The Field the Goddess Tilled

The Field the Goddess Tilled

The harvest season. A time celebrated by agricultural civilizations since its very inception. The time when the crop, grown through tender care by its owners, is cut and molded into something edible is a time of festivity and celebration. The crop survived, and the people who worked it to death over the summer obtain their time to rest and relax, before the cold winter forces them inside to keep warm. In ancient times, they prayed to gods of nature, in hope that the food would be plentiful, and that they'd survive the winter.
However, in a remote area of ancient Japan, a place far off from any village, town or marketplace, a lone farm thrived without any help from any prayers.
It was a foggy autumn morning over the small wheat field, giving it a gray color instead of its usual golden, while seeming to make it expand in size. A man, named Emiya, walked out of the sliding door of his wooden farmhouse, sitting with food and drink under the covered porch, and his feet, poking out of his robe, just touching the ground. As he sipped his hot tea, he lamented the view; it represented his whole world, an open landscape but closed in by fog, with only the farm as his company. He did not smile, but gracefully, he accepted his crop. He took care of it like a father, and the crop his child. Every day, he was out in that field, turning soil, making sure the plants had water, and feeding the animals. The whole farm was his lifeblood, and he would not have it any other way.
Emiya noticed something at the edge of his vision that morning. Hidden in between the stalks, there was a small creature; a fox, from its short nose and dog-like stance. It could have been the shadows, but it was black in color, and its eyes seemed to glow red. Before he could take notice, the man heard one of his animals make a noise, then looked back to find the creature gone.
Emiya was alone out there, with no one else to talk to. His parents had died when he was young, only leaving him a modest education, and a book detailing exactly how to run the farm. After a few years of starving, a lucky chance with a wealthy and generous merchant passing by allowed him to make a completely successful harvest and recover his animals; and, as the years went by, it came naturally to him. He even developed new techniques, and wrote them in the book. Yet still, beyond that one traveler, for over a decade Emiya had no human contact whatsoever. His personality continued to grow more stagnant, as he began to lose his childishness. He was never truly sad for it, but just went about his days, surviving, living the same year after year.
That is, until another foggy autumn morning, when he found someone outside his farmhouse.
Emiya woke up hearing a moaning sound from outside. Rising from what used to be his parents' large mattress, he threw on an extra robe and opened his sliding door. Walking around the porch that lined his whole house, he found what was making the noise; A young girl was lying on the ground near his house, her pale white face scrunched from pain, and her hands covering her stomach. She was dressed elegantly, her clothes almost flowing from her body, and her long, black hair draped all around her.
Emiya acted immediately, after a moment of hesitation. He approached the girl, and lifted her up effortlessly, as she weighed almost nothing to him. He carried her back into his house, and laid her on his bed. He then went to his kitchen to make a quick breakfast, and prepared water to drink. When he presented the meal to her, she opened her eyes; they were a clear red, though Emiya did not pay attention to them. Seeing the food, her hand snatched it and gobbled it up like a hungry dog. After chugging the water, she lay her head on the pillow, and went to sleep instantly, her breathing becoming smoother after a minute.
Emiya stayed there for a while. After seeing some color come back to her pale face, he got up, and prepared his own breakfast before he began to work his field.

“Uh... where am I?” the girl asked the next morning once she got her strength back. Her elegant clothes were ruined, and so were exchanged for extras Emiya had around. She sat up now after breakfast, him sitting against the wall under a window.
“You're at my farm,” said Emiya.
“Your farm? Is this near a village?”
“Village? There are none near by, beyond a couple days walking.”
“So you... live all alone out here?”
“There's no one else by me. My name's Emiya, by the way.”
“Uh... Emiya... My name is Akiha.”
With that, Emiya got off the floor and changed his clothes out of sight, before going outside to tend to his farm. He worked diligently, constantly checking his crops for problem. Akiha sat on the patio of the house, watching him. There wasn't anything else for her to do, other than watch the lazy clouds drift by in the sky. They seemed closer than normal, though she found out they were on a higher elevation than she'd ever been.
“Have you lived here all your life?” Akiha asked when Emiya was near the house again.
“Yeah,” he said, keeping his eyes on his field. “Mom and dad died when I was ten.”
“So... you've lived here for...”
“Ten years.”
“That long...” Akiha trailed off, letting him work for a moment. “How did you survive?”
“I learned,” he said sharply. “I learned how to grow food and take care of animals. I had help from my mom and dad, and a random traveler.”
“But... don't you get lonely?”
“I get by. All I need is my farm.”
“Have you not thought about a wife? Children?”
Emiya stopped inspecting his field, and looked at Akiha. “I never really thought about it, but I can't do it anyway. The only way to do that is to leave. Just finding a village would take a few days, and then comes convincing them to give up a daughter and come back with her. It's too much trouble for me, and at the same time the farm goes untended. Leaving would essentially mean death. My mother was the one to take me out to find someone, but hey; she died. Now my life is here, forever, until the day I die. I don't know what'll happen afterwards, but why think about it? I'll be dead anyway.”
Akiha cheeks turned red as she tried to avert her gaze. She felt like his reaction proved it was a touchy subject. “I am sorry. I just figured you thought about it before.”
“No, I did a long time ago. But it was a random thought, and I was busy figuring out the farm. Since then, I didn't bother.” Emiya sighed, and Akiha turned in his direction again. “Look, I'm fine out here. I already figured I'd be alone my whole life, beyond you random people. For now, if you'd like, you may stay the winter. But no longer; I prefer to live alone anyway.”
“Why?”
“Because, I don't like useless conversation. Now, excuse me...” With that, Emiya strode off deeper into the field. Akiha only sat on the porch, her eyes wide as his figured disappeared quickly.
“Well, I guess he's not really messed up that much,” she said to no one. “Still, would be nice if he'd be more friendly.”

