Chapter One: Brave Heart
A chilly wisp of air combed through my hair and forced chills to rise up and down my spine, spreading to places beyond there. I tugged at the bottom of my skirt in a false hope that it'd cover my thighs and further down my legs but it was way too short. I unrolled the sleeves of my white long-sleeved top to cover over my bumpy arms and buttoned up the last button of the top. I was aware of what this village held in its rumors and what went on, or is still going on. This village, All God's Village, was bound in an eternal night of terror and a festival that relives itself with each passing day. I inhaled a brave breath and held tight onto the strap of my black backpack and watched the village, my courage and confidence hanging on a thing thread, from Misono Hill. The hill towered over the fogged village and smoky mountains and trees. The view would have been extravagant if the village alive. I looked into the saddened dark gray sky and saw that the clouds held sorrow. Tears awaited to burst from the dark clouds in the sky. Sun was nonexistent here, it seemed, and all life was drained away from all living things that surrounded this small village.
"Masumi..." I whispered to myself. I turned and looked at the broken Shinto gate half hidden in the shadows of the bushes behind the stone pillars. My only entrance, and my exit. I was afraid that I'd never come out alive. That I'd never hear from my love again. 'I'm here so I might as well proceed.' I took small steps down the hill and down a winding trail towards the village.
'Did I love him this much to just run off in search of him so suddenly? No, why am I doubting myself; thinking like this?' I felt my heart start to race the closer I approached the village. I was so scared that my focus was as steady as my shaking hand. I neared the village entrance and heard distant voices. Men voices, calling for something, someone. "Masumi!" Excited, I ran to the end of the path that ran into an intersection. Nothing. "What was that?" I looked around, down the small dirt road to my left and right. No one was here except me...and Masumi. I dug in my black bag for my flashlight and observed the old ruins of the houses more closely. I flicked it on and the beam tore through the dark fog like a hot knife through butter.
The remains of these houses were still sturdy and standing. The wood was mostly water-based damaged; maybe from the fog and dampness in the air. I went a little down the road to my left with my light. Small sounds came from the ruins of the old house. I contemplated on what it possibly could have been. Spinning off to my right, I flashed my light in the open house. Piles of wood and broken sliding doors littered the floor inside. Something caught the corner of my eye, like a bright red spot near a corner, further back into the room. I moved closer to get a better look. I leaned in and I heard the sound again but somewhere else. Something moved a ways down the road on the right of me and I turned to try and catch it. Was I hallucinating or was it really someone here? I turned back to the inside of the house and saw nothing of what was there before. I swallowed my heart back into my chest and went back to the road out of the village; I'd lost my nerve. As I passed a statue at the base of the path that led to the top of the hill, I noticed something that I didn't acknowledge until now. The lantern that I passed earlier in front of the nearest house was lit. I hadn't remembered it lit or even being there.
This raised questions in my head and I now had more wit than I had before, my courage slowly rebuilt its' self the more curious I became. I turned and went back to the lantern and reached out to touch it. I pulled back when I saw what looked like a window behind the wooden planks along side of the house. I tried to peek in but I couldn't make out what was inside. Was Masumi in there, waiting for me? Was he hurt? I took in a deep breath and let it out. My hands were visibly shaking and my heart's rapid beat was audible. I touched the cool brass of the door's handle and it budged. I pushed open the door and ventured inside.