Without much ado, I bid farewell, and without glancing back I left our home for the last time.

Our car was parked outside. It was a simple old modelled used Audi A4 which had been serving us for years. Father brought it years ago when he first landed on a job, and despite Rin’s protest he never wanted to replace it.

“Would you replace me when I get old?” That was his only reply.

To my utter joy, nobody was in the car yet. I took the opportunity to occupy the front seat. I took out my earbuds from my backpack and put them into my ears, blasting some good old city pop.

I was very much immersed in the music until I found someone grabbing me by my collar and dragging me out of the car. It was Rin, she threw me out of the front seat and usurped my place as a satisfied smug smile appeared on her face.

I grumpily looked at her for a few seconds before moving to the backseat. As I said before, I was not in a mood to pick up fights. But karma pays back. Within a few minutes, Mother came and asked Rin to move to the backseat. I smirked, but soon that vanished as I realized with utmost horror that I had to share the backseat with Rin.

After saying goodbyes to our neighbours, my Father ignited the engine as the car started up with its usual roar and tremor, and we were off. It was Sunday so the roads were almost empty. The neighbourhood was quiet except some pedestrians and people in the park. As we drove through the familiar city, I knew this wasn’t a final goodbye. Our schools and parents’ jobs were here, and we would be coming as usual.

Within an hour the urban landscape and traffic vanished as we entered the highway. Father stepped on the accelerator and the old machine growled, speeding through the wide road. The gust of wind flooded into the car as I slid down the window to get some fresh air. Rin let out a sound of annoyance while she tried to manage her hairs dishevelled by the wind.

“Shut the window!” She screamed at me.

I quietly stared at her and stuck my tongue out.

Her face became grumpy instantly.

After a while, our car took a right turn and we entered a narrower road, soon tall juniper forest approached us on both sides of the road, wrapping the car in the camouflage of sunlight and shades.

After driving through rows of tall junipers for a while we suddenly found ourselves gushing through a small road with vast paddy fields on both sides. Far away on the horizon, there were hills clad with forest appearing like mossy stones.

The sun had almost reached the middle of the sky by then. There were very few farmers working on the field, with conical hats covering their heads. Few cows were scattered over the field, grazing calmly without any worry about tomorrow.

"Almost there," Father announced.

"Isn't it a nice place?" Mother asked with a smile on her face.

"No," Rin replied blatantly. She already seemed quite annoyed.

To be honest, I was also feeling down. We had grown up in cities. I could compromise living in suburbs or towns if needed. But these kind of isolated remote villages were not my cup of tea.

We drove for few more minutes before crossing the only tiny train station. Then we entered and left the main residential area. And finally, Father stepped on the brake to halt the car in front of a huge wall.

The wall was almost five metres tall, built of stone. The boulders were dark and mossy, bearing the weight of ages. At the top, sharp barb wires were installed - which seemed quite red at some places. I was not sure whether those were blood or rust.

"Is this a prison or something?" Rin asked as she stepped out of the car.

"No, but it used to be the Lord's house in some ancient times," Father said.

"Which Lord?" I asked.

Father shrugged. He clearly had no idea or interest in this.

The entrance door seemed dwarf in comparison to the huge wall. It was a small black wooden door which was barely standing up. It seemed so ironic to see that fragile door with all high and mighty stone walls with barbed wires.

"Well...seems like there's still time for the movers to arrive. Let us go inside till then." Father said as he held open the gate for us.

As I stepped in, instantly the atmosphere went through a significant change. It felt like we had just stepped into a forest. I looked with awe at the giant towering trees all around us, with trunks as thick as big pillars. The canopies had spread wide, covering the blue of the sky. I could barely feel any sun on my skin.

A little far away a gravel path had made its way through a bamboo grove towards the house. The surrounding was quite soothingly chilled, compared to the outside.

We made our way through the bamboo grove. The gravel made crunching noise with each step we took. The bamboos on both sides were densely packed. They had a freshness of green and stood tall in the air. The breeze caressed my hair with the silence of the noon in them.

As we slowly came out of the grove into an open space, the bright sunlight blinded me. The sun shone brightly right above our head, in the middle of the clear sky. Few meters in front of us stood a huge house of which I could only see the wide front.

It was a traditional wooden pagoda styled house with a roof made of clay tiles. The house was built on a stone foundation, elevated few feet above the ground. A large veranda had encircled the whole house. The entrance was made of sliding door, with few steps of stairs leading to that.

A tall old man was standing in front of the house. He was fair and bald, wearing a Buddhist priest's robe. Big prayer beads adorned his neck. He looked at us and smiled.