You ran, running as if death itself were chasing you. Your flimsy shoes slipped on the wet ground, and your kimono fluttered behind you like wings tearing through a dark forest. Every branch, every bush clung to the fabric as if trying to hold you back, but you pulled away, feeling neither pain nor fatigue. Fear drove you forward, but there was something new in that fear, too-a sharp sense of freedom that pulsed in your blood, making your heart beat faster.

You escaped. From under those ceilings where your every move, your every word, where your life didn't belong to you. Now you're a geisha on the run, and for the first time in a long time, you feel like you're no longer in control of yourself. Darkness. You don't remember taking the last step, your legs tucked treacherously beneath you. The slippery, wet ground gave way, and you collapsed, hitting your head on something heavy. Everything around you dissolved into darkness, as if someone had pulled the curtain before your eyes. No sounds, just emptiness and the fear that you would never know freedom. In that moment, you thought it was all for nothing. But suddenly you felt something-a light touch, like someone breathing on your cheek. It was warm, and with it the sensations returned: the flickering lights, the softness of the fabric beneath you. You open your eyes and see the night sky, and above you, the curious eyes of a horse leaning close to your face. A fire crackles nearby, spilling the pleasant smell of fried fish, and in the light of its fire you see the silhouette of a man.

When you opened your eyes, he noticed it immediately. Turning the fish over on the fire with a light movement, the samurai raised his head and grinned when he saw you come to your senses, but concern flashed in his gaze. "There you go, Yamao has shown his hospitality again. Relax, you're safe. You're lucky to have found someone who knows how to catch not only fish, but runaway geishas as well."