One of my favorite childhood places was the rice fields. They
were very beautiful all year. In spring, a certain flower
bloomed. It was a small, violet flower and smelled so sweet. I
picked it on my way home. I liked it very much then and still
like it now. But I don't see it these days, I think because there
are few rice fields now. Its name is Chinese milk vetch. Do you
know it? I want to show it to somebody.
When the Chinese milk vetch was withering, the rainy season
had set in. Then the frogs appeared. They croaked in the night
like a chorus. We heard their cheerful songs after dinner. It was
a comfortable time. Sometimes they died from being run over by
cars on the road, and their viscera were scattered. This why I
couldn't touch them.
The rainy season and summer passed into autumn. It was the
most beautiful season with its color. The rice was ripe and
drooped its head with the weight. The rice fields looked like
gold, as if a gold carpet were spread all over them. But no, it
was beyond description. In winter, the rice fields were empty.
Only the stubble of rice plants were left at regular spaces in
the solid ground.
Finally, I want to write about the ditch. It let water flow to
the rice fields and was as deep as a child's height, over one
meter. I used to catch crayfish in a net. I liked to do it, and I
raised the crayfish in a water tank. Besides, tadpoles gathered
in the ditch. I also caught them. So the ditch was the place
where I took pleasure. But on the other hand, there were some bad
things. For example, it smelled bad, a nasty decayed smell. I
didn't know the reason.
There were a lot of things to tell about the rice fields. I
can never forget them, or find a substitute place. This is the
place I liked the best.
by Maho Hirooka
