Once again, Kaoru passed through the entry of the bottomless cave in the mountain. There was still tempting fragrance seizing his attention. But this time, he had to make important choice. His wife, Iku received serious injury in the mountain, so Kaoru carried her on his back seeking for help.
"What should I do? Iku is dying and I have to take her to the doctor, but it's far away from here." Kaoru kept trotting but the urgent situation made him feel anxious and afraid. Suddenly, he stopped walking. "Um…This fragrance is so familiar. Oh…I'm here again." He looked at the dark cave and he found he was standing in front of it. Then, he made up his mind. "Though the Mushishi told me that I shouldn't approach it anymore, it is the only way I can save you." Kaoru turned his head and stared at his wife's pale and faint face. "Iku, don't worry. Let's start a new life. We will meet again and have a happy and wonderful life." He smiled and walked into the silent cave. After a while, their figures became vague and melted into darkness.
"What beautiful flowers they are!" said the girl. She looked up at the luxuriant and fragrant peach blossoms. She wanted to reach the branch but it was higher than the range she could touch. At this moment, the branch bent low to approach her face.
"Here." said the boy. She looked at the boy who bent down the branch for her. "Thank you." The girl smiled at him and then she smelt at the pink and pretty blossoms. However, the attractive scent aroused something strange emerging from her mind. "What is this feeling? How strange and fabulous it is!" She murmured.
"Um…I find this scenery is so familiar. It seems that we have met before." She turned to him and talk. She couldn't help but tell him the thought in her mind. "Do you think so? I also have this feeling." The boy's tone became exciting and he stared at her in astonishment. "Wow, it is so amazing. May I ask your name?" The boy grasped her arms tightly and this action made the blush come into her cheeks. "Well, my name is Iku." She bowed her head and felt the blood pulsing throughout her veins. "I'm Kaoru. Nice to meet you." The boy gave Iku a hearty smile and this made her heart thumping wildly.
"Maybe we can talk about our experiences and backgrounds more. Let's take a walk." Kaoru held Iku's hand and they walked along the path chatting about what they felt familiar happening before.
"Our family was good fame brewer before. However, something happened unfortunately. We had no choice but to leave our hometown for here." said Kaoru. "Although I thought I had experienced it previous existence, I could do nothing but only make it happening." Kaoru's expression became gloomy and Iku could see bitter regret emerging from his face. "I'm sorry hearing that. But it was not your fault; we are all fragile in front of destiny." Iku gripped his hand tightly and comforted him in tender voice.
"It is so kind of you to ease my upset. Thanks." Kaoru continued. "If I hadn't suffered tragedy, I would not have met you now." The orange shine splashed on the right side of Kaoru's face; this scenery captured Iku's heart and she was fascinated with him. "Oh, it really is. Um…I think it's time to go home, my Mom would worry about me." Iku watched the sunset and released his hand reluctantly. "I had a really good time to talk with you. See you next time." "See you." They waved farewell to each other and then walked into gold afterglow on the way home.
Since that, they became good friends and their relationship became closer. After many years, they had marriage and became a happy couple. They had a happy family and unforgettable memories. Though everything they all thought they had experienced before, they still enjoyed the wonderful moments. It seemed that everything was perfect until the night one overnighter's arrival.
"It's raining outside. May I stay here one night?" said the man. "Sure. Come in." The couple welcomed the traveler and had a small talk.
"Oh, you are a Mushishi." said Kaoru. "Yes. My name is Ginko. If you have problems of your health or daily life, I can solve them."
"Ha-ha. All of my family members are healthy and well. The most important problem is we could only have little money while we work hard." Kaoru looked at his fair wife and lovely daughter. "Well." answered Ginko. "As a traveler, you might have experienced many interesting things. Could you tell us about that?" Ginko started to share his experiences to Kaoru and Iku till midnight.
After Iku went to bed, Kaoru told Ginko about something. "Actually, I have a problem. Sometimes, the scenery in my daily life will make me feel familiar and it seems that I had gone through it before. And my wife also has this feeling." "The familiar feeling…Well, have you ever felt confused when you smell the fragrance at night?" asked Ginko. "Yes, yes!" Kaoru opened his eyes widely and felt excited. "You must be stuck by Kailo. It's one kind of Mushi which can make you repeat your life again and again carelessly. Maybe you didn't conscious of it, but you have gone into the circle. Next time you encounter the situation, don't approach it anymore." Ginko admonished Kaoru seriously. "And you said your wife also has this condition; in my opinion, both of you might tempted by Kailo previously. Thus, you will have familiar feelings to your ordinary lives." Although Ginko's tone sounded sober and detached, Kaoru shivered with fear.
