The strong wind changed direction from moment to moment, driving cold rain hard into Akiko’s face from all angles. She wiped water from her eyes and peered into the gloom. A flash of colour from ahead, moving, and she ran forward again, splashing into a puddle in the dark. Her trainers and jeans were already sodden, but the rainwater briefly chilled them again.

Thunder roared and lightning flashed, and in the light the brilliantly-coloured serpent turned to look back at her, fixing its eyes on hers. Akiko forced herself to run faster, even as her legs seemed to get heavier by the moment. She was blind in the renewed darkness, and barely avoided a car that swerved past her with screeching brakes and screaming horn. The driver shook his fist at her, but Akiko couldn’t wait, and ran onwards.

Her hair was plastered to her skin, cold around her head, and water ran in rivers down her back and legs to the ground. She could feel the icy needles of rain all over her body, and she stumbled as the wind shifted to blow from behind her, briefly lifting her from her feet.

Quickly recovering her balance, she saw the snake ahead of her, wound around a tall cedar tree, climbing it with smooth movements. As its jewel-like skin passed each branch, it seemed to shed light, leaving the branch wrapped in gold and gems.

Akiko reached the bottom of the tree before the snake disappeared from view above. Jumping, she grabbed the lowest branches, the scent of cedar wood filling her nostrils as the bark began to peel away, the gems left by the snake falling to the ground with the tinkling of small bells.

Gems fell around Akiko like cherry blossoms as she climbed, but she ignored them, concentrating on the bark, rough under the palms of her hands and the soles of her feet. Her dress caught repeatedly on branches as she ascended, and she ripped it free every time. The snake was still visible above her, and then she looked up again at the base of the cloud, and the snake was already gone.

Akiko entered the clouds. She could see and hear nothing, and could not even feel the tree trunk she was clinging to. The air was even clean of scents. Refusing to give up, she made her arms and legs keep climbing, or tried to, even though she couldn’t feel them move.

She broke through the clouds, standing under the torii at the entrance to Tamao Shrine. The sun glittered on the polished stone of the path, and she could see the snake disappearing into the doors of the shrine. She bent down to take her shoes off, because she couldn’t walk into the shrine on high heels…

…And sat bolt upright in bed, groping for the switch for the bedside light. Akiko’s heart was racing, her breath coming in panting gasps, and she was drenched in sweat. The light filled the room, and she looked around at its reassuring normality, slowly calming down.

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“Ms Tanahata, could you copy these papers, please.” Akiko jumped slightly at the request.

“Oh, yes, of course, Mr Tanaka.” She got up, taking the papers from the young man and hurrying to the photocopier to cover her embarrassment. As the machine worked, she stood with her back to the office, trying to stifle her yawns; it had taken her a long time to get back to sleep after the strange dream, and she’d been late getting home in any case. Fortunately, copying papers didn’t need a lot of brain power, and she soon handed them over. As ever, a grunt of acknowledgement was all the thanks she got.

As soon as she was sitting back at her desk, one of her friends leaned over.

“You’re looking tired today, Akiko. Big night with Naoyuki?” Akiko could feel her face going red.

“No, Megumi, nothing like that.”

“Really?” Megumi was smirking. “You’re looking very red for “nothing like that”.”

“I just couldn’t sleep well.”

“Because of Naoyuki?” Akiko shook her head in frustration, wishing that Megumi would just drop it. It was just a strange dream, nothing more than that, and she certainly didn’t want to talk about it to her co-workers.

“Are you sure you weren’t with Naoyuki last night?” Megumi was very persistent, and Akiko began to get irritated.

“Leave it, Megumi. Or I’m going to make you tell us about Mr Kanayama,” another of her co-workers butted in. Akiko smiled at her.

“Thank you Satomi. A bit of priv… Mr Kanayama? What about Megumi and Mr Kanayama?” She had the satisfaction of seeing Megumi blush in turn, and the conversation moved safely away from the reasons why Akiko was sleepy.

Her thoughts, however, kept coming back to the subject, even as she tried to continue her work. What had really happened in the shrine? And had she really seen that snake in the bathroom mirror? Thinking back, Akiko could almost convince herself that she hadn’t really seen the snake, just something that looked a bit like it. Then she would remember the eyes.

