To Hagigaoka Elementary School

Thanksgiving Thursday:
This morning I rode my bike over to my “far” elementary school (a couple kms away). Out that way, the main road follows the river, both of which lead towards the mountains, making the journey extremely picturesque. As dawn broke, the sky was obscured with clouds. But just as I was cycling towards the mountains, the clouds were evaporating, and a broad band of sun drew a line across the upper half of the mountains enveloping the road I was traveling, illuminating the deep green of the pine trees dotting the mountain-sides, and brightening the leaves of those trees still hanging onto their fall foliage. In the distance, wisps of white continued to hang in the crags where the sun had not had full opportunity to chase the clouds away. I have lived in Tokigawa for almost three and a half years, and there is still never a shortage of such moments that make me wonder how I was so lucky to end up here.