I awoke again to the crackling of the fire. Upon looking around I noticed Lilith in the corner sitting in a wooden chair.
"Were you waiting here the entire time?" I asked feeling slightly embarrassed by her presence while I slept.
She stirred. "Hmm, oh not that long maybe about ten minutes I was preparing dinner. Wait here a minute."
She jumped out of the chair and was soon back with another tray with a plate. I looked down expecting the food to be some oriental dish but was pleasantly surprised. It was a dinner I had not had in a long-time steak and onions. I was quick to dig in savoring every bite. The steak, onions, and mushrooms all rich in flavor. Before I knew it, I had eaten every bite. I then remembered Lilith and pardoned myself for lack of manners.
"Thank you Lilith I haven't had a meal like that in a long time. The rations just kept getting worse and worse as we advanced into Korea. I thought I would soon be home but then well…"
"Oh, don't dwell on such things." She said taking the tray. "You're safe now I'll make sure nothing happens to you." She said with a smile.
I still had lingering worries. "Lilith I can't thank you enough, but it may not be a good idea for me to stay too long. If the Chinese find this place and learn of you sheltering me…"
"Don't force yourself." She cut me off again. "I swear no one will find you here."
It was a relief that she had no intension of letting me go so soon. Perhaps if I waited a few weeks the UN forces would turn the tide against the commies. I then remembered the tour that the maiden had offered earlier. "Lilith you said you would show me around."
She gave a concerning look. "Are you sure Charlie. Maybe you should rest a little longer."
"Don't worry about me ma'am I'm a soldier, a walk around is hardly a strain on me." I gave a reassuring smile.
Her look of concern melted away and she returned the smile. "Very well. I will take the dishes to the kitchen and then we'll walk around."
I followed her down a long hall and then into the galley. She put the tray down on a granite counter and placed the dish in a stainless-steel sink. It looked like a modern kitchen from back home, how strange.
"Umm how long have you been here alone?" I asked.
She looked up from the sink. "Everyone fled in 1945 when Russian troops invaded from the north. I've been on my own for five years."
"Well how do you keep yourself supplied enough to cook such extravagant dinners?"
She looked away her eyes shifting. "I go out and trade with the nearby villages in the late spring and summer. By the wintertime I have a great number of resources stored up." She smiled seemingly regaining her composure.
"This kitchen it seems like a modern kitchen like the ones back in the States. I would expect a kitchen like this to have been built no later than the 1930's and look more like… well Japanese style."
She once again appeared uncomfortable looking away. "My father had a hand in designing this shrine and spared no expense. Now why don't I show you some of the other rooms." She motioned at me to follow and we both went back out into the hall.
She then led me into a much larger room at the end of the building. It had a wooden floor, a large window looking out onto the mountains on the left, and a large stone fireplace which kindled on the opposite side of the door. On the left and right were chairs and couches to sit in. It reminded me of a ski lounge like the ones I had seen in movies. I was initially memorized by the beautiful snowcapped mountains outside the window, but soon became puzzled again. I looked back at Lilith who was staring at me with a slight smile, it seemed like I was giving the reaction she was looking for.
"What kind of shrine is this?" I asked.
"Oh, this isn't really the main shrine. It's actually a shrine office my father designed for the Kannushi. Here they and guests could rest and sleep as they could not easily leave this place most of the year." She said confidently.
It sounded like a logical explanation but there were a number of things nagging me. "How did your father have so much influence here?"
She was once again quick to reply. "My father was wealthy, and his generosity was well known here. When he discovered this place, it was in desperate need of repair and he sought to make it the most specular place in Korea."
"One other thing I was thinking about was that statue in the room I was sleeping in, it was the same as the statue in the outer building you found me in."
"Yes." She said nodding. "That is the local goddess of the shrine. We have many statues of her throughout the compound."
"Isn't that kind of unusual." I replied. "Isn't the image of the deity of the Shrine hidden in the main sanctuary out of sight of the visiting worshippers?"
She looked away from me for a moment and then returned to her bubbly, confident attitude. "You know about the layout of Shinto complexes?" She asked.
"Well yes after the Second World War I was sent to Japan after it surrendered. There were enough shrines around for me to gain a basic understanding of them."
"It's not just that is it?"
I was baffled did she actually know I had seen shrines back home? "So how come this Shinto has…"
"My you look tired again, perhaps I exerted you too much. Please forgive me." She pulled me over to one of the couches and had me sit right next to her.
I was about to say I was fine and move a few feet away from her but then fatigue set in and I leaned into her before snapping to and sat up. "Sorry I thought I was better. I don't think I need any more sleep, just let me rest here for a bit."
"Nonsense." She pulled me back into her side. "You need to regain your strength."
Before I could respond I was out again.