Babes In The Wood !

It was almost silent in the woods and surprisingly private. Thick vivid forests of black pine and Japanese maple formed an impenetrable wall to protect their dignity. They made their way along towards the stream, the winding track laid out with pristine stone steps as they progressed. Birdsong filled Debbi's ears and, aside from her nudity, she was relatively relaxed. This all came to a stop when the two came across a fork in their path. The pair appraised their situation. A small wooden post stood before them, arrows pointing in both directions and neat instructions written beneath in Japanese. Debbi groaned. "I wish Mr Ito was here to translate" said Lesley. "Actually, maybe not" she laughed, remembering her current state of undress !

"What should we do ?" asked Debbi. Lesley shrugged. Debbi looked back up the path, but it didn't appear that anyone was coming this way. At least not anytime soon. "Maybe we should wait for someone to come along," she suggested.

"No way," said Lesley "I'm not standing around with my fanny out all day. Plus I'm cold. I'm still wet from the shower." Debbi asked why she hadn't dried herself off. "Look how small this towel is !" she replied, holding it up. "I'm not wasting that before the end, it'll be soaked otherwise."

"Well, I guess this seems to be heading to the water. I guess that's where we're supposed to go," Debbi suggested, pointing to the left-hand path. Lesley agreed and they made their way to what would hopefully be the correct destination. Yet the route became increasingly perilous as they progressed, with the branches and fronds of the natural border infringing upon their pathway. Debbi began to believe that she might have made the wrong choice.

"Argh, my hair's caught" yelped Lesley, untangling her locks from a twig. "I think we went the wrong way." Debbi agreed. She looked further ahead. There seemed to be a break in the trees nearby, and what could be a roof.

"I think we're close to something. Let's see where we are, maybe we took the scenic route" said Debbi. Lesley finally freed herself and caught up, only for Debbi to feel a sudden tug at her towel. She looked down, thinking Lesley had yanked it. The material was tangled in the thorns of a bush. She pulled hard, trying to dislodge the material but the plant simply twisted in her direction. There was a sudden tear and the towel tore away. Debbi glanced at the damage to find a good two thirds of it had been shredded. "Oh no !" she exclaimed. Lesley laughed.

"Don't worry, I'm sure nobody will notice if you just put it back and pretend it's fine. No towel for you though ! " giggled the redhead as she crept around the thorns, which were now decorated with victorious banners of fabric. Debbi sighed and continued on, finding that there were indeed signs of civilisation beyond. Before them stood a small building in a similar traditional style to those she had seen previously, nestled close to the mountain stream. A series of ornate chimneys seemed to be billowing with smoke. An awning leaned from the side and partially covered a large, stony set of pools that were bubbling eagerly.

"I guess we found where we were heading after all. Look, there's another path joining over there," said Debbi. "I wonder if that's the one we didn't take."

"Dunno, but that pool looks well nice," said Lesley, making a beeline towards the inviting water. "Plus we've got the place to ourselves. Come on !" Debbi followed and they scrambled onto the rocky foothills before plunging into the spring. Debbi realised that it was a natural spring just as the water enveloped her. It was divine. The liquid was blissfully warm, the bubbling adding a massaging frisson to the soothing sensations. Lesley let out a deep sigh and lay back against a rock. "This is the life," she said.