The Wind Reader
Before dawn.
The harbor was still wrapped in a thin mist.
The sails of the red-seal ship were quietly furled, and not a single sailor seemed to be in a hurry.
Oman looked up at the sky with curiosity.
"Are we not setting sail today?"
The captain smiled as he felt the wind against his cheek.
"The wind is too young today."
Oman tilted her head.
"Does the wind have an age as well?"
Juzo also looked at the sky with a serious expression.
"I like a tailwind."
The sailors burst into laughter.
"Juzo-dono, that is true for everyone."
Laughter spread throughout the harbor.
At that moment, an elderly white-haired navigator beckoned to Oman.
It was Don Miguel, a Filipino navigator hired by Suminokura Ryoi who knew the sea better than anyone.
His face was tanned by the sun,
and his hands were deeply wrinkled.
However, his eyes were as calm as the sea.
"Oman-san."
"Yes."
"Look at the sea."
Oman turned her eyes toward the horizon.
The waves were calm.
The sky was blue,
and there was nothing unusual to be seen.
"It is very calm."
Don Miguel shook his head quietly.
"What you really should be looking at is not the waves."
Saying this, he pointed to a white seabird.
The seabird was not soaring high,
but flying slowly near the surface of the water.
"Is it the bird?"
"Yes."
"Birds know the wind."
Next, the old man pointed to a small piece of wood floating in the sea.
The piece of wood was slowly drifting out of the harbor.
"It is the tide."
"That is right."
"A ship cannot move on wind alone."
"Yes."
"The tide is also a path that carries the ship."
Oman quietly etched this into her heart.
That afternoon.
The sailors began practicing raising the sails.
Oman helped as well.
"One, two, three!"
Everyone pulled the ropes together.
However...
Oman pulled too hard,
and the sail opened all at once.
Whoosh!
With that gust of wind,
Juzo's hat flew high into the sky.
"My hat has set off on a journey!"
The whole harbor erupted in laughter.
The hat landed in the sea.
Then, a seabird landed on the hat,
floating on the sea just like a captain.
The sailors held their sides laughing.
"A new captain has been chosen!"
Juzo hung his head.
"I have even lost to my hat."
Dusk.
The wind direction finally changed.
Don Miguel nodded quietly.
"Now is the time."
Not a single sailor raised their voice,
and they raised the sails in perfect unison.
The red-seal ship left the harbor without a sound,
and slowly moved out to sea, riding the wind.
Oman watched it go and said,
"You do not fight the wind, do you?"
The old man smiled kindly.
"Business and life are the same."
"Yes."
"If you go against the wind, you will tire yourself out.
If you read the wind, you can go far."
Those words were deeply etched into Oman's heart.
Oman the black cat jumped onto the bow,
and let out a "meow" toward the setting sun.
It was as if she were saying,
"Instead of rushing, let us wait for a good wind."
—
That day, Oman learned one more thing.
"The wise do not force their way through with strength. They read the wind, read the tide, and read the hearts of men, waiting for the most opportune moment."
And so, Oman continued to walk quietly into the vast ocean of the world, laughing once, learning twice, and listening to the three voices of nature today as well.
