The Illusion of Death
Chapter I
Without a single recollection of her identity, Chihiro wandered lost with no memory. Despite the calls of Yomi, she lingers by the Kami of the swift Amber River who will do anything to help her.
Author's Note: I hope you enjoy reading and support me through this, there's no motivation like hearing from your readers! See you next week.
By 〜HannieNannie
"Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live."
- Norman Cousins
There was a lot of screaming followed by clamor. Everything was noisy until lost in nihility. As if her world never darkened she woke up on woodland underbrush. No real thought came to mind, just a settled gaze upon the endless haze.
Elbows furrowed into the ground allowing her body to rise, it felt strange – effortless. Scrutinizing the nameless vicinity, no thought lingered in her mind except to stand on her feet. The frigid air chilled her body becoming nearly insensible; it was hard to feel her own leg taking a step forward.
Not sure where there was to go or why... the proximity held no familiarity.
Taking a moment to consider her surroundings, there wasn't much to look at thanks to the fog enshrouding the distance. Barely penetrable by the moonlight, it was dark and hard to see anything at all. Ominous and quiet, there wasn't even a single buzz of an insect or ambiance of nature despite being surrounded by woodland and thicket. Stocky boles would materialize from the mist that she would carefully maneuver around despite vertigo threatening her balance.
A powerful whistle thundered in the air, piercing her eardrums until they rang in the silence. Like a forlorn call coming from somewhere in the perpetual night.
Surrounding her, the fog diminished enough to discern that she wasn't alone. Side-by-side, shadows emerged with the physique of a human. Before long, more entities appeared out of the caliginosity.
The shadows were diversified in both size and width, they had no details except for their unique clothing. As the crowd grew larger; soon they were all walking toward a single soft glowing light. Emerging from the fog, a lamppost lit the stairway to a train station where one apparition passed out tickets. Waiting her turn, the shadow of a man faced her impassively and handed over one of the slips of paper. Stepping up onto the gray stone it was as cold as it looked; the only thing covering her feet were socks and one shoe.
As a train with two passenger cars waited to depart, it sounded its whistle a final time. Everyone waited patiently to board; some even carried a large bag of luggage. As for herself, she waited with nothing – not even the slightest clue of what's going on.
There was nothing left to do but move forward.
Boarding the train, she sat down and looked at the ticket still in her hand. The two passengers next to her seemed to be mother and child, they paid her no mind. All the available space was taken and some gentlemen were straphangers. The train eventually closed its doors.
Looking out the crosswise window, the station was left behind, along with it, a life once lived forgotten.
The obscurity of the fog darkened to pitch black as they entered a tunnel. The vibrations of the moving train and rumbling of the tracks reverberated back to her ears. A new world opened up, along with it the light of dawn. Watching the sunrise through the same window, the rays eventually reached the water. Casting an illumination that glittered across the surface, it followed the movement of the train.
She felt compulsive to get off and before long the train reached its first station. It screeched and hissed trying to come to a standstill. Very few of the passengers got up and detrained while she remained indecisive in the same spot. Something was pulling at her, but she subtly ignored it. Making the decision for her, the doors closed. They were headed to the next station, similar to the last. All the while as they traveled on submerged tracks, she continued watching out the crosswise window.
Once arriving at the station, it was already midday. Just as the sun rose hours ago, she would watch as it steadily lowered. The train screeched and slowed their procession. Now she felt it was time to alight with some of the others leaving behind only a small number.
Everyone went straight to the red tunnel as if it had been their destination all along. One after the other they gave someone their tickets and took an escalator down into the ground with a sign that read "exit". Instead of following them, she lingered on the station in the midst of nowhere. The sun was high in the sky, and she looked up to it without any harm. If she happened to follow them, would she ever see it again?
She didn't want to leave, something was calling out to her. A sense of longing, something important she had forgotten. It would be okay to stay, wouldn't it? The shadowed figure of a girl waited until the train left the station to walk along the tracks.
。。。。
In the southwest, multiple geothermally heated springs resided around Mount Aki, a dormant volcano, the largest mountain among a cluster nearly reaching the clouds. Below to the rugged gaps covered in creeping junipers, a stream cascaded down a series of waterfalls. It curved around a final mountain to reach its destination, the forest. Adjacent to the current, a flat surface surrounded by mountains turned white from being thermally heated. The center was a reservoir of darkening blue water that a dip in the crater would surely be hot enough to kill a human. Numerous geysers waited to explode and blast boiling water a hundred and fifty feet into the air at average. For now, they filled the atmosphere with steam in anticipation of their scheduled bursts.
Among one of the smaller peaks, a stone carved stairwell terraced up to the first structure sticking out of the mountainside. Buildings of different elevations were connected by woven wisteria vines made into bridges. They attached each platform supported by latticed pillars. The walkways formed an interconnected path going up a ternary of mountains.
The longest bridge crossed over cascading water to reach the third mountain. The buildings and platforms curved around the boiling crater until facing north. The eruptions in the middle were far enough to keep any spirit from harm and put on a good show.
There was an inn to stay at where you could dine and be entertained. The food was renowned but the main attraction being the many hot springs carved and polished into the stone. Many spirits and kami alike traveled from afar to visit the Shinrinyoku Onsen to revive their tired bodies and relax.
As for the owner of the onsen, an elderly woman now deceased. The ownership was passed down to a young man by the name Kohaku, Kami of the swift Amber River. Residing on the edge of the third mountain, Kohaku lives in a separate lodging facing north. His home is the furthest you can go, hence no one but a select few had any business going past the gated entry.
"Take these orders to the courier; I want everything delivered by tomorrow afternoon."
"Yes, Kohaku-sama right away," one of the yuna bowed before excusing herself back to work and leaving the way she came.
Retiring to his room, his living quarters consisted of only two stories. Upstairs, he lounged on the tatami edged in brocade and faced the engawa¹ with open shoji screens. The view of the geysers dropped below vantage point where they emitted a constant flow of steam. In the distance, a color changing thicket began the transition to warm hues as summer came to an end.
A steady supply of water from the tributaries in the southern snowcapped mountains created a stream flowing past his onsen to the river in the forest below. The never-ending supply of mineral water is what kept the business alive and thriving almost a thousand years since its birth.
It was a busy day as usual, with little time to rest. Inhaling a long slightly exasperated breath, his attention was soon diverted to the railing on the edge of the exterior hallway. Flittering about was a neatly folded paper manikin. Its rounded head, wings, and pointed tail resembled that of a bird. An all too familiar Shikigami controlled by only one person he could think of.
Staring at the floating white piece of paper, it was suddenly blown away as the geyser below erupted a turbulent of water like a powerful fountain into the sky! The water sprayed across the stone in a pitter-patter that echoed throughout the rounded gorge. The warm mist and steam traveled through the air. The distant tumult of cheering guests could be heard from his room. The Shikigami shortly returned and landed on the edge of his engawa.
The paper bird fell flat, and not a second later something started to emerge. The solid form of Zeniba popped out into the open air, floating and looking herself over. Her large eyes rested on the boy and her lips curled into a soft smile.
"Kohaku, it's been a while hasn't it?"
Engawa¹ - The transition point between indoors and out in traditional Japanese homes. In warmer months they're like a veranda. Let the light and air in, basically an exterior hallway on the outside of rooms.