1 - Fiery leaves graced the town’s *autumnal *portrait as my hands shook, trying to make each purl stitch. Usually, knitting soothed my heart’s racing *palpitations after a close call. Today? Calmness’s muse fled. 2 - Drawn to the colors of my half completed sock, a *honeybee landed and *leaf fell on her. My mood sunk darker than the shadow. If I signed up for another 50 years, would my kind *vanish before I could return to live among them again? 3 - I lifted the *amber sprig with my heart in my throat. Would my trembling fingers help or hurt the bee? She uncurled from her protective state. Watching her fly off was *enchanting and restored a little light back to my day. 4 - Lightning *flickering and an *ominous gust whipping up out of nowhere made me *abandon my spot on the engawa porch. The gods of wind and thunder didn’t like how I handled the situation. But I wouldn’t back down. 5 - Publicly exposing the traitor broke our leader’s heart. The rest of our team wanted to keep it quiet. But that choice would have only led to a *heap of *misfortunes. Hiding treachery only enables it to grow, swarm, and overwhelm. 6 - Now the gods of wind and thunder were punishing the traitor. Their reactions to me were extremely *brisk, a *chasm growing on our team. Signs of the storm brewing. I would not drink of disdain’s *goblet. Our team had to stick together. 7 - The temperature dropped, *frost formed on the windows, and the wind howled like an angry wolf pack. So I was a *thorn in the storm gods’ side. This wasn’t the first time I’d stood up to the group. I knitted on. My great nephew needed new socks. 8 - By the time I finished the sock, I was hungry. I wanted *pumpkin curry, but a peek at the *mirror to see the clock’s reflection said it was already well past *eight PM. With a sigh, I resigned myself to leftovers. Curry tomorrow. 9 - The morning was clear and bright. I threw a bit of *cider into the curry and left it simmering low on the burner. It should be safe enough there for a quick trip to the shrine to replace *broken and *lost offerings after the storm. 10 - I also stopped by the *orchard for so I could make apple slice bunnies for the preschool. Raijin was leaning on my car with his arms crossed. Drat! No *escape. And his expression said I was going to get the *brunt of his displeasure. 11 - “Nakamura,” Raijin said flatly. “The *trail leads back to you.” No polite -san suffix? Hrmph! “I kept and eye on the *howling storm yesterday.” “It wouldn’t have been necessary had you done your duty.” “I’m not an Envoy, Raijin-sama.” 13 - His face clouded as *mist rolled into the valley thickening to impenetrable *fog. Why did his mood have to dictate the weather? *Sagas were written about his temperament. He asked, “So what’s the real reason for refusing the position?” 12 - I resisted the *taciturn temptation to ignore him and chose a *crisp retort. “No one wants my sharp tongue in the heated Envoy discussions.” He shook his head. “Wouldn’t be the *ruinous *disaster you think.” 14 - I rolled my eyes. “I have baking to do.” “Yoshi would have been checked.” Raijin joined my *stroll. How much should I tell him? “Yoshi’s *fall from grace can *haunt the Envoys who wouldn’t listen.” Not me. 15 - “Excuse me. I have another sock to knit.” My venom stopped him, but I kept walking. “Nakamura, I *gather there’s more than your dislike for the Envoys.” ”Yesterday’s events will fuel my nightmares. It was far too close a call,” I whispered. 16 - “You didn’t mention to the Council that he attacked you!” “Why do you think I was so *frantic when I reported in? With Yoshi in our ranks we would only *reap *ruination and loss.” I clutched the basket to my chest. 17 - As if Raijin could see right through me, he asked, “Why would he? You two were friends?” ”As I told the Council, I tracked an artifact thief to the *festival. I was so shocked to see it was Yoshi, that I could only gawk in the *shadows.” 18 - Scrunching my eyes shut, I couldn’t block the memory. “My brain refused to believe Yoshi had bound another *spirit to do his dirty work. I almost didn’t *bob and weave when he ordered the poor yokai slave to silence me!” 19 - “The *relic he used was too powerful. It overpowered him and turned him into a wraith of some sort. After that, the *flames in the relic grew and snuck into my subconscious to lure to me too. It almost won, but I managed a portal.” 20 - “Its flame was akin to a *bonfire by the time I tumbled into the Council chamber, raving like a mad woman about Yoshi and how the *cursed thing had to be *shattered.” 21 - I shuddered. “Would you mind if I headed back to my warm and *cozy house?” *Unquiet spanned the gap between us. He finally said, “You used to at least invite me in for tea.” ”You didn’t used to force me to talk about unpleasant subjects.” 22 - I ended up inviting him for a *toasty mug of tea, though he didn’t stay long. “*Lock your *door tonight. Yoshi escaped last night. We haven’t been able to track him. I thought he might be here.” I remained civil until he was out of earshot. 23 - I *chopped my apples with a vengeance. Raijin’s warning left the feeling Yoshi was my personal *bogeyman. I wouldn’t be a victim. So, I pasted on my kind old lady smile and delivered the snack to the 1st grade class. Yoshi could go boil in the seven hells. 24 - Over the *course of the afternoon, my unease grew. Despite telling myself it was *nonsense. Every sound made me twitch. Not even knitting soothed my nerves. 25 - I made *cinnamon tea and *struggled with whether or not I should stay at my house. *Darkness fell and I only grew more jittery. 26 - Giving into the need for companionship, I called my nephew and *tossed my cellphone in my purse. An *abyssal black, three-legged *raven landed on his car as I got into it— a sign the kami were intervening. For good or bad? 27 - When the raven flew off, I regained my voice. “Drive with care, Nephew. More than deer are out tonight.” The sliver of *luminescence shown through the *dusky tree silhouettes closing the town in. “You’re jumpy tonight,” he tsked. 28 - We reached the *corn field just outside of Nonogawa. I saw the tell-tale glow of a spirit. It’s *leer caused me to jump. “Whatever you do, keep going.” “Aunt, you’re never this spooked.” “I’m being hunted.” 29 - He slammed the brakes. “Don’t stop! Go!” I shrieked. The *labyrinth of complications from giving in to the *impulse for company, instead of facing league business threatened to emotionally *drown me. The ghost gave chase. I prepped a spell as we sped off. 30 - Our car careened to avoid the apparition and flipped. A blue glow surrounded us as I chanted. Time paused. The car appeared to right itself and *meandered back onto the road. My nephew gaped. Dammit! I pulled his foot from the gas to stop the car. 31 - I wasn’t getting out of this alive alone. So, I drew on my seal’s magic. Slamming the door behind me, I retrieved my naginata from its magic pocket. A spry old man with a long nose appeared under the sliver of *moon. We had to finish this, but would we three survive? Bonus tweets - Flinging a banishment talisman had no effect. Some unholy evil fueled the ghost. The old man and I were both wounded by the time we figured out how to dispatch the apparition. ”And what about the human?” the old man asked. Hanging my head, I limped toward my nephew. “I’m sorry, you can’t be allowed to remember any of this…” I never finished that pair of socks for him.

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These Very Short Stories (VSS) posted on Twitter relate to my book series the Liminal Chronicles and were written for the month's vssCollab challenge.