Lantern

Cherry sat on a log. It had fallen long ago. She thought about how to teach better. Then a chipmunk walked up. He was small, like a tween. He carried a little wooden lantern. The lantern was not lit. But it glowed. It was a soft russet color.

Cherry said, "Hello."

The chipmunk said, "My lantern says you teach kigo today."

Cherry blinked. "Your lantern says that?"

The chipmunk held up the lantern. "It's russet," he said. "That's the autumn color." He explained more. "The lantern changes color with the seasons. In spring, it's pale green. In summer, it's warm gold. In autumn, it's russet. In winter, it's pale blue-white." He tapped the wood. "This lantern knows the season." He paused. "And when someone teaches about season-anchoring nearby, it glows brighter. So I came to find you."

Cherry's eyes lit up. She was so happy. "Tell me about the lantern!" she said.

The chipmunk's name was Lantern. He told Cherry his story. His family made the lantern a long, long time ago. Many generations back. His great-great-grandmother enchanted it. She was a kind woodcraft enchantress. The lantern's color-change was a family treasure. It had been in the grove for hundreds of years. Always carried by a chipmunk-tween. Someone from his family. That chipmunk always knew the season.

Cherry asked Lantern to show his lantern to her students. He could show them how it changed color. Lantern said yes. They walked back to the middle of the grove.

Lantern stood before the students. The lantern changed color slowly. Lantern talked about each season. "In spring," he said, "the lantern is pale green. Cherry blossoms bloom then. Grass starts to grow. Frogs begin to sing." He listed words. "Cherry-blossom, frog, plum-blossom, swallow, fawn — these are spring kigo." He held up the lantern. "The lantern turns pale green when one of these words is in a poem."

The lantern glowed pale green.

Lantern kept going. "In summer, the lantern is warm gold. Cicadas sing loudly. Fireflies dance at night. Streams feel warm." He named more words. "Cicada, firefly, cool stream, sweat, fan — these are summer kigo." The lantern glowed warm gold when these words were in a poem.

The lantern glowed warm gold.

He talked about autumn next. The lantern turned russet. Autumn words were maple-leaf, cricket, harvest moon, persimmon, scarecrow. Then came winter. The lantern turned pale blue-white. Winter words were snow, ice, frost, plum-tree-bare, hibernation.

The students watched, amazed. Their eyes were wide. Before, they didn't get it. They didn't know a season-word could do so much. It made you feel things. It brought up pictures in your mind. Lantern's lantern showed them. It made the idea clear. When a poem said cicada, your mind saw summer. It felt warm and golden. When a poem said frost, your mind saw winter. It felt cold and pale blue-white. The season-word put the feeling right into the poem.