5. Pillar of Weather Wheel
The back of the farm was a gentle hill.
Its black flat top looked vaguely lower than usual, strung together under the northern star of Big Bear.
Giovanni climbed higher and higher along the small wooded path, which was already covered with dew.
The small path was lit up by a ray of white starlight through the dark grass and thicket looked like various shapes.
Some of the grass had little insects that emitted a brilliant bluish glow.
The blue lights shone through from some leaves.
Giovanni thought they looked like the light from Japanese snake gourd that everyone had just taken.
Beyond the blackened pines and oak trees, the sky suddenly opened up and Milky Way could be seen cascading from south to north.
And the pillar of Weather Wheel at the top could be recognized.
The flowers of bellflower or wild chrysanthemum bloomed everywhere, as if their smell had come out of a dream.
A bird, singing, passed over the hill.
Giovanni came to the bottom of Weather Wheel pillar at the top and threw his throbbing body into the cold grass.
The lights of town burned in the darkness like the lights of a palace at the bottom of the sea.
The singing, whistling and shrieking of children could be heard faintly.
The wind rumbled in the distance, the grass on the hills rustled, and Giovanni's sweat-drenched shirt was cooled coldly.
From the outskirts of town, Giovanni looked out over a distant, black field.
From there he could hear the sound of a train.
The windows of the little train looked to line up in a small and red row.
When he thought of the many travelers peeling apples and laughing and doing all sorts of things, Giovanni felt indescribably sad.
He lifted his eyes to the sky again.
"Oh, he said that white belt of sky are all stars."
But no matter how much he looked at it, the sky didn't seem to be the cold place like the teacher said in the noon.
On the contrary, the more he looked at it, the more he thought of it as a small woods, a farm, or a field.
Then Giovanni saw the blue harp star, increasing the number to three or four, were flickering.
And it, with many legs going out and retracting, finally stretching out like a mushroom.
The town below seemed to be a hazy cluster of stars or a big hazy smoke.
- To return to table of contents of Night on the Galactic Railroad
Its black flat top looked vaguely lower than usual, strung together under the northern star of Big Bear.
Giovanni climbed higher and higher along the small wooded path, which was already covered with dew.
The small path was lit up by a ray of white starlight through the dark grass and thicket looked like various shapes.
Some of the grass had little insects that emitted a brilliant bluish glow.
The blue lights shone through from some leaves.
Giovanni thought they looked like the light from Japanese snake gourd that everyone had just taken.
Beyond the blackened pines and oak trees, the sky suddenly opened up and Milky Way could be seen cascading from south to north.
And the pillar of Weather Wheel at the top could be recognized.
The flowers of bellflower or wild chrysanthemum bloomed everywhere, as if their smell had come out of a dream.
A bird, singing, passed over the hill.
Giovanni came to the bottom of Weather Wheel pillar at the top and threw his throbbing body into the cold grass.
The lights of town burned in the darkness like the lights of a palace at the bottom of the sea.
The singing, whistling and shrieking of children could be heard faintly.
The wind rumbled in the distance, the grass on the hills rustled, and Giovanni's sweat-drenched shirt was cooled coldly.
From the outskirts of town, Giovanni looked out over a distant, black field.
From there he could hear the sound of a train.
The windows of the little train looked to line up in a small and red row.
When he thought of the many travelers peeling apples and laughing and doing all sorts of things, Giovanni felt indescribably sad.
He lifted his eyes to the sky again.
"Oh, he said that white belt of sky are all stars."
But no matter how much he looked at it, the sky didn't seem to be the cold place like the teacher said in the noon.
On the contrary, the more he looked at it, the more he thought of it as a small woods, a farm, or a field.
Then Giovanni saw the blue harp star, increasing the number to three or four, were flickering.
And it, with many legs going out and retracting, finally stretching out like a mushroom.
The town below seemed to be a hazy cluster of stars or a big hazy smoke.
- To return to table of contents of Night on the Galactic Railroad