The kimono meant that she could only take small steps, but Akiko walked along the path with the ease of long practice. Her sandals clicked on the stone, and when she glanced down she saw the brilliant white of her sock standing out against the deep black of the paving. She looked up again, her eyes sweeping round the shrine. The copper roof of the building shone a deep gold in the sunlight, but the shade of the trees kept her comfortably cool. She breathed deeply, the scent of young leaves and tiny flowers filling her nostrils with a sense of the life of the place, and her eyes traced the lines of the tree trunks, stretching up to the heavens before expanding in exuberant green.

She looked back at the shrine, the gold-capped crossbeams at the ends sharply defined by the blue sky, and at the shining white torii she could see behind it.

Beyond the torii, a storm raged. Black clouds filled the sky, boiling visibly as she watched, harsh lightning flickering between them constantly. Rain fell like a waterfall, turning the air grey as it was whipped around by strong winds. Akiko walked slowly round to the front of the shrine building to get a better look, the silk of the kimono’s undergarments stroking her skin with every step. She stepped out of the shadow of the trees and on to the path, to better look out through the torii.

With every flash of lightning the drops of rain stood out, fragments of molten glass dancing furiously in the entrance, backed by the folded blackness of writhing clouds and accompanied by strangely distant thunder. A figure reared out of the darkness, a scarlet lion with a single black horn emerging from its forehead, and leapt at the gate. Akiko took an involuntary step back, but the creature struck the torii and fell to the ground, roaring its frustration in a voice that scraped along Akiko’s bones, provoking a deep shudder. The beast stepped forward again, but could not pass the threshold. Once more it roared its frustration, but this time the noise was covered by a gentle susurration from behind her, and Akiko was filled with calm.

She turned round, to face the shrine building. The doors were open, and Tamao was coiled in the entrance. His head shone red and green in the sunlight, his golden eyes fixed on Akiko. The whisper of his scales sliding over each other was the only sound as he began to descend the steps. As he approached, Akiko could smell her childhood New Year, wrapped up against the cold of a midnight she was allowed to see. She shifted her weight, ready to take a step forward to meet him.

And woke up.

No fear, no fuss, just complete, rested wakefulness. Akiko lay still for a few moments, unable to remember when she had last felt so rested and enjoying the sensation. Sitting up, she peered at her clock in the light filtering in from the street. Six am. Sure that she wouldn’t sleep any more, she got up to prepare for her visit to the shrine.