It's been 3 days already since I set off on my own journey to see the outside world, and so far it has been pretty smooth. The first night, I came upon a nice village with lots of people. I managed to find a chance to perform in front of a crowd of lords and ladies and earned some money. I stayed in an inn and from that moment I managed to attract groups of people who wanted to listen to my koto playing, and they would pay me for the entertainment. I got to experience how other people lived outside of my town, how they survive, earn money, and gain new experiences. I stayed for 2 days at the village, and in such a short time, I befriended many people in the village. Of course, I would refuse payment when it's unnecessary. The kids wanted me to play for them and play with them. The elders wanted to listen to my soothing music to help them rest. The adults would listen to me play, and just feel the joy and beauty of such instrument. I finally decided that I should travel again, because if I don't I don't think I'll find the will to leave. I got on my horse the next morning, many villagers came out to see me off.

"Please, you don't need to come out and see me off." I said to them with a kind smile.

"Oh but we must, you have gave us so much joy in these few days. It was such a pleasure to have such a young and talented lady to come in our village and brighten our lives with your music." A young man said.

"It's really nothing, I was happy that I got to do what I love and share them with you all. Thank you for the hospitality and kindness." I replied.

"Here dear, take these with you on your long journey, it's not much but we hope it'll keep you warm and not hungry on the way." An elder said, handing me a blanket and a bundle of fruits and bread.

"Thank you so much, thank you all. I'll accept these with gratitude. Now please, head on in, I don't want to hold you all from going on with your day." I said.

"Don't worry about us, stay safe on the journey. And please come and visit in the future." A group of middle aged women said.

" I will, I'll be off then." I said with a wave, I strapped the blanket and bundle of food onto the saddle and nudged my horse.

The horse started galloping away towards the mountains. The wind once again caresses my cheeks as I rode into it. I turned my body around and waved back at the villagers.

"Take care everyone!" I shouted.

The villagers and children all waved back at me, I faces forward continuing with my journey, the village that I lived in slowly became smaller and smaller, further and further away until it disappeared. The sky is once again clear as ever, the birds flew in the sky. The green grass swayed gently in the breeze, mountains stood tall and strong, separating the heaven and earth. After a few hours of traveling I decided to rest a little under a big tree, I carefully laid my koto against the trunk. I took out the bundle of fruits and bread and ate a little, I fed some grapes to my horse who laid next to me. It was relaxing, a precious moment actually. I closed my eyes and listened to the sounds around me, the birds chirped around me, the gentle breeze making the grass sing in silence. I'm almost about to fall asleep when I felt a slightly stronger wind blowing, my hair swayed around my face and I opened my eyes.

"That's weird, a gust of wind out of nowhere. I should probably get going to the next village before the sun sets." I said to myself.

I got up, grabbed my koto and tied the remaining bundle of food onto my saddle again. I looked up into the sky, and high above, I saw something peculiar. It was something gliding high above the clouds, I can't exactly make out what it is, but it's white with something flowing beautifully behind it. If I were to guess, it looks like a person or something that resembles a person. There were small colors of red and yellow as well, but just barely. It's mesmerizing to be honest, it peeked my interest. I looked at the direction it's headed towards, and realized that it's heading to the same direction as I am. I started towards my next destination again. The object is moving pretty fast and it eventually disappears. When night almost arrives, I finally arrive to the next village. The village is more lively than the previous one, and it seemed that when night comes, that's when it becomes lively. The village had high hills surrounding the area with woods and forests nearby. I managed to perform for a small banquet and earned my night's pay. I found a small inn and turned in, there were still some people outside enjoying their time. The hours went by one at a time, but I can't fall asleep due to the people laughing and having fun. Eventually, another two hours went by, it was deep in the night now. The people eventually all turned in, the village became quiet that you can hear the crickets chirping. I sit up from my futon, I was in bed for about 4 hours and now the dead silence bothered me. I grabbed the blanket that I received from the previous village, I grabbed my koto and went out into the streets. There were no lights, the streets were dead quiet. I looked out of the village and saw a nice hill that isn't too far away from the village. I began to walk towards it, after about 10 minutes of walking I finally arrived at the edge of the grassy hill. The midnight breeze was calming. Not too far away is the village, I get to admire it on top of the hill. I unwrapped my koto and sat down onto the grass. I laid the blanket over my legs to keep me warm. I re-braided my hair so it looks neater, I then warmed up my fingers and started playing a slow tune on my koto. I'm hoping that it can help me sleep better later. I closed my eyes and let my fingers glide over the strings naturally on instinct, the night became filled with a serene music. After about 4 minutes of playing the full tune, I opened my eyes and gently laid my hands ontop of the koto. I looked out towards the village again and smiled. I looked around the vast area from left to right, and from the corner of my right eye, I saw something white a bit above me. I turned my head and looked up, and there is another hill a bit higher not too far away from mine. My eyes slowly went wide as I saw a young man standing on the edge of the cliff looking out. In the moon's light, I see that he is dressed in a white kimono with red royal patterns of flowers on his collar and sleeves. He wears a metal guard with spikes on his left shoulder that connects to his chest armor that goes down his front, and separates into three plates as it reaches his thigh area. On his waist is a yellow obi. On his right shoulder is a big bundle of fur that wraps around his shoulder and travels all the way down to the ground. His hair is silver white that reaches down to his calves. His skin is porcelain white with 2 dark pink stripes on each of his cheeks, a crescent blue moon on the center of his forehead. His ears are pointed, which may suggest that he is a demon. He's standing there as still and as elegant as a statue as he looks out towards the moon with an expressionless but handsome face, he is mesmerizing. I wonder how long he has been standing there. The moonlight shining on him almost makes him look like an illusion, especially at this time. I don't know how long I was gazing at him. But then he slowly turns his head and looks down towards where I am, and our eyes finally meet. His eyes were gold like the amber crystals and they shone bright as he looked at me. We stared at each other without words, seconds ticks by, neither he nor I move. Time seem to stand still if I must say, but soon, a gentle gust of wind blew across the land. The trees rustles and the grass sway, the wind carries the young man's silver hair into the air including mine. For some reason, it felt so familiar. Almost like a gentle signal, the young man turns around and walks away from the field, his hair flowing behind him gracefully. Without knowing, I put aside my koto and stood up.