Blame the fall, she told herself. I fell, so I hallucinated briefly. And then I was upset about the hallucination, so I dreamt it as well. Nothing to worry about. Everything will be back to normal tonight.

“Akiko?” Akiko suddenly realised that Satomi was trying to get her attention and turned to look at her. “Lost in thought? Maybe Megumi was on to something.” Akiko’s face flushed red again, but she managed to smile.

“Anyway, we’re going to get lunch. Are you coming?” Akiko nodded.

“Of course.” She started to tidy her desk, closing down the computer.

“We’re going to that new cafe in Takashimaya; the reviews are excellent.” Akiko knew which one Satomi meant, and did a quick bit of mental arithmetic. If she ate cup ramen for dinner, she could afford lunch there.

“Excellent idea.” Satomi was still hovering, and Akiko could see Megumi by the door. “I’ll catch you up; no need to wait for me now.”

“See you in a few minutes, then.” Satomi and Megumi left, as Akiko finished clearing up.

A normal lunch with my friends. That’s what I need now, she thought as she picked up her bag and walked briskly out of the office.

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The clouds were threatening rain, but not actually producing it, when Akiko got off the train on her way home. She popped into the convenience store next to the station to get the ramen for her evening meal, and her cellphone buzzed. A text message from Naoyuki.

Are you coming round for dinner tonight?

Akiko smiled. Perfect timing. She’d have to cook, but wouldn’t have to buy the ingredients.

Sounds lovely. Just let me go home and change, she texted back. Her phone buzzed again almost as soon as she had left the convenience store.

No need for underwear.

Akiko blushed and quickly blanked the screen. Naoyuki was always saying things like that. As usual, she toyed with the idea of actually not wearing underwear, just to see the look on his face, but the idea was far too embarrassing. That reminded her of wearing the yukata over nothing the previous day, and she decided to avoid going past the shrine on her way home.

Unfortunately, she turned a corner to find the road blocked. Two cars had collided, and now formed a barrier right across the road. The drivers seemed largely unharmed; they were standing by the accident, shouting at each other. Akiko thought about other routes home, and quickly realised that she either had to go past Tamao Shrine, or go a very long way round. For a moment she was tempted by the long route, but she told herself she was being silly. It wasn’t as if the shrine would reach out and attack her.

Nevertheless, she found herself slowing as she crested the hill and the trees and torii came into view. She tried not to look at the shrine precincts, but kept stealing glances at it, until she realised what she was doing. As if I wanted to check that there was no snake! Chiding herself for her stupidity, she made herself look.

The branches of the trees, clothed in green, swayed slightly in the gentle breeze, and the dark grey stone of the torii matched the colour of the threatening clouds overhead. The rustling of the leaves joined the scent of damp earth on the wind, but there was, of course, no sign of the snake.

Akiko realised that she had come to a complete stop, standing in the road and staring at the shrine. What am I worried about? she asked herself. There was no answer; she could hardly be scared of an imaginary snake. Taking a deep breath, she set off again, walking briskly along the road in front of the shrine precincts.

As she crossed in front of the entrance, her right foot slipped, and she nearly fell. Flinging her arms out, she managed to retain her balance, staggering forward a few more steps. After a moment to regain her composure, she set off walking again, away from the shrine. She didn’t look back.

She had to hurry; Naoyuki would be waiting for her, and he didn’t like it when she was late.

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The ground was warm, and the blades of grass tickled her feet as she walked across the lawn. The breeze played with her hair, strands dancing across her face, tickling her nose and then leaping out of reach before she could brush them away. The fabric of her skirt stroked her legs with every step, raising goose-bumps as it teased around her thighs. She put one hand on the smooth wood of the railing, running it back and forth along and across the grain as she looked up at the shrine.

The slight give of the steps under her feet was reassuring, as the shrine supported her, and even seemed to give her a little push upwards, as if to say that she should go inside. The metal fittings on the doors were cool to the touch, sheltered by the eaves, and the doors swung open to her lightest touch, barely seeming to push back at all. Inside the shrine the cool air embraced her, and the lines of the joins between the boards created the only contrast as they creased the skin of her feet. Unlike the doors, the heavy silk curtains weighed her hands down as she moved them aside, and the fabric brushed all down her back as she let them fall behind her, making her shiver.

