That evening walk in a Japanese forest

***Photo taken from Karishma's blog

The silence permeated through the whole forest, broken only by the shrill sound of cicadas insisting on making their presence heard. It was not a short walk; the distance was enough to make us think that we were lost somewhere in the neck of woods -- and that we're about to encounter either a meditative hermit or a mad hunter.

Our wariness slowly gave in to pleasure. The temple is hidden amidst a grove of pine trees and one has to walk on a carpet of moss to get to it. I remember the fresh smell of pine, the soft & moist shrug under our feet, that green expanse which led us to the old, wooden, unlit and creaking sanctuary. Finally, we had to turn back because our clothes were too flimsy for the rainy weather; the forest cold was starting to pierce through our skins. It was a night where you could smell that Summer was about to give way to Fall.

We took pictures that night but the photos only managed to capture shadows. Sometimes, the senses remember better.

***This photo reminded me of a walk in the woods I once took with Bailey, my Canadian co-teacher at Will Be and Meena, her British ALT friend, in Fukui. It was late evening and we drove around a remote area in Fukui to check out a temple in the woods. That night felt a lot like this photo.