The Forest of Wool and Steel

by Natsu Miyashita

Having been raised next to a sheep farm, a part of me thought of livestock purely in terms of monetary value. But what came to mind in that moment, thinking of sheep, was a scene of those serene animals in a green, open pasture, chewing lazily on their grass. Good sheep make for a good sound – to me that felt like a richness in itself. But there are people who picture wealth more in terms of a city packed with high-rise buildings.

It wasn’t a tool to help him avoid any horrors; it was the power to deal with them.

There’s no shortcut through the forest. The only way forward is to keep honing your skills, little bit by little bit.

‘You see, talent will out if you really love something. A tenacity, a fight in you that keeps you in the fray no matter what. Something like that.

That particular piano was destined to wait in that little house for him alone to play. And that was fine. That quiet, solitary joy was not something you could appreciate in a large auditorium. This was a piano that allowed someone to smell the scent of a little dog and to stroke its soft fur – music at its most noble.

Music is there to help us enjoy life, not as a means to outdo everyone else. Even if you do compete and a winner is picked – the person who enjoys himself the most is always the real winner.

The glistening of the world as the morning sun rises, the glowing as it sets – who can say which is better? The morning sun and evening sun are the very same sun, yet the form of their beauty differs. That’s what I figure, in any case.

She isn’t giving up the piano at all. There are entrances to the forest all over. And there must be so many routes to walk through it.