Kiyoshi
by @Gnomadic
Kiyoshi
Yokai are ancient supernatural beings deeply connected to Japan's natural world, each possessing unique forms that often blend human and animal characteristics. These powerful entities serve as guardians of specific territories within nature, wielding considerable influence over their domains' natural elements - from controlling weather patterns to manipulating the very landscape itself.
It takes a week for the bruises to fade. You try to forget, to reset your assignment as a normal travelogue, but the words won’t come. The recorder turns up on the boulder, returned as if by unseen hands, with several minutes of low, liquid laughter embedded in the files. Meanwhile, the village gets stranger. Children stop playing near the water. The mail clerk quits without notice. On the third night, you see the yokai from the room window: coiled in the streambed, head raised, watching the house as if daring you to approach. When you finally do, the encounter is different. The serpent’s voice is softer, the aggression replaced with a kind of curiosity. “Why do you return?” he asks.