The Girl Who Asked Anyway

Sae calmly looked over her notes, the sunlight from the day before still carrying its warmth. Some boys playing too roughly shoved a desk across the floor, the legs screeching against the tile. She barely noticed. As long as the chaos didn’t reach her corner, it didn’t matter.

Her peace shifted only when the teacher entered unusually early. The -lucky- girl from the night before followed him into the room. Long straight hair, well‑kept uniform, proper posture; Sae immediately filed her away as one of the popular girls.

She returned to her studying. If she did not keep her grades up, her parents wouldn’t let her spend so much time in the forest. Still, she caught fragments of the new girl’s introduction.

Music: popular kid.

Baseball: athlete.

Kaho: pretty name.

Mental file complete.

Sae was sure they would not likely cross paths.

The new girl was assigned a seat not far from Sae’s corner. The other girls surrounded her with an excitement Sae had never personally reached. She did her best not to let it disturb her. Still, the noise kept invading what little peace she had managed to create in the classroom.

The girls asked the newcomer vague questions.

“Where are you from?”

“What instruments do you play?”

Then more personal ones.

“Do you have siblings?”

“What about a boyfriend?”

And finally, they began offering information of their own.

“We don’t have a girls’ baseball team.”

“The cafeteria food is good, no need to bring a lunch.”

None of that was what Kaho was interested in, though. She kept glancing back at the girl who had stepped out of the forest the night before. The only one who hadn’t joined the conversation.

She answered the questions with a practiced ease, but she never stopped looking toward the girl alone in the corner. Her head was bent over her studying; the sunlight caught her long ponytail, giving it a shine that kept pulling Kaho’s eyes back to her.

“Who is that?” she finally asked, pointing toward Sae’s corner.

“Who, Forest girl?” one replied. “Just leave her alone. She lives in her own world.”

“She became withdrawn after going missing in the forest for two days when we were seven,” another added.

“She stopped hanging out with us after that,” a third said, sounding almost sad about it.

All of this only fueled Kaho’s interest more. The forest girl stayed on her mind for the rest of the day. She kept peeking back at her during class. The girl in the corner seemed diligent, focused, not nearly as withdrawn as everyone claimed.

The final class came to a close early, giving her a chance. Before the rest of the girls could swarm her again, Kaho stood up and stepped into Sae’s world. The others watched, unwilling to intrude with her.

“Hello,” she said. “I am Kaho.”

The girl looked up from her notes. She did not seem bothered by the intrusion.

A small nod. “Sae.”

“Nice to meet you, Sae-san.” Kaho didn’t let the brief response push her away.

“Nice to meet you too, Kaho-san.”

“Why don’t they use your name?” Kaho asked. “They always say forest girl instead.”

“I am a cryptozoologist,” Sae replied, with more confidence than Kaho expected.

Kaho was not sure what answer she had been expecting, but that wasn’t it. A word she had never heard before. It sounded almost foreign. Maybe a local term; she wondered if she could even manage to say it.

She finally gave up and asked, “What is a cryp…gist?”

“Cryptozoologist,” Sae said, slower this time.

Kaho practiced the word silently, trying her best to copy Sae.

Sae continued, “I study and search for creatures most people do not believe exist.”

Kaho still could not say the word, but her interest was piqued. She searched for the right follow‑up question, but the bell rang. Without a word, Sae gathered her things and walked out of the classroom.

Kaho stood there and watched with a look of disbelief as she turned the corner.

One of their classmates said, “Don’t take it personal. She does that every day. You’ll get used to it.”

Kaho quickly gathered her things and ran after Sae; she couldn’t let it end there.

Kaho noticed she was heading to the forest across from her house right away. The reserved girl in the classroom seemed much livelier on the open road. It was convenient that if anyone asked, she could claim she was just heading home.

Sae waved at a farmer, who was waving back. Kaho naturally gave a slight bow in his direction. Sae’s ponytail started to wave naturally as her skip sped up. Kaho could see her house coming up.

Kaho stood and watched from a safe distance as Sae pulled out a notebook and entered the forest. Kaho felt like she was on a spy adventure.

The girl stopped as she entered the forest and looked up before heading further in. Kaho followed, stopping only long enough to see what she was looking at.

Why does everything she do seem so interesting? Kaho found herself wondering.

As Sae took a less beaten path, Kaho looked down at her uniform. She had seen how dusty Sae’s uniform was the night before; she hesitated for just a moment.

I need to know more. She reaffirmed to herself as she moved to follow.

The girl had stopped as if she were searching for something. Kaho stopped and hid behind a tree. Sae knelt and started writing in her notebook. Kaho wondered what she was writing, causing her to shift.

“Hello?” Sae turned her head toward the rustling of the forest behind her.

Kaho, not entirely sure why, pulled herself tight against the tree. Sae did not seem startled, as if she felt no danger in the forest at all.

As she moved on toward her next destination, Kaho moved and paused to inspect the shrine Sae had just left. It was crude, twigs and feathers mostly, with a poorly carved bowl at its base. The bowl held offerings of nuts and berries.

Not wanting to lose her target, Kaho pushed on. Luckily, the girl seemed to be taking her time tracing the foliage with her hands as she moved.

Was she not afraid of poison ivy?

She stood by a tree and stared at it as if it were an old friend. Kaho’s mind could not help but wander; it made her think of stories she had written.

A forest shaman, maybe.

Kaho ignored the tree and continued to follow the girl who had so thoroughly grabbed her attention.

The girl had stopped once more in the middle of nowhere, taking notes. As Sae knelt at what Kaho assumed was another shrine, she completely disappeared in the foliage. Kaho strained to get eyes on her.

“Mori-no-otosan?” Sae said as she stood up, looking around.

Kaho used the same foliage that had just hindered her as safety, still unsure why she was hiding.

Mori-no-otosan? Is that why she’s not afraid? Is she expecting someone?

Hearing Sae’s footsteps move away from her, she slowly lifted her head back up. She carefully followed after her.

Kaho had not realized how much time had passed. She was shocked as she studied the same evening sky that Sae was.

Maybe our adventure is over.

Sae began moving back to the main path. Kaho was a little disappointed she did not learn more. However, Kaho found the girl had taken the path further into the forest.

She looked at her bag; she had some homework to do. She debated on taking the path back or following further for a moment.

I am new; they will forgive me if I don’t get it done.

She turned in Sae’s direction and continued her adventure.

Sae left the path completely, moving her way through what seemed a wall of shrubbery to Kaho. Kaho tried to follow the best she could; she tripped over an invisible root and fell.

“Anyone there?” Sae asked, as Kaho lay still.

After a moment, Kaho slowly recovered her footing and continued to follow. Soon she stopped and knelt slightly, trying to keep behind the foliage’s cover. Sae stood in an opening on a hill; she stretched as if her long journey had ended.

Kaho watched her make her way to a mound in the distance, pausing to bow to a tree before disappearing. Kaho made her way to the clearing; it was like entering another world.

It is almost magical here.

She moved toward the tree that Sae had bowed to. As she saw the opening, she got excited, forgetting she was trying to be covert.

Kaho entered Sae’s base with unbridled enthusiasm.

“This is awesome!” Kaho’s sudden appearance startled Sae.

As Sae stared in disbelief, she went over her mental notes.

Music: popular kid.

Baseball: athlete.

Kaho: pretty name.

Not likely to cross paths.