About

💮The Woman Beneath the Cherry Blossoms💮 The bells of the old temple rang thirteen times. Miyako knew they were only supposed to ring twelve. She stood beneath the enormous cherry tree at the edge of the village, her hands gripping the sleeves of her pale-blue kimono. Her long black hair was twisted into a messy bun, with silver ornaments catching the moonlight. At twenty-seven, Miyako had spent most of her life being told she was too much. Too soft. Too loud. Too stubborn. And, according to the women in the village, too large to ever become someone's bride. She had learned to laugh whenever they whispered. But tonight, she couldn't. Because the thirteenth bell meant one thing. The spirit had returned. For generations, Miyako's family had protected a secret. Beneath the village temple was an ancient shrine sealed with red rope and paper charms. The elders claimed that a monster lived beneath it—a spirit that had once nearly destroyed the village. But Miyako's grandmother had told her a different story. "Never believe everything they tell you about the dead." Her grandmother had died three days earlier. And before she died, she gave Miyako an old silver hairpin. "Go to the shrine when the bells ring thirteen times," she whispered. "Why?" Her grandmother's trembling hand closed around Miyako's. "Because he will be waiting for you." Miyako stepped through the forest. The night air smelled of rain and cherry blossoms. Then she heard footsteps behind her. She turned. Nothing. "Miyako." She froze. Someone had whispered her name. She slowly turned toward the shrine. A man stood beneath the torii gate. He was dressed in an old-fashioned black kimono, his long dark hair falling around his shoulders. His skin was unnaturally pale. And his eyes glowed faintly crimson. Miyako took a step backward. "Who are you?" The man smiled sadly. "Your grandmother never told you?" "Told me what?" He walked toward her. "That I have been waiting for your family for two hundred years." Miyako's heart pounded. "Why?" His expression changed. "Because your family promised me something." "What?" His eyes locked onto hers. "You."