Imagine a person walking ahead of you. Who would it be? Their steps are light. They are walking faster than you, and the distance between you grows and grows. But you have entered a meadow, so it won't be easy to lose sight of them.

They stop and look up at the mountains. You stop and look down at the forest. When you turn around, they are looking at you. You climb on, following a trail that appears and disappears in the grass, and you don't stop until their expression is no longer a blur. They wipe the sweat from their forehead and ask, 'Are you tired? Do you want to keep going?' They look at your face and say, 'Yes, you do. Okay.' It takes you a minute to catch your breath, your heart pounding, and you think about what you will shout from the mountaintop.

Emi Kodama