The Heavenward Path Read Online Free PDF Page A

right-and then I caught myself. Suzume and her family had been kind to me when others had turned away. And I was not intending to go to Court. There was the matter of the kami shrine to attend to. Who knew how long that might take? If I could convince my father that a life seeking the Heavenward Path would bring as much honor to the clan as marrying well, I might never have to go to Court at all.
        But it would have been unkind to quash Suzume's dreams so. I smiled at her and said, "I thought you poor folk made fun of Those Who Live Above the Clouds and considered our way of life foolish."
        "Oh, of course we do! Because we are jealous and want to live just like you. Or at least have your nice things." She fussed with her sleeves as if not sure what to do with her hands.
        "But noblewomen and their servants have to hide behind screens and kichos. Surely you would miss being able to wander the city freely?"
        "Heh. Being pinched and leered at by drunk old men, and having to watch out for thieves, and being tired all day from carrying rice cakes all over town? No, thank you. A life behind screens writing poems seems like heaven to me. By the way, the gossip behind the walls is that your papa already has a husband picked out for you."
        "Does he?" My spirits sank further.
        She leaned forward and said in a loud whisper, "Someone very high ranked, I hear."
        "Oh." I hid my face behind my wide sleeves as if in embarrassment but actually to hide my dismay. My father probably had chosen some withered old government minister to whom Papa owed a favor. I did not know much about political matters, but I did know that girls often found their way of life sacrificed for them.
        Suzume patted my arm. "Oh, don't worry. Mama says husbands can be annoying sometimes, but they're better than starving."
        "That is not a high recommendation," I said with a sigh.
        Suzume shrugged. "It is if you have ever starved."
        Truly the common folk see the world differently.
        
***
        
        It took three days to travel from Sukaku Temple to the Imperial Capital of Heian Kyo. We stopped in small but well-kept inns along the way. Already I found myself missing my life at the temple; the sonorous chanting of the monks, the booming of the great bell. It had been so peaceful there. Now my life was about to suffer great changes once more, becoming as different as winter is from summer.
        We entered the Capital through the Rasho Mon, the southernmost gate, and proceeded straight up the great thoroughfare of Suzaku Avenue. I peered out through the carriage curtain to see the tall willows lining the street and the throngs of people, on foot or on horseback or in carriages like mine. Every sound and smell reminded me I was home again.
        Suzume knew the streets well from her life as a rice cake girl, and gleefully gave me a running account. "Oh, now we are passing the place where the bandit called Oni robbed five noblemen in broad daylight! Oh, and over there is Zurui, the fishmonger who always charges too much for his clams. Oh, and now we are passing the silk weavers-they always sell their worst cloth to lowly folk. They keep the best for people from the Palace. Hah! Guess I'll get to wear their finest wares after all, neh?"
        She really was becoming quite tiresome. I remembered how, before my adventures began, I had lived as noble girls do: closeted behind blinds and screens, rarely leaving my father's house. I had been desperate for news of the outside world, and Suzume would sometimes come by on her rounds and tell me what she had seen. Now, however, my duties weighed so heavily upon me that such ordinary details seemed foolish, unnecessary. Suzume isn't the only one who has changed , I thought.
        We pulled off Suzaku Avenue into the neighborhood that is known as the Third Ward. Here I became disoriented, for my father had gotten a new house