I always wake up wondering, are the gods we pray to real? Are the myths we hold true? Why do people believe in them? I always wanted to find the truth. Maybe because I wanted to believe too. I just never knew why.

  I’m Kanagi Sinko, a second-year student at Kamagi High School. I live with my parents and my little brother. I’ve always been drawn to myths and gods, even though people often joke about me for it. One thing I always wanted was to prove that these stories were real.

  Every day after school I see a large mountain in the distance. It’s surrounded by a lake that nobody has ever crossed, and nobody even tries. On our side stands an old Shinto gate facing the mountain. I always wondered why it was there. Even the village elders don’t know. It was there long before they were born.

  That’s where my story begins.

  I can see the mountain from my bedroom window. At night I stare at it, wondering what secrets it holds. Its name is Mount Sumihiko. I tried researching how it got its name, but there were no records.

  My best friend is Hana Sukimi, my classmate. One day she came over for a sleepover. My father, who is a fisherman, once told me an old folk story about a sacred town called Kuwai that existed on Mount Sumihiko long ago. I told Hana and asked her to help me investigate.

  She laughed and said those were just bedtime stories for kids.

  I felt embarrassed. We played games, had dinner, and went to bed, but I couldn’t sleep. After midnight I put on my jacket and went outside. The town was silent.

  A bench near the river faced the Shinto gate and the mountain. I sat there, staring. Then I noticed something strange.

  When I looked at the mountain through the Shinto gate, lights were shining across it.

  I ran home and woke Hana to show her, but the lights were gone. She said it was a dream and went back to sleep. But I knew what I saw.

  At breakfast my family laughed it off. I began doubting myself too.

  That night I dreamed of a yellow dragon coming to my window and calling me. Just as I climbed on, my alarm rang.

  On my way to school I looked again at the gate and decided to research it. The library said Shinto gates mark sacred places where kami, spiritual beings, reside. They are gateways between worlds.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  I formed a theory and decided to test it.

  At midnight I returned to the gate. When I looked through it, the mountain was glowing with lights again. It looked like a city celebrating a festival. I was thrilled but remembered the priestess saying kami value peace, so I kept it secret.

  From that night onward, the lights appeared exactly at midnight and vanished at one o’clock. I recorded everything. One night I fell asleep waiting and dreamed again of the dragon. When I woke and looked up, I saw a long glowing figure rising from the mountain. It was the dragon from my dreams.

  It bowed its head, inviting me. I hesitated, then climbed on.

  He carried me across the lake. Below was a magnificent city filled with gods, festivals, glowing lantern lakes, strange creatures, and endless joy. My heart overflowed with happiness.

  Before one o’clock I asked to return. The dragon agreed.

  The next day I bought a diary and recorded everything. I called the place The City of Gods.

  I visited nightly and learned much. The gods told me they don’t hear every prayer, only the ones meant to be heard. Some suffering prevents worse futures. I learned about life, faith, and consequence.

  Then everything changed.

  One morning my diary was missing. I found it hidden in my little brother’s room. He had taken it out of curiosity. Furious, I slapped him and yelled. We fought badly.

  The next day I left for school without him.

  It was the worst decision of my life.

  When I came home, the door was open. My parents were at the hospital. My brother had been hit by a car. My heart collapsed. I loved him deeply, even if I didn’t always show it.

  He fell into a coma.

  That night, desperate, I went to the gate. The dragon came and took me, but not to the city. Instead, he took me to a lonely house on a dark side of the mountain. A blind old woman lived there. I helped her after she fell, cleaned her house, and made tea. She told me she once abandoned her injured brother and regretted it forever.

  I stayed with her several days, helping her. Her story pierced my heart. Then I remembered my brother had been hit while buying sweets. For me.

  I broke down.

  She placed her hand on my shoulder and said, “It’s never too late to do the right thing.”

  I ran back toward the city. The journey was harsh, but I reached the lake. The dragon finally appeared when I begged forgiveness and promised never to abandon my family again.

  While flying back, I asked who the old woman was. The dragon spoke.

  “She is the God of Your Future Past.”

  I fell into the lake and woke in my bed.

  I ran to the hospital. I held my brother’s hand and cried, promising never to hurt him again.

  He woke.

  My parents were overjoyed. When I told the truth about the city, they thought I imagined it, until my brother said he had seen it too. He met an old blind man who regretted losing his sister.

  The next morning we went to the lake. The Shinto gate was gone. No one remembered it ever being there.

  We sat on the bench and smiled.

  “I guess the gate served its purpose,” we said.

  From then on, we stayed close, never hiding truth from each other. Every night we visit the lake and remember.

  Just because we cannot see a world, doesn’t mean it does not exist.

  Fin.