The morning frost has not yet melted, leaving a layer of white on the road surface.
The ruts pressed through, revealing the wet soil underneath.
The camel team set up barriers at the crossing, and the pack frames creaked.
The camel team started up in a certain order. The first camel moved first, followed by the second camel. The pack racks creaked one after another. The camel driver shouted at each automatic position, and the reins and pack ropes were straightened one by one. The camel at the end of the team looked back and then followed the team leisurely. The sound of hoofbeats became a single step.
The end of the rope was hanging down, and the smell of beans mixed with camel manure was the smell all over the road.
There is an empty walking position at the end of the team.
Kiyoshi is embroidered on it.
The porter came around from the side of the pack and handed over the end of a rope.
"Hold on."
At the end of the rope is a camel's pack frame, which is not heavy and makes walking easy.
Answered.
The end of the rope was wrapped around half a circle in the palm of the hand and held tightly.
No one in the team asked any questions, and the porter returned to his seat.
The back of my hand is still a little cold, so I hold on to the rope and slowly warm it up.
The camel walks steadily, steps evenly, and follows that step.
This is the first time that I have followed other people's paths and followed other people's footsteps.
The morning light slanted up from the roadside slope, illuminating the first layer of dust raised when the fence was raised.
At the head of the team, the camel owner was riding on the first camel, holding the reins in his hands and not looking back.
On the other side of the crossing, the patrolman coming from the opposite side announced his name, and the camel owner raised his hand in response. He turned twice and no one stopped. Mitaraishi Anko was on the opposite side, not reining in, and the hem of his cloak was swept by the morning frost.
Halfway out of the market town, the team took a break.
There is a straw hut set up next to an abandoned well beside the road, and the porters each occupy a corner around their humpback camels.
The water bags were untied from the pack and distributed one by one. The one who distributed the water was a short-bearded porter with nimble hands.
After being assigned to the end of the queue, the porter weighed the remaining one in his hand.
"It's just a spare one, take it first."
It was windy near the hut, and the water bag was hanging on the hook of the pack rack.
The porter squatted beside the pack and turned over a cargo list.
The wind blew the corner of the list, and he held it down with a stone.
Turn it over, turn it over again.
"This word is too fancy."
The manifest was handed to him, with grass clippings still stained on the edges.
He took a look.
"What's in this column is the weight, and that column is where it goes."
"I recognize the weight."
The porter moved the stone holding down the bill.
"What about those who draw circles?"
"The circle is just for the shopkeeper to see. It's useless."
The porter turned the list over and over again and stuffed it back into his arms, which still contained half a piece of charcoal to remember the goods.
"These few lines are in vain."
"The words are not in vain."
The wind lifted the corner of the bill again, and the porter changed his hands to hold it down.
"You can look at other orders for us another day."
"Just look at the list and you won't get it for nothing."
Someone next to me laughed loudly, and after laughing, he bundled up the bundle, making a snapping sound at the end of the rope.
The joke spread and was heard by everyone from the end of the line to the head of the line. No one asked his name and took note of his eyes.
The water bag was thrown over and caught.
The water bag was cold, and when I dropped my hand, the leather cord at the mouth of the bag still carried the moisture from the pan.
The dry food was also broken into half pieces. The coarse salt taste was strong and made me hungry.
"Thank you for reading the order."
The team just shouted.
He responded without correcting himself.
Knowing how to read a brochure is easier than using a name.
Hang the water bag on your waist, shake it, and move it to your side.
He broke off a piece of dry food and stuffed it into his mouth, while the coarse salt gritted his teeth.
One more walk and a second break at noon.
A tree beside the road.
The leaves are darker than those of its neighbors, and the tree shape is also a head taller.
The neighboring trees were half wilted by the frost, but they stood upright and their branches spread out.
A crow landed on a strange tree, with a corner of origami pressed under its claws.
The crow paused, relaxed its claws, and the origami paper slipped out from between its claws and fell into the gap between the branches. The leaves shook twice, covering and revealing the white spot.
The crow immediately rose, passed over the heads of the team, and headed to the other end of the road.
He didn't reach out and glanced at the top of the tree first.
No one in the team looked up.
