PART TWO: FLOATING WOODEN BUDDHAS
Evening was drawing near by the time the two of them reached Minami Village. Walking along the roads in the middle of the rice fields, they noticed a woman hoeing.
"Enku?" she said, putting down her hoe. "Is that you? How long has it been? When did you get into town? I barely believed it seeing you with that child. You've got a boy?"
"Don't be silly," said Enku. "We're looking for his mother. She's supposed to be from around here, but the boy's not sure. I thought I'd start here. It's as good a place as any."
"I don't think so. I've never seen him before. And no one's lost any boys that I've heard of."
"Well, don't worry. We'll find her," said Enku. "Sooner or later. Give my best to everyone." Then he took Tatsukichi's hand and dragged him along to the houses of all the other people he knew in the village, simple wood craftsmen like himself, stopping in to say hello and ask about the boy's mother, carving wooden Buddhas and chanting sutras as he went. But no one knew.
At evening of the next day, they found themselves walking along the Kawa River, where they came to a cave carved in a rock. Earlier that summer, Enku had been in Minami Village and stayed in that cave while he studied.
"Tatsukichi," he asked the boy. "Do you want to stop and make friends with the kids here in Minami?"
"Yeah, they're good at water sports. They can swim from one side to the other with no problem."
"Good," said Enku, peering up into the black clouds. "Then we'll stay. But it looks like rain. If we don't hurry, we'll be caught outside. Come on," he said, pulling Tatsukichi by the hand and trotting along the top of the rock to the cave's entrance, which was about two metres deep.
"Look, Tatsukichi," he said, stopping near the front of the cave. Just like every other time he was in town, the villagers had set his supper out for him. This time there was enough food for two placed on a tray in front of the cave.
"Thanks to the fine people of this village, we'll always have enough to eat. We should never forget our obligation to the people of this village and how grateful we are."
Just in time, the two of them entered the cave, the heavens opening up behind them. That night, a frightful storm came, with heavy rain pelting against the entrance and thunder and lightning flashing and echoing along the cave walls Tatsukichi buried his face in Enku's chest and shook with fear, but Enku had studied up and down the land and seen many things, so he wasn't afraid.
Leaving poor Tatsukichi behind, he climbed up onto the big rock near the cave's entrance and sat down to meditate, so absorbed in prayer it was almost like the thunder and lightning pealing up and down the valley weren't there. Nearby, the Kawa River filled to two or three times its normal height.
"Gyatei, gyatei."
"Hara, gyatei."
"Harasou, gyatei," he prayed, his voice echoing throughout the night into the cave and making Tatsukichi feel better. He wondered which was more powerful, Enku or the storm.
The next morning, Tatsu woke early, the sound of the children's voices tempting him down to the river. Quickly, he jumped out of his clothes and rushed out to join them swimming. Enku stayed behind, listening to the sound of the playing children's voices from the cave and carving a row of wooden Buddhas that he lined up along the wall.
Suddenly, Tatsukichi came rushing into the cave.
"Enku! Come quickly! It's terrible! He's been washed away!"
"What is it, Tatsu?" he asked, jumping up and taking off his clothes. "One of the children?
Where?"
Grabbing up the wooden Buddhas lined up along the wall, he jumped up lightly onto the rock on the caves' entrance and ran out to the river, Tatsukichi running closely behind. There were people all along the riverside, throwing out ropes and stretching long bamboo poles to try and snag the boy.
"The child's gone!"
"Help us! Someone help us!"
"Doesn't anyone have a boat? This is too dangerous. Someone get a boat!"
"Enku-san! Enku-san! Help us!" one of them cried.
The swollen river was crashing and roaring along the big rock beside the cave, spray flying up from the whitecaps all over the place. First the boy's face would appear, then disappear, as it was swallowed up in the churning water. Quickly, Enku ran a little way downstream and, judging the direction of the water, plunged into the current. Holding onto his precious wooden statues, Enku floated down to near where the child's hand was sticking out. All the people on the riverside could do was watch and pray. Just when it seemed too late, that Enku couldn't save the child, he was able to just barely make out his frightened face being tossed about by the raging river and reached out and placed the wooden Buddhas under the child's body. Holding him under his left hand, Enku floated down the river, the people lined up along the river running along beside them. In time, the river widened and lost strength, the current carrying them to a gentle place on the side. The poor child's face was white as a ghost, Enku carrying him out of the water like a rag doll. Grabbing hold of his legs, Enku turned the boy upside down and drained the water out of him. Lightly, he began to stroke the child's chest until his breath returned. Only when his blank eyes opened and he cried out, did the unsmiling Enku nod and return to the cave beaming.
He was so tired, he went straight to sleep, only to be woken by the village children standing in front of the cave's entrance and rattling their voices off the walls.
"Enku! Thank you! You're good at water sports! Thank you! Tomorrow, we'll bring you a present!"
The next morning, on top of the big rock at the cave's entrance, were hundreds and hundreds of floating wooden-Buddhas; big ones and small ones, round ones and square ones, of every shape and size.
"Look! They're floating wooden-Buddhas," the children's voices called out.
That summer, the children gave up playing in the river completely, carrying up armful after armful of wooden Buddhas up to the rock in their loincloths to thank Enku, their voices ringing out until near sunset.
The Love of a Silver Fox: Folk Tales from Seki CIty Page 31
