Kimi no Na wa: Echoes from the Future

A Spirit of the Forest

Ayami and the Miyamizu sisters came running to the small waterfall at the back of the shrine that marked the boundary with the mountain.

The three women paused for a moment trying to catch their breath, as they looked in all directions, not sure which way to go.

"What do we do now?" Kaori asked anxiously, looking at the older girls.

Hanako was arranging her newborn brother between the ombuhimo's cloths, and turned towards the shrine, which was a few meters lower in height than the place where they were.

From that higher vantage point, Hanako watched in horror as the darkness of dusk was illuminated by the fire that already surrounded the shrine on three sides. The first buildings closest to the stairs were already in flames. Between the smoke and the hot air that they received in the face by the wind that did not stop blowing, Hanako heard the desperate screams of the servants trying to save everything they could from the shrine buildings. She could only see their silhouettes illuminated against the flames surrounding them.

Kaori looked at her sister, and seeing her shocked face, she also looked back, and anguish immediately swept over her.

"Dad's going to save Mom, isn't he?" Kaori asked sadly, looking at her sister.

Hanako's throat was so tight that she couldn't respond. Her desire to cry was so intense that she began to growl out of despair and helplessness.

"Hanako-sama, we have to be strong now," said Ayami, her eyes watering, but still retaining some of her temper. "Your father told us to go down the waterfall's watercourse to safety. We'd better obey him."

"But why don't we wait for him and mom here, Ayami-san?" Kaori asked.

Hanako came out of her trance of fury when little Toshiki started crying again. She started to move with little hops to soothe him by cradling him with her arms. As she did so, her mother's words came back to her mind: "Save your sister and brother".

"No, Kao-chan. We have to get out of here like mom asked us to and like dad told us to," Hanako answered resolutely. "I know they're going to be safe. Dad knows what he's doing."

"Then let's go down the waterway," said Ayami.

The creek was shallow, no more than a meter deep in the deepest places, and it ran down between a ravine without much inclination. A dense mass of trees lined the walls of the creek, shadowing the riverbed.

Ayami tried to see her way across the course without success. The dense layer of trees surrounding the creek barely let the moonlight through. Next to her stood Hanako, trying to do the same.

"It's too dark, I can't see anything out there," complained Hanako.

"Me neither, but we have to do it. We're going to make it," Ayami replied, trying to reassure the girls.

Ayami entered the stream. The water was very cold, but she didn't stop until the water was above her knees. She stretched out a hand to help Kaori into the stream.

"Come, Kaori-sama, I'll help you, we have to be careful not to slip on the stones."

The girl entered the water and barely took a couple of steps into the river, when something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye.

"Look, it's lighting up!" said Kaori in surprise, pointing to the trees in the creek downstream.

Hanako and Ayami looked in the direction that Kaori was pointing, and saw how the tunnel of trees that was once a pitch-black lobe now made out the silhouette of dark trees thanks to a clarity that began to increase at the bottom of the ravine.