Soon, the harvest season ended, and Akiha decided to stay for the winter. Emiya sent the scythe through his field, and stored the grain next to the house. Akiha was amazed in his knowledge of how to keep food from rotting. She decided to pass on anything involving the animals.
Winter came in time, and a light blanket of snow fell on the house and grass.
“Beautiful, isn't it?” Akiha asked as the flakes fell at the softest pace she had seen. She stood in the door frame, admiring the white view in all directions.
Emiya walked up next to her, not really caring too much. Then, as he took a look himself, his eyes opened as he gasped. “Wow... I don't think I've ever really looked before at this view. It's... well...”
“Amazing?”
“Yeah.”
Akiha only smiled at him weirdly. “It's like this is the first time you've seen snow. You look at your field day after day, only caring for it. You should look up more, or you'll miss out. You live in a beautiful place.”
Emiya did not answer. He only wished to take in the sight he never bothered to look at.
“I think I read most farmers hate winter. It cuts into the growing time. Maybe that's why you didn't bother to look.”
“Probably. I mean, if it comes too early, it could ruin or kill most of the crop. The animals can also freeze if not taken care of.”
“You're too serious.” Akiha went back inside for a moment, and pulled on a thick coat Emiya used to have when he was young. She walked past him, and down into the frozen grass. After taking a few steps, she turned back. “Come on. You should appreciate all of nature's goodness. Her plants and skies are a work of art, and the weather is the paint brush.”
Emiya gave her a perplexed look. “Why do you care so much about nature?”
“Why indeed?” the girl said under her breath. “I just like it, that's all. There's a lot more to this world than farming. You should expand your horizons. Now come on.” And with a swish of her hair, she ran around the side of the house, snow crunching under her sandals.
Emiya stood there on the porch, looking over the desolation that used to be his field, now covered in a light layer of snow. But today, looking beyond the field at the sky, he seemed boxed in. “So, it this all my world would have to offer me? A house, some animals, a field, and the means to survive, and nothing more?” He sighed. “Maybe this is a meaningless existence. Jeez, what is she turning me into?”
After contemplating over his thoughts, he shrugged, went inside to get his own coat, and followed Akiha's trail.

After a while of viewing the snow, the two came back to the house for lunch. Emiya prepared some bread and tea, and they sat inside the door, continuing to watch the weather, the sky brightening as the day went on.
“So,” began Emiya, “I told you about myself when you first came here, but as I think about it, you haven't said anything about yourself to me.”
Akiha looked at him with a smile. “Why the sudden interest? Are you getting more comfortable having me around?”
“Well, I agreed to let you stay. You've been here this long, so I thought I'd ask.”
“Mmm... I don't think I want to tell you,” she said with a smile.
“Oh really,” Emiya raised an eyebrow. “Now why is that?”
“Oh, I just ran away. That's all.”
“That's all?”
“That's all.”
Emiya grunted in annoyance. “So if you're running away, wouldn't it have been better if you had moved on as soon as possible, in case someone followed you?”
“Oh, I wouldn't worry about that.”
“And why is that?”
“So many 'whys,' so many questions,” said Akiha. “No one is following me. They would not bother themselves with it.”
“So then, why stay here?”
After watching the snow for a moment, Akiha answered, “I like it here. It's peaceful. And I have good company. So I don't see a reason to leave.”
Emiya looked away, feeling guilty about asking his questions of suspicion. Then he went back to watching the snow, as it piled further on the ground and porch. “Well, I guess you're good company, too.”
Akiha looked back at him with a slight grin. “You think so? Are you starting to like me now?”
“Well, I've had no one to talk to for a while, so this is nice. And don't worry about food; I can always slaughter an extra cow.”
The sound of a moo went off in the distance. After hearing that, Akiha said, “So you like me?”
“M-maybe,” said Emiya, his cheeks slightly going red. His eyes only watched the snow while sipping his tea.
Akiha became lost in the view. “Would you mind if I stayed longer, then?”
“What?” Her request seemed sudden.
She looked at him. “I want to stay longer. Would you mind?”
“Well, I guess... why?”
“There's no where else, anyway, and you said you couldn't leave to find a wife. So, why don't I stay?”
“You're volunterring?”
“Do you have someone else in mind?”
“Well, no, but like I said...” he did not get a chance to finish as she kissed his cheek, silencing him. He continued to stare at her while she stared at the snow.

