RiverfallStories
"It was a tradition for people when they turn fifteen to go on a journey to meet their spirit guide. Our ancestors have been doing it for hundreds of years. The traders who come to our village yearly to trade bring news to us. They tell us that we are the only village that does this. You follow your heart until an animal shows itself to you. Then it leads you back home. Everyone's journey is different. And everyone comes home sooner or later with a guide. There are no instructions on what to do.
The story goes that a boy got lost when there was a storm on his fifteenth birthday. After wandering many days, he was dying. A water deer came to his rescue. She carried him back. In return of the favor, she told the villagers that children on their fifteenth birthday should wander until they meet their spirit guide, who would guide them back. In return of the favor, they will guide them the rest of their lives."
River is a fifteen-year old girl in ancient China that is about to start a journey where she will find her spirit animal, who will guide her for the rest of her life. However, she plunges off a waterfall and almost dies. She loses all her memories and is brought up in another village far away while her relatives mourn. However, fate has another path for them.