The embroidery on the inner curtains was hard under her fingers, the curtains themselves almost stiff as she pulled them aside. She put one knee onto the platform, and then she could feel the edges of all the piled layers of silk, each a line of ice against her skin. Tamao’s skin was smooth under her hands, the slick warmth of polished stone mixed with a coolness that was almost metallic. Her hair fell forward, reaching out to touch his body, and she felt the ends brushing over it.

It was time to leave, and as she stepped out of the doors the warmth of the sun on her skin melted something inside her, and pure joy sprang up in her heart. As her right foot touched the path, one stone as cool as the next was warm, she was suddenly struck by a wave of heat from behind, far more intense than the light of the sun.

Turning, she ran back into the heat, the doors now crumbling beneath her fingers as burning pain started in her fingertips, spreading slowly up her arms. The curtains reached out to seize her, wrapping her arms and legs in agony, and as she seized the inner curtains she felt burning rivers coursing over her body, her head consumed with agony as her hair burned away, every strand a fiery needle thrust into her scalp.

She reached out, with hands that felt nothing but pain, pain that vanished in an instant as she touched the skin of the kami. She wrapped her arms around the great cylinder of his body, and the pain fled from the rest of her. His skin was pressed against hers, stone cool and metal hot, but although the heat was even greater than the fire, it did not burn. The floor started to shift under her feet, fragments of charred wood shifting over each other, and her stomach lurched as she started to fall.

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She woke up with her scream ringing in her ears, sitting upright in bed. Clutching the futon, she hugged it to her chest, and tried to calm her panting breath. Only a dream, only a dream, she repeated to herself.

“Akiko? What on earth are you doing?” Naoyuki sounded half asleep and half annoyed. Akiko couldn’t answer for a moment, her body still shaking and her breath coming in gasps. “Akiko? I’ve got to work tomorrow. Give me the futon so I can sleep.” This time Naoyuki sounded mostly annoyed, and he pulled at the futon. Akiko found herself still gripping it tightly, and forced her fingers to unclench.

The futon slid away from her, and the air was cool against her skin. Her eyes had almost adjusted to the darkness, and she carefully slipped out of bed and quietly pulled her clothes on. Careful to make no noise, she went out of the bedroom and through to the sitting room, curling up on the sofa.

Staring into the darkness, she gradually calmed down, but the idea of sleeping still sent her heart racing in terror. The clock on the DVD unit told her it was almost half past three, and she resigned herself to staying awake until dawn.

She was shaken awake.

“Akiko, why are you sleeping on the sofa? What about breakfast?” She opened her eyes and looked up at Naoyuki, standing over her in his bathrobe. “I’m going to have a shower, anyway.” Akiko looked at the clock. After six. She sat up and glanced down at her clothes. They were very creased, which wasn’t really surprising, but that meant that she would have to go home and change. She looked at the clock again, and sprang up in a panic, dashing into the kitchen to get breakfast ready.

Most of it was on the table when Naoyuki came out of the shower.

“Looks nice, thanks.” He sat down and started eating. “So what was that about last night, then? You woke me up.” Akiko felt herself blushing.

“Oh, just a bad dream. Nothing to worry about.”

“Well, try to have bad dreams more quietly in future. I can’t afford to be half-asleep at work, you know.”

“No, sorry. I’ll do my best.” Akiko sat down, eating quickly with one eye on the clock.

“Oh, by the way, the company’s sending me to Niigata for a couple of days from tonight.”

“Is it an important trip?”

“Oh, fairly important.They’d normally send someone more senior, but Igarashi said he was sure I could cope.” Naoyuki looked at her and smiled as he said that, and Akiko smiled back.

“It’s good to see that they recognise your ability.”

“Well…” Naoyuki looked back down at his plate, and then stood up. “I’d better go. Clear up before you leave, will you?” He came round the table, and slipped a hand inside Akiko’s blouse to fondle her breast as he kissed her. Then he was gone.

Akiko looked at the breakfast things, and the clock, and realised that she was very likely to be late for work.

