INTRODUCTION

"FROM HOSHI'S DIARY"

In this age of conflicts and misunderstandings between humans and demons, it's not easy to find villages that are completely peaceful, with kind people who are willing to help anyone in need.
Even more difficult is to come across a girl who wanders around reading books and a bit with her head in the clouds, often intent on observing the sky.
My name is Hoshi, and I was the daughter of a textile merchant. Ours was a happy family and enjoyed moderate financial well-being, which allowed my parents to give me a basic education, such that I can read books on various subjects and know how to do arithmetic. Unfortunately, my father died two years ago, taken away by a bad illness.

My mother and I do whatever we can to carry on with our work, but without my father it's way more difficult. We often find ourselves working more than we should, earning only the minimum necessary to enable us to survive maintaining ourselves and the house and putting food on the table.
As is often the case, during what little free time I have during the day, I walk towards the river with a book under my arm. I like to isolate myself for a couple of hours, to read and escape from reality for a while. And as I proceed towards my destination, I think that nothing will ever change and that my life is destined to remain a matter of survival. Being 16 years old already, I will probably soon be forced to endure various courtships and get married, even without loving the man who will become my husband.

But, you know, sometimes fate has plans of its own, unknown to us and which we often struggle to understand.
I find myself writing this sort of diary because, for a few days now, while immersed in my reading, I have had the impression that I am being watched. Actually, I am not really sure if there is a physical presence, it's more a kind of sixth sense. It's not an unpleasant feeling, far from it.... Although I still can't figure out exactly what it is.
I therefore felt the need to start putting my days down on paper, without understanding exactly why. Perhaps, unconsciously, I feel that something is about to change; or perhaps mine is just a hope, and I want to make sure that I can relive these events in the future, simply by rereading these pages.

This afternoon, as I was intent on reading as usual, I had that feeling again. This time, however, I catched a glimpse of something in the middle of the forest. As you can imagine, I could not resist my curiosity. So I picked up my book and went into the bushes; the trees were not very dense, but large and with thick, wide foliage. In the shadows, I could see where I stepped, but in the distance I could only make out silhouettes of trees and bushes. I continued walking for several minutes, when I heard something moving again. Out of the corner of my eye, I almost thought I saw a figure walking; at first glance it appeared to be a wide sized creature, but I was not sure.
So I decided to stop and hide, hoping that whatever it was, it would retrace its steps.

After several minutes of waiting, a silhouette finally appeared, still not very clear due to the darkness of the forest. It was slowly approaching, passing through a spot where the tree canopies were less dense. As far as I could see, it looked almost like some kind of dragon; which, however, instead of having the classic slender, tapered body and short legs with claws, almost seemed to possess a horse's body or something similar.
I couldn't notice anything else, but I think I saw it turn towards me and look at me. Surely it was a demon, and probably a great demon, given its features and size. The strange thing was that, despite the obvious demonic nature of the creature, I did not feel intimidated at all. I don't know if it was due to my reckless nature, or simply because the demon had no aggressive intentions.
After staring at me for a few moments, it turned his back on me and went back on his way, as if nothing had happened.

I would be lying if I say I wasn't initially afraid to come face to face with an unknown and potentially dangerous creature, but after we exchanged that fleeting glance... I don't know. It was almost as if it instilled tranquillity and confidence in me.
Honestly, I hope I get the chance to see him again.... Maybe closer, to understand what kind of creature it is exactly, and why not, to find out why in the last few days it was always around whenever I went to the river.
I might even hope it's a sign of change and a good omen.... At the end of the day it looked like some kind of dragon, right?
I confidently look forward to our next meeting....