Every Picture: Matsushima Bay

Welcome to the first in my ‘Every Picture Tells A Story’ series. I’ve travelled a lot and taken a lot of pictures of wonderful things. Why not turn those pictures into stories? Every week I’ll be sharing one of my pics along with a short description or short story to go with it. In keeping with this month’s theme, all of the pictures for August will be based around nature and animals. See a bit of the world with me and maybe it will inspire you to write too!

This week’s picture was taken in Matsushima, one of the Nihon Sankei (Japan’s most scenic places).

The next morning, before sunset, she stood at the beginning of a wide wooden bridge. The planks that made the path between here and the temple were thick, but the gaps between them were even wider. A long time ago, or so the woman at the café had told her, women were forbidden to approach the temple and the bridge was made so that, with their small feet and stilted shoes, it was impossible for them to cross. She smirked as she stepped onto it – there were now long broad strips down the middle to make the journey easier, but it still felt to her like walking a tight-rope. Her gaze roamed between the island ahead and the crashing waves beneath her feet.

The sky was growing lighter and by the time she reached the other side, a small patch of clouds close to the horizon had begun to glow pale gold and the sea began to shimmer. The grand old temple at her back was impressive, but it wasn’t really what she came here to see.

The horizon was covered in tiny islands; bumps rising out of the water and sprouting trees, like the one draping its branches above her head – a sort of pine tree. As the sun finally broke free of the water it shone through one of the islands, lighting up the caverns that the sea had slowly carved on the underside. The sunlight peeked through narrow crevices like a child playing peek-a-boo and all around the sea began to sparkle.

She quickly raised her camera to her eye, the rude snap of the shutter cutting through the natural sounds of the wind and waves.

“Kirei desu, ne?”

She looked back, almost dropping her camera in shock. The voice had seemed like it was right next to her ear, but when she looked back there was no one there. She was all alone and after a few moments she wasn’t so sure she had heard it at all. Maybe a fly had buzzed too close to her ear.

But it IS beautiful, she agreed with the voice and snapped a few more pictures. After a little while longer of just enjoying the scene, watching the sun climb higher into the sky, she gave a sigh and turned back towards the bridge.

Hope you enjoyed! Look out for another picture next week!