FUJI THE OLYMPUS | A Mortal in the Garden
mario, a seven-year-old mortal, accidentally finds himself in the garden of shibiru the persephone.
Shibiru is tending to one of her gardens when she heard distant footsteps from one of the small hedges around the edges of the place. Standing from the ground, she walked to the source of the slight rustle of leaves and found a little boy, no more than the age of eight, cowering.
Firstly, she looked around her, making sure none of her caretakers are in sight. When she didn’t spot any of them, Shibiru turned to the boy and asked him, “Are you lost?”
The little boy is shell-shocked and didn’t utter a response. Instead, he nodded his head. Shibiru smiled and told him to walk out since it is safe. No one is around to spot a lost boy.
It took a while to coax him to come out of the hedge but putting a little bit of trust, he followed Shibiru and he’s finally out in the sun.
When he stepped out of his little hiding spot, he saw a multitude of flora before him. He is awestruck and his eyes couldn’t concentrate on one flower. They are basically bouncing from one color to another, from one shape to another, from the least to the greatest, from the thinnest to the thickest, from the most vivid to the brightest.
Shibiru saw how his eyes sparkled and silently giggled behind her hand. Facing the child, she knelt down to his height and looked at him straight. She asked the mortal, “What’s your name?”
Shibiru smiled and pinched his chubby cheek. She commented, “Mario? That’s awfully like a foreign name.”
Mario giggled and answered, “My momma likes it, though”
“And I happen to like it, too.”
Letting his eyes roam excitedly around her vast garden, Mario shyly asked the young goddess, “M-May we... Um...”
Taking his dainty hand in hers, Shibiru complied and she took the youngster for a tour. She pointed and taught Mario the flowers humans commonly see. Mario is eager to know the secrets that are being held within the common blossoms. Even though he is still basically a child, he has shown interest in the art of flowers.
On the way, Mario thought it is okay to pick and gather some flowers. So, by the time the small tour ended, he has his arms full of flora. Shibiru didn’t show disdain. In fact, she event helped picked out the freshest, biggest, and most vivid flowers they could find.
“How do they smell, dear?”
Shibiru chuckled and said, “Then it is as it should be.”
By now, they are walking back to where Mario has come from because the tour is over.
“What do you dream to be when you grow up, Mario?”
“I want to be... To be a merchant! So that I can help my family!”
“A merchant? What’s that?”
Mario stopped and looked at Shibiru, eyes wide with disbelief. He asked cautiously, “You never... You have never met a merchant before?” Shibiru shook her head. “How about saw?” Shibiru, once again, shook her head.
“I’m sorry, dear, but if I have to tell the truth, I am confined in this forest so deep. I am not a prisoner, no, not at all. But let’s say I am never to go beyond the borders my guardians had set. For... For my safety.”
Bless Mario’s innocence and acceptance. He took the reasoning in such an innocent stride and explained to Shibiru what a merchant is. Gripping the understanding of such a person, Shibiru came about and finally said, “Well, I think you’d make a fine merchant someday. But don’t you think life would be simpler if you work around... Nature?”
“Well, money, gold coins, silver coins, bronze coins - they can all be gone in a flash. You implied they’re like basic needs. But what you really and actually need is all around you. Nature provides what you really require to live. All you have to do is observe. And perceive.”
Mario’s little mouth formed a small ‘O’. He asked, “Then what do I really need? What shall I become?”
Shibiru pointed at his arms and said, “Your answer is right over there. In your hands. The one you can easily reach.”
“Well, what else would it be?” Shibiru smiled. “It’s all up to you, dear. But remember, nature is wealthier than wealth itself.”
Mario looked at all the flowers he held in his hands. Most are common flowers. A few are rare and uncommon. They seemed to attract him more than coins. They have his attention more than merchant goods.
“Alas, I cannot. But I can show you the way out.”
That night, the little boy can’t sleep. The flowers he gathered are all in the vase his mother gave him. It is a bit cracked around the edges, but clay is still strong and water is inside, so that’s what really matters to him now. He’s staring at them, pondering about what the goddess has said. He is intrigued by her statement and though he is barely old enough to understand, he got the gist of what she said.
For her, maybe... He’ll try.
But it isn’t before long when Mario is lulled heavily by sleepiness. His thoughts drifted away as soon as slumber hailed him over.
By his window, the flowers swayed with the evening breeze.
