Chapter 17 - Maiden’s Prayers

“Yuzu! Are you alright?”

Yuzu heard Char Char rush over to her where she had fallen on her butt, legs sprawled in front of her. She was facing the shrine, supporting herself on her hands as she looked up at the faint mass of threads that hovered in the air above. Her mouth was dry, and her heart was beating out of her chest.

“I’m fine... I just... tripped.” Yuzu said, recovering from the shock of the vision.

Char Char helped her to her feet, a look of worry in her eyes that caused Yuzu to scowl and look away. “It’s nothing, I’m fine.”

“Alright.” Char Char let go of her supportive hold as Edwin ran up to join them.

“The shrine is a bit worn down, huh.” Yuzu said, quickly trying to divert attention away from herself.

“I guess we’re really the only ones who’ve visited it in the past few years.” Char Char agreed, turning to look at the shrine. “We should come back and clean it up a bit.”

“No!” Yuzu exclaimed, a bit too sharply, as she recalled the image of Char Char dying alone against the shrine. “I mean, it would be a good idea, but maybe another day. We can come back together.”

During the day, when it’s not raining. Preferably with guns. She added under her breath.

Char Char shrugged nonchalantly, “I didn’t mean today, of course.”

“The spiritual energy in this area is rich.” Edwin said, kneeling down and examining the shrine. “It’s a good energy.”

“Does this mean the spirit of the Lost Maiden might still be around?” Char Char’s eyes lit up.

“Well, not necessarily her spirit specifically. Shrines tend to gather energy and act as focal points for the land around them. It would be an attractive home for any spirits around here.”

“Do you think we can communicate with them?”

“Uh...” Edwin hesitated, “Maybe if my master were here. I’ve only done a very small amount of spirit channeling in the past.”

“What would it require?” Char Char asked, kneeling next to Edwin facing the shrine. “I brought some amber incense, you said it can attract spirits, right? Oh also there’s some persimmon in the basket, I had the maids pack some. Can we offer that at the shrine?”

“Y..yes, we can, but-” Edwin stammered, realizing that Char Char had taken all of his previous ramblings to heart. She really was serious about summoning a spirit!

“Okay!” Char Char hopped up onto her feet and ran over to the flat boulder before Edwin could continue.

Meanwhile, Yuzu stood a few feet back from the shrine with a slight frown on her face. Amber incense attracts spirits - this was the kind of incense that she had used in her bedroom, that had bolstered the golden threads from the chest. So she really had used the wrong kind of incense...

“Here’s the incense.” Char Char said, handing the bald monk a bundle of sticks, “And the fruit. What do we do with it?”

“Well, first we can set the fruit in the bowl. There’s four of them? You can put three of them in the base and the fourth on top in a pyramid. When we pray to the spirits they will be able to use the spiritual body of the fruit for nourishment.” Edwin said, directing Char Char who placed the fruit as instructed.

“And for the incense, usually there’s a separate pot for them... But since there isn’t, we can stick the incense in the ground and lay it against the base of the shrine.”

With the incense placed, Edwin knelt more formally, placing his hands on his thighs. Char Char clued in quickly and sat beside him on his right, directly in front of the shrine. She looked back towards Yuzu and patted the ground to the right of her.

“Want to join us, Yuzu?” Char Char smiled, “We used to do this before without really knowing what we were doing. But now we have a real monk to help us!”

“Just- just keep in mind that we’re not summoning a spirit or anything.” Edwin said hastily, wanting to clear up any misconceptions, “This is simply a way to pay respect to the spirits.”

“Of course.” Char Char said, matter of factly.

Yuzu didn’t protest or put on a sour face, but instead sat down next to Char Char, kneeling in the same pose.

Edwin leaned forward, extending his hand to within a few centimetres of the incense and concentrated for a few seconds. After several deep breaths, the incense lit with a puff of smoke. A woody, smoky scent wafted through the air, mixing pleasantly with the crisp spring breeze.

