Chapter 5:

Solnus 5. The Fotiou Family, Son of Light, Birthday Wish: Do You Want to Become a Musician?

The Bladderites, The Jarhands, and The Sound of Light

5741 days, or 15 years, 8 months, and 2-3 weeks before The Circumadversum Omatsuri, one afternoon.

On a paved road, a cargo truck had just passed a smaller car.

“Can we buy a truck? We could carry more lemon ice cream and almond ice cream if we had a truck,” said a woman sitting in the smaller car.

“Hahahahaha…” a man laughed in response.

The woman who had been talking about trucks and ice cream asked again, “Do you still remember what you said about trucks and ice cream when you were with Eira-chan?”

“Eira-chan” is Seira Ito Fotiou’s nickname. The woman who asked Seira was Seira’s mother, Namiki Ito. Meanwhile, the man who had just burst out laughing was Seira's father, Argyris Fotiou.

Seira responded to her mother's question and her father's laughter, "Huh, I still remember, Mom, Dad. But that was when I was three years old. When I didn't know many basic things. I hadn't even taught you the kanji for my name. Now I know more. I know the names of various places, and I've memorized various songs. Now I know the kanji for my name, and I know the kanji for my mother's name."

Seira's mother's name, Namiki Ito, is written with the kanji 伊藤比稀. Given, the name is written with the kanji 比稀. The kanji 比 means "ratio, comparison." While the kanji 稀 means "rare, few, faint, sparse, unusual, uncommon." Meanwhile, the family name "Ito" is written with the kanji 伊藤, which can be translated as "Fujiwara of Ise." Fujiwara is the name of a clan, and Ise is the name of a region currently within Mie Prefecture.

The name Seira Ito Fotiou can be written using a combination of kanji and katakana characters: フォティウ惺桜伊藤. Of course, the name Seira written in katakana is her family name, Fotiou, which is written as フォティウ. Her given name is written with the kanji 惺桜. Seira's middle name, taken from her mother's family name, is written with the kanji 伊藤.

The kanji 惺桜 consists of two kanji characters: 惺, read as "Sei," and 桜, read as "ra." 惺 can mean "astute, sharp, shrewd, realize, awaken, calm, quiet, silent, making no sound or noise, peaceful state of mind, be peaceful or tranquil." Meanwhile, 桜 can mean "cherry blossom" or "decoy."

Seira then continued the conversation, "But am I really not going to use kanji, katakana, and hiragana anymore? Am I really going to use Latin script to write my name? Will I have to separate from my friends?"

Seira asked this because her mother and father had told her that their family would be moving out of Japan for work. This would happen soon, when Seira would finish her third-grade elementary school education. This meant they would be living in Japan for only a few months.

Today was the day the family was touring Japan before their move. They had been touring various tourist attractions by car. Currently, the Fotiou family car was driving along a road in a rural area along the Japanese coast.

The car was an SUV that could be considered an upper-middle-class SUV. Its engine smoothly delivered the desired ride for the Fotiou family. While the engine handled the challenges of the external environment, the interior provided a comfortable ride for the Fotiou family.

The car was painted the same color as the owner's name, "Argyris," which means "silver." Naturally, a car with such impressive specifications could convey something meaningful about the Fotiou family name. "Fotiou" is derived from the Greek word for "son of Fotios." "Fotios" itself can be translated as "light, enlightened."

Argyris, still focused on driving, curtly responded to his daughter without looking back, "But we'll come back here someday."

Namiki, sitting in the front seat next to the driver, added to her husband's answer, "By then, Eira-chan will be in high school. You might be able to find and meet up with your current friends. If you ever want to meet them again in person, Mom and Dad will help you. Right, Dad?"

Argyris replied confidently, "Yes, that's right."

Seira didn't respond immediately. Sitting in the second row of the car, she turned her head away. She stared at the ocean view beyond the car window.

A few seconds later, Seira started the conversation again, this time on a different topic. She said, "Mom, Dad, can I make a request? And I am sure that my request will be reasonable since I am more mature now. I'm eight years old now."

Namiki asked, "What do you want, Eira-chan?"

