After autumn arrived, rainy days became more frequent.
Dampness seeped into the cracks in the wood and the ground.
So much so that the ground around the house was always crawling with ants.
Muichiro Tokito crouched beside the house.
He watched intently as the ants formed a long line, constantly migrating to higher ground.
He was unlike other children who liked blocking their paths with stones or finding ways to make trouble for them.
Muichiro did not like using his larger, stronger body to hurt the ants.
He simply watched.
At that moment, his father was chopping wood in the mountains.
His older brother, Yuichiro, was inside, changing the towel on their mother's forehead.
Lately, a tense atmosphere had hung over their home.
Their mother had caught a cold that refused to improve despite treatment.
Now she was bedridden, and even going outside had become very difficult for her.
Their father said it was an illness called "pneumonia."
She needed proper rest and medicine to recover.
That was why their father had been spending more time chopping wood in the mountains lately.
He also often ventured into dangerous places to gather medicinal herbs.
Muichiro did not understand.
His father was a woodcutter, yet he knew the complicated names of those illnesses.
He could even turn those unfamiliar plants in the forest into medicinal decoctions.
"I hope Mother gets better soon..."
It was just then.
Before the newcomer even came into view, he recognized Kiseki Tokito's returning footsteps from a distance.
"Father!"
Muichiro took his eyes off the ants, stood up rather happily, and ran toward his father.
He helped his father take the heavy wood and the bamboo basket of herbs.
At the same time, he reported what he had done that day.
"Father, thank you for your hard work!