are of different shapes and sizes, heights, but all in the old style, although one cannot say that they are cut off from civilization — the satellite dish seems to suggest that. Well, at first glance everything is not so bad.
Tuned in to a positive wave, I approached the entrance to the living quarters (they are located a bit away from the main building). I managed to get the bags off the bike when the doors opened and I saw a vaguely familiar woman in an ordinary summer dress of strict cut.
I'm glad I'm not wearing a kimono — it's suicide in this climate! Yes, the mere sight of a woman in a kimono made me feel worse and made it harder to breathe! Here I felt relief, because living with die-hard fans of tradition and decent people is a big difference. I saw how in the mansion they force you to wear heavy traditional kimonos in the heat or cold.
I think such clothes are only needed for holidays and official events, but walking around in them every day is too much. I proudly admit: I don't have a single kimono with me, everything is comfortable European style, as well as five light Hawaiian shirts.
— Hello, Mori-san. — A nod to the woman.
— Welcome, Arata-kun. — Come in. — The woman was friendly, without excesses, which I liked.
In general, I noticed that the people here are not much different from us, but they have the habit of suffering from idiocy: they bend over and lick the ass of their superiors without looking back, as if they had no self-respect at all. It is downright disgusting to watch.