To enter Raion's house it was necessary to skirt the very formal karesansui He had personally laid out some few years previously. The very carefully raked crushed granite sand was always impeccable and of the many services Sakura undertook the upkeep of the garden was her favorite. She found the task of creating the rippling waves surrounding the three islands gave a feeling of overwhelming tranquility and the very action of physical labor a satisfaction that was almost immeasurable. The islands were unusual in that rather than being the common large and esthetically pleasing granite boulders they were instead singular constructions of bamboo interlaced with hemp rope. She had contemplated their design and purpose over many hours of raking but had never found the appropriate moment or bravery to ask Him for some elucidation. Her timidity was not feigned as was often the case with other maiko, Sakura truly felt overawed in the presence of her Daimyo and would only interpose when absolutely necessary for His own comfort or need.
Sakura paused for a moment before kneeling to open the shoji leading to His main work room. The spring sun felt good or her face and the first buds of the cherry trees had begun to show a touch of green against the silvery bark. She watched the shimmer of the granite sand as it seemed to dance in the bright light and allowed the joy that being near Him bought sink into her being. She saw the mark He had left in the gardens surface that morning and smiled. The lesson had been about wabi-sabi, the impossible transience of perfection but the constant need to strive endlessly for its accomplishment. Each day she would spent many hours making the surface impeccable, then He would admire momentarily before drawing the point of His shinai across the surface in the approximate form of the principles twin characters.
Raion felt the air move gently across His skin as Sakura opened the sliding door. He was seated seiza in front of the low desk He found the most esthetically pleasing whilst drawing. Momentarily distracted He stopped mid line, something absolutely forbidden and fought for calm as the obvious pause in motion spoilt a piece that had to then been almost acceptable. His eyes moved across the expanse of bare wall in front of Him till they settled on the only picture He permitted to break the stark conformity. His father had been a great calligrapher. A stern cruel man who had talent beyond any that Raion could ever hope to attain but with flaw in character that would never permit him to break from the tradition that held his imagination prisoner. Raion felt the ghost of the ever present bamboo cane splinter across His back as the error in His penmanship deserved.
Sakura accepted His apparently oblivion to her arrival with thanks. She considered her very presence in the work room as a great privilege and would easily accept that gift joyfully without any expectation of further attention. She sat silently at her work table and carefully straightened her kimono so should He honor her with a glance she might be pleasing to His eye. The table was exactly as she had left it, each twig and each pebble in its place, even the large earthenware dish that was to be her base sat in the exact same spot. As always there was no dust. Sakura had become accustomed to this anomaly as she had the myriad of other small things that made her life easier without any other possible explanation beyond Raion's all-embracing protection and care.
Two hours passed in silent concentration. Sakura had positioned and repositioned the longer of the twigs He had chosen numerous times before finally feeling the connection she sought between the earth, represented by the oval dish and the sky above her. She had begun to place the pebbles gathered from the stream just outside the sukiya-zukuri style residences bamboo screened grounds. Her inspiration came from the gardens that surrounded the Shinto shrine at the very edge of her village and the coincidence that Raion often sat and meditated there was not insignificant.
"You are searching for your feelings."
She had no warning and was unable to suppress a tiny startled cry.
"I am sorry. I had not realized you were so deeply engrossed in your thoughts."
Sakura was at once touched by the genuine and deep concern in His voice and dropped her chin shamefully.
"No, no, please it was My fault entirely. Please forgive Me."
Sakura was shaken. His apology was totally unexpected and to her mind completely unnecessary. She had allowed her mind to lose sight of Him momentarily and was mortified He should feel in any way responsible. Taking a deep breath and overcoming her fear she pivoted on her knees and placed her forehead between His tabi swathed feet her arms extended forward palms pressed flat in total submissive za-rei.
Raion felt her pain, her sorrow, her disgrace. She had failed in His service and now was humbled and without hope. Now He must turn a failure into a success, pluck enablement from despair. He glanced back at the portrait of His father and nodded His head in acknowledgement of His great teacher. Raion drew the tessen He always carried thrust in His kaku obi and dipping slightly rapped Sakura sharply on the crown of her head. The iron ribs made a ringing sound as they struck her metal kanzashi comb. Sakura reacted by ko-towing even lower. Raion slipped the fan under her chin and forcing up her head slapped the folded length hard against her left cheek. This time she did not move but remained head upright eyes firmly on the floor. Disgrace was dispersed, discipline reasserted and now all she needed to be used savagely. As if in heavenly harmony rain started beating heavily against the wood tiled roof and Raion had a vision that was quite breathtaking.
"Stand up, remove all your clothes then go outside and rake the Zen garden. I wish you to include a winding pathway from the edge nearest this doorway to the crossed bamboo poles in the central island. You have one hour."
Without a word or averting her eyes from the floor Sakura stripped, laid her clothes neatly on the floor besides her worktable, knelt to open the sliding panel and crawled on all fours into the torrential rain.
"Leave the panel open. I may be inclined to watch."
Sakura was soaked in a moment. The spring rains were heavy, frighteningly heavy and could last for days. Retrieving the rake from the small storage area screened from the main garden she took the opportunity to remove her very valuable kanzashi hair comb set and placed it under what little cover there was. She fully understood that her makeup would soon be streaking her face like war paint but at least took a moment to run her fingers through her thick long locks before they matted totally under the continuous soaking. Luckily she had stood under enough icy mountain water falls to not be bothered by the coldness of the rain but naturally felt her nipples very hard and surprisingly her labia lips and clitoris too.
She started the raking by making precise circles around each of the islands. Extending the rotating waves until ones touched twos and twos touched threes. She had become proficient at the operation and was very pleased at the way the circles kissed at exactly the correct distance to ensure fluidity in the design.
The first few times she had groomed the garden she had encircled the main area in one complete rotation but experience had shown her that two adjoining circles forming a large figure eight converging on the central island was far more esthetically pleasing. The rain didn't interfere with her to any great degree. The crushed granite had all the appearance of sand but didn't have the same drawback of forming into a porridge when wet. The rain actually soaked through as opposed to being absorbed and held so her task was far less tedious than she had feared. Finally she came to the pathway He had ordained and starting from the edge she carefully walked in the winding route the path would follow. She had settled on three rake widths as ideal and was but a few moments completing her task.
Quickly casting her eye over her accomplishment it occurred to her than in the depths of her concentration she had become total detached and hadn't once felt the necessity to try and spy if she was being overlooked. Deciding the garden was to a point that was to her best ability she turned to report her completion to find Him standing but a few feet away. He was looking past her, into the center of the concentric circles with that bright fire that came into His eyes when reality and imagination were fused and about to spring to action. Taking the rake from her hands He walked past her and into the sand.
"Walk in My footfall Sakura, then there will be but one set of impressions to remove."
She followed His meandering path to the center and waited in His penultimate prints whilst He took a moments consideration. The bamboo cross had a series of flagstaffs set around it. Two large ones front and back and smaller stepping stones circling right and left to join them. He carefully traversed to the right hand side and stood facing her astride the back flag.
