Asakiyume mita

There's a chair beside the path in the woods. Some leaves have collected on it.

Would you sit on it?



I sent the photo to my Tikuna tutor. She said maybe it's the seat of Madre Monte, a guardian of the forest and the animals in it, a terror to hunters, clearcutters, and fishers. She appears in the deep forest when there are storms, is responsible for water-borne ailments, and her screams are louder than thunder (says Spanish-language Wikipedia).

But maybe in her quieter moments, she appreciates a good place to sit down.

It takes temerity to sit in a seat that has "reserved" written all over it, but one of the fairies at my christening blessed me with temerity, so I gave it a try--and then jumped up, because when I sat, I sank riiiiiiiiight in, and I didn't want to find out deep the sinking would go.

* * *

In my dad's front yard there are a sugar maple and a Norway maple. The Norway maple was shedding maps the other day.



Where would you like to go?

Each map is unique--you take it and follow it as you see fit. You could do this with ordinary maps, too. A map of London is great for navigating London, but what if you try using it in Osaka or Kota Kinabalu or Cairo? It could be interesting.