The dreams and hallucinations preyed on Akiko’s mind through the afternoon, even though she didn’t actually see the snake anywhere in the office. She was sure that Satomi noticed her distraction, and left soon after five. Fortunately, it wasn’t a busy period, and Megumi got up to leave mere moments after Akiko, so Akiko was sure that her behaviour didn’t stand out.

She stared at her reflection in the windows of the underground train, and finally asked herself, straight out, if she was going mad.

<em>How would I know?</em> she asked her reflection. <em>I can’t give myself a second opinion.</em> Her reflection did not reply, and after a moment Akiko realised that she had been half-afraid, half-hoping that it would. She shook herself to break out of her strange reverie as the train came out of the tunnel into the fading evening light.

<em>Am I going mad? Who can I talk to? What can I do? Is this still all a dream?</em> Akiko made her way home lost in thought, so much so that it was only the shouting from ahead of her that made her aware of her surroundings. The road in front had been turned into a football field, and a group of children, maybe junior high, maybe the end of elementary school, were playing, laughing and ignoring the drivers shouting at them to get out of the way, and the homeowners worried about windows.

Akiko couldn’t completely suppress a smile, and she shook her head slightly as she watched them. It was certainly the wrong place, but they <em>did</em> seem to be having fun.

After watching for a few minutes, Akiko decided that it wasn’t worth trying to force her way through the game, so she turned back, to take another route home. As she did, she realised that the natural route would, once again, take her past Tamao Shrine.

<em>It’s almost as if someone wants me to visit the shrine,</em> she thought, and thinking it brought her up short. Maybe someone <em>did</em> want her to visit the shrine. Maybe the kami of the shrine wanted her to visit, and that was why there were visions and strange diversions on her way home.

Akiko soon realised that she wanted to believe that. It would not only make her sane, it would make her special. She started walking again, but slowly, as she tried to work out whether there were any good reasons to believe it, or at least to consider the possibility.

She had certainly thought she saw the snake; that was undeniable. And, over the last few days, she had dreamed of the shrine a lot. Then there were the diversions. Only three, so far, so they could be random, but on the other hand… Akiko decided that it wasn’t unreasonable to at least consider the possibility.

As she approached the shrine, something else occurred to her. There was someone she could talk to about it, someone much more appropriate than Naoyuki, Satomi, or Megumi. She could talk to the priest at the shrine. She quickened her pace, eager to make some progress.