The porter is dividing the rations.
The person went around and took the origami paper off from the branches. The corner of the paper was pressed with his claws to create a crease.
Expand one layer.
Another layer.
There is a line of words on the paper: The side gate has changed its inspection method.
No signature.
No payment was made either.
Turn over on the back.
The back is empty.
He read it twice before turning back.
Fold it and put it into your arms.
... Who this is for, the paper doesn't say.
For those who walk on the road, he knows this.
When the team started up again, the camel owner reined the reins from the head of the team.
"When I joined the team, I didn't ask where you were from."
The team rules were not put up until noon.
He didn't give his name and handed over the message first.
"There is someone selling books over there at the bayonet."
There was silence at the head of the team.
This message was originally given to him by someone else, and it was pressed next to the small note in the book. It will be waiting next to the box of whoever files the case. Now he takes it out, holds it evenly, and the price is decided by him. As soon as the message is exported, it is exchanged for real water and food. There is no need to add a word to the message. The people in the team recognize the message itself.
"This message is for the water and dry food at the end of the team."
The camel owner weighed the camel on its back.
"Selling albums at bay, I believe this."
The camel owner's eyes swept from the end of the team to the last camel and back again.
"Where's the name."
"The news is true."
The end of the rope was loosened half a turn in the palm of the hand, and then tightened again.
"The name is empty, what do you want?"
The camel owner did not answer this sentence and waited for him to go down by himself.
The reins were wrapped around his hands and then loosened.
"Sure."
"The water level will give you a portion, and the dry food will be the same."
The camel at the end of the rope snorted and dug its hooves into the soil.
The team rules and regulations came to light in this moment.
A sentence has value and that's it.
Once you take this step, there is no turning back.
Once the news is out of the mouth, it no longer belongs to him. No one on the street asks who will pass it on and what price it will be paid for.
The porter at the end of the line looked back.
Turned back again.
The knot on the back of the pack swayed with the steps, and the dust at the end of the team clung to Earth Flow.
After walking another distance, the camel owner spoke again.
"You have to have a name."
"One team rule."
The reins were tightened, and the hunchback's steps slowed down for half a beat, then evened out again.
"Remember what."
"You can't keep track of the list."
"Then just take a look at the list."
The camel owner smiled on the camel's back, a businessman's smile without any thorns.
The tip of the whip nodded towards the end of the line.
"As you wish."
The end of the camel is at the right pace, and the rope head is straight.
"In the team rules, mark the end of the team."
"With or without a name, the last person in the queue will leave."
The word "team rules" made him read it easily, as if he was talking about how salty the dry food today is.
The line was held.
If your name is not in anyone's book, the road under your feet is still your own.
The water bag dangles at the side of the waist.
Dry food is in the bag.
The end of the rope is in the palm of your hand.
Everything along the way was exchanged for information.
This team remembers him because of his eyes for reading orders.
... This is enough to complete this road.
The eye of the road is ahead, Main Road turns out from Pogen, and the sun shines brightly around the corner.
The dust rises first.
At the Main Road entrance at the other end of the road, the floating dust is rising faster than the wind, and the dust is messy and walking in a hurry.
A group of figures turned back from the other side of the road.
The team stopped halfway.
The hunchback snorted.
The pace of the team slowed down.
The cargo on the pack was loosened, and the porters looked at each other.
The team returning was moving in a hurry.
The pack was not tied tightly and the rope was hanging on the pack frame.
Someone recognized the camel owner and shouted across the street.
"Don't stop at the front..."
The second half of the sentence was cut off by the wind.
The remaining syllables are scattered in the dust.
The camel owner reined in the reins.
The team stopped at the end of the road.
The camel snorted mid-slap and swallowed back.
The porter in the team held the manifest in his hand and looked towards the returning team.
"This is true, it has already spread through the side door."
The origami in his arms pressed.
The line of words on the paper matched the group of people in front of me.
The camel tapped its hooves restlessly, the reins were stretched and loosened, the pack frame creaked and then became silent again. No one in the team spoke. The half of the sentence that was cut off by the wind did not come back.
The morning frost has long since melted away, but the dust on the road has not yet settled.