Secret of the Fox Kingdom

The Burrow of the Fox

He vanishes into the bushes, his tail guiding me along the way. It was a challenge to keep up with him, especially in this weather! I blindly bursted out of the shrubs, sliding across a puddle face side down. Looking up revealed the path I take to school, a few yards away I noticed the fox skidding to a stop, before gracefully and swiftly growing into his humanoid figure I saw earlier.

He looked back and signalled for me to follow once more, before dashing into the forest. Of course, I continued to trail behind him - carefully climbing over the decoration. He weaved through the trees, the distance between us expanding - soon enough he was engulfed by the mist. It was as if he'd just disappeared into thin air.

I was alone, only accompanied by the trees that sheltered me. The mist grew stronger as did the silence. All to be heard was the crunching of the leaves and twigs beneath my feet; with the occasional drop of water on my head. Through the thick fog I saw light, so barely visible I couldn't tell if it was actually there. But I approached the fading gleam - seeking some sort of company.

And then a quick, sharp shock towers my body as it seems the light rises before me. I'm shot out of this illusion by a sudden thump; I'd fallen into a ditch - so out of the blue that I couldn't even tell that I was falling. I climb off of the mossy rock that I landed on and out of the hole - I'd no interest in what had happened, yet I was compelled to look back by my own curiosity.

Laying in the ditch was another statue of a Daruma, but this time it was different... It was not decorated with colour nor did it have its intense expression, or a face at all for that matter. Instead of its characters and face - a question mark was carved into it.

'Twas as if the mist I was consumed by was my own confusion, thus I began to worry at such a mysterious atmosphere. But I was only obliged by this to continue. By this point the light's source was coming into sight, a tōrō. For those who don't know, this is a traditional Japanese lantern.

It was handcrafted from wood, painted red like most things are here. It's almost as if a little shining house sits on top - some believe spirits live inside. To me, it was just a place to lean against and pant off some of my hesitation. During my rest, the fog gradually disappeared before my eyes - in its place was a temple.

Red, white and gold; its roofs flicked by the edges and its pillars decorated with golden inscriptions, which were art in themselves. A moat circled around it, duplicating the beauty of the temple in its reflection. There was no bridge, it was just an island in the centre.

I stand there, motionless - I wasn't even thinking of the fox anymore! But that's just when he comes running on all fours out of the forest - heading directly for the water. "Hey!" I yell, "watch out!" he doesn't stop. I thought he was going to leap right in... But out of the water rose floating Daruma dolls, one by one they reached the surface, each one just in time for him to step on.

He reached the other side effortlessly and ran into the temple. I'm left with silence once again, unable to comprehend the situation. I'll tell you this once - and only once, I was not in control. It's as ridiculous as it sounds, but believe me when I say I'm telling the truth. My mind was steered only by curiosity and confusion.

I ran to the stepping stones, dauntlessly leaping onto the first one, just managing to catch my balance. I hopped across, eventually reaching this anomalous building; I swooped off my shoes before entering.

From first glance you'd assume it's abandoned, but the place was shining clean and incense sticks had recently been lit. The wooden floor was easy to slide on and the walls were a mixture of white and brown and unlike everything else I'd seen so far, the temple was bare - no decoration at all. Not even religious items.