Sometime after the winter months, Akiha had become ill. Then, a few weeks later, while inspecting the area of his field for the next crop, she came out to tell Emiya she was pregnant.
His world collapsed. When the winter began, he thought it would end typically, like it always had. He had not expected to start the new growing season having to consider Akiha living with him, let alone having to care for a child.
Then his world reformed. After spending the winter alone with Akiha, Emiya came to love her. He didn't know how it happened, but she had become such an impact on his life, he didn't want to imagine it without her around.
So, when she announced that there would be another joining them, he was happy. He smiled at her, and she smiled back. After spending ten years alone, only living for himself, he had a family to join in that life.
Then, the snow melted; the plants bloomed, the animals moved, and the crop began to grow. Emiya juggled his life between the crop and his new wife, working twice as hard as before. He had a new vigor about him, constantly working to make sure the wheat grew perfectly. Akiha only watched him from the porch, just like she did when they first met.
However, as the summer went on, she began to whisper and talk to herself, and sometimes Emiya found her outside by the crop, watching it all night.
Summer gave way to autumn, and the harvest season once again. As soon as the food was stored, the child was born. There was no one else that night, and no midwife, so Emiya had to treat Akiha from her own instructions. It was a hard birth, but as soon as it was all over, Emiya had a healthy baby girl in his arms. The mother was weakened from the experience, but she also made it through the night. They had named her Nayuki, after the snowy morning she decided to stay longer.
A week passed, and the first snow fell. Evening draped itself on the world, and Emiya was finishing making dinner, watching Nayuki when he realized Akiha was missing. He ran outside and looked everywhere for her, calling her name. After an hour of looking, and the baby crying, he approached his front door having almost given up, when he looked out towards the field.
There, as if a shadow from the dying sun, was the pitch black fox with glowing red eyes. It stared at him, and he stared back. They stayed like that for a few minutes, as Emiya's thoughts froze. He remembered his mother, telling him of legend that foxes were majestic beasts, messengers of the gods.
Or gods themselves.
Suddenly, Emiya heard Nayuki's voice again, and looked to the door for a moment. When he looked back to the field, the fox was gone. Not knowing what to do, he went back inside to take care of his infant daughter. Before he sat down, he noticed a book on the floor he did not recognize. It was a book on raising children, and the memory came back to him, that Akiha was writing in this book through the whole summer.
“Is that how it is? Everyone enters my life and leaves me alone with a book? Thanks,” said Emiya, as he shifted his attention to his daughter.

