Swing

The relentless sun hung high in the clear azure sky, casting an unrelenting heat upon the forest floor. Not a wisp of cloud dared to challenge its dominion, and the vibrant green canopy above offered only sparse shelter from the scorching rays. As the sunbeams filtered through the leaves, they created a mosaic of dappled light on the forest floor, illuminating patches of earth with an almost magical quality. The air was thick with the aroma of pine, earth, and the faint hint of wildflowers. Birds sang in the distance, their melodies carrying through the still, heavy air. In the heart of this sun-drenched wilderness, the forest seemed to hold its breath, caught in the throes of midday stillness.

The silent sleep of the wooden giants are interrupted by a faint "ping" reverberating through the thick atmosphere, repeating over and over with the regularity of a clock.This sound is a mixture of a high-pitched metallic scrape and a lower, resonant wooden creak. Then, the tree fell with a scream-like creak. The climax of the sound is the thunderous crash as the tree makes contact with the ground. This is a deafening noise, accompanied by a deep, earthy thud and a shower of leaves, twigs, and debris being thrown into the air.

As the silence slowly takes back its place, the lumberjack who cut the tree sits on the stump. It is Tian-Han, holding an iron axe in his hands. He looks at Kazuki and throws the tool at the young boy's feet.

"Now that you saw the movement, it's your time to try".

The student tries to lift the heavy axe, not without a lot of difficulty. His stance is clumsy and unbalanced. His master watches the youngling struggling while he drinks water and gives him advices to be able to do it correctly

"Widen the space between your feets. Root it into the ground like the tree in front of you. The most rooted will be the strongest."

Kazuki does as advised, taking a widened posture. He is able to lift the axe with less difficulty even though the tool remains heavy for his thin arms. Like the tree, he is rooted in the ground. He gets ready to swing the metal axe in the thick wood. In a first attempt, he launches his body first towards the tree, followed by the arm and the axe. They are carried away in the direction of the tree by his weight. The only thing he achieves is to scratch the surface of the trunk and lose the sharpened tool from his hands

Tian-Han gets up to take the axe. He positions himself, with a solid stance. His muscles are surprisingly big for his old age and show up as he hits the axe in the wood, his move describing a perfect circle and leaving a cut at the point of impact.

 "This is how your swing will be by the end of the day."

The old man helps his student to get the good move by guiding his hands. He corrects his posture. They repeat, again and again. His hands are getting slippery with the heat, but he tries to hold his grip on the handle of the tool. Tian-Han let him try alone. As he just repeats the same move by himself, he reaches the point where the tree falls. In a last swing, he screams and hits the tree with the metal axe head.The impact makes a sharp and percussive "crack." This sound is abrupt and powerful, conveying the force with which the axe meets the wood. It resonates through the surrounding area, carrying with it a sense of impact and energy. Like the previous one, the tree falls with a long creaking and crashes onto the ground with a loud noise breaking at the impact. 

Tian-Han looks at Kazuki with a proud smile and the eyes of the young one shine as his master approves the quality of his work.

"Very good, my boy. It is not like the swing that I showed you yet, but the improvement is enough. What you did was descent. You should get it after 2 or 3 more sessions. However the night is already falling. Let's get back home. We'll take care of the wood tomorrow. Before heading home, we must take some water for tonight and tomorrow morning."

 He takes the axe and puts it on a pile of tools and bags. From the pile, he takes a wooden rod and two wooden buckets. He leads the young boy to a nearby river. Together, they fill up the buckets. They put each bucket on an end of the stick and Tian-Han put it on his shoulders.

 "You're not strong enough to carry it yet, Kazuki. But later you'll be the one to do this chore. Now, let's head back home."

The two of them get back home. While Kazuki rests in the backyard, cooling down with the atmosphere refreshing as the night comes, Tian-Han starts making soup in the kitchen. Once finished, the old man called his students to the kitchen. He serves a bowl of the hot liquid to the young boy. The scent of the vegetables fill the air and a soft warmth tickles their nose. Kazuki goes to the dining room but trips on the way there, and, while trying to catch the falling bowls, ends up with burning liquids all over his hands. He screams of pain and tears start to fall from his eyes. Tian-Han ran to Kazuki, worried.

"What is happening ? Oh, my poor Kazuki !"

Seeing the mess, he hurried to the kitchen to take some towels. He cleans Kazuki's hands, who grimaces from the pain of the burn. Tian-Hand holds Kazuki's hands and a green light starts to appear. When he lets go of the hands, they are fully healed.

"Go to the table. I'll bring our bowls."

He dishevels the youngling's hairs and returns to the kitchen. Kazuki waits for him and later on, they eat together the hot liquid to warm them up against the harsh cold of the night. They go to bed, hoping for a restful night.