Excerpt from the book:
...Turning around, Sumire saw a female figure detach from the trunk of the plum tree. And before her appeared a young girl with long hair and in a scarlet outfit.
"Lady, please don't be afraid of me," she said. "I am the spirit of the plum tree that grows by this bridge. My name is Umeko. The oni Kiseki, whose name you guessed, caused trouble not only to me, but also to the local spirits of stones and the spirit of the river. We have never wished harm to people, and every time we were very worried, afraid to become witnesses of bloodshed. Therefore, I want to thank you."
"Oh, there's no need," Sumire said modestly.
"You were not at all surprised to meet Kiseki and me," smiled Umeko. "Have you encountered spirits and demons before?"
"Once, I had to be a witness to a mystical event," she replied.
"Oh, I see!" exclaimed the plum spirit. "This explains a lot. You are an amazing person! As a token of my gratitude, let me show you the mirror that knows the past."
"The mirror that shows the past?" Sumire asked in surprise.
"Yes," Umeko nodded. A small bronze mirror appeared in her hands, painted with an intricate color pattern around the edges. "If you look into it, you can see whatever you want. Whether it is an event of ancient times, the life of a person or a spirit. The only thing that the mirror does not show is the fate of objects."
***
...It was a sultry summer day. There was not the slightest movement of wind in the air.
The servants and members of the Heavenly Clan were suffering from the heat. In the afternoon the sky began to take on a leaden hue as a heavy thunderstorm was approaching.
Amaterasu spent time in the shade of a spreading tree. Her maids, Miyu and Mayu, were diligently fanning their Lady with large fans.
Over the past two years, Miyu has grown up and gradually turned into an attractive young lady. Mayu entered the service of the deities a little later than her friend. She was a year younger than Miyu, but that didn't stop the girls from making friends.
"There will probably be a strong thunderstorm in the evening..." Amaterasu said lazily.
"Yes, my Lady, it's always very stuffy before a thunderstorm," Mayu agreed with her.
"And I'm scared to death of lightning..." confessed Miyu.
"You shouldn't be afraid of them! They are far in the sky! And we serve the deities, so everything will be all right," her friend reasoned.
She knew perfectly well: in a thunderstorm one should not be near water and one should not hide under a tree. Otherwise, the thunder spirits will get angry and incinerate you with a lightning bolt.
"I had a bad dream today," Miyu ignored her friend. "I saw that a huge fireball flew into Ashihara and engulfed Lady Izanami in flames..."
***
Nine thousand years ago...
It was a wonderful summer day. This year the summer turned out to be extremely successful: not cold, but not hot either. It rained just the right amount.
The Court diviners of the Heavenly River Clan unanimously called this an auspicious sign. The reason for which was the ascension to the throne of the new ruler Tei.
The Heavenly Clan arrived on Earth over a thousand years ago, from a distant place beyond the Heavenly River. They settled on the archipelago, having founded the capital on the island of Honshu, but after a couple of centuries they finally lost touch with their distant ancestral home.
The course of time did not spare anyone, sweeping away everything in its path. Therefore, over the millennium, the Heavenly Clan had lost most of their knowledge and technology. The members of the clan in many ways...