Page 1 of A Soul to Touch

The snow pressed against her flesh, causing goosebumps to flare up her bare legs until they assaulted her spine. Mayumi shivered, her little four-year-old legs sinking so far into the cold, dry powder that it came all the way above her wobbly knees.

She didn’t have far to fall, constantly having to steady herself with her hands to dig herself out so she could press forward through the forest.

It was dark.

But she’d been marching through the night for so long that her eyes had adjusted to it. She could tell the difference between shadowy tree trunks, their leafy branches reaching down, and the shrubs on the ground. The sky was blue-black, helping her to know where darker obstacles were so she could avoid them.

The glow of the moon bounced off the snow, aiding her vision as she searched.

Should she, a child, be walking through the dangerous forest by herself? Definitely not, especially since her family resided outside of a village and its towering, protective walls.

They were one of the rare families to live in the potentiallyDemon-filled forests, but her father guaranteed them they were safe – even more so when she was scared and in need of comfort.

Did her parents know where she was? She sincerely hoped not – otherwise her father would give her a stern talking to. He was comforting and yet very scary. He was strict; he had to be with such a curious girl as his daughter.

So, what was she doing outside in the forest by herself on one of the darkest nights of winter when she very much knew she’d be in trouble for it?

Her tiny breaths came out as huffs that fogged in front of her face. They tickled her freezing nose, giving it a moment of warmth before fading. One nostril was dripping, and she constantly sniffled it.

Her feet felt frozen in her night boots, and they ached with a numb kind of pain. It was the same in her hands and fingers. One of her hands pulled the jacket she’d thrown over herself taut while the other steadied her so she could, once again, dig herself out of the snow.

Luckily, she was small and light. She’d seen both her parents struggle to walk through such thick, fresh powder.

“Shadow!” she called, her young voice echoing. “Shadow! Here, kitty!”

She received no answer.

Her thick, black hair fell across her brow as she searched. As they had many times during her stubborn march, tears began to well in her eyes.

“Please! I’m-I’m sorry for pulling your tail!”

Her cat, which was nearly black other than a white mask across its face, had been missing for most of the day. Usually, she’d come home after running off, but she hadn’t returned for dinner.

She was gone, and Mayumi was heartbroken.

Since Mayumi always stayed home with her mother as she was too young to travel through the forest safely, she hadn’t met any other humans her own age. Shadow was her only friend. They’d known each other all their lives.

Mayumi skilfully stemmed her tears and furrowed her brow with determination. She even pursed her lips, more so on the left than on the right side – she hated it when her mother made fun of her pout.

But it was Mayumi’s big girl brave face.

Shewasgoing to find her kitty, and then she would return home before either of her parents knew she was gone.

Yet as the night drew later and somehow became colder – the wind soft but biting with frozen teeth – she started to slow. Although her teeth were clacking from her jaw jittering, eventually she started to feel... warm.

So warm, in fact, that sweat beaded on her forehead.

The trees began to split in two, as did the bushes. The ground became wavy, and she found herself stumbling.

“Here, K-kitty, K-kitty, K-k-kitty.”

No matter how far she wandered, Shadow never came.

Mayumi didn’t know how far from home she was now, but she knew she needed to return if she didn’t want anyone to notice she was missing.

She turned around, foolishly believing home was directly behind her, too young to take into consideration that she’d been swerving around trees, bushes, and the odd boulder.

A cracking, crunching sound caught her attention.

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