My name is Himari.

I am nine years old, and I live in Shirakawa-go, Japan.

Yesterday, my friend Anders arrived from Svalbard.

We met during my summer vacation in Longyearbyen.

Since then, we have become very good friends.

Now he is visiting Japan for the first time.

The moment he entered our house, he looked confused.

Anders sniffed the air.

Then he touched the wall.

Then another wall.

And finally, he even smelled the wall.

"Why does your house smell so strange?" he asked.

"Strange?"

"Well," he said, "fresh somehow. Like a forest after rain."

I laughed.

"That's our house."

"Your house?"

"Yes."

"But houses don't smell."

"Ours does."

Anders looked completely confused.

So I explained.

"There is a fungus living inside our walls."

"A fungus?"

"Yes."

"Inside the walls?"

"Of course."

Anders stared at me.

"And why?"

"The fungus keeps the house cool during summer and warm during winter."

"Wow!"

He knocked excitedly on the wall.

"A living house!"

"We don't have anything like that on Svalbard," Anders said.

"In winter, we still have to turn up the heating when temperatures drop below minus ten degrees."

"How do you make the heat?"

"Wind turbines."

"Wind turbines?"

"Lots of them. Out on the sea."

I imagined giant wind turbines standing among icebergs.

The picture in my head made me smile.

"Would you like to play Go?"

I asked.

Anders nodded immediately.

I brought out my Go board.

"My parents taught me to play."

"Is it difficult?"

"A little."

"Do you have to run?"

"No."

"That's a shame."

We both laughed.

Then I began teaching him the rules.

Within a few minutes, Anders was completely fascinated.

While we played, we talked about our summer on Svalbard.

About polar bears.

About beaches.

About tourists.

About school.

And about our favorite teachers.

Suddenly, Anders jumped to his feet.

"Himari!"

"What?"

"Something is growing out of the wall!"

A small mushroom had appeared near the window.

I walked over and gently twisted it from the wall.

Then I held it up.

"Oh."

"What does 'oh' mean?"

"It's ready."

"Ready?"

"Yes."

"For what?"

I laughed.

"For dinner, of course."

Anders looked at me.

Then at the mushroom.

Then back at me.

"You eat your walls?"

Now I laughed even harder.

"No."

"Yes, you do!"

"No."

"Yes!"

"Only the mushrooms."

I ran downstairs carrying the mushroom.

My mother was in the kitchen wearing a beautiful kimono.

She was already preparing dinner.

"Mom, the house gave us another mushroom."

Mom smiled.

"Perfect timing."

Then she looked at us.

"Dinner will be ready in ten minutes."

Anders and I raced back upstairs.

One more game of Go.

Then another.

And another.

Right on time, we sat down at the dinner table.

There was rice.

Fresh fish.

Vegetables.

And, of course, the mushroom from our wall.

Anders recognized it immediately.

"Wait a second!"

Everyone looked at him.

"That's the wall mushroom!"

For a moment, nobody spoke.

Then we all burst out laughing.

"Can you really eat it?"

Anders asked carefully.

"Of course!"

we all answered at almost the same time.

Anders tasted a small piece.

Then another.

And another.

"It's really delicious!"

Mom smiled.

"The house will be happy to hear that."

Later that night, I lay in bed.

I thought about Anders.

About Svalbard.

About wind turbines.

About polar bears.

And about our house.

Tomorrow, I will show Anders our garden.

And the forest.

And the mushrooms.

Maybe even the secret mushrooms growing in the bathroom.

But I think I'll save that surprise for tomorrow.

🌿