The Boy With Strange Eyes

Katatribe

Katatribe

~ What manner of a man do you wish to become- Kuni? ~

In better times, the boy, with his parents and grandfather alongside him, had gathered at the village community fire, and they would listen intently to the tales of the elder Kataribe. His mother nicknamed him Kuni as a baby, and the name stuck with the village inhabitants.

Of particular interest to Kuni were the stories concerning the mysterious land to the East, an Island. These narratives seemed astonishing to the impressionable young child. The accounts, told by Kataribe, mainly consisted of rumors, reported second and third-hand, but they were fantastic, nonetheless.

Rumors of an Island country to the far East, a mysterious place that village folks knew to be inhabited by strange people with an unusual language and curious writing. They also possessed advanced science and mathematics. This unknown Eastern Island studied The Way of the Warrior. It had been reported that they scripted things backward, and everyone agreed; therefore, it must be true.

Other tales told how they forged virtually indestructible swords, created through mystical Eastern magic, possessed solely by the Islanders. Other rumors concerned their eyes, which were shaped strangely and they had a peculiar skin tone.

The villagers had speculated that these Easterners were not a part of humankind. Since most tiny village residents firmly believed it, it became their truth. The people of the far Eastern Isle were a remnant of an elder race of men.

The lad's mother, Kaasan, was a beautiful, kind, intelligent, and loving woman. His father had traveled inland to sell and trade the bounty of fish he and Kuni's grandfather had caught and specially cured, and on one of these trips to the rich interior farmlands, his parents had met.

They instantly fell in love and married despite the objections of the young girl's parents. She returned with her new husband to the coastal fishing village and had never seen nor spoken with her family again.

Yet, there had been much love and happiness in their tiny home, and it had been better times. Kuni's father and grandfather had often poked fun and made jokes about the stories of the Eastern Isle of Legend. His educated mother taught the child to read and write, and only a handful of community members possessed that skill.

His father never understood his only son's fascination with and dedication to reading. The stern man was fond of saying, "Reading and writing doesn't put food in your belly."

Kaasan had softly but firmly contradicted them. Since his mother had read many old books in her inland hometown, she was firmly convinced that the stories were true. She smiled at her young son's curiosity. She whispered to him that she knew exactly where the legendary Island was located, a secret they could share as the lad giggled with excitement.

Kuni's grandfather died two weeks after they listened to the Eastern Island tales. His old heart stopped beating. They never went together as a family to listen to the stories around the community fire again.

Kuni was fidgeting in the stern of his small craft, avoiding seeing the only home he had ever known, the fishing village. "When my mother was alive, things were so good," whined Kuni.

🐉~Yes, but she has passed on now. She can no longer help, hold, or comfort you as she did when you were a child. I will continue to ask you, Kuni, what manner of a man do you wish to become?~

"I am no longer a child!" he answered hotly. "I'm going to become a rich man. That is the manner of man I want to be. The richest man in the whole village!"

🐉You have no time remaining to be a child. You know what you'll need to do. If you want to live? ~

Kuni looked angry as he responded hotly, "I know, I know, Mizuko. I must sell the good net, then use the money to buy food and supplies."

🐉~Yes, and then?~

Kuni's voice sounded defeated. "I will take the boat and sail to the far Island in the East. The Island that Kataribe spoke of."

END