The ends of her red scarf snagged on the bushes, the fabric sliding from her head and pooling in the nape of her neck. A droplet of water fell from a branch above, landing on her dark hair. She swore under her breath, her voice barely a whisper, as if afraid her grandmother might hear her out here. The old woman didn't have my hearing, though. Because I could hear her murmur, hear her breathe, I heard the blood pump in her veins and her little gasp when the cold water touched her scalp.

I watched as she pulled her shawl tighter around her, shivering and dragging her sleeves over her hands. The weather had gotten warmer but rain and storms still brought a chill that I preferred over the balmy stuffiness of spring and summer. It wasn't even really over, yet I longed for winter again, the feeling of the frosty ground beneath my feet and the mist of breath in the air.

The girl gripped her basket tighter as she wandered on into the gloomy forest. Strands of her black hair were framing her face and brushing her cheekbones as she moved. I watched her closely, observing how the tip of her nose turned pink. She was such a weak creature, but there was something about her, that enticed me, made me want to be close to her, to look inside her head. Her steps were steady, even in the semi-darkness that hung over her. She seemed to know exactly where she was going, where to step over roots, as if she was part of the woods herself. Yet her red clothes were bright like a flame against the dim light and the deep foliage, she was like a deer caught in glaring headlights.

She bent down but then froze and stopped for a moment, looking around as if she sensed the eyes following her movements from between the trees. She panted slightly and her lips parted, her doe-eyes darting around, trying to find the presence she thought she felt. But the woods were quiet except for the occasional rustle of falling leaves and her breathing. She hadn't realised it was too quiet, that all the little animals had scurried away to hide. So she moved on, walking deeper into the darkness.

I grinned and followed, inhaling the scent she left lingering in the air.

The shrill cry of a bird pierced my ear and I jolted. An image appeared before my eyes and started to play like a movie in my head; a shadow moving, a dark figure emerging behind a smaller one dressed in red, half covered by the fog drifting between them. And then, the glint of fathomless black eyes in the dark, the flash of canines and — blood.

I blinked, once, twice and the world seemed to reappear again. I found myself standing between the high trees of the forest that lay just a short way behind the temple. The air smelled of earth and damp wood. My wet shirt was clinging to my shoulders and my hands were cold, fingers so stiff they almost hurt. A headache pounded behind my forehead but I tried to ignore it when I saw something red between the trees further ahead. Slowly, I started to move towards it.

As I drew nearer, I realised it was a person. The way they moved stirred familiarity in me and when she turned to the side slightly, I got a glimpse at her black hair that had once again loosened from her ponytail and was blowing in the slight breeze. I approached her and reached out to touch her shoulder.

Startled, she turned around, gasping in surprise but the scream caught in her throat when she saw me. Before I could move, her arm shot out and her fist connected with my chest, knocking the breath out of me. I huffed, caught off guard and stumbled half a step back.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" I lifted my hands to signal defeat and because I didn't want to be hit again. "I didn't mean to scare you." I bent down to pick up the basket she had dropped.

Sakura glared at me as if she wanted to say "jerk", but instead, sighed. Her hand came to rest on her chest for a second as she exhaled a relieved breath before she held it out to me with an expectant look on her face.

"I feel guilty now, so I'll carry this for you," I said, motioning at her basket. She narrowed her eyes at me.

"What are you doing here?"

"Just taking a walk, the weather is getting nicer again." I shrugged, avoiding her eyes, afraid she might read things in mine I wasn't ready for her to see yet. I felt her look on me, grazing my wet hair and shirt, the splatters of mud staining the legs of my pants. I almost felt the weight of her doubt, but she remained silent and so we started to walk towards the shrine.

A few minutes passed and neither of us seemed to want to break the silence so the sound of our feet and the distant rustle of animals in the undergrowth were the only things disrupting the quiet of the woods. Something nagged at me. I couldn't tell if it was the vision I'd had earlier or if it was just my anxious brain making me nervous and afraid again, but a sense of dread was washing over me and I wanted nothing more than to get out of the woods and indoors.

"You shouldn't go out into the forest on your own," I blurted and bit my lip as soon as the words had tumbled out of my mouth. Why had I said that? Sakura's gaze was on me immediately but I refused to turn my head and look at her.

"And why not?" Her voice held an air of defiance, I realised. As if she wanted to challenge me to tell her why it was any of my concern that she was wandering the forest of her hometown when we didn't even really know each other. Something stirred inside me, a thought registered somewhere in the deep corners of my mind. It was like a whisper telling me that I liked a challenge but I couldn't place where it came from. I shook my head, tried to clear it and turned towards her.

"Because it's dangerous," I continued instead. "You never know what could be lurking in the shadows." Black eyes, sharp teeth, Sakura's broken and bloodied face flashed before me and I swallowed.

"I think I can take care of myself," she said when I finally looked at her. Her face was clean if slightly pale from the cold, her eyes were alive and lined with dark green eyeshadow today. There was a small smile on her lips, not the teasing one I had seen before. This one seemed honest, real. Her gaze softened when it met mine and I thought I saw a blush creeping on her cheeks before she looked away again.

"I'm just trying to protect you..." My words were a mumble, more directed toward myself than her and I didn't expect her to hear them, but she did.

"Protect me from what?" Her words were softer now and she turned toward me, letting her eyes travel over me like they had that night over a month ago, as if they were searching for something. "Are you sure I'm the one, who needs protection?" Her voice dropped to a whisper and she stepped closer to me. Her scent enveloped me and I closed my eyes when her fingers reached out to touch mine, warm against my ice-cold skin.

"If you ever feel... unwell again," she said, pulling a strip of paper from between the folds of her uniform and murmuring a few words I failed to understand before she reached out to slip it into the pocket of my shirt, "come and see me at the shrine. We can talk, like last time and maybe it will make you feel better again." Her hands lingered on my chest for a few seconds longer and my nerves fluttered. I was sure she had to feel the stutter of my heartbeat against her palms.

But she didn't look at me again. She just grabbed her basket from my hands and left me standing at the entrance to the temple. I stared after her as she closed the gate and disappeared down the gravel path and past the gardens into the night. Slowly, I reached into my chest pocket and pulled out the paper she had given me.

It was roughly the size of a bookmark and covered in sheer wrapping, but I could still read the bold black characters that were printed vertically across the paper and the seal of the shrine that was stamped over it in red ink.

She had given me an ofuda, a talisman for protection.