"How could I avoid it?" Kaoru's mind was filled with anxiousness.
"Think of your wife, your daughter and your future."
As time went by, Kaoru and Iku came to elderly and had leisurely and carefree lives. Following the Mushishi's advice, Kaoru had never approached the strong and alluring scent again. As a result, they started to have really new lives. "Iku, in our rest of lives, I hope we can live longer and watch our grandchildren growing up." They sat in front of the veranda side by side. "We will." Iku held Kaoru's hand tenderly.
They looked at each other and smiled. However, Kaoru thought something unpredictable would happen in days. The complicated and worried thought lingered on his mind and Iku soon found there was something wrong with him.
"What's wrong?" Iku's put her hand on Kaoru's shoulder and wanted to know more about details. "I…I am worried about something." Kaoru was wondering if he should tell her or not. "You mean that there will be something significant occurring in the future, won't there?" "Yes. That is what I really care about."
"Don't be so disappointed. Have we not gone through all the bad situations together? As long as we are beside each other, everything is possible." Iku encouraged her husband and supported him sincerely. "You're right. As we still have each other, we are not alone. And there is nothing can beat us down."
It was a cool-breezed autumn afternoon, Kaoru and Iku went into the mountain to pluck wild vegetables. While they walked along the path through the woods, Kaoru felt pretty uncomfortable. There was something terrible sticking in his mind but he could not describe the feeling. Then they decided to separate to find some vegetables and promised to meet before sunset.
"I have bad presentiment." Kaoru murmured. After he left Iku, a strong and disturbed dread arose from the deep of his mind. A chill and horrifying wind crept on his rough skin and made him feel weird. He looked round the surrounding, founding it was so familiar to him but he was unwilling to face it.
"I had been here before." The scene, the timing, and the mood became silent and frozen in Kaoru's eyes. They seemed to tell him that he should not be here.
Suddenly, one scene occurred to his mind. There was a man carrying an injured woman. He was so anxious and hurry-skurry. When the scene came closer, he found that they were he and his wife. "Oh! I remembered! I remembered what happened in the previous existence. It was my decision to carry Iku walking into the cave." Like an epiphany, he realized that he must take action to stop something from happening. He had to find her beloved wife before too late.
"Where are you, Iku? If you hear me, answer me, please!" He turned around and started to run to look for his beloved wife. "Iku! Iku!" Kaoru's tone became more and more fearful when he had not found Iku yet. Eventually, he found there was an empty basket sticking in middle of the steep hill, and beneath it was a dark and death-silence dale. The basket was Iku's.
"No. How it could be? I don't want to feel regret again. No!" He knelt down and cried drastically. "No, no! Iku, my wife, please don't go." The heart-broken feeling stole over him and the sight in his eyes was dark and hopeless. "Losing you is like losing the whole world. How could I live without you?"
"Kaoru? Kaoru! Oh, you are here. I'm looking for you." A tender and familiar voice with subtle footfall emerged. Kaoru turned his head to the direction of the voice. "Iku! You are still alive! I thought you got hurt. Thanks God!" He ran and hugged her tightly as if he would lose her next second.
"Did you also feel the same? The strange feeling told me that I should leave here! I'm here and still fine. Don't cry." Iku patted Kaoru's back to comfort him.
"You are here. Oh, I'm so afraid." said Kaoru.
"Kaoru, at that moment I suddenly remembered that I once fell into the valley; thus, I took action to avoid it. I'm glad I recalled the memory. I appreciate that we are still fine." Iku also cried and she hugged Kaoru tightly.
"We can accomplish our promise. It is so wonderful." They stared at each other. "Yes! We can have a different new future. There will be you and me. No one will be left. And we can have a good time with our family." Kaoru held Iku's hand, and they found there was nothing important than their loves.
They supported each other to stand up. They decided to forget everything and on their way home. After a while, their figures became vague and melted into the orange and warm glow of sunset.