Seira said, "I want musical instruments. I want to play music on more than just my tablet."

Namiki expressed his willingness: "If that's what you ask, of course Mom and Dad will be able to do it. Especially for a smart and kind child like Eira-chan. Right, Dad?"

Argyris supported his wife's answer, "That's right. We'll buy a guitar, piano, violin, trumpet, drums, flute, and any other instruments you'd like. We can also consider creating a soundproof room there later. Right, Mom?"

Namiki agreed, “That’s right, a soundproof room, and with lighting that we can control more freely.”

“What do Mom and Dad mean by—” Seira wanted to ask further about what a soundproof room and more freely controlled lighting were, but something outside their car interrupted her sentence.

The sound of the Bosai Musen or Goji Chaimu bell rang. This time, the bell wasn’t ringing the melody of “Yuuyake Koyake” but rather the song “Ieji.” Seira mentioned what she heard and knew: “Ah, the bell is ringing the melody of Ieji.”

Argyris, “What song?”

Seira replied, “Ieji. Mom played it before. Mom played it when she told me about the Goji Chime bell.”

Meanwhile, Namiki laughed at her husband, “Hahaha… When it comes to songs, even eight-year-old Eira-chan probably knows more than you.”

Argyris simply smiled, shrugged his shoulders, and didn’t argue, “Perhaps that’s true.”

Namiki turned her head back. “By the way, Eira-chan, do you dream of becoming a musician? You want musical instruments, and you’ve been talking more and more about songs with Mom lately.”

Seira nodded, then shook her head, then nodded again. She said, “Maybe, maybe not, maybe yes, Mom.”

Namiki didn’t push her daughter for a clear answer. She knew Seira was still at an age where it wasn’t appropriate to ask about her dream job. The grown woman said, “It’s okay. Eira-chan can answer that question when you’re older. For now, just enjoy the music Eira-chan likes.”

Namiki continued her conversation with Seira about the song “Ieji.” The woman said, "Let me tell you, Eira-chan, that is indeed the melody of Ieji's song. It uses a melody by a European composer named Antonin Leopold Dvorak. It is his most famous work, Symphony No. 9 from the New World Symphony. American astronaut Neil Armstrong carried a recording of this composition during the lunar landing mission."

Namiki, of course, didn't reveal everything she knew about Ieji. For example, that Ieji was used as the theme song for an anime adaptation of a novel that won the Nihon SF Taisho Award, or the Japanese "Nebula Award." Namiki didn't reveal this information because the dark fantasy and dystopian anime was rated 17+. She also didn't mention that a wrestler—a show intended for adults only—used a section of the composition as his entrance music.

Namiki also chose not to reveal the historical details surrounding the composition's creation. Dvorak, who was inspired by African-American culture in composing Symphony No. 9, also chose not to reveal the song's origins. 9, it was noted that using the "N-word" when praising African-American music would have a significant impact on the future of American music. Namiki felt it was not a good choice to talk about the "N-word" with an eight-year-old.

It's common sense to choose what we say to children at a certain age. Another example of Namiki's actions was not talking about "burakumin" when Seira enthusiastically talked to her about tanners. Namiki didn't share historical information about how tanners were once considered burakumin.

Seira didn't ask what she didn't know; she asked what she heard: "Europe, that's where we're moving, right?"

"Right," Namiki said.

Seira asked again, "In Europe..." Seira rephrased, "Ah, Mom, how about you sing Ieji? I'll follow you; we'll sing together."

Namiki agreed to her daughter's request to sing the song, whose title means "The Road Home" or "Goin' Home." The lyrics Namiki will sing are in English. They were written by Williams Arms Fisher, a student of Dvorak.

Namiki and her husband have taught Seira English so it won't confuse Seira.

“Goin' home, goin' home, I'm a goin' home”

“Quiet-like, some still day, I'm jes' goin' home”

“It's not far, jes' close by”

“Through an open door”

“Work all done, care laid by”

“Goin' to fear no more”

“Mother's there 'spectin' me”

“Father's waitin' too”

“Lots o' folk gather'd there”

“All the friends I knew”

“Home, I'm goin' home!”