After the dance lesson that night, Yoshiko took a small lunch box out of her bundle and passed Akiko a small sweet rice cake wrapped in a leaf.

“Please, it’s nothing much, but you might enjoy it.â€

“Thank you.â€ Akiko took the sweet and bit into it. It was very good, and she nodded enthusiastically. “It’s delicious.â€ Yoshiko smiled.

“I’m so glad. Er…â€ Yoshiko paused, looking around the clearing, and it was obvious to Akiko that she wanted to say something, so she just waited. “Can I ask you a question?â€

“Of course.â€ Akiko finished the last of the rice cake, and wiped her fingers on the leaf.

“Have you ever seen Tamao?â€

“Yes.â€ There really seemed no point in lying at this point.

“What colour are his scales?â€

“What colour?â€ Akiko was a bit puzzled. “Well, purple, green, red, gold, and silver. Have you seen him?â€

Yoshiko nodded, looking relieved.

“Yes, I have, and he looks like a giant snake with scales in those colours. But no-one else at the shrine has seen him, and I was starting to wonder whether I was just imagining it.â€

“I know what you mean,â€ Akiko said, feeling a great sense of relief at discovering someone else who had seen the kami, even if that someone else might be a kami herself. “Actually, can I ask you a question?â€

“Of course.â€

“Have you ever found yourself in, what to call it, another version of the shrine? With a different shrine building, and no iwakura. And it seems to be on top of a very high mountain.â€ As she was saying it, it suddenly occurred to Akiko that that might be the shrine Yoshiko normally served at, and she became very nervous.

“I go there often to pay my respects to the kami. That is where I see Tamao.â€

“Have you never seen him in the ordinary shrine?â€

Yoshiko shook her head, looking surprised.

“No, never. I didn’t think he could go to the ordinary shrine.â€

“Well, no-one else can see him when he’s there, but I’ve seen him there several times.â€

Yoshiko looked thoughtful, and nodded.

“No-one else seems to be able to go to the shrine where Tamao lives. How do you get there?â€

“I’m just there. The very first time, it happened as soon as I passed through the torii. I don’t know how to get there deliberately.â€

“Well, I go through the normal shrine. If I pray to Tamao and ask for passage, then I can open the doors to the honden, and they lead out of the shrine building in the other shrine. It only works if I’m alone, though.â€ Akiko pulled a face. “What’s wrong?â€ Yoshiko asked.

“We don’t have a honden at the moment. It burned down.â€

“That’s terrible!â€ Yoshiko gasped. “What…â€ She came to a sudden stop. “No.â€ She shook her head. “No,â€ she repeated, “I don’t want to know about that. We’re getting too close to things I don’t want to ask. I’m sorry.â€

Akiko shook her head. She realised that Yoshiko was treating her like a strange supernatural vision; much the same way she was treating Yoshiko, in fact.

“No problem. I think we should leave this subject alone.â€

“Yes,â€ Yoshiko agreed. “Now, I think we have time to do a bit more dance practice.â€