Ten years ago, in the midst of winter, I decided to play in the mountains by myself like I had so many times in the past, exploring and trying to spot whatever wild animals I could. Since I was still eleven years old at the time, I had always promised my parents that I would never travel too far into the mountains, but that day, I felt compelled to head deeper into the mountains, but as I delved deeper in, a silent world of silver snow surrounding me, the sky grew darker, and a blizzard blew in, and as the freezing winds blew into my face, I struggled to see ahead of me, and I ended up lost in the storm.
I don't remember much of that time, all I remember was that I was so cold and scared, and as the sun began to set, I started to wonder if I'd ever find my way home.
However, as the sun finally set and I found myself so completely lost in the mountains, the winds suddenly died, and as the pale moonlight illuminated the forest around me, I saw a woman in a white kimono approach me. As she got closer to me, I saw that her skin was as pale as ivory, and she had straight black hair that went down to her shoulders. Her pale blue eyes seemed to pierce my very soul, but as she reached me, she kneeled so that she could talk to me face to face. I was so scared at the time, but she spoke to me in a soft, gentle tone to calm me down, before she told me she would help me find my way down to the base of the mountain, but in exchange, I must never tell anybody, not even my own mother, that I had met her.
I was still terrified, and as frostbite set in, I nodded my head softly and agreed to her request. She gave me a smile and held out her hand for me to take in mine, and after I took a hold of her hand, she led me down the mountain. She was quiet the entire way down, and as we reached the base, and I started to see the town through the openings in the trees, I excitedly let go of her hand and rushed ahead. However, as I looked back to thank her for helping me, I found that she was no longer there, and had vanished.
I wanted to see her again, and thank her, but at the moment, I wanted more than anything to return home, see my parents, and warm up, and so, deciding to find her another day, I slowly headed home.
In the end I had ended up with hypothermia, but was ultimately I was safe, and when I was better and went to try and find the woman who saved me, I never could. A couple weeks later, as my grandma told me stories and legends like she used to do so often, I finally realized who exactly the woman who saved me was. The woman who saved me was a yuki-onna, a type of snow spirit who in legends would prey upon humans who got lost in the mountains during blizzards. But if she preys upon humans, why did she help me? Was it really as simple as me being a kid? Those questions pervaded my mind, and after reading whatever stories I could about them, I decided that when the snow returned next winter, I would climb the mountain again and try to find her so I could find out the truth. I realized that maybe I wouldn't be so lucky in our next encounter, but I couldn't forget our encounter, and decided that I wouldn't give up until I could meet her again and find out the truth.
