Not Quite a Falling Star

Chapter 4

Dark skies prevailed and cool air permeated the forest. The night was clear, but Jade felt at once exhilarated and troubled, anything but peaceful. Her encounter with the tengu had been thrilling, but also deeply sad. She yearned that she could be his friend, but was cognizant that their meeting was not a frivolous rendezvous. For him, it was tragic. Even more reason he would need a friend.

Her thoughts led her towards the edge of the woods where, to her surprise, she spotted an old fisherman. To avoid a startling appearance, she pushed the mask aside.

“Good evening, miss,” the fisherman said.

“Good evening, sir,” Jade returned, “Catch anything good?”

The fisherman shook his head and gestured to an empty bucket. “Not a single thing. I think the fish are afraid to come out, ya know?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t really know because I know very little about fishing,” Jade said sincerely, “I should really be on my way. It’s late and I have a lot to do in the morning. All the best to you!”

“Ya know, lady, there are dangerous things in those woods, and something’s woke em’ up. That’s why the fish won’t come out. You really shouldn’t wander here alone at night.”

Jade became annoyed with hearing the same advice for a second time. Her voice did little to conceal her frustration, “What kind of ‘dangerous things’? I've spent many evenings in these woods and never once even seen a bear.”

“If you have spent so many evenings around here, then you must have heard the stories about the yokai.”

Moonlight shone on the man’s craggy face. His eyes were imperceptibly dark. Instinctively, Jade grabbed the tengu mask.

“Of course, I have, but as you yourself say, those are just stories.”

“Oh? Have you not witnessed the fleeing of deer when no threat is in sight? Or heard a scream followed by silence? There are the ones that will devour you on sight, the ones that will curse you, and the worst of all, the tricksters who will capture your heart, only to betray you in the end. Those ones will seem charming but they have the same nefarious goals as all the others. Trust no yokai, they have no love for humans.”  

In that moment, Jade recalled that Ryūsei instructed her to go directly home. She had failed to follow his advice.

“Thank you, sir. I will keep it in mind. Good night,” were her final words to him.

With tightened fists, she ended her conversation with the fisherman and swiftly made her way home.

~~~

Most days, Jade found herself glued to her phone. Fiddling with apps, scrolling through pictures, texting friends, snapping and filtering photos, were all things that occupied a large portion of her idle time. This day, she had barely glanced at her phone. She could take a picture with Ryūsei when she saw him next. In fact, why had she not!? Well, that was probably because she knew it would disturb him immensely. She would breach the topic carefully. Or maybe she would sneak one while he was looking away. That might prove difficult though, his senses were sharp. Nonetheless, it would be an amusing thing to try. As she reached for her phone from her pocket, she snapped a quick selfie with her tongue out and wearing the tengu mask. Satisfied with the selfie, she closed the camera app and noticed a number of neglected notifications. Most were from TJ.

TJ: Hey Jade! The city is nice. It’d be better with you 😊

TJ: Miss you. Looking forward to seeing you again!

TJ:  OMG Look at their dango! You would love this place.

TJ: You busy?

The final message was from three hours ago. She hurried to reply.

Jade: Hey! I’m so sorry. I went for a walk in the woods near my place and found an injured…

She began to spell out the word “deer,” but backspaced and replaced it with “bird.”

Jade: It was a big ordeal, gathered some supplies to help keep him safe. I was so preoccupied, sorry I didn’t text back.

The response was nearly instant.

TJ:  No worries! Glad you helped the little bird!

Jade chuckled at this word, "little."

Jade: Hehe yeah… I want to check on him tomorrow morning. I’m not sure he can fly yet. I’ll make sure he’s getting enough food and water.

TJ: Awww…can I come? I should be back pretty early.

Absolutely not, was what Jade wanted to say, but she recognized that reply would be rude. How could she diplomatically turn down his request? There was no way she could let him join. Ryūsei would not tolerate the presence of a second human, or at least he would protest loudly. There was no need to stress him out or to go through the trouble of explaining the existence of yokai to TJ.

Stress him out…just like a regular bird. Jade found an excuse that was not a lie.

Jade: I think it’s best if just I go…you know, birds get stressed out with too many people around.

TJ: I understand. Just make sure to get a pic of the little guy!

Jade: Will do 😊

TJ: Want to grab lunch after?

Why did TJ have to ask so many questions? Sure, he just wanted to spend time together, but his timing was inconvenient. No, his timing was the same as usual, circumstances had changed. Jade surrendered the phone to give herself space to think. Her clothes had dirt and blood on them, she would bathe before responding.

Following the relaxing bath, Jade had some saké, brushed her teeth, and went to bed. The moment her head hit the pillow, the fisherman’s words flashed in her mind.