Dreams Upon A Silver Pine Branch

Chapter 30: The Start of a Rift/Akira-chan, Rema Sabakutani?

"It is time to start praying," Kenta said after collecting his thoughts, "but before that, I want to say that I appreciate Aiden for joining us. You didn't have to and yet you wanted to learn a culture different from yours. Several months back, that would be the very last thing I would expect from you. If you don't mind me asking, maybe you could show me your synagogue?" 

"Oh man, you're gonna be disappointed. I have Jewish heritage, yes, but I don't practice Judaism, not anymore. I used to be a devout person back when my mom was still alive, but after her passing, I gradually stopped going to synagogue because it just didn't feel the same to go worshipping without her around, you get me?" Aiden shifted his feet from side to side. "My understanding of Judaism is very mediocre and my dad, well, he's a staunch atheist now so I would come back empty-handed if I pester him with questions about rituals in synagogues. He would just tell me there is no point in teaching me something he no longer believes in." 

"Couldn't you just ask Ezekiel?" Baz interrupted. "Your step-brother is Jewish too, isn't he?" 

"He is, but he has an apathetic outlook on the power of worship. He told me that it is pointless to pray to Elohim/Yahweh when we can just as easily try to solve our problems on our own." 

"I see. He sounds like he has a practical mind, huh?" Kenta nodded politely. "But you yourself are still a believer, yeah? I'm just guessing since you said the reason you stop going to a synagogue is because you have no one you can worship with after you lost your mom." 

"Can I be completely honest with you?" Aiden slightly lowered his voice. "Recently I've started thinking that maybe it doesn't matter what deity I pray to. I just want the comfort of believing someone out there, the universe or the cosmic power or whatever spirit lingers up in space, is listening to me. I know it's silly, but--"

"It's not silly!" Kaoru suddenly butted in. "It is normal to want to feel you're taken care of when everyone else has neglected you. It is normal to hold on to this hope that a powerful entity is secretly looking after you and is doing their best to turn your life around but for unknown reasons has not been very successful in doing their godly duties." 

"Are you insinuating that you believe in the existence of benevolent but inept entities?" Aiden almost broke into laughter but quickly covered his mouth to control himself. "Like, a charitable being or two who try to be useful to humans but end up comically failing?" 

"That's Shintoism in a nutshell, though!" Kenta interceded. "We believe that none of the deities we collectively refer to as Kami-sama are infallible. They are just like us, but magical." 

"So, is being a Shinto essentially just playing Russian roulette?" Aiden blurted out.

"That's... an interesting take!" Baz remarked out of the blue. "To put it simply, Kami-sama is sometimes moody. That's why we leave offerings for them, in hopes of being favored enough by them or lifting their mood so that they bless us instead of being spiteful of us for disturbing them when they're cranky or peckish. I know it makes them sound childish and finicky, but if all it takes for us to be blessed is to leave them some food items then hey, that's not too bad." 

"We are in the shrine of Ebisu-sama, right?" Aiden glanced at the statue of a jovial-looking deity holding a sea bream. "What kind of offerings should we give this god of fortune?" 

"The mythology around Ebisu-sama is that he is especially friendly toward fishermen," Kenta smiled as took his backpack off and pulled out a box of dried seaweed, "so he accepts any food item an average fisherman would a steady supply of. I bring nori with me today."

"Cool!" Aiden smiled back. "By the way, does Akira know we were going to pray for her? If she knows that she is being prayed for but she still intends to cheat during the Mathlympics then that's just downright cruel. With that in mind, do you still want to pray on her behalf, Kenta?"