Mana gathered her things. They would closing the doors to the shrine soon and it would be best for all if she left with the stragglers rather than have someone open up the gate especially for her. There was a time when she would have been tempted to just leap over the retaining wall, but she had matured since then.
Loaded down with several bags, Mana left in plain clothes and geared up for the evening rain. It had fallen all day and there seemed no end in sight. She hoped that the morning would dawn sunny. She hated to travel in inclement weather, thee was such a greater chance of delays and accidents.
Mana paused for a moment as the three double doors of the Shrine closed behind her. She took a moment to breath in the last of that sacred tranquility before she plunged headlong into the rain.
[Mana exits the Shrine, enters Streets and Sidewalks.]
