It had been years since the incident. Three years, nine months, and five days to be exact. Once a month he came to this shrine, this tree. No one knew except for the old man who had remained after the she had left. The other two occupants had left only months after the incident. At first the old man would try and chase him away with his broom beating him with it leaving apple sized bruises. Though after the first few visits he realized he couldn't chase him away and he was a persistent bugger.
Every day with out fail, he would come to this tree bearing fresh flowers. Rain or shine, summer or winter, day or night, he comes. He would stand there silently for hours having ran out of words in the first year. He knew why she had done it, that much was obvious. He still wish she hadn't though. Everyday he had tried to find her soul, but after a year he was forced to realize that her soul was hidden away in the tree.
"I'm sorry." After all the hours of just standing silently, he spoke just those few words. He turned and started to leave. A brilliant light started to shine, stopping him in his tracks. He slowly rotated towards the tree from which the light was emitted, and inched his way closer. He was forced to shield his eyes as the blinding light grew even brighter. In a blink of an eye the light vanished, leaving a young woman in its place holding a child not much older than two. He rushed forward to capture her in his arms before she fell.
As he caught her, her hair shifted to reveal her face. "Kagome – !"