A Letter

April 28, 2097. It was the weekend, and though the moon had only just begun to wane, it was still bright enough to hang in the sky throughout the night. Whether on the shore or out on the lake, the view was broad and clear, the water and sky seemingly free of even a speck of dust.

In Ban City, it was said that moonlight like this could shine through the waters of North Mountain Lake, reaching the ancient city ruins beneath and delivering the dead from suffering. Many Ban City residents thus took their families to the shores of North Mountain Lake to admire the spectacular sight of "Moon Over Mountain Island." Some set off fireworks, while others drifted across the lake in boats, only gradually dispersing in the latter half of the night.

Thanks to the moonlight, Mr. Sagaemon's incense offerings had also been especially abundant these past two days. The clusters of tiny white flowers amid its branches seemed able to hold the moonlight's true dew, their brilliance striking against the green leaves.

Yin Le stood on the upper deck, gazing at the lakeshore as the crowds gradually thinned. Most of her attention was fixed on that special Camphor Tree. She was only two or three kilometers from shore; the one onshore had surely noticed her as well. Even the aquatic plants near the bank seemed especially active, rippling the shallows with fine, delicate waves.

"What a cautious fellow."

Yin Le had no intention of testing Sagaemon's limits of vigilance. Come to think of it, they had probably scared it badly over the past two days... Well, the nearby residents had not had it easy either, but everyone else was muddled through it all, forgetting everything after a night's sleep. You insisted on standing apart from the