Roaring Heart

AT AMI'S

At quarter past two in the afternoon, the girls caught the bus to get to Ami's. They arrived fifteen minutes later, starving and particularly excited.

"I hope your parents cooked enough food, Ami, I'm starving... Oh, I forgot your parents aren't at home... well, anyway, I hope they cooked something for us!"

"Don't worry, Mary, they took care of everything, in fact, they made big portions, because grandpa said he was a little peckish. He knew you would come too!"

"Oh, how nice of him!"

She took two steps forward, nearly bumping into Elin, who had stopped abruptly and was looking around with a dazed expression. The girls smiled knowingly, guessing the why of her reaction. It was their reaction to Ami's house, as children.

It was a typical two-floor Japanese house, which stood on a beaten earth base. Two stone steps led to the building entrance, which was made of wood with solid, light white walls. The roof was made of black tiles - called kawara – characterised by upturned sides. However, what struck most to visitors' eyes was the Chinese style garden. Elin's eyes welcomed the wonderful imagery with enthusiasm and awe, and the girl had to resort to all her plant knowledge to recognize at least a part of the trees and flowers, which covered the surfaces like an immense multi-coloured expanse. It was a very dense and huge asymmetric garden enclosed by a short red brick wall. It resembled a small forest, with numerous varieties of plants: bamboo – in various stages of development – peach trees in blossom, a cherry tree, ume trees, which in western society are called a Japanese apricots – which in winter blossomed with ume flowers. There were even olive trees, chrysanthemums, peony bushes, climbing roses, and even flowers that Elin, as knowledgeable as she was in botany, had never seen in her life. Yet what struck Elin the most, were the three small lakes upon which lotus flowers of a delicate pink colour were floating. On the shore of the central lake was a small temple, connected to the mainland by a little wooden bridge. Elin knew that in that temple were sheets of glass engraved with the names of the Ami's ancestors. She remembered her friend had told her that worshipping ancestors was very important for Chinese people. She even remembered that gardens were built so that the soul could find solace from stress, connecting spirit and inner peace.

"WOW! Boy! I've never seen something like this! My father would envy you this garden!"

"I knew you would like it, Elin! It was built according to the Chinese criteria of perfection, which states that a garden should not only be beautiful to look at, but also poetic and harmonious. In fact, this kind of garden is called a 'poetic garden'".

"Ami, am I wrong, or when we met, you told me you were half Japanese and half Chinese?" asked Elin.

"Exactly. My father, Hiroshi Itō, is Japanese. My mother, instead, is Chinese, her name is Lou".

"Then what religion do you belong to? You say you worship ancestors, but your father doesn't, does he?"

"Of course he does - the Japanese have adopted the Chinese custom of praying their ancestors. I am Buddhist, like my father, while my mother's religion is Confucianism".

"And your grandpa?" asked Jill.

"My grandpa is my father's father, so that makes him Japanese and Buddhist. He's very tolerant towards all other religions and beliefs, assuming they're not fanatical and extremists, because according to him everything is acceptable, if it's for the greater good and it respects other living creatures..."

"...and I also believe that if you don't enter soon, all that food on the table will find a nice, warm, cosy place in my stomach, my dear granddaughter".