The Yokai looks down at the ground, noticing the bouquet of roses. She approaches them and kneels. They look and smell heavenly, too unreal, too perfect to be true. The scent of them make her dizzy when she stands. If only they were pointing toward one direction or the other, she thinks to herself, they might give her a hint of which way to go. She looks up at the sky again. The stars give no suggestion of where to go, either. Not that she can read stars, she remarks with chagrin. “Too bad you can’t talk,” she mutters out loud.

“Says who?!”

Watching in bewilderment, the Yokai notices some of the stars glowing brighter and closer to her face. “Uh-oh,” she says. This feels all too familiar.

One of several dozen glowing balls of light buzzes in her face, making a sound like an angry wasp. “That’s right, freak,” it says. “We’re back. Now, go away. Don’t make us teach you another lesson.”

“Another lesson?” The Yokai makes a puzzled face. Something about these glowing stars, these lights, makes her feel wary but she cannot for the life of her remember why. “That doesn’t sound right.”

“Yeah, well, neither do you. Get lost.”

The Yokai groans, impatient. “I am lost. That’s the problem.”

“We told you not to come around here. We thought you got the message.”

“Okay … don’t know what the heck you things are talking about, but I’m just trying to get … I’m supposed to be at a …” the Yokai trails off, noticing the patterns on the horizon have changed. The city is now on her left-hand side instead of her right. “Wait. The mountains were in front of me a minute ago. I have to go back that way. Or is it this way? For crying out loud, will you all just stop moving for one minute?!”

The nightmares’ laughter is like the hissing of snakes. “Aw, poor Yokai can’t keep her directions straight! Boo hoo hoo!”

The Yokai takes another deep breath. She believes it best to remain calm. “Listen, guys. I’m starving, I’m tired, and I’m really not in the mood to argue with anyone. I just saw someone go this way and none of you batted an eyelash, so unless you’re getting paid to stand out here and be assholes, you have no right to bar me from anything. It’s a free country.”

“Uh, NO it isn’t,” says the first light. “Where do you think this is, the human realm? Idiot.” The others back it up with jeers of their own.

“You can’t stop me.” The Yokai says, resolute. “You’re just a … what the heck are you, anyway? A will-o’-the-wisp?”

“What a dumb-ass. We’re your worst nightmares.”

“Oh no, a glowing ball of light. How terrifying. I think I just soiled myself. Give me a break.”