"Kami,
let us wait
a little longer."
The lady says
as she sits
on the wooden staircase
of the shrine office.
The blonde sighs.
The day is nearing its end
and the woman
had finished cleaning
hours ago.
But there was no sight
of humans crossing
the torii gate.
"Noble lady,
I understand
that you wish for this shrine
to have worshippers,
but I fear
that this shrine
will remain empty."
The blonde says
as he stands beside
the sulking woman.
"No, Kami.
My efforts will not go
in vain – no,
our efforts.
But maybe they will arrive tomorrow."
The lady says.
But to her dismay,
no one arrived
after three days.
"Kami,
the wind is beginning
to run cold."
The woman says
as she hugs herself.
She was standing
outside the shrine office.
The blonde
approaches the lady
and removes his haori.
He drapes it
over the woman's shoulder
and says,
"Noble lady,
I shall leave
to fetch us some wood
to keep us warm."
"Will you be alright,
Kami?"
The lady asks
in concern
and thumbs the haori
that has covered her.
But she did not fail
to feel the sudden rapid beating
of her heart.
"You should be wearing this,
Kami.
I will be fine
once I stay in my room."
She says.
But the blonde shakes
his head.
"Go back inside
and count trees.
I will be back
before you reach
a hundred."
He says,
which made the lady
laugh a little.
The woman
waves off the blonde
and he finally leaves
to gather some wood.
She walks back into the shrine office
and enters her room
to count some trees.
"98..."
The lady
can only count ten trees
from where she is standing,
but continues to count
by repeating the same trees
all over again.
The sun was beginning to set
and there was no sign
of the blonde man.
The lady felt anxious,
thinking
there must have been something
that had happened to him.
"I cannot just stand here..."
The lady mutters
and walks out of her room.
She takes a lantern lamp
and lights it.
With that,
she finally takes off,
hugging the haori tighter.
She walks through the forest
where she saw the blonde man
pass through a while ago.
The sun was close
to ceasing its light
and the once orange skies
turned purple.
"Kami...
I hope you are alright."
The lady says
as she passes through
the path they took
when they were searching
for spices a few days ago.
It wasn't long
when it finally got dark
and crickets got louder,
but there was no sign
of the blonde.
"Tsukuyomi no Mikoto,
please guide me
and help me find him."
The lady says,
knowing that the blonde man
isn't one
of the Shinto gods.
So she did not call the blonde
by the name Kami,
as she asked for guidance
from the moon god.
She kept walking
for a few minutes
with only the lantern lamp
as her source of light.
The large tree branches
were covering any moonlight
to help her further.
But it wasn't until
she saw a pool of light
shining down a small lake
and she could hear
the loud splash
of the waterfall.
"Oh my,
I have come this far already?"
The lady says
when the familiar waterfall
came into view.
"Kami?!"
The lady panics
once she sees
the wounded blonde
near the lake,
sitting on a rock.