The less travelled one (pt 3)

They continue the dotted trail, enjoying the forest’s calm. Even in a quiet village like Hanabusa, there was always some sign of civilization. But here in this forest, aside from their shoes moving the dirt beneath their feet, rustling branches, and the chirp of shy forest birds, it was death silent.

“It’s nice here, isn’t it?” Mia whispered, not wanting to ruin the relaxed atmosphere.

Haru nodded. “I feel… relaxed…” He looked at the smiling girl, his worries had disappeared after climbing the trunk. But just as they felt they couldn’t be further from the habitation, Haru spotted something in the distance. A small wooden structure.

“Did we circle back to town?” Mia asked Haru.

He shrugged his shoulders. “It’s possible.” He looked at Mia, his eyes questioning, “Weren’t you supposed to track our direction with a compass?”

She chuckled. “Oops… I forgot about that. My bad.”

Haru sighed, and they approached the building. Overgrown by vines and moss… it looked abandoned a long time ago. He turned to Mia, anticipating her reaction.

“How awesome! I totally got to film this!” she said while taking out her phone.

She can be a bit predictable, isn’t she? I guess I need to give her some time.

The couple stopped by the sagging door, and Mia turned to Haru.

“Just a quick peek, okay? I promise it won't take long,” she pleaded.

“It’s fine… we might see something interesting,” the boy responded.

Mia winked, “Glad to see you’re already giving in to me.”

She pushed her phone into his hand. “You know the drill!”

“Hi spooky squad! We just stumbled upon this eerie little house, deep inside this dark Japanese forest. I wonder who used to live here…” she grinned, her voice teasing whispering. “Or maybe they’re still lurking around.”

Mia grabbed the handle of the slightly open door, but it wouldn’t budge. Haru joined her, and together they pushed. With a puff, they managed to crack it open, just far enough for the slender teens to slip inside. The house consisted of a singular room, a desk standing in one corner overlooking a cracked window. Old pages of paper, clad with handwritten letters, lay scattered around the floor. The ink had been washed out by the moisture caused by the leaky roof.

“It might have been a writer’s cabin,” Haru whispered, imagining a grey-old man heading over the path every day, to sit here in silence, writing down his thoughts.

Haru’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Mia yelling. He turned around and saw her pointing at a giant spider, her face dead white.

He laughed. “I thought you might have spotted another ghost…”

Mia quickly snapped a few more photos and then retreated.

“Let’s keep going,” she blurted out.

X

Haru managed to pull the door shut in the same way they found it, and the couple returned to the path and continued their walk into an unknown direction.

“That building was interesting. I never knew there was anything here,” Haru said with a satisfied expression.

Mia’s expression softened. “Mm.. mm… this was fun,” her voice wavered, “but maybe we should turn around. We have no way of knowing how much farther this path goes.”

Haru stared at Mia, puzzled by her sudden shift in attitude. It couldn't still be the spider… right? He took out his phone, trying to locate them on the map. Despite the limited signal and this undocumented path, he was able to make a good guess where they were. With his face glowing, he told Mia to continue for just a couple more minutes.

In the distance, a higher lying part of the forest peeked over the treetops. An ever louder hum entered their ears.

Mia’s eyes met Haru’s. “What is that?”

Haru glimpsed. “You’ll see soon,” his eyes were on the lookout.

One more step… and a breathtaking sight peeked through the trees.

“A waterfall…” Mia softly whispered, her eyes sparkling. Unconsciously, she grabbed Haru’s hand, holding it firm. Together they passed the last line of trees, getting an unobstructed view of the waterfall. A giant load of natural spring water spilling from the ledge, its particles reflecting the afternoon sun before landing in the stream below.

With their hands locked together, they admired the natural spectacle, in total silence. Haru turned his head to Mia, their eyes locking. The waterfall was beautiful… but Mia might be even more so. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was getting to spend all this time with her.

Mia noticed and blushed, letting go of his hand. An awkward second of silence followed, as the girl recovered from her embarrassment.

“Thank you so much for bringing me! Was this the place you wanted to show me?”

Haru nodded. “Yes, it was. It turned out that both paths led to the same place after all. However-” he stared back at the waterfall, “the view here is completely different.”

He smiled and continued. “Arguably a lot better. They should place a bench here.”

Mia laughed. “Totally!”

Haru pointed diagonally to the opposite side of the water. “That is where we would have ended up otherwise. But if we had followed the regular path, we would have never found the writer’s cabin.”

A smirk formed on Mia’s face. “It seems like my own mission has succeeded as well…”

Haru gazed at her, all confused.

Mia rubbed her hands. “Of showing you how awesome it can be to take the less-traveled path sometimes!”

Haru chuckled. “I guess I have to admit defeat. I fell right into your little trap… and enjoyed it.”

“One last thing…” Mia asked. “You told me you realized something, can you tell me now?”

Haru looked at the ground. “Well, that is a bit embarrassing, but since you insist on it.”

He composed himself and continued. “I realised that by borrowing your adventurous spirit, I could have a kind of exchange myself. I feel I’ve already started re-appreciating my town and the beauty surrounding it.”

The boy asked, his voice a bit uncertain. “I hope we can continue our little adventures, there is a lot more I want to show you. If you don’t mind that is…”

Mia laughed and jumped toward him, hugging his arm. She was so close…

“I am not letting go of you,” she whispered in his ear.

Haru thinks back about the fork in the road. The well-worn road was there as always, ready to bring him back to town. But today, he didn’t travel along it. He chose the unfamiliar path, not knowing where it would lead.

He looked at the adventurous girl by his side and thought back about the fun time they had today. As they ventured forward, Haru realized - sometimes, the right path is the one you never planned to take.