Yui had it all--the beloved daughter of a feudal lord, an unearthly beauty that moves men to write sonnets, and a heart of gold. Only, she wishes for one thing.
To overcome the illness that eats her soul day by day. She folds paper cranes each nigh...
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Haru was kept busy by Hanyin, an old man in his late sixties who still had the strength of a proud mule. He was the concierge of the house and it seemed that before him, he was the only male wandering the household. All the other manservants followed the lord to the palace in the capital city. Hanyin hunched terribly, his weak knees barely carrying his weight but that shouldn't fool anyone into thinking that the man was frail. He shouted at Haru as if there was no tomorrow, telling him to do this and that and if he so much as sits down, the old man would spring upon him and bat him with his walking stick. He had cleaned the backyard, fetched water from the well, checked on the fermented rice, raked the leaves, fed the koi fish, wiped the floors and even some of the task given to the female servants fell on his shoulders.
He only gritted his teeth and did what the old man demanded, barely keeping his tongue from straying. He had to consistently remind himself that the old man was his superior but nevertheless, he still had the urge to push him in the pond. Hanyin continually poked him with his walking stick when he thought he was slacking but Haru didn't slack.
Yes, he might've been distracted by the appearance of Lady Yui in the gardens with her servants trailing after her, or the music that flowed all the way to his ears, but he polished the damn floorboards so well he could see his reflection.
It was late afternoon, the sun blisteringly hot, when he was allowed the semblance of rest. His feet ached and his arms were sore. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead with the sleeve of his dirty robe that he wore yesterday. The female servants gave him water and some porridge but his stomach was an empty abyss after a day of grueling work. He was close to considering catching some fish for himself. The porridge tasted very delightful which was to be expected in a house like this but a bowl was hardly enough to sustain him.
When he saw the leftover food from Lady Yui's breakfast, he didn't hesitate and snatched the egg rolls and some chicken when the woman who called Sumi screamed at his ears.
"No, not that one!" she cried and Haru dropped the egg rolls as if it was burning iron.
"I—I'm sorry but you were going to throw it away anyway." That was what they did every time the lady had her meals. Perhaps Lady Yui's stomach was so weak that she could finish only a fourth of her food but there would always be leftovers enough to feed two people—and they threw it out for the dogs to eat.
"Yes, but we don't touch it. We couldn't risk contracting the disease," she said. Sumi shoved him away, gathered the food and threw it out on the fire as if thinking that if she were to throw it for the dogs, Haru would pick it up and eat it himself.
He watched the fire swallowing the succulent chicken and perfectly made eggs, his heart aggrieved. There went the good food.
Haru was not having a good day. He was expecting this of course. He walked away from the kitchen grumbling, his stomach growling in accordance to his mood. Yesterday when he first arrived, nobody even spared a glance at him and before he could ask anyone for instructions, they scurried off before he could be three feet near. So he spent the night in the stables, sharing the hay with the horses and that was where Hanyin found him. He had slept in worst conditions before but he thought with a grand house like this, they had rooms for him. Tai Tei might be a bad master but at least he gave him adequate shelter.
And now he wanted to sulk but there was nowhere to sulk. He didn't dare go to the gardens in the off chance that Lady Yui was there and so he trudged the path less visited and decided that the company of thickets and groves was better.
It seemed that this part of the house was less taken care of. It was in a secluded corner and had he not been wandering yesterday, he wouldn't have known that there was a small garden in the very edge of the walls surrounding the house. The vines grew wildly, coiling around a dead tree. The bushes were thick and untrimmed and weeds bred freely next to the shrubs. The uncut grass reached up to his waist.
Haru strolled around this small space and thought that it was a shame that they left this garden to grow wildly on its own. He crouched down next to an abandoned fishpond, its edges filled with thriving algae. Bugs walked the water's green surface.
He was hungry and tired and it was not recommended that he do what he was about to do but he stood up, went back to the shed at the back of the mansion and returned to the garden with a bucket of water and some gardening supplies.
Back at Tai Tei's house, he was the one tasked to tend the garden because of his meticulous hands aside from making crafts that Tai Tei sold to customers. He was lucky that he only had to battle with the thorns of the roses and the occasional beehives but unfortunate slaves like Ping who did not have special talents were assigned to do the harder work like carrying a wagonload of blocks and slabs or cleaning the stables.
He started hacking off the overgrown boughs, cutting down dead trees, trimming the grass and emptying the fishpond of dirty water little by little. He scrubbed the pond rigorously and went back to the well to replace the pond with fresh water. He contemplated sneaking out in the night to catch some koi fish and relocate them here.
Haru discovered a young apple tree hidden in the dense cover of more greenery. He proceeded to cut down the vines that snaked its way on its trunk and saw to his satisfaction that there were unripe apples hanging in its branches. It will take them perhaps a few weeks to be ready to harvest.
Once he was done pruning bushes and replanting some flowers, Haru sat on the trunk of the apple tree, his muscles aching anew. Now that he had finished his work, the garden turned very beautiful, enough it could rival the garden in the front of the residence. The water in the fishpond glimmered under the sunlight, the blooming flowers a thing of beauty and he thought that this garden was once lovely before. He wondered why they decided to abandon it now.
He was proud of his work but now he was so weary and hungry. He propped himself up and collected the pail and the gardening tools before making his way back to the shed and back to the stables where he would take a nap and perhaps try and forget his empty stomach.
However, a woman waited for him in the shed. She was wearing white indicating she was some shaman or nurse and her face was pinched in restrained annoyance. Haru stopped just meters away from her and waited for her to speak.
The woman scrutinized him and he gazed back coolly. He was often the subject of haughty scrutiny and so he let her do just that. Her brows twitched and he could almost see the words in her forehead: filthy slave. Finally, she spoke.
"The lady wants to see you."
Author's note:
So now the two of them will meet formally. Eep. Poor, hungry, Haru. XD
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