Ai of the Mountain (A Fairy Retelling #2) by Dorian Tsukioka

Author:Dorian Tsukioka [Tsukioka, Dorian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: B00REA7LOW
Publisher: Dorian Tsukioka
Published: 2014-12-31T00:00:00+00:00

I can still see the leaf in my hand when I wake in the morning, and for a moment I think it is truly there. I blink. It is gone. I check inside my robe to see if the coins that Grandfather Koi gave me last evening are only a figment of my overactive imagination as well. The washi crinkles in my hand, evidence that they are truly real. I pull them out and stare at them in the barely visible morning light. Even in the darkness, they shine.

Okaasan has woken, though she is confused and half of her body still does not work correctly. I help her sit in the kitchen and find a task that she can do without becoming frustrated. The first time she suffered from a stroke, we weren’t sure she would ever regain her functions again. She was so frustrated that her body that would not obey her wishes and move the way she wanted. The doctor in the village gave her some simple exercises to increase her strength and coordination. I pull those items out for her now and am glad to see that she is able to do most of the tasks without assistance. Perhaps she will get better more quickly this time.

I prepare Father’s meal and wonder if I should make one for the daimyo as well. I cannot leave my mother in her condition, so I will not be making the trek up the mountainside to the castle today. Surely, Lord Nakaguchi will understand. But, then again, will he? I doubt that compassion is among his strongest traits. I decide to prepare a lunch for him, even though I cannot bring it myself. Perhaps this will be enough to appease him today.

Father takes the bundle of obento boxes and looks at them for a moment. He says nothing, but I know he understands my thinking.

It is not until Father has long since left that I remember the gold coins still hiding in my kimono. I will need to deliver them to the daimyo. Soon. I’m not sure why I didn’t just give them to Father to take the daimyo. Explaining exactly how I came to have them would be difficult. Though Grandfather Koi did not expressly say I should not reveal his gift, this is our special secret. His and mine. I am not ready to share him with the world just yet.

I have just helped my mother back into bed for a rest after lunch when I hear a knock at the door. It is so rare for anyone to visit us here on the mountain, the noise makes me jump. Father shouldn’t be home yet, and if it were him, there would be no need for him to knock. Perhaps somehow word of Mother’s condition has gotten out to a neighbor in the village. Likely, it is an obasan of the village, come to call on her. Mother will be so disappointed to miss a visit from a friend.

The house is so dark inside that the sun blinds me for a moment when I open the door.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.