My Soul Will Find Yours

When we"ve finally calmed down, he unhurriedly guided me out of the grove. We walked with his left arm wrapped around me in a protecting manner. The clacking of our wooden slippers and the cry of bell crickets were the only sounds that could be heard. At what seemed to be the entrance of the forest, a beautiful and sleek horse neighed and stomped its hoof. Its silky black mane glistened and poured off its shoulders.

"Kuro[1]," the man beside me let go of my waist to check its mount and untie its reins from a tree. The horse neighed again then snorted. Afterwards, the man guided the horse towards me. He offered me his palm, intending for me to get on the horse.

I have never ridden a horse my entire life as I found them frightening. Sensing my hesitation, the man took one of my hands then patted it comfortingly before bending down on one knee with his arms outstretched. I took a deep breath, sat on his lap, and closed my eyes. He stood up then effortlessly lifted me to the saddle before expertly joining me. He then grabbed the reins and made a clicking sound with his tongue.

I immediately braced myself, expecting the horse to gallop but it didn"t. It only walked on a steady pace. I relaxed and since I rode sidesaddle, I leaned my back on the man"s chest. One of his hands released the leather rope attached to the horse"s bridle so he could once again protectively coil his arm around me.

But who was this man? Why did I feel so serene and secure around him? What was the reason for my tears earlier? Before I could answer these questions, front desk was on the phone again to wake me.

~~~

I boarded the coaster as soon as I saw it. The tour guide bowed to me then ushered me to my seat. The small bus had twelve pa.s.sengers, fourteen if you included the driver and our bubbly bespectacled guide Asami. We went to museums and a couple of popular restaurants that held historical importance to modern day j.a.pan. Thankfully, the tour didn"t involve any of the places I"ve been to in the past few days. I wish I could give Akihiro a handsome tip for his efficiency but I didn"t want to insult him. Our last stop was a shrine. It was smaller than the ones I"ve visited but still attracted many visitors.

"Okay, minnsan[2]! We are on our last stop for today! Welcome to Kokedera!" As if on cue, the driver pressed the b.u.t.ton that opens and closes the bus. Asami energetically pointed towards it before marching out.

I grabbed my bag and followed everyone out of the coaster. Asami was still confirming our tour reservation at the entrance when my phone rang. When I saw the caller ID, I smiled.

"Hey, Charles. What"s up?" After the parking lot incident years ago, Charles and I have gotten closer. He has become one of my very few closest friends. Needless to say, this caused a rift between him and his cousin Tyler. The b.a.s.t.a.r.d felt that he was set up by his blood relative for his own gain.

"I saw your Instagram post just now," he said, he sounded weird.

"Yeah, I"m in Saiho-ji right now," I replied. Asami motioned for us to come and write our names on the sheet of paper provided by the temple to confirm our attendance. I grabbed the pen and looked for my name. "Why? Do you want something from this place? A love charm maybe?" I jokingly said.

Charles laughed, the weirdness from before vanished. "Yeah, could you get me one?"

"Charles, you don"t need one. You know that."

We were finally granted entrance, Asami turned on her speaking-trumpet then started her speech about the place. "Saihoji, more commonly known as Kokedera, is one of Kyoto"s Unesco World Heritage Sites. Entrance to this temple requires a reservation made well in advance by mail. Kokedera means Moss Temple, referring to the temple garden"s estimated 120 different varieties of moss."

"Hina, I hope you enjoy the place. It"s very beautiful.," came Charles" voice.

"Ooh, right! You travel to Kyoto often. Have you been here before?" Charles was silent on the other line. I looked at my phone to check if the call has been disconnected, it wasn"t. "h.e.l.lo? Charles?"

"Sorry, what was that again?"

"I asked if you"ve been here."

"Oh." A long pause. "Have fun there, Hina."

"Mmm! I will," I nodded as if he could see me. "Anyway, I"ve got to go. Don"t want to insult the guide."

"Okay. Take care. Bye."

I ran to where the group was as I was lagging behind. Like the rest of my tour-mates, I took several photos of the place.

"Visitors to the temple can walk through this spectacular garden, which has strongly influenced subsequent j.a.panese garden design," Asami said as we walked. "We shall now proceed to the temple and take part in kito and shakyo which are the chanting and copying of the sutra."

A monk lead us to a room in the temple. There, we began chanting and copying. The activity took over an hour. I thought the copying was going to be difficult but the templates they provided made it easy. Afterwards, we were instructed to take our sutras to the altar. Upon exiting the temple, we were told that we could have our "free time" and stroll the moss garden on our own for thirty minutes before we resumed the tour of the area.

That year"s autumn proved to be a very wet one, making the green moss even more vibrant. The sharp contrast between the moss and autumn foliage added to the garden"s charm. I set up my mini tripod and started taking photos of the landscape. Spotting a young maple tree, I carried my camera set-up to capture its beauty. As I was adjusting the legs of the tripod, a calico cat walked past me. It was so big and round, reminding me of a younger Panther.

Being a sucker for cats, I completely forgot about the tree and started following the feline. I called after it, intending to pet it, but was completely ignored. Cats can be such huge jerks sometimes.

As someone used to being rejected by a cat, I didn"t let the snubbing weaken my resolve. I hastened my footsteps, causing the cat to panic and run. "Oh no, you don"t!" I carefully but swiftly set my photography equipment down and ran after it.

The cat darted to a mossy stairs which lead to some sort of mini shrine. On the last step, I slipped and fell, breaking the strap of one of my sandals in the process. I felt a stinging on my left knee as I stood up.

"c.r.a.p," I dusted myself off.

I didn"t want to sit on the moss so I limped to the shrine and went in. There, I rummaged my bag for the small medicine kit I brought. Once I saw it, I started breathing through my mouth. I hate the scent and sight of blood. To my horror, the wound on my knee wasn"t as superficial as I expected it to be as it was bleeding a lot. Seeing my wound immediately made me nauseous. I tried so hard not to panic. Unfortunately for me, it was already too late as the image was enough to make me faint.

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[1] Kuro means black in j.a.panese and is also my brother"s min pin chihuahua mix"s name. Hihi.

[2] Minnsan : Everyone or everything or all of something. Contextually it means "Everyone." (Source: rocketlanguages.com)