“You don’t have to do anything special.” Edwin instructed, “Simply focus on thoughts of good intentions and generosity towards the spirits. If you have any requests, you can ask them, although spirits generally won’t have the power or desire to fulfill requests. You can close your eyes and focus on the sensation of your breath, if it helps you concentrate. Whenever you feel like finishing, you can say a quick prayer of appreciation and thanks towards the spirits in closing.”

The trio fell silent as they lowered their heads and prayed.

Edwin, who had no relation to the shrine, offered general prayers of goodwill and friendship towards the spirits. He wished for the good health and protection of the two girls next to him, and for the health of the forest and its creatures. Finally, he wished for the health and good fortune of his master, and wished for their quick reunion.

Char Char began with prayers to the Lost Maiden, wishing for her to find her way back to her family, and for her to enjoy the persimmon offering. She asked the maiden if she could show herself, even just in a small way, to her and her friends. She assured the maiden that she would come back and clean the shrine and bring more offerings, and to let her know if she had any specific requests. She wished for the maiden to watch over Yuzu and help her get stronger.

A part of her was aware that the story of the lost maiden was perhaps just a made up tale her father told her as a child, but in the depths of her heart she wanted to believe.

Yuzu prayed to the lost maiden as well. After all, she and Char Char really had come and played here as children. They had frequently prayed to the maiden and imagined themselves as caretakers of the shrine. As they knelt in front of the shrine this time, Yuzu found herself appealing to the maiden, and any spirits who were listening, to protect Char Char from the grisly fate that she had seen.

Please. Yuzu pleaded silently, her brows knit in earnest prayer. Don’t let such an awful thing happen.

In her mind, Char Char’s golden thread was still extending out of her body, floating around them with a brilliant lustre, before entangling in the dark knot above the shrine. The wisps of smoke in the periphery of her awareness were all faint and unimportant in comparison.

As the scent of incense floated into her nostrils, Yuzu felt a soft energy well up deep inside her. Her intuition told her that the incense was strengthening her strange new powers, which had faded considerably after being away from the chest for so long.

Once again, she felt the urge to reach out to the Char Char’s thread. The soft illusory sounds of howling and thunder began echoing from the string. This time, instead of accessing the energy within the string, she grabbed ahold of it and pulled!

The golden thread reacted to her pull, as if she was yanking a length of yarn floating in water. It flowed and twisted in the direction that Yuzu pulled it, and she felt a distinct tug where the thread was stuck in the knot above the shrine. She pulled harder, but found her spirit body too weak to dislodge the thread.

After trying several times, Yuzu felt herself growing exhausted. She let go of the thread with her spiritual body and relaxed, contemplating deeply.

She considered pleading with Char Char not to return to the shrine. To forbid the girl from stepping foot back in the forest. Would that change Char Char’s fate?

Yuzu quickly dismissed the idea. First, she could never bring herself to beg or plead in front of her friend. If she knew for a one hundred percent fact that pleading would work, then Yuzu would definitely do so to stop her friend’s death. But even if Yuzu did do something like that, she knew Char Char. Her rash enthusiasm. Her powerful individuality. Her firm conviction to silly and unreasonable ideas. Char Char would lie to her face and then sneak out at the first opportunity to come out to the shrine.

Yuzu also considered whether the vision was true, or that if it was true, whether or not she could even do anything to change the results.

If the vision was false, then Yuzu was the victim of some poor practical joke from whatever was inside the chest. It was the same as having a nightmare that had no basis in reality. If this was the case, then Yuzu had nothing to worry about - she would have to find the traveller and ask him how to properly placate the item in the chest.

If the vision was a true prediction of the future, with no way to change it, that was the worst case. Yuzu didn’t give such a thought any consideration.

The last case was that the vision was true, but Yuzu had a chance to change the future. Perhaps she could do it through normal means - she could somehow ensure that Char Char never returned to the shrine. But perhaps she could do it using the same powers that let her see the fate threads. If that’s the case, she needed more power. More strength. Maybe then she would be able to forcefully remove Char Char’s thread from the knot. Would that be enough to change Char Char’s future? To prevent her from suffering such a dark, horrible death?

Yuzu could only think of one way to bolster her strength.

She needed to use the chest!