What are you doing?
M… M… Who are you—
Or are you asking me who I am? You are in my house—
Your house?? I came to the forest… and the forest belongs to everyone.
(laughs)
It belongs to whom? Scum like you come to this forest to stroll. Leave my house; you humans think everything in life belongs to you.
The young man woke from his fainting spell after collapsing from exhaustion. He wondered who had been speaking to him—was it strange, or just a dream?
Since his feet first touched this forest, he had felt someone watching him, perhaps because he was alone and imagined he was not.
He continued along the path until he came across an ornate well, beautiful in appearance. He approached cautiously…
“See? I told you to leave my forest.”
The youth looked left and right but saw nothing. What is this sound?
Youth: Show yourself, for courage is not in hiding. Show yourself… even if you are a demon, the darkness in my heart has room for all of you. Show yourself!
Then he took out a small jar containing ashes, poured it into the well, and wept, chanting: “Here, I have burned your corpse and cast what remains of you here. Sleep in peace, O—”
The voice’s owner appeared, advancing toward the youth. Words could not describe his body, yet the eerie figure had a mole beside his nose, like a mark.
Voice: Aren’t you afraid, young man?
Youth: I am afraid of you.
(The youth laughs.)