A Kingdom of Cold and Quiet

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SHE AND BETHANY parted ways, and Elise felt a pang in her chest as she watched the crowd swallow the other woman up. Bethany had reminded her of her mother, if she were being honest with herself, but thoughts like those were off-limits. If Elise lost her head now, she'd never make it to Aokigahara.

The Tokyo airport sent her into sensory overload. She had been dropped on an alien planet, surrounded by hundreds of people jostling past her, brushing her aside in their hurry, speaking a language she was hopeless to know. The hours studying on the plane had not done her justice. Elise was ill-equipped to have come there, and it finally hit her then how idiotic she'd been. She collapsed on a deserted bench, watching the crowd blur in and out of focus. The air was nearly non-existent and her chest heaved, fingers picking at the fraying hem of her jacket.

Her head fell heavily into her lap, and she nearly failed to prop herself up with her hands. She decided to give herself one minute to panic: what if it all had been in vain? Jack would never forgive her. In fact, she was afraid to turn on her phone. Elise told herself she was only trying to conserve the battery, since she hadn't even thought to stow a charger in her pitiful and hastily packed carry-on. All that money she'd been saving, a promise of a new life for her mother, away from that blasted house, gone.

Of course, if Elise didn't pull through, it wouldn't matter that she couldn't afford to move her mother away. Maybe nothing would matter.

I'm already losing my other parent. I'm going to be an orphan.

Just as the tears began to prick at her eyes and Elise thought her minute of panic was almost up, a hand rested on her shoulder. She jerked away with a little gasp and saw through a blurry screen of tears a man was hovering beside her, hand outstretched.

She felt heat flood her face as she swiped at it, not really drying the tears that had spilled over but only spreading the dampness around instead. "I'm sorry," Elise said, moving her carry-on to the side to make room for the man. "I didn't notice, I mean, I was just..." She waved a hand in the air, searching for any vocabulary she could remember and coming up with nothing of value. She spoke again, this time in Japanese, and attempted to not slaughter the language. By the lopsided grin on the man's face, she was not succeeding.

Elise hung her head in defeat.

"You are a long way from home, yes?"

The man was still watching her with that same goofy smile. Elise felt a jolt of relief and nodded quickly.

"Oh, thank God. I mean, yes. I'm...very far from home."

"I see." He kept his eyes on her, and the smile didn't seem to reach them, Elise noticed. "And what brings you here, American girl?"

The relief bubbled away, allowing apprehension to take its place.

"Travel," she replied simply after a beat of hesitation. "My boyfriend should be here any second..." Elise pulled out her phone then, hanging on to it as if it could tether her to reality and security. After it booted up, a message flashed across the screen.

12 MISSED CALLS FROM JACK <3

Immediately she let the screen fade back to black. The blush threatened to creep into her cheeks again.

"I see," the man repeated.

Elise was beginning to feel more vulnerable than when she'd been alone. She should really be looking for a way to escape the airport, maybe find a bus or something that could take her the rest of her journey, but she had no idea how to go about that and was sure if she stood that her legs would turn to jelly and fail her. She had nothing in her bag of value or real use except the wad of American money. Maybe if she stayed put, the man would get bored and leave.

And then what?

She studied him then from the corner of her eye. He was handsome, she noticed with slight guilt, though it didn't last long. He seemed to be at least ten years her senior, though the lines carved in his forehead and the weary set of his shoulders suggested he was older.

"Where are you headed?" He asked.

Elise wondered if he might able to direct her where to go, and the desperation prevailed over her nerves. "Aokigahara."

The look he gave her in response had her pulling her jacket tighter around herself. His foot began tapping an unknown beat on the ground. "I am going there as well," he finally said.

"For the search?"

"Right. The search."

Elise didn't find his answer convincing, and a certain sadness coming from him was tangible. She decided not to question it, hoping not to offend him. Apart from the weariness he also seemed to be humming with another sort of energy, a dangerous one.

Don't be absurd, she chided herself. Surely, it was only her nerves.

"Well," the man said, standing. "I should be going. Your boyfriend is here, you say?"

Sheepishly, she admitted he was not. The man's sharp gaze made her feel as though he'd seen through her lie, and wasting time keeping up the story wasn't in her favor.

"You come with me?" He asked expectantly.

"Oh, uh, I wouldn't want to be a burden--"

The man waved a hand dismissively. "No burden, as you say. Come, come, American girl."

Elise snatched up her carry-on and darted after the man before she could lose sight of him. He didn't look back, seeming to know she would follow, or maybe not caring if she did. Tamping down her nerves, she shot Jack a text.

I'm fine.

It was a neccessary lie, though it didn't dull what she wrote next.

I've landed in Tokyo and am getting a ride to Aokigahara. Can't talk now. Love you.

A response appeared immediately, followed by another, and another.

What do you mean you're fine? You've gone insane!

I've been worried sick.

Please answer me, Elise. Come home.

It was a tempting offer, and she shut her phone off again before she could type a response. Home was, as she'd told the man, far away. Unreachable. Her only real home was somewhere here, maybe in the forest, waiting to be saved. If Elise wasn't too late.

She wasn't too late, she had to reason, and it was the only thing that she could cling to as she climbed into a cab minutes later. She had to do it, she reasoned, or else she could be too late. Accepting his offer to take her along was Elise's best shot.

Her only shot.