The king of that land had assigned this village the duty of training archers. The whole village, and even the surrounding villages, were tied to archery. The village was praised by the state for being \u201cworthy of dying for the king.\u201d The villagers proudly declared this and raised their youth to be soldiers. They even sent them off to war with great celebrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fleshy\u2019s mother had raised him since childhood with archery games, archery songs, archery clothes. But because Fleshy was overweight, it was difficult for him to become an archer. In this village, overweight people were a source of shame. Everyone blamed the mother, saying she had made him fleshy. The mother defended herself by saying, \u201cI thought if I fed him well, he would grow quickly.\u201d She had been the victim of a claim she\u2019d heard as a child. While feeding sheep, she had heard that eating a lot was good, so she had fed her child too much. The mother was well-meaning, loyal to her homeland, but not very knowledgeable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before he reached the age of conscription, Fleshy wondered how he would solve this problem. What if he ended up in a rear duty as a cook or blacksmith? \u201cHow will I live with this shame?\u201d he thought. He decided to speak with the commander responsible for recruitment. He found the commander, greeted him, and explained his problem. Seeing the boy\u2019s concern, the commander began with warnings about the enemies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe enemies are uniting to attack our country. To sacrifice our lives defending the state that remains is the greatest honor! In the west, Kafiristan attacks us with a thousand tricks; on the other side, Hainistan, supposedly our brothers in faith, stabs us in the back and tries to cause unrest inside. No matter how much Kafiristan works with magic, and Hainistan with treachery, they cannot divide us. Kafiristan is one thing, but Hainistan even corrupts our religion. At least they should not have touched our faith. Thankfully, we have Ouristan!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The boy quickly seized the chance to ask what he needed to do to become a soldier. The commander said: \u201cYou would slow us down; we cannot even take you in rear service. You must lose weight, and for that, you must work hard.\u201d The boy asked what he should do to lose weight. The commander answered: \u201cDon\u2019t eat, and move a lot.\u201d The boy asked how to do that. \u201cMy work is soldiering,\u201d said the commander. \u201cGo ask the village fool\u2014he\u2019s thin.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n So Fleshy went to the village fool. He told the fool who he was and directly asked for remedies to cure his fleshy body. The fool first seemed saddened. He asked Fleshy, \u201cAre you crazy?\u201d When Fleshy didn\u2019t understand, he asked, \u201cDo you have to be a soldier?\u201d Fleshy said his ancestors had been soldiers, his village raised soldiers, and besides, the enemy was approaching every day. The fool listened helplessly. Then he said, \u201cA traveler once stopped by to rest and asked me a question I could not answer: \u2018Why is our enemy our enemy?\u2019 What would you say?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fleshy said the enemy was evil and trying to destroy their country. The fool then added that the traveler had asked: \u201cWhy do we sacrifice ourselves for the king, when he does not sacrifice himself for us?\u201d What should he have said? Fleshy replied that the king was appointed by God as ruler and that everything was written in destiny. The fool added that the traveler had said, \u201cSometimes the calamities we face are actually blessings.\u201d What answer should he have given? Fleshy asked, \u201cAre you crazy?\u201d But seeing the fool was truly crazy, he said no, calamities were bad. At last, the fool said, \u201cSince you insist, I\u2019ll tell you. Do you see that great mountain over there? On its peak lives a wizard. Your solution lies with him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fleshy said goodbye to his mother and set off immediately. He walked all day, thinking he had climbed a lot, but when he looked down, he was still at the foot of the mountain. He made camp, and because he was so tired, he ate a lot the first day. The next day, he continued, but by nightfall, he saw he hadn\u2019t gone very far. His provisions were running low. Since there was no one else on the mountain, he began to ration his food, deciding to eat only one meal a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After several days of travel, the peak began to look closer. But he was still closer to home than the summit. Constantly climbing uphill exhausted him and drained his energy, while his supplies dwindled. The mountain turned out to be far steeper than it had looked from afar. He drank water from the stream, but since there were no houses, he couldn\u2019t find food. Halfway up, his provisions were gone. Whether he turned back or pressed on, he would face hunger. Determined to reach the wizard, he said, \u201cEven if I starve, I\u2019ll go.