I thought I was dead. I couldn't feel anything at all. It seemed like I was locked in a box, trapped inside of it with no possibility of escape. I could barely breathe. My body disappeared and it was just my mind floating in the abyss. This is how death feels like, I thought, but it was too peaceful. Where was hell? Heaven? The place I belonged to? I didn't care. I liked peace. I liked the feeling given by the absolute darkness: there was nothing to worry about. There was nothing to do, no failure, no success. There was nothing.
But, the sensation lasted just a few seconds.
I could hear birds. The light was brushing my eyelids and I grimaced, moving my head, trying to not let it in. How could've been so sunny in Norfolk when yesterday was so cold and rainy? The heat made me frown. It was clearly too hot and it became suspicious. And what was I staying on? I grabbed the thing beneath me. Grass. Why was I lying on the grass?
Something is wrong.
I opened my eyes and raised my upper body. I gasped.
I was lying on the grass, in the middle of a field full of flowers and wheat.
"What the hell?" I whispered and looked down at my clothes. They were the same. This was bad. I couldn't let anyone see me in these... clothes from the future. I didn't know much about time traveling, but I was quite sure there were consequences if I went looking for Caiden, dressed as an alien for the people from this era.
I widened my eyes. There was something else I should've been worried about.
My face.
I wasn't Japanese. At all. My features were anything, but not Japanese. I didn't know much about this era, but I wasn't ready to risk being exposed as a foreigner in front of complete strangers, who were also talking a totally different language.
Someone grabbed my arm and I began to scream, but the person who was holding me was faster. They covered my mouth with their palm and I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to escape from their grip.
This is bad. This is bad.
"What the hell are you doing here?! Get up before someone sees you! I'm Jessica, you idiot, stop resisting!" The person whispered into my ear and I opened my eyes instantly.
It was Jessica.
I stopped resisting and she released me. I turned my head towards her, to see a Japanese girl, with black, long hair, dressed in a white robe. Her black eyes seemed tired and hurt.
"Jessica... how... are you okay?!" I asked her, but she pressed her pale finger onto her lips and shook her head.
She got to her feet and made a quick hand movement towards a wooden house at ten feet away on my left.
"Why..." I said, placing my hands beside my body. I grimaced and got to my feet, the grass tickling my bare soles.
She hissed, her eyes widening. I shut my mouth, letting it become a thin line. Jessica rolled her eyes and started walking towards the brown house. I exhaled sharply and followed her, inspecting my surroundings. The house was near a small lake, in which colorful fish were swimming peacefully. The sun was burning me. It seemed we were in the middle of the summer. There were no clouds on the sky. Everything was blue and green. It gave me a relaxing vibe, but I couldn't stop stressing: only 13 days. It was less than two weeks. Besides that... I was scared. I was terrified. I didn't know how I could've found Caiden and how he would've reacted if he saw a total stranger trying to remind him of the future. The single thing which made me stay sane was Jessica. She was walking quietly in front of me, turning her head left and right from time to time, to be sure we weren't followed.
We climbed a few stone stairs and Jessica opened the door. We walked in and the Japanese furniture gave me a shock, reminding me where I was. Four red pillows put around a small coffee table in the middle of the room. The left wall was gone, so we could sit on the wooden floor and admire the lake. There was also a red chest leaned against the wall on my right.
"Do you want some tea?" Jessica asked and I nodded. "Sit down, then."
I sat down on the pillow and my tight jeans protested. I grimaced, trying to stay as still as I could.
After a few minutes, Jessica placed a cup of tea in front of me and my first instinct was to drink, but she shook her head and I let my hand fall in my lap.
"You'll burn your tongue. Wait three minutes." Her strong accent confused me. It was like I was talking with someone else, not with Jessica. "Also, you need to change your clothes. Cover your face. And stop talking when you see people around. If they hear you talking in English they will ask questions. And you're not a Dutch merchant."
I nodded and sighed, relieved. I wasn't alone. I had someone with me who knew what to do. I felt like a lost child in a supermarket, and his mother came to rescue him.
"How do we find Caiden?" I asked her and she gave me a sad smile, leaning forwards for her tea cup.
"Here, he's known under his real name: Satoshi. It will be hard. I think we arrived ten years before he started working with the Shinsengumi. That means... he's living now as a demon. A true demon. Youkai, as they say. We can't approach him easily. He will be protected by his gathering of low-beings. I know he wouldn't live with the humans now, so he might be hiding in the forest, as the humans know there are demons. But, it's Satoshi we're talking about. He surely comes around the village from time to time."
I nodded again, sipping slowly from my cup. The tea was very good, even though it was still so hot it almost burned my tongue. Jessica rose to her feet and opened the red chest. She took out a brown robe and threw it at me. I caught it and studied it for a few seconds. She placed her hands on her hips and gave me a hurried look.
I sighed and got to my feet. "Hurry up, princess. Do you want me to close my eyes? Or can you change your clothes in front of me?" She grinned, and her expression reminded me so much of her that for a second I saw her old look instead of the Japanese girl in front of me. I shook my head and changed my clothes fast, knowing she was analyzing my body. I felt ashamed she was studying me so... obviously. But I couldn't be a spoiled child. I had better things to worry about.
