• He had come to us on a crisp, winter evening slowly,... quietly. A cool breeze sang from the north and he shivered as it fell against him. His eye was dead set on getting out of the cold. His clothes, which consisted of a long,black coat that covered a white, collared shirt and tan pants that layed lazily over his brown shoes, were covered in a slight dampness. The large box that he carried on his back seemed to grow heavier with every step he seemed to make.

    As snow began to fall, it seemed to make its own mist which made him hard for me to make out, but as he neared the villages center, I began to openly notice his features. Oddly enough, he had a sea-green eye that shown out while the other seemed but almost invisible behind his snow white hair.

    He looked as if he kept himself together, but still remained loose, free spirited. He looked calm and collected, but as though he kept a close, vivid and open mind, an open heart, for the world around him. As he got closer, it seemed to me that his age was about three over mine.

    I had gasped silently to myself and stood in awe at the fact that there was another person in the world like me...who could see them as well as I could. I smiled as I knew that all of the stories about him were not just stories, but truthes inside themselves.

    "Can you help me sir?" I had been lost in my thoughts until I heard him speak. I stared as I noticed him talking to my father. His voice was calm, yet it had a hint of shyness to it. My father had turned to see him shivering in the wintery dusk that seemed to grow darker with each passing moment that seemed to pass too slowly for him.

    "Ah,.....yes young man? Can I help you?" My father kept an easy smile to him.

    "Y-yes sir. I'm a mushi-shi,-.....a mushi master, and I've heard about a girl who lives somewhere near here if not here herself." My father's gaze never changed. The white haired mushi-shi grew a little tense. "Ah,...I've heard some say that she's similiar to me-" he guestured to his hair and eye. After shivering a moment in the whispering words of the wind, then said, "I've also heard that she can see mushi as I could."

    My father stood silently for a moment, most likely to cold to speak,....or he was just thinking, then smiled. "Ah, you must mean my daughter, Sen." the mushi-shi silently shivered for a moment, then nodded in an unsure manner. "Now that I think about it, you two do seem a little similiar." My father's atmosphere grew a little tense.

    He guestured to the door I was hiding behind. "Well, it's quite cold out here as well as getting darker, so why don't we go inside and then we can speak a while and you can meet my daughter-....ah....What was it?" The mushi-shi smiled a light smile.

    "Ah,....my name is Ginko."the mushi-shi stated as he thankfully followed my father to the door.My father just scratched at his chin lightly as he slowly nodded in an understanding way.

    "Ginko the mushi-shi eh?.....What an interesting character with an interesting story, eh?" Ginko just laughed uneasily. I swiftly, yet silently, ran to the safety of our humble kitchen. As I slid the kitchen's door shut,the front slid open. After a few moments, the door slid shut and murmurs began to rise from a once cold silence. After a few more moments, I heard the sound of feet coming down stairs and my mother's voice joined the group of murmurs.

    Oh great, I smiled an uneasy smile for I knew what was comming. Everyone had been introduced except for me.....and I was next. As I had predicted, the kitchen's door slid open.

    "And here, Ginko, is my beautiful daughter, Sen." My father had guestured to me and Ginko walked in. After hearing the sounds of bare feet against the polished, wood floors, I looked up to see Ginko staring at me. We stood in awe and surprise as we studied eachother's features more clearly, vividly. Time seemed to stand still for us both and the only sounds heard were the slight whispers of the fire and a breeze slipping itself past our village.

    "I guess the stories and rumors were true then." Ginko shrugged as he began to become less surprised and more relaxed. The atmosphere began to loosen up around us. I smiled evenly.

    "Yeah, seems so." I agreed. "I didn't know I had been mentioned of....or heard of for that matter. You knew of me?" he nodded silently while rubbing the back of his head.

    "From other travelers and such, yes. Same goes for me. I didn't know you knew of me." I noticed that he seemed tired, so I guestured to a small table and he took the guesture happily. I had suddenly looked up to the parents I had forgotten to notice them half-way up the stairs. I smiled to them secretly.

    "Ah,thanks. I needed to sit down." He fished in his pocket for something for a moment, then pulled out a cigarette. I now knew that he seemed fully relaxed.

    "You are welcome. Oh!....Why aren't you waring a scarf?" I tilted my head to the side as his skin turned a slight pink. He sighed and laughed lightly.

    "Ah,...well.....I accidentely lost it on the way here....it seemes I didn't think I'd need it,....seems I was wrong huh?" I laughed and smiled lightly as I nodded.

    "Well," I smiled. "I'm sure that somewhere in this village is a scarf you can buy." He nodded, then suddenly grew serious. We sat in a still silence until he said,calmly.

    "Sen,....I came to ask you something." I stared at him in question.He just sighed. "Do you see mushi around your village....at all....?" I nodded carefully. "I see." He sighed again and breathed out smoke. His cigarette was almost gone as he said, "I came all this way to ask you.....if you would like to join me on my traveling." I sat in silence until he spoke again. "I'm sorry to ask something like that so suddenly-"

    "No," I shook my head. "It's alright. I think that sounds wonderful,but...why would-"

    "Well,....Sen.........Sen?.....Sen?......Sen!"