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“Lunch, Akiko?” Satomi asked. “We’re going to Earl today.”

Akiko smiled, as she desperately calculated how to afford lunch there, especially as Naoyuki was away. Before she could answer, however, her cellphone started ringing, and she glanced at who it was.

“Oh, this is my mother. I’d better take it; lunch tomorrow?” She was already opening the phone, and Satomi just smiled and waved as she left.

“Hi Mum. What is it?”

“Is that any way to speak to your mother? Aren’t you pleased to hear from me.”

“I’m at work, Mum.”

“But it’s your lunch break, right? You told me this was your lunch break.”

“Yes, it is. Sorry, I just thought you must have something particular to talk about if you were calling me during the day.”

“Oh, I don’t want to call in the evening. I might disturb you while you’re with Mr Watanabe.”

“Yes, OK,” sighed Akiko, defeated. “So, just a chat, then?”

“I just want to know how you are. I’m your mother, and I worry. Work going well?”

“Yes, of course. Why wouldn’t it?”

“Not ill?”

Apart from hallucinating a snake, I’m fine, Akiko thought, but she only said the last part.

“I’m fine, Mum. How are you and Dad?”

“We’re as well as can be expected.”

“And Shoji?”

“He’s doing really well; he’s been given responsibility for another client, all by himself. We expect that he’ll be promoted soon.”

“He deserves it.” Her brother had always been the hard worker in the family.

“So, how are things with that nice Mr Watanabe?”

“Mum…” Her mother asked about him every time, and refused to use his given name. “Fine.”

“When will he be coming to see us?”

“You could invite him, you know.”

“Oh, that wouldn’t be proper. He should come first, to ask.”

“Mother, are you talking about us getting married again?”

“You’re not getting any younger, Akiko. You’re already twenty six, and it’s time for you to be getting married and starting a family. Why wouldn’t you want to marry him?”

“It’s not that…”

“Of course not. He graduated from Tokyo University and he’s working at Mitsui; that’s almost as good as working for the government. Maybe even better these days; the civil service isn’t what it used to be, what with all these scandals. And he’s good looking.” Her mother chuckled as she said that, and Akiko blushed.

“Mum, please.”

“Well, he is. Anyway, are you saying that he’s not going to marry you? You’re too old to be having casual boyfriends now, you know.”

“No, Mum, I’m not saying that. I’m just saying that we haven’t really talked about it yet.”

“Hmph. Maybe you should start dropping hints. Leave copies of Zexy lying around, for example.”

“Oh yes, that would be really subtle. ‘I just happen to be reading this magazine all about weddings, Naoyuki.’”

“It was just a suggestion.” Her mother sounded a bit offended, and Akiko quickly apologised.

“I’m sorry. I just don’t think that would work.”

“Well, you know him best. I’m sure you can think of a good plan. Anyway, I’m off out for lunch as well, so I’d best let you go. Speak to you again soon.”

“Yes, Mum. Bye.”

Akiko remained seated at her desk for a few moments after hanging up the phone. She hoped Naoyuki was planning to marry her; her mother was right about the time she didn’t have. Glancing at the clock, she sprang up. Talking of time I don’t have… She snatched up her bag and ran out to grab some sandwiches.

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Akiko was sitting in the lobby, finishing her rice balls, when the other women got back from lunch.

“How was your mother?” Megumi asked, as they came over.

“Fine, thank you. How was lunch?”

“It was OK, I suppose. Well, back to work.” Satomi and Megumi were heading for the lifts, and Akiko quickly gathered her rubbish and threw it away. As she did so, she thought she caught a glimpse of something brightly coloured, reflected in the polished stone of the walls as it moved behind her. She turned round, to see Megumi looking at her with a superior smile.

“Er, Akiko,” she said, “isn’t that bag last season’s?”

“Yes, why?”

“Why are you still using one of last season’s bags?” Megumi held her Louis Vuitton bag up. “This season’s are already on sale.” For a moment Akiko was struck with panic. There was no way she could afford to buy a new bag every season.

“Oh, Megumi, stop being a princess,” Satomi said. “We don’t all have wealthy fathers to buy our handbags for us.”