"You're looking good, sunshine. Now cover your head with this piece of cloth. Walk with your head down, don't make eye contact with anyone. Those green eyes of yours are kind of a big deal around here. Understood?"
I nodded and put the cloth on my head.
"Good. Let's go." She said and opened the door, getting out in the sunbath.
"Where?" I asked, following her outside and closing the door behind me.
She grinned. "To find the foxy fox."
***
The village wasn't so far from the brown house, but the heat made me sweat instantly. I barely could breathe, especially with my head covered. Jessica was walking in front of me, with a basket full of wheat. She said the easiest way to not appear suspicious was to look like we were merchants. This, or prostitutes. I chose the merchant. People around us were shouting, talking, singing in Japanese, making me confused and puzzled by the fact I couldn't understand anything. I started regretting I didn't want to watch anime with Mike. Maybe I could've known some words and I would've stopped being puzzled by their weird language.
As we discussed before, Jessica and I weren't talking at all. At some point, a guy with beard and eyes so small I was wondering how he could see with them, approached us, and asked Jessica something. She laughed and offered him an answer which made him even paler than he already was. He left quickly, almost running from us. I raised my eyebrows, but I couldn't ask her what happened. I sighed and we continued our journey.
After a few minutes, she stopped and came near me. "I have to enter a bar. There is always information. I'll go in and you try to stay hidden. If someone asks you something, shook your head, and leave immediately. I will find you afterward. Understood? Run if you must. Don't let them see you."
I nodded, feeling how the uneasiness clenched my heart. "Why didn't you let me stay at the brown house?" I asked her and she threw me an annoyed look.
"Because that's not my house. I have no idea whose tea house is that. We can't go back there. Anyways, be careful."
She left me and got inside of a building, still holding her basket with wheat. I took a deep breath and started walking fast, ready to hide over the corner of the building.
Fortunately, there was a shadowed path and I could escape from the burning sun which made me almost pass out. I lowered my body and uncovered my face for a few seconds, taking deep breaths.
I felt uncomfortable, hiding in a place I had no information about. I was a complete stranger and people looked so weird to me that even if Jessica didn't tell me to hide, I would've done it anyway. I sighed, hoping this journey will finish soon. I missed Emily. I missed school. And, most of all, I missed my family. Remembering Mike and mom, a few tears trickled down my face and I whipped them away quickly, even though there was no one who could've seen me crying. I was all alone.
A movement on my left made me jerk my head up, scared that someone wanted to approach me. It was a child. A dirty, almost naked child who was playing with a small branch and walking towards me. I covered well my face and lowered my head. I waited a few minutes, hoping he will walk past me, but two small and bare feet in front of my eyes ruined my hopes.
What should I do? What should I do?
Should I have ignored him? But he was right in front of me!
He started talking and I knew he was talking to me. But I had no idea what to say. I didn't know how to tell him I couldn't speak his language. I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for him to leave.
He grabbed my arm and I screamed, falling on my butt and throwing him a terrified look. He raised his hands in front of his chest, his palms towards me. I didn't move at all. I was paralyzed. I knew I should've run away. But I couldn't. My body didn't listen to me.
The kid lowered his body slowly and grabbed a loaf of bread which was on the ground. He blew on it, removing the dust, then flexed his arm towards me.
He was giving me bread. I blinked twice, the panic decreasing significantly. It was just a child who was trying to be nice. I exhaled relieved and took the small bread, bowing to him. He smiled and said a few words. I frowned and sighed. Seeing that I wasn't going to answer him, he bowed as well.
A sudden bunch of noises coming from our right made me turn my head around. A group of four people, dressed in kimonos and carrying swords.
My blood froze in the veins as I was watching them talking to each other and pointing fingers towards me and the child.
Oh, this is bad.
I rose quickly to my feet and the first instinct was to run.
But what about the kid?! They're probably chasing him!
Quickly, I took the kid in my arms and started running. I didn't think it thoroughly. If I let them take the child, maybe they would've left me alone. But, then, if they asked me questions they would've figured out something was wrong with me.
The moment the child interacted with me, I was doomed. I had to run anyways.
I was running as fast as I could, while people screamed behind me. After I turned the corner, a stall appeared in front of me and I didn't have enough time to avoid it. I fell on it, the vegetables falling on the ground. I rose quickly to my feet and the kid started crying. I couldn't know if it was because of the people chasing us or if he got hurt when we fell on the stall. I didn't have time to check. I continued running and people started throwing stones at us. I squeezed the kid to my chest, trying to protect him, but he didn't stop crying, which made me even more scared than before.
"Goddamn, shut up!" I told him and he stopped, looking at me with his big, brown eyes.
It wasn't worth it to shut up now. They were chasing me anyways, so why not talk as much as I could?!
I started cursing when I bumped into a person after I turned a corner. I froze. All I could see was the person's chest, which was covered by a blue kimono. And, he also had a sword in his right hand.
"This is it." I said, feeling how I turned insane. "That's my death." I raised my head, looking into that person's eyes. "Do..."
I stopped myself.