長いトンネルを抜けるとそこは

I fish out my wallet and ready the fare. It looks like I have just enough for exact change.

Ahead of my destined stop, I can see nothing... It's plotted in the middle of a "middle-of-nowhere" country road.

If I had to go on a limb and say something's there, it would be the deep forest proceeding to my left.

Perhaps feeling the room for courtesy with the other passengers already gone, the driver-san kindly inquires.

I show him the address to my father's house, recorded in my cell phone.

Dropping my ticket and fare in the deposit box, I set a hand on the exit rail. Bags, check, nothing forgotten.

Down the elevated steps, one careful foot down, then another.

Upon the third step down, I feel the earth beneath it.

Upon the unpaved, genuine country road, I disembark.

As if struggling to prove that no one uses it any longer, the stop indicator is worn ragged, eroded by sun, wind, and rain. I can't even read the name of the stop, let alone the schedule.

Even so, for it to still be in place, chances are, even if you erased the stop, it wouldn't change the schedule, and updating the maps and time tables would be a pain --- at least, that's probably why.

And now, as the bus fades out of sight, the only true lights that remain are the moon and stars.

Okay, then......

The tricky part begins now.

From what I hear, my father's house is located somewhere within this forest.

Umm... the path should be near the stop...

------There we are.

*Zazazazazazaza!*

A moist wind blows, filling the once quiet forest with sound.

------Huh?

As if summoned... as if drawn forward... at the behest of that sensation, I------

At the smell of the deep forest, I suddenly return to my senses.

I must've slipped into shadow, though how far back, I don't know... I find myself standing in darkness, where no moon or star's light can reach.

............

This is... scary.

Really... scary.

Where are they... the moon... the stars?

In search, I look above.

The trees upon the path side spread their arms wide, forming an arch as if to smother the sky.

......No wonder.

The tax counselor said it was called "Chinju no Mori," or something like that, but I get the feeling its true nature is nowhere near as pleasant. (TN: Chinju no Mori - literally, "Forest of Quieting Safeguard." A designation for any forest that surrounds a village shrine. Note: not necessarily a "shrine" as you would typically imagine, but any place Shintou gods or spirits dwell.)

Could this be my punishment... for resenting the gods earlier?

Fine then, I'm not gonna lose.

Squatting down in that spot, I rummage about my luggage by the light of my cell phone.

Produced from my pack is a flashlight. And not only that, but with a single D cell and a good weight, it's big and bright.

Youko-chan always tells me, "Hato-chan, you're always so spacey," but I'm the one who's always better prepared. Yes, me.

And when it comes to preparatory notes and homework, I get the feeling I'm the one always showing her my work------

------moving on...

With slightly elevated spirits, I begin to press forward.

However long I walk, I can't really judge the distance... anyway, after having walked a good length of time, I see the end of the forest come into view.

It's not like I'm in a hurry or anything... but my legs naturally quicken.

Balancing their speed, left and right, pressing faster------

......Again?

What is it... this feeling?

Ahh... this is------

Could it be... that I------

Knowing this place, but without knowing, without remembering------

Like awakening in a morning when you've overslept... faintly reminiscent of that dull pain.

*burun burun* I give my head a good shake.

The hair tied on both sides of my head, lifted up by centrifugal force, gives a sense as if pulled to the side from both ends.

Thanks to that sensation, the faint pain and incongruity slip away somewhere and disappear.

Outside the forest, in the open sky, sits a large moon.

What passes from my lips is a sigh of wonder------ not.

With its back to the forest enclosing the land, the Japanese-style structure, bathed in pale blue moonlight, projects a quiet and eerie bearing.

A haunted house... or maybe a wandering house you hear about in old stories ------ that sort of atmosphere.

I probably should've taken lodging at the inn near the station front, and come to see this place during the day tomorrow.

At any rate, the bus won't come until tomorrow morning, and it's no distance that I can walk.

Tonight, I have no choice but to steel myself and rough it.

It's okay. I can sleep anywhere, anyway.

If I just go to sleep right away, even if a ghost comes out, what I don't know can't hurt me. As long as there's a roof, I don't have to worry about rain or dew, so with that settled, I'll just go find a bed.

With a tight grip on my pack, I proceed through the irregularly grown yard grasses.