Above the silent night sky, a bright full moon hung high in the heavens. Countless stars formed a brilliant Milky Way across the sky, their twinkling light making the quiet night both gorgeous and mysterious.
At that moment, a meteor with a white tail streaked across the brilliant night sky, leaving not a trace behind.
.....
Heian Period
In the early morning, sunlight streamed through the gaps in the paper windows, illuminating the entire room. A silver-haired man who appeared to be in his fifties or sixties was kneeling beside a boy of about ten years old, seemingly examining something.
The boy had snow-white hair falling to his shoulders. His eyes held a serene quality as he quietly gazed at the kind-faced physician before him—a man with one foot already in old age.
Nearby, a pair of parents wore expressions of tension and worry.
After some time passed, the physician-like man let out a soft sigh. This single sigh caused the parents' tense expressions to transform into what seemed like habitual disappointment.
The physician looked toward the couple and spoke.
"This type of congenital weakness essentially has no medicinal cure."
Hearing his words, the two forced out strained smiles and thanked the physician before them.
"Thank you for your trouble. We're very grateful."
However, at this moment the physician looked somewhat hesitantly at the boy lying quietly in the sickbed, and finally spoke up.
"However, I do have a theoretical prescription. I'm not entirely certain whether it can treat your son, because it hasn't even reached the testing phase yet..."
Before he could finish speaking, the man who had just lost all hope suddenly brightened, like a drowning person grasping at a lifeline.
"Really? Master physician!"
The interrupted physician showed no sign of displeasure, but continued somewhat hesitantly.
"Because I'm not very certain whether this prescription can treat your son, and I'm also uncertain about the side effects... Even so, are you willing to try?"
As the physician spoke these words, the father who had just been excited clearly froze for a moment. But immediately the hesitation in his eyes vanished, replaced by a somewhat fierce determination.
"We're willing to try!"
The physician looked at the man before him who seemed to have reached his wit's end, and sighed again without further persuasion. After all, this boy's body seemed to be rapidly deteriorating—even without taking medicine, he clearly had only a few years left to live.
This situation was even worse than what had been described in the letter two days ago from that family who had requested his services to treat their child.
"Very well. However, I was requested by the Ubuyashiki family to treat their eldest son, and I'm only passing through this area, so ultimately I cannot stay long. I will prepare the main medicinal ingredients and give them to you along with the prescription. You should purchase some herbs daily and brew them together with the main medicine I give you. Have him take one bowl per day. After one month, if the treatment there goes smoothly, I will come back to examine your son again."
As soon as he finished speaking, the father immediately fell to his knees and pressed his forehead firmly to the ground to express his gratitude.
The boy on the bed blinked his eyes gently, watching this scene unfold before him.
After the physician sent both the father and mother away to attend to their own affairs, he took out various implements from his portable wooden box in the room to prepare and compound the medicine.
This boy was named Kitahara Mei. He was the youngest child in the family, with an older brother. His body was now already nearing the edge of weakness and collapse.
His symptoms were strange. At birth, he seemed no different from ordinary infants, except for those wine-red eyes. But as he grew older, he developed snow-white hair different from his parents. This had caused considerable disputes and arguments between his father and mother for a time.
However, after Kitahara Mei's body reached the age of five, he began to grow weak. Until now, he no longer even had the strength to stand.
With his appearance so vastly different from his parents and his frail body, he could see both compassion and irritation in their eyes.
But he never said anything about it. He simply obediently did what they wanted him to do, remaining well-behaved and compliant.
Until the evening before last, when this famous physician came to the village, his parents hurriedly invited him to stay at their home.
As sunset approached, the boy's parents brought over food and prepared a room for the physician. A tall, black-haired youth who appeared to be about fifteen came to Kitahara Mei's side carrying a bowl of rice porridge. This was his older brother, Kitahara Ha.
Completely unlike Kitahara Mei's weak body, he possessed a strong and powerful physique. He was learning swordsmanship from a warrior in the village and had received high praise.
Looking at Kitahara Mei lying on the bed, Kitahara Ha's eyes revealed affection and concern. He gently helped his brother sit up to maintain a sitting posture.
The rice porridge contained some small pieces of meat mixed in—whether pork or something else was unclear.
"Mei, what did the master physician say?"
Kitahara Ha's hair was still somewhat damp at the ends—clearly he had just returned and washed himself before coming to help Kitahara Mei eat.
Mei's expression remained as calm as ever. He looked quietly at his brother and spoke softly.
"He said there's medicine we can try."
"I see."
A glimmer of light appeared in Kitahara Ha's eyes, though it didn't seem to hold much hope. Over the years, several physicians had prescribed various herbs for Mei, but none had shown any effect.
After speaking, he asked no more questions. He gently blew on the rice porridge in his hand before bringing it to Kitahara Mei's lips, watching as his brother slowly swallowed it.
Honestly, Kitahara Mei truly didn't seem like offspring that could have been born to the Kitahara family. Even though he was only about ten years old, his delicate features left even his parents at a loss for words.
Especially those wine-red eyes—so clear they seemed to allow one to see through every emotion and thought of the boy before them, pure as a transparent gemstone. His snow-white hair would shimmer with a faint flowing light when illuminated.
But regardless, he loved this younger brother of his very much. Whether it was the satisfaction of being an older brother, or the protective instinct of the strong toward the weak, he had never shown any impatience toward Kitahara Mei's physical weakness.