Over the years, it seemed Emiya had forgotten his time with Akiha. He reverted back to his old self, where he spent his time always working, and the wheat field became his life again. He had to work harder, as he had a new mouth to feed in Nayuki. However, he treated her only as such, and was serious in everything he did. It was a quiet household, where the only conversation was how the crop would do in harvest.
As Nayuki grew older, Emiya began to teach her how to read and write, while showing her how to tend the field. He was stern when she became fussy at first, but soon she also adopted his more apathetic personality. She tended the field mechanically, like him, and only thought about how well it would do. He praised her when she did a good job, and lectured her when she did bad. Both spent their leisure time together watching the sun set, and playing board games Emiya's mother had stashed away before her death.
Nayuki's mother never came up.
Then, ten years passed. After the field was harvested and the first snow began to fall, Emiya became ill. He was bedridden, and Nayuki constantly looked after his every need. But he did not get better. After a week, Emiya knew his time had come. He summoned Nayuki for his final words.
“I'm sorry you had to live in such a place,” he said to her. “I know you didn't get the chance to live a better life. I want you to know this was all I could give you. But now, I'm afraid I must leave you, and when you're so young. However, you won't be alone,” he smiled, “I'm sure your mother is looking after you.” He lifted his hand, and gentle caressed Nayuki's cheek. “I was only ten when I took over the farm, and I did not do so well in the beginning. But I had my own parents' blessings, and the book they had left me. I've taught you how to plant wheat, make it grow, and harvest it; I taught you how to tend to the animals. Keep the book as a reminder, because now, you'll be working for yourself.”
Emiya's hand dropped to his side, and he brought it back to him. “It did not have to be this way. Your mother could of stayed to help raise you. However, I think she had somewhere else to be. She... she wasn't all that wonderful, but she taught me much. About how to laugh with and love other people. You may not have seen it these past ten years, but I loved both of you. Yet now, I must leave you by yourself. Please, do not curse this life. It is still a good life. Still...”
His head flopped on its side, and his eyes closed one last time.
Nayuki kneeled there for a time, studying her father's features. Then, silently, she got up, opened the sliding door, and stood on the porch, watching the moon. She closed her eyes, then looked to the field.
“Well, it appears he has finally passed on, mother.”
Standing there in front of the harvested field was Akiha, her black hair swaying in the wind, and her red eyes glowing in the night. She wore a black kimono with white flowers, outlined further in white from the moon behind her. She looked no older than she did ten years prior, and only smiled.
“As was expected. I knew the work would catch up to him.” Akiha approached her daughter, the light snow crunching under her bare feet. She stood at the foot of the stairs leading up, and looked at Nayuki. “So, has he accepted you as the new caretaker of this farm?”
“Yes,” said Nayuki.
“Good,” Akiha said with a smile, before turning to the field. “Ah, but he did love this field, didn't he? It's a shame I never told him it was me helping him the whole time, the true caretaker of this land. He never would of understood.”
“May I ask... why? Why did you stay with him?”
Akiha pondered the question for a moment. “I guess over time, I saw the families as they came and went, and wanted to be with them. However, they always had themselves to take care of. Then he came along, and his parents died. I saw him work so diligently, and he never left. Every time he talked about how much he loved this farm, it was like he was talking about me; as the land, I was like a mother, he the father, and this field the child. But there was no one to tell that to for him.” She turned back to her daughter. “So, I fell in love, too. I felt sorry for him, always being alone, so I wanted to be with him. He deserved it, being abandoned for so long, but he was never alone all this time. And now I have a second, beautiful daughter in the process to take care of me and this field from now on.”
Nayuki stood there, not joining in her mother's reminiscing. “What happens now?”
“Now? Now, you will bury him, and he will become part of me. He'll meet me again, and we will always be in this field, with you. And that is a happy ending, isn't it?”
Nayuki sighed. “I guess it would be. Such is a fox's will.”
Akiha laughed. “Yes, such is a fox's enjoyment. We have a slight nack for playing around.”

Time passed. Nayuki took over the field, and it prospered more than ever, due to a happy mother and father. She worked the wheat, and fed the animals, not needing to worry about anything. But she had no one to talk to, except the field. No one ever came by.
Then, one foggy autumn day, a traveler happened on the farm. A young man, hungry as he was, came to the doorstep, begging for food. When the door slid open, there stood the owner; a beautiful, black-haired girl with red eyes, in a dark robe and no footwear, wearing a serious, uncaring face. After preparing something, they sat on the porch, their feet just touching the ground.
“So,” he began, after introducing himself as Shirou, “Do you live here all alone?”
“Yes,” was the reply.
“Don't you get lonely?”
“I have my parents.”
“Really? Where are they?”
Nayuki pointed to the field. Shirou was only confused, before thinking of all the sadistic possibilities; crazy murderings were now on his mind. “Uh, I guess that's an answer. How long have you lived here?”
“Oh,” Nayuki uttered, a smile appearing on her lips. “A while.”
“How long is that? Five? Ten years?”
“I think the term is a hundred.”
Shirou stopped eating, and almost choked and spit out his food from shock. This only caused her to chuckle. “Don't worry,” Nayuki said as she stood. “There is nothing evil here. This is a place of love, where the fields are ripe with it. If you have no where to go, you may stay for the winter. However, I run this farm alone, and have no real need for company, so I only ask you to leave when the weather gets warmer.”
Shirou did not take the offer. He stayed for a day and left as quickly as possible. When he got to a village, he asked around about the farm on the faraway hill. No one had heard of it, though they did hear a rumor of a farm that was taken care of by one family for hundreds of years. The rumors also said they had not left to find someone to help continue the line in a hundred years, so the speculations went that they died off.
'I think the term is a hundred,' was what Nayuki had said. She had lived there for a hundred years. Shirou was completely baffled, and began to spread a legend of a field a goddess tilled.