The Lesson on Silence

In the end, he handed the document to The Hayashi Teacher, who read it calmly and wisely. Then, even when the owl was chirping, the Sensei said:

- Very well, Niten Shuntoku. Pack your things and go home. Your family needs you.

The young apprentice hid his inner happiness and ran to the rooms he shared with six other students. Everyone was sleeping when Shuntoku packed his few belongings into a bundle and left the school.

Inner Journey and Silence

Now he was as free as the wind that takes the dust off the ground. Walking on the road without light, the young Niten Shuntoku entered a forest of closed forest.

Trees with thick, dark trunks shook as a storm approached. The moon left the sky, and only silence and darkness were present. For the first time in his life, Shuntoku was afraid. There was not even the crawling of nocturnal animals, absolutely nothing. Everything was silent as if nature was quiet in the face of the student's reproachful attitude.

Without realizing it, he tripped over something hard and heavy. He fell to the floor, hurting his face. Jumping up, Niten Shuntoku saw the eyes of his mother and grandparents staring at him. Everyone was dead. In desperation, he ran through the forest, but the silence overwhelmed him.

Hours later, exhausted, he collapsed on the grass. Watching the sky, he remembered the affection he had at the Hayashi clan school. He remembered the teachings and everything that made him a better person. In tears, he said:

- My ancestors, I very much regretted having done badly and shamed my family. I just want to be like my father and my brothers. He wanted to have the destiny reserved for the men of my clan. Like the others before him, he wanted to be a samurai. However, no one seems to hear me.

The Silence Speaks

Then, unexpectedly, silence spoke to Niten Shuntoku using the voice of the heart:

- Dear Shuntoku, son of Niten Razan, grandson of Niten Hiroshi.