アラスカに来てしばらくして、娘は私とは日本語で話すが、英語も理解した1歳11ヶ月の彼女は、日本語と英語と区別なく人々に話しかける。
昨晩、寝る前にどうしても散歩に行きたいらしく、長靴を履いて、私の靴まで持ってきた。外は朝の6時くらいの光でも、もう夜の9時過ぎ。敷地内を歩いたら気が済むかしらと思っていた私に、娘が「come on!」と！その勢いに押されて出発！
ぐんぐん先を歩く彼女が裸足になり、私もまた彼女の勢いにつられて裸足になった。砂利道を小一時間、会話をしながら、鳥や新緑、石を観察しながら、ぐんぐん歩く娘に着いて行く。気温12度の中、裸足で、彼女はほぼ裸で、私は半袖。
滞在5週間が過ぎて、大きい空間の中でどんどん広がり、その大きさに合わせるように育っていた彼女が、広がりだけでなく、もっと繊細に細胞に、脳に、機能に変化が訪れている。曼荼羅のようだ。環境が人に与える影響力は圧倒的なものだなと改めて思う。
娘の記憶には残らなくても、全身で感じているアラスカが、体に残れば良いなと思う。
It's been a while since we got here. I and our daughter talk only in Japanese, but she, now 23 months old, talks to everybody else, whether in Japanese or in English.
Last night, she, really eager to take a little walk, put on her boots and even brought me my shoes. Outside it was light as if it were 6 in the morning, but it was actually past 9 in the evening. I thought she would just want to check out the garden, but she said"come on!" to me and that pushed us to night out!
She led me on the road, and took her boots off at one point, which made me to go barefoot as well. We walked on the gravel road for almost an hour, talking, studying birds, green leaves, stones, etc. I just followed her who marched on. The temperature read 12 degrees c. She was barefoot, almost naked, I was in a short-sleeved brouse.
Five weeks have passed, and on this vast land, she has extended herself and grown up along with that stretch. But now I notice not only her extensity, but more delicate changes to her cells, to her brain, and to all her functions. She is like a mandala. I am once again impressed what sublime influences the environment can give to us people.
She might not remember this all, but I sincerely hope that everything she is feeling with her whole body here in Alaska now will remain inside her somehow.
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