The Chiropractor, the Monk, and the Scarecrow - Episode 3

Many small white flowers are growing from the vibrant green leaves.
“Hey, some rare flowers are blooming!”
I found them and reported it proudly.
Grandma, who had been climbing up behind me, approached while explaining.
“Those are butterbur scape flowers. They’re best when they sprout in spring, but they’ve already bolted and bloomed now.”
“So these are butterbur flowers? Then we can’t eat them?”
“What are you talking about? Of course we can. They’re delicious as tempura or boiled and made into butterbur miso.”
“Yay, then let’s get them!”
Grandma smiled at my excitement and reached out. With practiced hands, she plucked them just above the base and put them into the harvest basket hanging from her shoulder.

I’ve gone strawberry picking on kindergarten field trips, but this is my first time walking through a natural mountain path to look for wild vegetables. Just thinking about what we might find makes me excited.

“Here, Mai, this is a royal fern.”
“I know. I’ve eaten it before.”
“I want to find some too.”
I walked ahead, {
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pitter-patter
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looking for royal ferns. Then, I saw a few stems sticking up with their tips curled into spirals.
“I found some here too, royal ferns!”
When I reported it proudly again, Grandma climbed up busily.
“That’s an ostrich fern.”
“Eh? But they look the same.”
“No, royal ferns have fuzz and are brownish, but ostrich ferns don’t have fuzz and are a beautiful green, see?”
When she lined them up and said that, I saw that they were indeed different.
“You’re right. Grandma, you’re amazing.”
“Bracken is similar to royal ferns and ostrich ferns. But bracken doesn’t have curled tips, so it’s easy to tell apart.”
“Hmm, I see.”
When I gave a disinterested reply as if I were already bored, Grandma must have sensed it. She changed the subject and went back to harvesting in silence.
“Where did the old man go? He was so eager to go pick Japanese angelica shoots.”Hearing Grandma grumble while picking wild vegetables, I reacted instantly.“I’ll go find Grandpa!”Grandma shouted at my back as I ran off.“Be careful not to trip!”

I climbed up the narrow mountain path, barely wide enough for two people to walk side-by-side, {[[phN_open]]pitter-patter[[phN_close]]all by myself. On my left, the mountainside was overgrown with grass and trees, and on my right, a small stream flowed among scattered rocks. The forest continued on the other side of the stream, and when I looked up, the blue sky peeked through the tall, stretching trees.

After walking for a while, I saw Grandpa’s back. I knew it was him because he was wearing his usual blue work clothes and straw hat.
“Grandpa!”
“Oh, Mai. Look, these are Japanese angelica shoots.”
The basket contained several green wild vegetables.
“They look kind of like ostrich ferns.”
“No, no. These are shoots from an angelica tree, so they don’t grow on the ground like ostrich ferns.”
“Is an angelica tree a big tree?”
“The trunk doesn’t get that thick, but they can grow to be about 4 or 5 meters {
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tall
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. When they get that big, you need tools, so you have to look for ones that are at most 3 meters tall and within reach. Look, speak of the devil. Here, this is an angelica tree.”
It was thinner than I expected, just branches with no leaves. Green buds were sprouting at the tips of the branches.
Grandpa grabbed a branch with his leather-gloved hand, bent it skillfully, and plucked off the bud.
“Wow! But I can’t reach them, so that’s boring. Oh, I know! I can look for angelica trees!”
“Angelica trees have thorns, so be careful not to touch them. Also, if you go too deep, a bear might come out!”
“There’s no way a bear is here.”
“No, there used to be Asiatic black bears on Mount Sefuri in the old days. Who knows, maybe there are still some left.”
“Liar. Even if you lie like that, I’m not scared.”
“Haha, well, just make sure you don’t get lost.”“Okay!”I replied and kept stepping deeper into the forest.I was looking up to make it easier to spot the angelica shoots.When I was far enough away that I couldn’t see Grandpa anymore, I heard a sound from the bushes.

Rustle, rustle. Swish, swish, swish, swish.

“Is someone there?”
I called out instinctively. Grandpa and Grandma should be behind me. Maybe it’s someone else picking wild vegetables. What if it’s a surviving Asiatic black bear? That anxiety crossed my mind, and I couldn’t help but speak out loud to distract myself from the fear.

Rustle, rustle. Rustle, rustle. Rustle, rustle.

Something was moving, trampling and pushing through the thick, large bamboo leaves.

“Who, who is it!”

I felt sweat running down my forehead. I couldn’t move my feet as I stared fixedly in the direction of the sound.

