A child, whose name is fuzzy and cannot be heard, is tiny in this memory, not quite 12. The sign in their room says LAST DAY. They go out and tell their parents that they don't want the operation to become an adult and want to see what it's like to grow up without it.
Their parents immediately lose it, yelling and screaming at them for turning down such a wonderful thing. When other adults are annoyed by the ruckus, they soon turn on the child as they are informed that they don't want the operation. Their parents wonder who could have given them such sub-human thoughts and realize it must have been Kino, the adult man traveler.
They drag the child out to find him next to the motorrad that would later be called Hermes, with luggage and a brown coat tiny Kino would one day use already lashed to the motorrad.
The child hears a voice asking them if they want to die here and the child responds that whether they die now or get the operation, it's the same in the end. The voice however offers them a third option: if they know how to ride a bike, hop onto the motorrad and run.
The child spins and hops on just as their parents come at them with the knife again, escaping the country and driving for some time into a field of red flowers where they slow down and eventually tumble, unused to the weight of the motorrad. They look into the distance and murmur the name Kino, only for the motorrad to start referring to them as Kino when asking what his name is. Kino, confused, finds that the motorrad asked their name when they weren't paying attention, but they agree: their name is Kino now. And the motorrad is Hermes, after older Kino's old partner.
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Date: 2021-11-08 08:56 pm (UTC)A child, whose name is fuzzy and cannot be heard, is tiny in this memory, not quite 12. The sign in their room says LAST DAY. They go out and tell their parents that they don't want the operation to become an adult and want to see what it's like to grow up without it.
Their parents immediately lose it, yelling and screaming at them for turning down such a wonderful thing. When other adults are annoyed by the ruckus, they soon turn on the child as they are informed that they don't want the operation. Their parents wonder who could have given them such sub-human thoughts and realize it must have been Kino, the adult man traveler.
They drag the child out to find him next to the motorrad that would later be called Hermes, with luggage and a brown coat tiny Kino would one day use already lashed to the motorrad.
The child hears a voice asking them if they want to die here and the child responds that whether they die now or get the operation, it's the same in the end. The voice however offers them a third option: if they know how to ride a bike, hop onto the motorrad and run.
The child spins and hops on just as their parents come at them with the knife again, escaping the country and driving for some time into a field of red flowers where they slow down and eventually tumble, unused to the weight of the motorrad. They look into the distance and murmur the name Kino, only for the motorrad to start referring to them as Kino when asking what his name is. Kino, confused, finds that the motorrad asked their name when they weren't paying attention, but they agree: their name is Kino now. And the motorrad is Hermes, after older Kino's old partner.