Warning, this story has some angst moments. Sadness and violence will occur. Proceed with caution. Also, I do not own any rights to "Hotarubi no Mori e". If I did I wouldn't be writing an alternative ending now would I?

It was a relatively normal summer day in the forest of firefly lights. At least, it was normal until around noon, when a determined young woman wearing a white cotton dress and a fox mask entered the forest, heading straight for the mountain gods' shrine. The spirits of the forest immediately took notice of her arrival. The wind picked up, the leaves fluttered, wisps of vague figures momentarily formed and disappeared on either side of the path she tread. She could hear many voices frantically whispering, but she didn't break her stride for even a moment to listen.

It's been five years Gin, I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting.

The young woman traveled high up into the mountain, till she made it to the end of the path where the mountain gods' shrine sat. She stopped in front of the shrine, and dropped to her knees. She clasped her hands, and looked up to the sky while she made a declaration loud enough for nearly all the forest to hear.

"Dear mountain god! Hear my plea! I wish to trade my human life to become a spirit of this forest!"

Suddenly, the wind died, and all the whispers vanished. The mountain, and its inhabitants became very still, as if everyone paused to mentally digest her request. Twenty minutes of eerie stillness passed, however the young lady barely moved a muscle from her position of prayer.

"Hooo-ta-ruuuu" groaned an eerie voice. Hotaru turned to the side to watch a black blob form in front of her. As the blob materialized it formed one large eye, and a grinning mouth.

"Ah, hello old friend." She greeted the spirit with a soft smile.

"What brings you back here Hotaru?" the blob asked.

"I wish to become a resident of the forest."

"So I've heard Hotaru, but why would you want such a thing?"

"I figure that if I become a spirit, then I can stay with Gin forever."

"Hotaru" the blob frowned. "Your love for Gin is admirable, but, you know it's too late. Gin's gone."

"I remember." She frowned under the mask as she answered him. "However, I plan to bring him back."

"How do you plan to do that?" another voice asked as a red umbrella formed over Hotaru's head.

"I'm not completely sure to be honest." She answered in a low voice. "But I decided that the first thing I need to do is become a spirit. Then I can talk directly to the god of the mountain about bringing Gin back."

"The God of the mountain has already allowed Gin to live once, what makes you think a girl like you could persuade a God to give Gin life a second time?" The blob asked.

"I'm trading my mortal life, isn't that good enough?"

"Actually, you just promised your mortal life in order to become a spirit. Even if the mountain god listens to your request, you'd have to offer something else in order to make another request," the umbrella added in a melancholy voice.

"If I give up my own life, what else could I offer?"

The blob shook his head, he and the umbrella answered in unison, "we don't know."

Hotaru only sighed heavily in response, allowing her body to slide down to a sitting position, with her back rested against the shrine.

"Hotaru," the blob spoke hesitantly, "we appreciate your dedication to Gin, we all miss him dearly, however…"

"I'm not going home." Hotaru answered stubbornly. "I'm going to stay here until the mountain god grants my request."

"But Hotaru," the umbrella chimed in, "don't you remember what Gin told you? He said it's alright if you forgot about him. He wanted you to move on, and be happy."

"But I'm not happy without him!" Hotaru pouted. "And I tried moving on, I really did. I even got married to a boy in my high school. We got divorced after a year though. He realized what I knew all along, my heart just wasn't in our relationship.

I kept seeing Gin everywhere. Whenever someone passed by with white hair, or lightly colored shining eyes, I'd do a double take. It's like I was in a trance the rest of the time, and the only thing that woke me up was the possibility of seeing him. Of course, every time I got a closer look at whomever I mistaken for Gin, my heart would sink, and I'd curse myself for still getting my hopes up. Then, I would just fall back into being numb.

I don't blame my husband for divorcing me. Who'd want a wife who looks at strangers with longing eyes, and yet, never once looked at him the same way?"

"You're still young Hotaru," the blob said soothingly. "You still have family alive don't you? How do you think your family will feel if they found out you gave up your life to become a spirit."

"I've already told my family of my plans! They wanted to stop me but…" Hotaru stopped to take in a deep breath. "But they knew I was beyond help. Being numb, and moping around for the past five years. They were hoping I'd get over it, they sent me to shrinks, they put me on medication, and they tried taking me on multiple getaways to get my mind off things. I only became more and more removed. When I told my family my plans, my mother cried, but in the end, both my parents, and my uncle, told me that they hope I can find what I'm looking for."

By the time she finished speaking, more spirits have come to surround her. Their eyes were filled with pity for this broken girl whom they remember to once be full of life, spending her summers exploring this forest with their beloved friend Gin.

"Hotaru" their voices whispered.

"You are still young Hotaru, life can improve. You can find love again." A voice in the crowed said.

Hotaru shook her head, a bitter look forming on her hidden face. "I've heard that argument many times. Why does everyone think that just because I'm young means I can't make up my mind on what I want for my life? Yes, I am young, but I met Gin when I was even younger. I have loved him since I was a child, I loved every moment I spent with him as I grew into a teenager, and I have grieved him every day since his death five years ago. What other proof can I show that there is simply no world where I can be truly happy without him?"

Another voice chimed, "But what if you can't bring Gin back? If you become a spirit you'd be waiting for him for eternity."

"Gin can't be gone forever. His spirit is out there somewhere. He's waiting for me, I know he is." Hotaru responded in a whisper.

"None of us have sensed him Hotaru. We've all searched for his spirit."

"I will bring him back with this!" She said as she put her palm over the fox mask resting on her face. "He loved this mask, he had it on nearly always. I think he put part of himself in it. Every now and again, I feel warmth from it, and sometimes, when I hold it, I get the feeling that he's nearby."

A spirit who took the form of an old woman chuckled. "If it's something precious that will bring him back my girl, then it's your presence alone who will call out to his soul."

Hotaru lifted the mask to softly smile at the woman, finally it felt like someone wasn't trying to discourage her from her plans. "Then I will do whatever it takes to get him to hear me."

"But Hotaru, the mountain god hasn't even listened to you yet. How do you expect to become a spirit?"

Hotaru lowered her mask again, her face underneath becoming hardened. "I'm going to prove to the mountain god that I refuse to be ignored. I'm going to pray and wait."

Hi! I recently watched the movie Hotarubi no Mori e. And like a lot of people, found myself oddly obsessed with the characters after that short little film, so I blubbered like little girl when I saw the ending. The chapters of this particular story of mine will probably be short (well, short compared to my chapters in other stories) I'm trying to get back in the habit of writing a page a day of story. Currently this story has a strong hold on my imagination, so hopefully it'll be all written in a relatively short period of time. -crosses fingers-