\u201d For a whole week, he walked drinking only water. At last, he saw the summit: cold and misty. As he approached, a hut appeared. Seeing the wizard\u2019s hut, he rushed there, and when he saw people at the door, relief filled him. He immediately cried, \u201cFood!\u201d and they brought him some.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Around him a dozen men moved, and inside sat a bearded figure. Fleshy was surprised\u2014this didn\u2019t look like a wizard\u2019s house. He went toward the long-bearded man and asked, \u201cAre you the wizard?\u201d The wizard smiled before replying: \u201cDid the fool send you here?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d said Fleshy. \u201cWhat spell do you need?\u201d asked the wizard. \u201cI want to lose weight,\u201d said Fleshy. The wizard paused. \u201cGo back,\u201d he said. Disappointed, Fleshy began to recount the hardships he had faced on the road. The wizard replied: \u201cDidn\u2019t you ask for magic? This is the magic.\u201d Fleshy didn\u2019t understand.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n The wizard brought a bowl of water. \u201cLook,\u201d he said. Thinking it was the first step of a spell, Fleshy looked. He noticed his facial bones had become more prominent. He realized he had lost much weight on the way. The wizard added: \u201cIf you go back now, you will be fully thin.\u201d Fleshy, bewildered, asked, \u201cSo there\u2019s no magic?\u201d The wizard asked, \u201cWhat is magic?\u201d Fleshy said, \u201cIt\u2019s sorcery, you know, puff!\u201d The wizard said, \u201cThere is no puff. We have words; we are human.\u201d One of the men added, \u201cKnowledge is magic; for some, it is a miracle, for some, it is labor.\u201d The wizard continued: \u201cThose who come here want to get something without effort, through magic. They abandon themselves and leave. What\u2019s your name?\u201d \u201cFleshy.\u201d \u201cAnd now what will you do?\u201d \u201cI will return to my homeland and do my duty.\u201d \u201cWhat duty?\u201d \u201cTo become an archer. I am from Archervillage.\u201d \u201cFrom Ouristan?\u201d \u201cYes.\u201d \u2014\u201cIf you want to be an archer, return immediately. You will get no food here. If you want to stay, you will reap what you sow and live with us. But you must obey our rules.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fleshy still wanted to be an archer, but he also didn\u2019t want to suffer hunger again. He was very tired. He thought: I\u2019ll stay a little while, then leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Fleshy said, \u201cI will stay,\u201d the young men there were startled. Because they were from Kafiristan and Hainistan. Seeing their unease, Fleshy added: \u201cI will harm no one. I will just stay over there. No one should speak to me. Especially the infidels and traitors!\u201d The wizard immediately said, \u201cYou must obey our rules.\u201d Fleshy asked, \u201cWhat are your rules?\u201d The wizard replied: \u201cFor now, you only need to know the most important one. Here, we live in the present.\u201d Fleshy said, \u201cBut aren\u2019t we all living in the present?\u201d The wizard said, \u201cNo. Your body is here, but your mind is elsewhere.\u201d \u201cHow so?\u201d asked Fleshy. \u201cYou are not living the situation here. You are living an imaginary time and world planted in your mind. These children are our students. They will not harm you. But you strip them of their humanity and turn them into enemies. You must return to reality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fleshy realized that to stay here, he had to get along with his \u201cenemies.\u201d They weren\u2019t armed. For a day or two, he sat in a corner, sleeping, tending plants and animals. Sometimes curiosity drew him toward the wizard and the students. When he tried his luck with the wizard, he didn\u2019t get much food. The wizard wanted to send him back to become an archer, hungry. Fleshy was forced to adapt, also fearing they outnumbered him. A few days turned into more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Days turned into weeks. Fleshy couldn\u2019t help his curiosity. He asked the wizard: \u201cWhy are you here, why not down below?