CHAPTER 1

The wind whispered through the trees, but Shizune felt nothing. It had been years-at least, she had thought so- since she last felt the warmth of the sun or the cool embrace of the air at night. Time had blurred into something she no longer recognizes, a flowing stream that only carries her forward, weightless and unseen.

Standing at the edge of a quiet village, her translucent figure shimmering faintly under the rain of a beautiful moonlight. Though she knows no one alive will ever see her presence, she had long since grown accustomed to the sensation of just existing between the lines of life and death. It had been a while since she had died and as she stood atop a small hill looking over a village, the only thing that was going through her mind was…

"Ah… here comes another one…"

On a small corner of the village she was looking over, a small beam of light had shown down from the sky into one of the houses. This light was not visible to the living, only to spirits like Shizune. As the beam slowly faded away, Shizune made her way towards the village.

Walking across the village, she could tell in an instant that the disparity between the rich and poor was highly apparent. On one side of the village where she walked through, the houses were much cleaner, larger, and looked more luxurious. As she made her way to the house where the beam had shone, the houses had become more worn down, as if they hadn't been cleaned or maintained well in a long time. Streets were littered with homeless beggars sheltering themselves from the rain, with some even looking through trash cans to find their next meals. 

As she approached the house where the light beam had shone, the sounds of crying and wailing were becoming louder. Standing in front of the house door, she gave the door three gentle knocks. Even in the land of the spirits, rules had to be followed. No spirit can enter the house of one unrelated to them. As she waited for a brief moment, the door was opened by a little girl who looked slightly confused at Shizune's presence. Looking at the little girl, Shizune put on a gentle smile and began to ask.

"What seems to be the problem, girl?" Shizune questioned.

"My father seems to be crying… and he is not stopping…" The little girl responded.

Shizune flashed the little girl a smile before walking into the house. In it, stood a lone man in his forties leaning on a bed crying his heart out. As she walked towards the bed, she noticed the body of a little girl lying in it, not moving an inch. Amidst the crying, the man was mumbling the same thing over and over again.

"If only I had been a better father… If only I could afford some medicine… Why… Maya… why…"

Fully understanding the situation of what had happened, Shizune walked away towards the little girl. She bent down and looked at the little girl.

"Is your name Maya?"

The little girl could only look confused as she nodded at Shizune. 

"I'm Shizune, nice to meet you." Shizune said as she continued to show Maya the gentle smile she had been showing to her.

"Was I a bad girl? Is that why papa is crying?" Maya asked, looking depressingly down at the floor.

"Of course not, if you were a bad girl, no one would cry. Instead, they would be angry at you." Shizune smiled as she gave Maya a head pat.

"Then why isn't he stopping?" Maya asked worriedly.

"Why don't we give your papa some time to let his feelings out. I'm sure your papa doesn't want you to see him crying."

Maya obediently nodded and followed Shizune out of the house. It was clear to Shizune that Maya was an extremely obedient and good girl, and it was also clear that her father had loved her a lot. As she held Maya's hand, she led Maya to the hill where she was looking over the village and sat Maya down before sitting down beside her.

"Maya, why is your papa the only one in the house? Where is mama?" Shizune asked.

"Mama left us to a better place two years ago. At least that is what papa tells me. But I understand…" Maya once again looked slightly downcast.

"What do you understand, Maya?"

"You see, mama spent the last few years with us always coughing, breathing heavily, like she was in lots of pain… She did it when I was not around but I once saw her hiding her handkerchief filled with blood and that is when I understood…"

Shizune sat beside Maya, listening attentively as the little girl told her all about how her mother would try her best to act strong, never looking sickly in front of her and how her father, to this day, had not told her about what her mother went through even though she had roughly guessed that her mother was not well, and how her father had tried his best to keep her happy despite losing the love of his life. 

"That is… until I started coughing like mama as well…" Maya said depressingly.