I awoke to see light streaming through a window. My eyes were blurry at first, but my vision soon cleared. I was lying on a soft bed with a big quilt over me. It was so warm how did this happen? I heard a crackling sound and saw a fireplace on the other side of the room. The statue of the woman still stood at the right of my bed.
My mind swirled a moment on how this could have happened. There was nothing but the statue and the cold hard floor last night. In fact, the room appeared much larger. Still, I decided to take advantage of my good fortune and stay in bed. I nearly fell asleep again but just then a door to the left of the bed opened. It was a beautiful woman with blond hair and green eyes. She bore a white robe and white skirt. She looked like the woman I had seen during my time in Japan. But how could a woman like her be here?
"Oh, good you're awake." She said with a soft smile.
"What is this place? How did you come to be here?" My mind was still hazy, and I was not sure if the words had even come out right, but she quickly answered.
"This is the Shinto Shrine of Mount Myohyang. My parents brought me here as a little girl. My father was a businessman who had a strong interest in Eastern culture. He often took me to this shrine as a child and I later became a priestess here. When the war began to turn against Japan most abandoned the area, but I chose to stay to take care of the shrine."
"But why?" I said puzzled. "How could they leave a young woman like you to face the wrath of an invading army."
She smiled and give a slight giggle. "I gambled that they would not find this place and they never did. I'm safe here and so are you."
"Well, what do you do for food?"
"Oh, food isn't a problem." She said dismissively. "I'm sure you're hungry and I will give you food soon but not yet. Wait here a moment." She left leaving the door open and quickly returned with a cup on a small plate and handed it to me.
There was no handle on the cup. I picked it up and took a sip. The tea warmed my mouth and its heat seemed to spread throughout my body. It also gave a wonderful taste of herbs along with a hint of sweetness. My eyes started to droop again.
"Now I know you must be hungry too, but it's important you don't eat too much just yet. Still, I have prepared a treat for you." She left and returned again quickly. This time she had a serving tray with a big bowl. She placed it over me, and I sat up.
I placed the cup on the tray to the right of the bowl. The bowl contained noodles and broth. On the left side of the bowl was a fork while the right had chopsticks. I picked up the fork and began scooping up the noodles. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I started eating and soon the noodles were all gone.
"Why don't you sip the broth now? It's even better than the tea." She said.
I did so and took in the warmth. This was such a wonderful bliss. It was a miracle going from the edge of death to pure ecstasy. I didn't want the feeling to ever end.
"I owe you my life, but would it be too much to ask for your name?" I said.
"My name?" She winced as if I had said something inappropriate. I was about to apologize when she responded. "Lilith. It's not a name I'm proud of."
I found that strange, the name sounded fine to me. "I think it's a lovely name for a lovely young woman." Maybe that was going a little too far.
To my relief she gave a smile. "That means a lot to me, but could I have your name?" she said.
"Of course, forgive my poor manners it's the least I can do. Its Charles Erikson but everyone calls me Charlie."
"Well Charlie you must still be tired. Why don't you rest a while longer and later this afternoon I can show you around and cook you a more substantial meal."
"That sounds wonderful. Are you sure you don't need any help with anything else though?"
"Not at all." She said taking the tray. "We'll talk more about things in the upcoming days, but it's important you don't push yourself too hard just yet."
She left the room closing the door behind her and I was soon asleep again.