Farewell 1-1

1. A Farewell Ritual

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A cloudy day in early Autumn, 2018. An old man and two young men climbed up together the Chunju Mountain situated in the area of Changwon city and sat on a high ridge opposite to the shrubbery zone not far from it, which is within 100 meters bunderneath the very top of the mountain. The spacious ridge is a resting place where the climbers stop for a memont's rest before climbing up along a steep path to the top of the mountain less than 100 meters above. The resting place in the ridge is also situated on the border line where the city of Chang won and the Kun of Haman meet with each other.

After a while, the two young men were about to pack up their belongings, reading the face of the old man, who was looking over there toward an old oak by the azaleas living in stock on the shrubbery zone.The old man turned his eyes to the young men and said without any sign of rising to his feet, " You young men! Look over there where An oak tree stands. That is the very place of our destination. You don't have to rise."

He asks in return,"Yeh? You mean we stop here?" , he asked.

" Right.Here is the very place. " the old man replied.

Now the two young men began to make necessary arrangements still sitting on the ground. Su Kil, one of the two opened the bag on the groung by his side and took out a dae gum(bamboo flute) and the other too drew the chang gu drum nearer to his side.

The old man still was keeping his eyes fixed toward the direction of the shrubbery zone where stood by a great number of azaleas the old oak tree with several boughs broken. The oak, conspicuously taller than any other trees near it and the azaleas in stock grew thickly spreading out widely enough to attact climbers' attentions . Now in June the flowers were gone. In early Spring,the zone would have offered a grand violet-colored spectacle with the azaleas in full bloom. This day the weather was rarely fine with no rain, no direct sun lights over their heads

" We are to play, Sir! " said So Kil, one of the two young men, to the old man.

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" Oh, do not hurry. Stay as you are there for a while. I have something to do in adance before you play it ." said the old man and added," Today is a special day for me. I am here with you for somthing particular to tell the oak tree. "

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" To tell the tree?"

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" Yes. Now I am to do a ritual of paying my last respect to the oak . This is the reason for me to be here with you, young musicians."

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"Yes?"

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" Today I would say 'Good bye!' to the oak. I made up my mind to do it. As I am old and physically unable to keep on climbing here as I used to do any more. For the first time I hoped to invite a pansori singer here, but I changed my mind and to take a daegum player instead of a ponsori singer. So, I asked Your father by phone that I would like to come up here with you, Su Kil. I have known you as a young daegum player. "

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" You like pansory very much, do you?"

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" You are right, These days I have often heard An Hyung Ryun's voice "

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"You did!"

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The old man said again, pointing toward the oak tree and azaleas:

"To be frank with you, there near the oak tree a lady in her twenty has been buried beneath the earth, stopping advance in age. Today I am going to say goodbye to her, so I invite both of you, Korean classical musicians here. As matter of course, as I am in no physical condition to climb the high mountain like this any more. I made up my mind to choose today to do the farewell ritual. like this. Now I am over the middle of 70s. After me, who ....."

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The young musicians turned their eyes silently toward the oak tree the old man looking at . His saying continued:

"I don't know exactly the time I first climbed here. I just remember beginning to climb here from my boyhood with my father and uncles every year in autumn after Tsusuk. How far and how hard it was to follow them up here!

After my father's death to climb here once every year has been my duty to keep . Since then I made it a rule to come up here usually in winter after it snowed for over 30 years. It was much easier than in autumn to make the area around the oak tree by mowing overgrown coarse grass . Before the passage we took today was known to us, we used to take 2 paths here, much longer and more unfrequented, By the way, The reason I am here with you, two musicians is to do a farewell ritual to the oak and azaleas over there somewhat apart from us. Frankly speaking , in the area there have existed my grandfather and grandmother, and father and mother as the wind and the earth here.Of course there were no tombs for them except one for my grandmother. Now I will go ahead for a ritual"

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"Then what do I have to do?"

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"Oh, for a while you two just stay at ease ", told the old man to the young musicians

and began to say alone looing toward where the oak and azaleas were:

"Father! I ,your son, say my farewell to you and also grandmother,

grandfather and mother. Probably Today would bes the last day for me

to be here to meet you. This son will be no more here before you.

Your son is alrady over the second half of seventies,

too old to climb with no vihicles.

Father! Today you son is here

in particular with a fifer and his accompanist ,

who would play a piece of Daegum Sanjo.

Most of all ,how sad I am to think of grandmother!

Alas, she was dead at her age of 20,

with his son only 2 months old left alive.

What on earth, is ther a grandmother 20 years old?!"

 

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