Deep in the Forest of Aokigahara on the base of Mt. Fuji, a man in Early 20’s was walking along the path known as the suicide. Despite the forests’ reputation of being a suicide area, you will not feel an eerie atmosphere.

Sure occasional skeletons, some rotten and forgotten things like credit cards, cell phones, cars will make your skin crawl, but the expected heavy atmosphere of death and despair is not present. Infact, if you close your eyes and just listen to the quietness of the forest you wouldn’t think it is a site where people end their God given lives.

People on the village near the forest claims that the reason why the forest is quiet and calm is because of the Guardian spirit that watches the people die and later take their souls and guide them to an afterlife where the souls can repent on their sins, work on redeeming themselves and one day, they may earn a place on the eternal Paradise.

“tch, I hope that such a thing really do exist, at least a promise of a Paradise after having to work is whole lot better than working here and have some good for nothing horse like human give the paradise to someone else” The man said. He had an angry scowl on his baby smooth face and a look of utter betrayal on his eyes.

He keep walking deeper into the forest until the trees became so thick that the sun rays barely pass through. A little before night fall, he arrived near small lake and finally sat down.

“This seems to be a good final resting place.” The man look around and sigh “

The man laid down all his things near a tree and began writing letters addressed to the people that may come looking for him. He started a fire and make himself what he considered his last supper, he ate and drank and sing all night. When sky lights up showing that  it’s almost sunrise, he gathered his things to one place. After he set everything up, he drank the sleeping pills he brought with him, tied up a rope around waist and tied the other end on a rock.

When he starts feeling sleepy, he went to the middle of the lake and let the weight of the rock drag him down. As his consciousness slowly leave him, he can feel the his lungs struggling to breathe. He glimpse a shadow near the edge of the shore just before he close his eyes for the last time.

~~

The smell of burning firewood and incense woke him up. Groggily he opened his eyes and saw a wooden ceiling, looking around he saw him laying down on a soft futon, incense burning on a table beside the wall and he can glimpse of fires burning on the crack on the door.

A sudden dizziness wash over him as he tried to stand up, groaning he laid down again.

“You shouldn’t push yourself, you are still worn out from what you did” He looked on the now open door and saw a handsome guy with brown hair wearing an old style yukata.

“ You should have just left me alone on the bottom of the lake, I don’t want to be saved”

“Oh I did not saved you from the lake, when I arrived you are already laying unconsc