The steps were easier to climb in good weather, and in the quiet of the morning the click of Akiko’s heels was the loudest sound. Akiko was only half way up when Shiraishi appeared at the top of the steps, wearing white and deep purple. Akiko looked again, and realised that the white was something like a kimono, while the skirts were actually hakama, like the red ones miko, the shrine attendants, wore. She wondered whether this was some sort of Shinto priest uniform.

Shiraishi bowed to her from the top of the steps.

“Welcome to Tamao Shrine. I hope you got home safely the other day?â€

“Yes, thank you. And thank you for taking so much trouble over me.â€

“It was no problem at all.â€ Akiko reached the top of the stairs, but Shiraishi seemed to be waiting for her to do something. She supposed that was reasonable; she was the customer, so to speak, and Shiraishi worked in the shop. But since she had no real idea why she was there, it was a little embarrassing.

“Have you come to pray at the shrine?â€ Shiraishi asked, breaking the silence.

“Yes, I have.â€ Akiko gratefully seized on the suggestion, and then realised that she did not know what to do next. Shiraishi quickly noticed, and apparently guessed what the problem was.

“Let me show you how.â€ Akiko nodded, and followed the older woman over to a large stone basin under a simple wooden roof. The characters for “offeringâ€ were deeply carved into the side of the basin, and the four short legs were carved in the shape of smiling sumo wrestlers, or at least fat men in loincloths. A bronze dragon rose up from behind the basin, a gentle stream of the water pouring constantly from its mouth. Two plastic ladles rested on a wooden frame, and, after bowing slightly, Shiraishi took one, indicating that Akiko should take the other.

“Now, hold it in your right hand, and fill it with water. Pour a little on your left hand, not too much, and then change hands so that you can pour a little on your right hand.â€ Akiko did so, and Shiraishi nodded.

“Good. Now pass it back to your right hand, and pour a little into your left hand, like this.â€ Shiraishi cupped her left hand, and poured some water into the palm. “Use this to rinse your mouth, but don’t swallow. Hide your mouth with your left hand while you spit it out onto the ground.â€ Shiraishi demonstrated, and then Akiko copied her. The water was cold, with a slight mineral flavour, nothing like tap water.

“Pour a little more water on your left hand to rinse it, then raise the ladle vertically, so that the remaining water runs down the handle, cleaning it.â€ Akiko tried, but she had hardly any water left for the last bit. Shiraishi didn’t seem to mind, though, so she just put the ladle back.

“Now bow again, just a little. Right, now we go to the shrine hall. Don’t walk on the centre of the path.â€ The path from the torii was paved with grey stones, pitted by the elements, and the ground beside it was bare brown earth, still a little muddy from recent rain. It was narrow, and to avoid the centre Akiko had to walk behind Shiraishi.

The priest led the way up the steps, to where a bell rope hung above a large box with a grille over the top, just outside the entrance to the building proper.

“Bow slightly, throw some money into the box, then shake the rope to ring the bell.â€

“How much money?â€

“As much as you want.â€ Akiko found a fifty yen coin in her purse, and threw it in, then shook the rope. The bell clattered rather than ringing, but as Shiraishi didn’t seem surprised Akiko assumed that was the right noise.

“Now bow deeply, twice, then clap twice, and finally bow deeply once more.â€

Shiraishi demonstrated, and Akiko tried to match her movements. As they straightened up, Shiraishi turned to her and smiled.

“That’s it; you’re done. Of course, you can also have a formal prayer said. I’ve just done one, which is why I’m still in uniform. You are expected to offer a bit more money for that, though.â€ Akiko just nodded. She realised that she had expected something to happen when she came to the shrine, although she couldn’t have said what. But this… This was just ordinary. She looked around; the precincts had the same basic shape as in her dreams, but there was less grass in the real one, and everything was smaller, less vigorous, and not as clean.

Shiraishi noticed her looking around.

“What do you think of our shrine in decent weather?â€

“It’s… very nice.â€ Akiko was a bit stuck for something to say.

“It’s very old, you know. It wasn’t important enough to be in the Engishiki, but it’s mentioned in the Musashi no Kuni Fudoki.â€

“I’m sorry, the what?â€ Akiko had no idea what she was talking about.

“Oh, no, <em>I’m</em> sorry. Documents from over a thousand years ago, listing shrines among other things.â€

“A thousand years?â€ Akiko looked at the building again; it certainly didn’t seem that old. Shiraishi seemed to understand what she was thinking.

“None of the buildings go back that far; the shrine building was rebuilt after the war, because it burned down in the air-raids.â€ That seemed more reasonable. There were a number of folding stools lined up inside, and beyond them a raised dais, with a hanging blind at the back. Beyond the blind, Akiko could just see something. It seemed to be moving…

The head of the snake rose up behind the blind, colours vivid despite the shadows, eyes like candle flames in the darkness. As ever, it was looking straight at Akiko, while the coils of its immense body filled the space beyond the hanging.

“…the iwakura is probably…â€ Shiraishi was continuing her description as if there was nothing strange. Could she not see the snake, or was she just used to it?

“I’m sorry, I really have to go.â€ Akiko ran from the shrine, almost slipping on the steps, hearing Shiraishi’s cry of “Be careful!â€ behind her, but not looking back. Whatever she had expected to happen, this wasn’t it.