Snort, snort.

A pig with a long nose. No, it’s a wild boar. A wild boar covered in dark, stiff-looking hair appeared.
It was completely different from the wild boars I see in picture books. It looked like it could trample me to death.

“Eek! Don’t come over here!”

Maybe it was angry, but it started coming toward me. It was charging straight at me.

Snort, snort, snort, snort, snort, snort.

“Mai! What’s wrong!”

Grandpa heard my scream and rushed over.

“Hey you, shoo, shoo! Go back deep into the mountains!”

He stood in front of me to protect me and waved his arms to try and drive the boar away.

Snort!

“Gwah!”

The boar charged, and when Grandpa tried to shield me with his arms, he was knocked down. It was as big as a rock and had incredible strength as it thrashed about. I’m sure if things stay like this, he’ll be hurt.
I have to do something. I have to save Grandpa. As I thought desperately, I felt something glowing blue in my head. At that moment, a loud voice that didn’t sound like my own came out.

"Noooooooo!"

　Hmph

　As I watched, the wild boar ran away as if startled.
　The area fell silent, as if a storm had just passed.

"Grandpa, are you okay?"
"Yeah, thanks to Mai, I was saved. Thank you... ouch."
"Your arm is bleeding."
"Looks like I got bitten. Anyway, let's get down the mountain."

　Grandpa managed to stand up and walk. As we were heading down the mountain path, Grandma came up. She seemed to sense something was wrong when she saw us.
"My goodness, what happened? Did a bear come out or something?"
"Something like that, a wild boar. Mai screamed and scared it off, so I was saved, but it was dangerous."
"He got bitten trying to protect me from the boar."
"Oh my, it's even soaked through your clothes and turned red. We have to go to the hospital."

　We went down to the foot of the mountain and called an ambulance.

　Grandpa was taken to a general hospital and admitted for treatment and tests.
　
　The next day, my mother took me to visit him. I only know the local Inoue Clinic, so this was my first time seeing such a large hospital.
　We took the elevator to the 5th floor, and when we looked for the room, we found "Heijiro Mayama" on the door of a four-person room.
"Dad, how are you feeling?"
"Oh, Shiko. Sorry to worry you. They said they had to put in 20 stitches, but as you can see, I'm doing fine."
"You're already sixty, so please don't push yourself."
"I'm just going for a hike. I didn't think a wild boar would show up either. Right, Mai?"
"I was scared because I thought it was a black bear."
"I see, I see. That's because I told you that story, isn't it? But I didn't know Mai was that brave..."
　While we were talking, a nurse in a white uniform came over.
　She appeared like a gentle breeze, and spoke with a smile that was natural yet sparkling.
"Mr. Mayama, how are you doing?"
"Oh, it doesn't hurt anymore, so I feel like I could be discharged."
　He speaks to the nurse in his usual dialect too. I let out a little giggle. But I don't think anyone noticed.

"We've stitched up the wound, so you could do outpatient visits, but please be patient a little longer until the tests are finished."
　My mother seemed concerned after hearing that explanation.
"Thank you for taking care of him. I'm his daughter. Is there any risk of infectious diseases?"
"Since it's a wild animal, it's just a precaution. I think we'll know by today or tomorrow. Oh, sorry for interrupting your visit. Please take your time."
　The nurse answered and then looked at me and smiled.
"Is this your granddaughter?"
　Then Grandpa answered with a big smile.
"She just started elementary school. Thanks to this child screaming, the boar was startled and ran away. Right, Mai? Come on, say hello."
　As I was fidgeting, the nurse gently patted my head.
"Your name is Mai, right? It's amazing that you helped your grandpa. Keep cheering him up, okay?"
"Yes."
　I felt happy, just like when I was praised by my kindergarten teacher.

　Before long, when the nurse left, Grandpa spoke to my mother with a serious expression.
"Do you have something to write with? A pencil is fine."
"Huh? I have a notepad and a ballpoint pen."
　My mother rummaged through her shoulder bag and took them out.
"Is this okay?"
"Yeah, that's fine."
　Grandpa took them with his uninjured right arm, placed the notepad on the bed, and gripped the pen.
"It must be hard to write. If you tell me what to say, I'll write it for you."
"Nah. It's fine. I wanted to write it myself."
　Despite my mother's concern, he insisted on it.

　He wrote slowly, one character at a time, on the notepad, and what appeared were words that made no sense.

　NANTAISANKATSUSARE

To be continued in Episode 4⇒

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