String From the Sky (Episode 19)

String From the Sky is the nineteenth episode of the Mushishi anime series.

Synopsis
While passing through the mountains, Ginko encounters a girl who is stuck between the human and Mushi world.

Plot
A young woman named Fuki, who can see Mushi and is thought to be "strange" because of it, is employed as a nurse for a well-off household. She and the elder son of the house, Seijiro, develop a bond during their nights watching the stars together. When her employment term is almost up, the two stand by the river and discuss what she will do next. However, Fuki sees an odd white string hanging down from the sky, and when she touches it she is abruptly whisked away into thin air. Seijiro is left shocked and alone by the riverbank.

Later, Ginko finds Fuki in the mountains, and sees that she is trapped somewhere between the human and Mushi worlds by the string extending from the center of her palm. He helps her find her way back to her village, where she finds Seijiro once more. He asks her to be his wife, and she agrees. Unfortunately, Seijiro's father does not agree with their union, and will not give his blessing.

Ginko tells Seijiro that Fuki was taken away by a Mushi called a Tenpengusa, but that since she was too large to eat, the Mushi threw her back down to Earth. He also warns Seijiro that unless he can make Fuki feel truly human, she will slip into the Mushi world completely.

Months later, Ginko returns to find that Fuki has become almost entirely Mushi. The stress of Seijiro's father's disapproval, coupled with Seijiro's inability to accept her, made her feel unwelcome in the human world. She is now invisible to her husband-to-be. Ginko tells him that unless he can make Fuki want to return to human life, she will disappear from their world entirely.

Seijiro takes Ginko's words to heart and has a wedding for the two of them (seemingly without the bride). He also speaks to her often, despite the fact that she cannot answer him, and creates a home for the two of them to live in. Soon after, Fuki returns to the world of humans, and the two live happily together from then on.