\u201d The wizard asked, \u201cShould we go down to pay taxes? To give soldiers?\u201d \u201cHere we have everything we need, and peace.\u201d Fleshy asked again, \u201cWhy are we down there?\u201d The wizard said, \u201cBecause you were trained that way.\u201d Fleshy asked, \u201cWeren\u2019t you trained?\u201d The wizard answered, \u201cWe were trained too, but we woke up.\u201d \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d \u201cThrough pain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEvery awakening is painful. We are those who woke up. Everyone wakes from sleep, but some keep their eyes shut, chasing a pleasant but empty dream.\u201d Curious, Fleshy asked, \u201cHow can that be?\u201d The wizard said, \u201cYou are like that too. Life is trying to wake you up, but you don\u2019t hear the awakening cry of your suffering.\u201d Fleshy asked again, \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d The wizard asked, \u201cDo you enjoy growing old?\u201d Fleshy said, \u201cOf course not.\u201d \u201cThen look: you dislike something good.\u201d Fleshy looked puzzled. The wizard continued: \u201cYou resist what must be, living in the world inside your head.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fleshy, confused, asked with effort to understand: \u201cSo is that it? To just grow old here, is that the purpose?\u201d The wizard asked again: \u201cIs there a purpose beyond growing old?\u201d Fleshy said, \u201cConquest, bringing order to the world, destroying states and founding others.\u201d The wizard asked again: \u201cWould you like being conquered?\u201d \u201cNo.\u201d \u201cWould you like being freed?\u201d \u201cYes.\u201d \u201cThen do the good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although he didn\u2019t fully understand, Fleshy was moved by the calm and happiness of these people. He wanted to be like them. \u201cHow can I become a wizard?\u201d he asked. \u201cYou can\u2019t. There\u2019s no such thing,\u201d they said. \u201cThen why do people call you a wizard?\u201d \u201cEveryone reflects their own perspective. Each has their own angle. Conquest is a perspective\u2014you look that way because you were trained to. We are those who do not fit that angle. Society shaved us away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fleshy went up to the infidel. \u201cWhy are you here?\u201d he asked. The infidel began: \u201cState officials came to our village, demanding extra taxes for the war. We had nothing left to give. So we fled.\u201d Fleshy interrupted: \u201cBut you are infidels!\u201d The infidel quickly added: \u201cNo, our people are orderly and moral. And we have no forced conscription. Besides, how do we decide who is an infidel?\u201d Fleshy couldn\u2019t answer. By their standards, he himself was an infidel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then he went to the traitor. The traitor flinched, but seeing Fleshy\u2019s calmness over the past days, decided to talk. \u201cI was always asking questions, so they first excluded me, then declared me a traitor,\u201d he said. \u201cThey said I was faithless.\u201d Fleshy asked, \u201cSo you\u2019re a traitor?\u201d \u201cNot a traitor\u2014they called me an infidel. It was clear I wasn\u2019t a traitor. To you, we are traitors. To us, you are.\u201d Hearing this saddened Fleshy. After all, they had spent much time together, sharing food. Fleshy had begun to like the atmosphere here. But he still couldn\u2019t let go of his lifelong dream of archery. At that moment, the traitor struck the final blow: \u201cSo if you became an archer, you would have killed us. Would that have made you happy?\u201d Fleshy thought, but could not answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The wizard and the infidel joined them. The wizard, believing Fleshy had softened enough, asked: \u201cTell me, why is your name Fleshy? We\u2019ve seen that you\u2019re organized. Your memory is strong, and your writing is beautiful.\u201d Fleshy thought. \u201cIt\u2019s just a name,\u201d he said. But in that moment, he could only remain silent. The wizard said: \u201cThat silence is the true answer. Don\u2019t worry. No one knows the answer. And it doesn\u2019t matter.\u201d The infidel added: \u201cCome, let\u2019s focus on this moment.\u201d The traitor asked, \u201cWhy don\u2019t we meditate?\u201d Together, they fell into a long silence, sitting for hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After some time, each naturally began doing chores\u2014chopping wood, cooking. Fleshy went to fetch water from the stream. The wizard followed, saying: \u201cYou\u2019ve grown. You\u2019re no longer a child.