The wind rustled through the branches and blew stray leaves across the dirt ground. Hitomi shivered but not with cold, she shivered because of the intense energy in the air and she was sure that if she could see spirits as her mother could she would see a lightning spirit charging the wind with little electric shocks. But that is not the reason she was here, the reason she was here seemed crazy to even her now that she had time to consider her actions.
Her whole life she had lived in the little blue house on the end of the row, on top of their hill. At first glance it might seem neat and it was, mostly. The only non-immaculate place in the entire house was her bedroom, every inch of discernable space was covered by books, and there were even books stacked in her bathroom sink. Mostly they were books her mom had given her on legends, myths, spirits and folklore. But the most interesting story she had ever heard was told to her by her own mother. Her mother had been the one to first take her down to the shrines, she didn't quite know what it was about them but they held her imagination more than any book, maybe because they were so close to home.
She could remember the very first time her mother had ever brought her down to the old road. She had been very small and yet she could still recall the day with perfect clarity. Her mother had told her about the shrines at the side of the road. She had told her little spirits lived there and she should always show respect for them. So now every morning when she slid down the hill to where the cement ended and the dirt path began she always took a moment to give a little bow to the shrines.
That's what she was doing now, in the middle of a warm summer night. She straightened up and looked down the forested tunnel. It looked as if it hadn't been used in a long time. When her mother had taken her to see the shrines she had warned her never to go down that path, and when Hitomi had asked why, her mother got a very far away look in her eyes and just said, because it would be very hard to come back. On a whim she had asked if that's where her dad came from. She didn't know why she asked but her mother had only smiled and said yes. They spoke no more of what was down that path, only of the border shrines, as if even talk of the tunnel was taboo. Hitomi felt this was more her father's decision that her mother's.
She had, had a strange dream tonight, that's what had brought about her unreasonable actions she reasoned.
Her dream had consisted of herself at the beginning of the tunnel watching as a light bobbed forward towards her. It didn't get close enough for her to see it clearly but it looked a little like a lamp post. It had stood just in shadow, it seemed to be waiting. The wind swept in from behind her as it were egging her on or pushing her in. The flame inside the lamp flickered and went out and she was plunged into darkness. Then she woke up. She threw off the covers grabbed the flashlight on her bedside stand, slid on her shoes and scrambled out of the hose as fast and as quietly as she could and slid down the hill and arrived breathlessly in front of the tunnel.
That's where she stood now, unable to move forward, afraid to disobey her parents and unable to go back to sleep plagued by curiosity. She sighed and slid down against the trunk of the ancient oak the first tree on the dark path, the one closest to the shrines. She looked down at them and closed her eyes. Hey spirits. I've been coming here for my whole life. Is there anything you can tell me about what to do in a situation like this?There was no answer from anywhere. Didn't think so.In reality she was a little put out that that they didn't answer, but they were spirits and her mother had told her they didn't bother with many humans. Now that she thought about it, why would her mom know that? Her brow furrowed and she rubbed her head. There was too much going on inside it.
She finally pushed herself to her feet, teetering for a moment. She stared down the pathway in vain, searching for something that simply wasn't there. She turned to go back home, but felt an odd prickling on the back of her neck, as if she were being watched. She switched her flashlight on and spun around trying to seem exasperated, but her insides were as jumpy as a Bulgarian tree frog on caffeine. She moved it back and forth across the path illuminating only dirt and stone. She switched it off, turned around, and froze.
Her heart pounded in her ears and she slowly faced the forest. In the distance she could make out a tiny pinprick of light, it was bobbing up and down, and for the second time that night she was paralyzed with indecision. Did she run after it or away from it? She caught a flicker of movement in the corner of her right eye and she saw the lights in her house had gone on. Without another thought she dropped her flashlight and ran as fast as she could up the slope and towards home. She stumbled only once and got her knee grass stained. She made to the back yard with her lungs burning and her heart racing. She collapsed onto her knees breathing heavily until she felt another stare prickle the hairs on the back of her neck. She looked up to see her mother standing in the doorway, a grim look on her face. Hitomi cringed; she was definitely in trouble now.
