Akiko wasn’t sure how long she stayed sitting on the floor. Her sodden clothes hung heavily on her, and further wetness seeped through from the tatami mat. She found herself shivering, and forced herself to get up.

Looking into the closet, she found that it had not, apparently, rained in there, although water had seeped in under the doors, and she was able to find clothes that were more-or-less dry. She quickly dried herself and changed, discovering that the entrance hall, bathroom, and kitchen were also unaffected, and then turned her attention back to the main room.

It was still wet, and as she ran her hand over the soaked tatami, Akiko’s mind was utterly confused. One part was insisting that it was simply not possible for it to rain inside, while another part was insisting that it had. It occurred to her that she might still be dreaming, but the sounds and light from the street were too normal, the situation too coherent. It really didn’t seem like a dream. Shaking her head, she forced herself to concentrate on dealing with the consequences of whatever it was.

Fortunately, the rain outside had stopped, and Akiko was able to hang her futon out on the balcony railing. Her mad dash to cover things up seemed to have had some success, and in the light from the streetlights outside she was able to sort out what still needing drying. Her work clothes had been in the closet, and so were only a little damp, and she hung them out to dry properly. The tatami were a problem, however, and she settled for soaking up as much water as she could with towels, and leaving the doors and windows open.

As soon as she stopped, however, she remembered the tunnel of mist, and the shining shrine at the end of it. Now that the chance had passed, she found herself wondering what would have happened if she had walked through it. Would she have ended up in the shrine? The image of Tamao was disturbingly clear in her mind. What was he? Why was he bothering her?

A pale sky in the east announced the coming of dawn before Akiko had slept, or even come close to finding any answers. Looking out of the window, she found herself coming, very reluctantly, to a conclusion.

She had to go back to the shrine. Everything had started when she went there in the storm, everything seemed connected to it, and something was trying to get her to go there. If she was going to have any chance of working out what was happening to her, and stopping it, she was going to have to go back voluntarily. And, if she got ready now, she would have time to do it before she went to work.

In the shower, the falling water reminded her of the rainstorm, provoking a moment of panic. She forced it down, telling herself sternly that it was just the shower, and it stayed just the shower until she finished. No rain fell as she dressed, leaving her tights off until she she had closed her windows and dried her feet again. She left the door to the main room open, and the extractor fans in the kitchen and bathroom on. Looking back from the entrance hall, she decided it was the best she could do.

Akiko realised that she was delaying. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the front door open, and set off for the shrine.