Attraction Io

The time of waiting for those two days seemed like an eternity. The parts of the day where I worked in the paddy fields were unable to distract my mind for once. I normally found the art of gathering husk of rice to be calming and a mindless action. At this time in March, we are still in the process of sowing our fields. The paddy fields must all be leveled before we began planting in a week's time. This requires the men to use large rolling pins to make repeated paths across the land until it is all at the same depth. My job with the women consists of digging up small stones and other foreign objects that could impede the growth of the rice. As for the sections that are done being leveled, we must begin to flood them by carrying large basins of water to it from the river. This is a task that sometimes the men help with.

As I stand in the field having poured my last basin of water into my section for the day, I take a look at the sun. It is almost high in the center of the sky. I