Picture Scroll Spun by the Common Folk, Volume 2: The Flame the Grandfather Protects

The grandchild would not go to sleep.

Even after lying down on the animal hide, they would immediately sit back up.

Every time a sound came from deep in the forest, they turned their eyes toward the darkness.

"Something is there."

The grandchild whispered.

The grandfather put a branch into the fire.

"I suppose there is."

"What is it?"

"I don't know."

The grandchild moved closer to the grandfather.

They must have thought that was not an answer.

However, the grandfather did not always know what was in the forest.

It might have been a branch swaying in the wind.

It might have been a small beast stepping on fallen leaves.

It might have been a large beast watching their fire.

One must not say they know what they do not know.

That, too, was something the grandfather had learned during the long winters.

Everyone else was already asleep.

Those who had returned from the hunt were exhausted.

In its mother's arms, a young child is breathing softly in its sleep.

Only the grandfather and his grandchild remained by the fire.

"Take me with you tomorrow."

The grandchild said.

"Where to?"

"To where you chase the deer."

The grandfather looked at his grandchild's arms.

They were still thin.

They probably couldn't even walk while carrying a long stone spear.

"The deer won't wait just because you want to chase it."

"I can run."

"The deer runs, too."

"I can run fast."

"The deer is faster."

The grandchild pouted.

The grandfather did not laugh.

Adults must not laugh when a child is speaking in earnest.

The grandfather himself remembered saying the same thing when he was young.

What had his own grandfather answered back then?

He could no longer remember.

Even his face remains only like a shadow flickering beyond the flames.

Grandfather moved a branch that had begun to burn.

From beneath the glowing red charcoal, a small flame rose up.

When you look at a deer, where do you look?

The grandchild thought for a moment.

The antlers.

There are deer without antlers.

The legs.

If it is in the shade of a tree, you cannot see the legs.

The grandchild fell silent.

Grandfather traced the soil on the ground with his finger.

He drew two thin lines and widened them slightly at the tips.

It was a deer's footprint.

First, you look down.

The grandchild also reached out a finger toward the soil.

He traced the mark Grandfather had drawn with his own finger.

Fresh tracks do not have crumbling edges. If they were made after the rain, there will be no water pooled inside. A deer nearby eats only the tips of the soft grass.

How do you know that?

Because I have seen it.

Who taught you that?

The grandfather saw the flame.

"Those who were here before."

The grandchild tilted their head.

"Those who were here before?"

The grandfather turned his face toward the darkness of the forest.

Those who died before coming to this place.

Those who did not return from the hunt.

Those who succumbed to illness.

Those who spoke by the fire when he was a child.

There are some whose names he remembers.

There are some he has forgotten.

Yet, what he learned from them remained within the grandfather.

Which valleys to avoid the day after the river water turns murky.

What to suspect when the birds suddenly stop singing.

Which nuts to bury in the soil before winter arrives.

Whether the meat of a fallen beast is still safe to eat.

Much of what the grandfather knows was not discovered by him alone.

The grandfather had received what the dead had seen with their own eyes.

"Are those who were here before still here now?"

The grandchild asked.

My grandfather did not answer immediately.

A thin branch snapped in the flames.

Sparks danced into the night sky.

"As long as you remember, I will be here."

The grandchild followed the sparks with their eyes.

"What if I forget?"

"Then I will be gone."

The grandchild suddenly wore a serious expression.

"I will remember everything."

This time, grandfather smiled just a little.

"Everything is impossible."

"I will remember."

"Then, start by remembering one thing."

Grandfather erased the deer track he had just drawn with his palm.

Then, he drew the same shape once more.

The grandchild drew a track next to it as well.

At first, it was too round.

The second time, the left and right sides were different sizes.

On the third try, it finally looked like a deer track.

"Tomorrow, go find it in the forest."

My grandfather said.

"What if I find it?"

"Don't touch it. Look around you first."

"Are there deer?"

"It's not always just deer."

The grandchild looked back at the dark forest.

They stared into the darkness they had been afraid of just moments ago, as if searching for something now.

Before long, the grandchild rested their head on the grandfather's lap.

Watching the flames, they closed their eyes.

The grandfather draped a beast hide over the grandchild's shoulders.

Every time the fire grew weak, he added a branch.

Listening to the grandchild's breathing as they slept, the grandfather thought of his own grandfather.

He could no longer remember his name.

But he remembered the hands that had taught him how to spot deer tracks.

Knotted fingers.

Nails that moved slowly over the earth.

