Lost In Japan

Chapter 1

"Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change."

~Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Today was going to be a glorious day. She was finally going to meet her long-distance friend of my years. She had traveled from America to come here to the nation of Japan to finally meet her pen pal. Someone she had first written to when she was in elementary school. Back when times were simpler; before she lost her innocence.

Her wild curly mane, falling just below her shoulders, she called hair moved slightly as a nice warm breeze blew by. Most would call it a nice natural look, she calls it a disaster that can be slightly tamed. She would have cut it by now but a fond distant memory from long ago prevents her from doing so. Even then if she were to cut it now it would come back twice as thick and possibly take years to get back to this length.

Japan wasn't so bad. The food smelled nice, and the food also tasted nice, and did she forget to mention the food? And yeah, the stares were a little nerve-wracking but she was kind of used to it by now. She knew her appearance wasn't the standard here, but when will it ever be? After all, a black girl with natural amber-colored eyes isn't something you see every day. Eyes she didn't inherit from her mother or father.

Or it could be the fact she ordered ten sticks of yakitori and was eating two at once. But can you blame her? It was something new to her that tasted way better than she thought it would.

After walking around and sightseeing for a good hour and a half, she soon got to her destination where her pen pal was supposed to meet her. The place they were supposed to meet was a shrine, that just so happened to be up a long flight of stone stairs. And she so happens to be carrying a giant brown backpack on her back and two heavy black suitcases with her name stitched into them. With a quiet sigh, she begrudgingly took the journey up, lugging her stuff along with her up the many, many stairs.

By the time she reached the top her grey t-shirt and ridiculous grey cat-eared pullover hoodie were covered in sweat. Her black sweatpants felt like they were sticking to her legs while the black steel-toed boots she decided to wear felt wet and uncomfortable on the inside. Her breath was labored and her face had by now gained a reddish hue.

A little way over from the entrance she saw a giant ancient-looking tree, its size compared to a three-story building. Her being tired decided that leaning against it would her catch her lost breath. A feeling of comfort and security washed through her body as soon as her sweaty back made contact with the tree. The rough bark dug into her but she didn't care as she slowly started to relax from that mini-workout.

Suddenly she felt a soft pulse from the tree. It started slowly before going into a steady rhythm. It was strong and she felt something inside of her resonate with it. Then out of nowhere, a bright flash of pinkish/purplish light blinded her and the area.

It was so sudden. One moment she was leaning against the giant tree (its presence was comforting and gentle) the next moment she was free-falling through the air only to land on top of a two-headed lizard creature thing.

Rolling off of the creature the girl landed on the ground, her clothes ruffled and now slightly dirty. Even though the landing was rough she didn't feel much pain at all. Slowly she sat up from the grassy ground only to come nose to muzzle with one of the heads of the lizard, the other staring lately at her. It puffed out a burst of air from its nostrils before turning to eat some grass. Sighing in relief that she wasn't in immediate danger the girl inspected her surroundings.

She and the lizards were in a clearing with tall trees surrounding the area. From what she could tell, it was a thick forest. Sounds of wildlife (songbirds chirping, a rabbit foraging) and the munching of grass permitted the somewhat silent air. It was daytime since the sun was high up in the clear blue sky. If she were to guess, it was probably high noon or somewhere around that time. With it being late spring it was mildly warm, but she knew sooner or later she will need to seek shelter from the cold night.