Kino no Tabi:Volume10 Epilogue

Epilogue

A Certain Man’s Journey, Part A

— Life is a Journey, and Vice Versa, Part A —

A long time ago, when Kino still lived with the old lady she called Master.

When her hair was still long.

One clear day, a man on horseback came to the log cabin.

He had a beard, a worn leather jacket, a ten-gallon hat, a worn revolver-rifle on his back, and fifty years of age.

He happened to pass by the forested road and greeted Kino and the old lady on the deck, who were hanging up sheets to dry. Then he asked if they could bear to part with some water and fodder.

The old lady replied genially and Kino filled up the horse.

They invited the man to tea on the cabin deck. A tea party began.

“Wow. Did you really travel for that long?”

So asked a deeply interested Kino upon hearing the man’s story.

He said he had traveled upwards of thirty years. He went by many means, and in technological countries there were bicycles, there were camels in deserts, horses in green lands, skiing in cold places, and other places where you could only walk.

“I have a goal, see.”

Now that he said it, Kino asked what it could be.

“By traveling…”

The man began.

“I hope to rid ‘gravity’ from this world.”

“Gravity? Is that the thing that says why things fall when you let go of your hands?”

“That’s right. Where I grew up, there were mountains as tall as towers where we lived—both above and below. So there were times when people fell. My family, for instance. On the way home, a leg slipped, and everyone but I went up to God.”

He narrowed his eyes and continued.

“Therefore, I thought that gravity had to be gone from this world for everyone to live happily. But I couldn’t think of how to do that. I left home to find people who would know, and here I am, traveling.”

The man asked the old lady if perhaps she knew the method.

She set down her cup and shook her head.

But the man did not show a flicker of disappointment.

“I’ve went to many countries, but I still haven’t found anyone who knows how. There were some who told me I was hoping for the impossible. But I won’t give up. I’ll keep on looking until I die. I believe that the day will come when I find out and go home with a smile.”