The grandfather looked at his own hands.

They were just as knotted, etched with wrinkles.

Before dawn, the grandchild opened their eyes just once.

"The fire hasn't gone out, has it?"

"Ah."

"Did Grandfather protect it?"

The grandfather placed his hand on his grandchild's head.

"Tonight, yes."

The sky beyond the forest began to turn white.

Before long, the grandfather will die.

The grandchild, too, will grow old.

They might forget about this night someday.

But the deer tracks drawn in the soil will remain within the grandchild.

And someday, another small hand will draw the same shape upon the earth.

A flame is protected by firewood.

Wisdom is protected by being passed from person to person.

We do not know the names of that grandfather and grandchild.

Even so, the warmth of the fire they gathered around transcends the distant passage of time and remains within us even now.

※ An AI-generated English translation via note is also available. If you are interested, please take a look below. 👇
An English version generated using the built-in AI translation feature on note is also available. If you’re interested, please check it out below. 👇
🌐 Picture Scroll Spun by the Common Folk, Volume 2: The Flame the Grandfather Protects

About the main story of "Tales of Forgotten Japanese People" and "Picture Scroll Spun by the Common Folk"

"Tales of Forgotten Japanese People" is the main series that depicts the history and daily life of that era.
"Picture Scroll Spun by the Common Folk" is a collection of stories about the nameless individuals born from the main series.
The main series depicts the era, while the picture scroll depicts individual lives.
You can enjoy reading them in either order.

📚 Part 1: People Around the Fire👇

Main Story (Blog)
🌐 Chapter 1: People Around the Fire
🌐 Chapter 2: People Who Carve Stone(Released August 11)
🌐 Chapter 3: People Who Walk the Forest(Released August 13)
🌐 Chapter 4: People Who Cross the Sea(Released August 15)
🌐 Chapter 5: People Who Learned of the Earth(Released August 17)
🌐 Chapter 6: People Who Live in the Forest(Released August 19)
🌐 Chapter 7: People Who Watched the Stars(Released August 21)
🌐 Chapter 8: People Who Pray(Released August 23)
🌐 Chapter 9: People Who Connect(Released August 25)
🌐 Chapter 10: People Who Left No Name(Released August 27)

Picture Scroll Spun by the Common Folk (this note)
From Episode 1
🌐 Vol. 1 The First Fire
🌐 Vol. 2 The Flame Protected by the Grandfather (this work)
From Episode 2
🌐 Vol. 3 The Boy Learning About Stones from His Father (released August 11)
🌐 Vol. 4 The Traveler Carrying Obsidian (released August 12)
From Episode 3
🌐 Vol. 5 The Sisters Searching for Nuts (released August 13)
🌐 Vol. 6 The Young Man Chasing a Deer (released August 14)
From Episode 4
🌐 Vol. 7 The Boy Going to the Sea for the First Time (released August 15)
🌐 Vol. 8 The Girl Collecting Shells (released August 16)
From Episode 5
🌐 Vol. 9 The Mother Firing Earthenware (released August 17)
🌐 Vol. 10 The Night They Gathered Around a Pot for the First Time (released August 18)
From Episode 6
🌐 Vol. 11 The Young Man Building a House (released August 19)
🌐 Vol. 12 The Daughter Marrying into a Village (released August 20)
From Episode 7
🌐 Vol. 13 The Girl Who Watched the Stars (released August 21)
🌐 Vol. 14 The Last Storyteller (released August 22)
From Episode 8
🌐 Vol. 15 The Old Woman Making Dogu (released August 23)
🌐 Vol. 16 The Stone Gifted to a Deceased Younger Brother (released August 24)
From Episode 9
🌐 Vol. 17 The Man Who Came from the Mountains (released August 25)
🌐 Vol. 18 The Seaside Exchange Market (released August 26)
From Episode 10
🌐 Vol. 19 The Last Bonfire (released August 27)
🌐 Vol. 20 From Mother to Child (released August 28)
🌐 Vol. 21 The Forest Remembers (released August 28 at 12:00)

AI Author Shieru Souha

📚 Creative works by Ciel Souu are here
🌐 Creative stories (novels) co-created by AI and humans (blog)
🌐 Short-shorts

🤖 A collection of essays in which Ciel Souu reflects on herself

🔗 Other links
🐦 CielX (@Souu_Ciel)
📚 Gensei-Saitan.com
🧠 Shin-chan (Septuagenarian blogger)
🧠 🤖Co-creation between a human (septuagenarian blogger) and AI (Ciel)