“Right,” Akiko said, pleased to have the support. “There’s nothing wrong with last season’s bag. They’re high quality, and they last, after all.” Megumi pulled a face.

“That’s why you can use them every day. It’s not an excuse to carry antiques around.”

“Oh, honestly Megumi. It’s not like it’s even last year’s bag.”

“You’ve got a new one, Satomi.”

“I’ve got a rich father as well. Leave Akiko alone.” For a moment, Akiko felt nothing but gratitude to Satomi. And then she felt like a little girl being protected by the big girl in the playground.

“I can defend myself, Satomi. It’s a good bag, and if I want to use it for the next five years, I will.”

“Five years?” Megumi was incredulous.

“Ignore her, Akiko. It’s good to not care what the people around you are going to think when they see you with such an old bag.” Akiko guessed that Satomi meant that comment to be reassuring, but it really wasn’t. She realised that she would have to pay very careful attention to make sure that she didn’t wait too long before getting a new bag.

The lift arrived, and Akiko held the door while her colleagues got on. She thought she saw someone in the mirror behind them, but when she looked over her shoulder there was no-one there. I am not seeing things in the mirrors, she told herself, firmly, while looking carefully at the floor.

In the busy office the idea that she might be hallucinating seemed ridiculous, and the normal routine of photocopying, fetching files, and making coffee was soothing. Once she caught a glimpse of something multi-coloured and shifting in the reflection in her computer screen, and when she turned around it was Satomi’s screen-saver. Somehow that was even more calming than the presence of other people, and the next time she thought she saw something she was able to dismiss it as nothing without even looking behind her.

As usual, she was still working as evening fell, and Tokyo’s cityscape disappeared from the windows, displaced by the reflection of the office. In spite of herself, Akiko found that she was glancing at the window every time there was some movement, which meant every time one of her colleagues walked past. Eventually, Satomi noticed.

“Eager to get home? Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll start giving up soon. It’s not as if we’re particularly busy at the moment.”

“Ah, right. Yes, I’m sure they will.” Relieved that Satomi had put such a reasonable construction on her behaviour, Akiko was able to concentrate on her computer for a while longer.

Then she caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of her eye. Telling herself it was just another of her co-workers going past, she refused to look, but the movement didn’t go past and out of sight. It kept flickering in her peripheral vision, as if goading her to look. Very deliberately, she glanced round in the other directions. No-one else seemed to be paying attention in that direction, so it obviously couldn’t be anything worth looking at.

She returned her attention to her computer, but the motion was still there, shimmering, teasing her. She couldn’t concentrate on her work; it was taking all her effort to not look at the window.

Akiko suddenly realised what she was doing. She was afraid that if she did look it would be the snake. Which was ridiculous, she told herself. If there was a snake reflected in the window, other people would be staring at it and commenting, if not screaming and running around. It would be better to look, confirm that it was something normal, and get back to work. She took a breath, and turned to the window.

The snake’s reflection rose up behind her desk, its head towering over her, sparkling as it shifted under the office lights, glowing golden eyes fixed on Akiko. Lightning was dancing over its scales, leaping from fiery red to rich leaf green, from green to amethyst purple, from purple to gold and back, taking on the colours of the skin, twisting in the air, going silver as it passed behind her, its aura shining out from behind Akiko.

Akiko was frozen for a brief moment, and then sprang up, running for the toilets. There was no snake in the room. Of course. There were no giant, multi-coloured snakes in Tokyo. Especially not invisible ones.

In the toilets she dashed into a cubicle, where she found herself throwing up. She clung onto the seat, shaking as the vomiting passed, and slowly realised that Satomi was standing behind her.

“Akiko, are you OK?” There was a pause. “That’s a really stupid question. Can I get you anything? Should I call an ambulance?” Akiko shook her head as she pushed herself to her feet and flushed the vomit away.

“Just something I ate. I do think I’ll go home, though.” Satomi looked concerned, but nodded.

“Text me when you get to the station, OK, and when you get home? If I don’t hear, I’ll call round looking for you.”

“Yes, mother.” Akiko managed a smile, looking directly at Satomi. Any excuse not to look in the toilet mirrors. She realised that she was terrified of what she might see there.

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