\u201d Fleshy asked: \u201cDoes everyone grow?\u201d The wizard said: \u201cThe body grows on its own. The mind, we must grow ourselves.\u201d \u201cBut how?\u201d \u201cBy thinking rightly and acting rightly. In short, by not doing extra.\u201d Fleshy didn\u2019t understand. \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d The wizard said: \u201cEvil is doing extra. We can only pity them.\u201d Though he didn\u2019t fully understand, Fleshy enjoyed being here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As he walked, memories of his mother and village returned. He missed the past but also loved this place. He asked the wizard what to do. The wizard replied: \u201cYou save the body with the hand, but the mind must save itself.\u201d Fleshy knew he had to return home. He asked: \u201cHow do I save my mother, my village?\u201d The wizard answered: \u201cBy not saving them.\u201d When Fleshy still didn\u2019t understand, the wizard said: \u201cChange yourself, and the world will change.\u201d Then they spoke of the importance of being honest to be truly helpful, of the difficulty of being honest with oneself, and how the greatest good was honesty. At last, Fleshy was convinced: evil was doing extra. \u201cDoing nothing is the hardest,\u201d added the wizard. \u201cThe mind thinks a thousand things. Man is a hunter, bound to deceive and capture. If you free your mind from schemes and worries, focusing on the present, you\u2019ll understand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Caught between longing for his mother and the mountain\u2019s wisdom, Fleshy decided to leave. He no longer wanted to be an archer. On the condition that he wouldn\u2019t, they gave him supplies. The day of departure came, but it didn\u2019t feel like a farewell. The wisdom he had gained seemed always to be with him. Wisdom had been there all along\u2014just hidden under his fleshiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He began another journey, from the peak down the slope. This time, he tried to eat in a balanced and planned way to make his food last. On the way, he thought of the wizard, the infidel, and the traitor; he couldn\u2019t understand why they were called enemies. \u201cThere must be so much I don\u2019t know,\u201d he thought. As he neared his village, his heart raced. He would soon see his long-missed mother and village. But the wizard\u2019s words echoed in his mind: \u201cLive here, now!\u201d \u201cChange yourself, and the world will change.\u201d \u201cThe hardest thing is to do nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When he approached the village, he immediately noticed it wasn\u2019t as before. It felt like a strange place. Different people were there. The streets were silent, the people uneasy. Fleshy ran home to find his mother, but at the door stood another woman. \u201cThis house is ours now,\u201d she said coldly. Fleshy was shocked. He immediately realized his village had been occupied. He began to run toward the mountains. Seeing him run, the others grew uneasy. \u201cEnemy!\u201d they shouted. Soldiers were alerted. A long chase began. They spread his description everywhere: \u201cThin, frail, quiet, young enemy soldier.\u201d They did not want the enemy alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The most skilled archers were sent after Fleshy. As he fled from them, he understood once more why he had to give up archery. He remembered the wizard and promised to do the good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No one ever heard of Fleshy again. For, like every being, to exist, he had to cease existing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In a distant land, there once lived a boy. He was a little overweight, so everyone called him \u201cFleshy.\u201d Fleshy really was fleshy, but he also had other qualities. For instance, he was a beautiful writer. He was very organized. His memory was strong. But none of this mattered in the village he lived in. In that village, the only important thing was to become an archer. The king of that land had assigned this village the duty of training archers. The whole village, and even the surrounding villages, were tied to archery. The village was praised by the state <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1243,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[115],"tags":[313,248,316,315,317,198,116,314,311],"class_list":["post-1236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-story","tag-enmity","tag-fairy","tag-fiction","tag-infidel","tag-kingdom","tag-state","tag-story","tag-treason","tag-war","has_thumb"],"yoast_head":"\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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