"Get up or you'll catch a cold," a man said
"But I can't feel my feet"
"Poor thing, you have two ways to die. The bear will eat you in a few hours or maybe you'll be a human preserved ice lady" he replied
"Can you help me?" I asked
"No, I'll die in the cold winter if I choose to carry you instead of this woods" he responded
"My parents will pay for you. All I need to do is to find a way to contact them." I negotiated but he laughed
"Before your parents could reach you, we are long dead. Stand up and I'll take you to my home, stay if you want to be dead"
"If you help me, I'll do everything you want," I said
"Everything? Then be my wife" he teased
"But mother said, I already have someone to marry. I can't just marry some stranger that helped me and sheltered me" I said
"Then ask that man of yours to save you," he said
"But, I haven't met him" I whispered
A blanket was thrown on my face which made me fall back to the snow. He pulled me up and carry me on his back. I fixed the blanket on my back and hugged him so that we both share the blanket. Father said a good heart can find a way to a labyrinth of the tricky mind.
"How about your woods?" I asked hesitantly
"If I lacked on woods, I'll use you to keep the fire" he responded and gave me goosebumps
I didn't recognize the man's appearance a while, but now that I'm closer, I have a lot of time to examine him. He is quite tall and slightly well-built. He has black messy hair, long eyelashes, and a pair of brown eyes. He may not be white as snow, but his complexion is somehow similar to father which made me create random questions for him.
"You're rich," I said
"I am just a wood seller," he said
"How come you have such skin?" I asked
"Inborn" he responded
"How can you sell woods if we're walking to a land of nothingness?" I asked
"I have ways," he said
"Where're your parents? They should take care of you" I said
"Gone"
"I'm sorry"
After that conversation, we're in silence. I looked at him and he stopped walking.
"Stop staring at me" he finally started
"No way, I must remember your face so that I can repay your kindness. Such a good heart should never be forgotten"
"You talk too much," he said and made me fell on snow again
I am flattering him because he's so kind and I appreciate it very much, then he became so cold that he forgot I'm not wearing slippers at all. I ran to him and followed him. We are back in another forest. I saw some sticks and somehow took them out of guilt. It may not be enough for the lost, but this will lift his anger slightly.
We walked so long that I feel like I can't walk any longer. My feet are getting numb again. Later on, I walked slower and slower and can't keep up with him so I have to run and run so I can catch up. Then, he faded on a snowstorm. I run in his direction and was shocked. There's no snow there. The place I am right now is new. The weather is mild and the leaves were falling. It's autumn.
I lost him. I walked around the place and heard the sound of a flute. It's so catchy and relaxing. I think Ms. Aria will be proud of me if only I can play like this. I followed the tune and found a man standing in a wooden house looking on a pond. The leaves fell on the trees as it's been blown by the wind. He stopped and I took a step back.
"It's a nice song, isn't it?" he asked
"Yes, yes. You are so good at music. I wonder what your name is?" I asked
"By the place I lived, I am the name of this place.
The weather is mild, the flowers won't bloom.
The leaves withered and died.
Falling to its tomb"
he said
"Autumn" I murmured
He looked at me and smiled.
"You're the first person who listened to my verse. I'm so pleased to meet you" he said
"My pleasure too. But, I am lost. I was with this man, he's as tall as this and has a black messy hair. He is somehow well -built" I said gesturing
"Oh! By the gestures you've made, there are two people I know. Is he strong-willed or weak?" he asked, guessing
"He carried me," I said hesitantly
"He also has a good skin complexion," I said
"How're the eyes?" he asked
"I didn't notice, but he is a bit similar to you. He's kind too" I smiled
"Then, that will be problematic. Winter and Heat look similar to me. Of course, even life, but he's out of the choices. If he carried you here, he must be Heat. You know, Winter never wanted new villagers on this land" he explained
"The only problem is, Heat can teleport anywhere. Why carry you, instead of using teleportation on another place?" he asked himself
"Uhmm..." I was about to speak when a girl ran to Autumn
"You cheater! How dare you get another girl when I'm not looking?" she cried
"No, no. It's a misunderstanding, Miss." I explained, but Autumn just tapped her head and she stopped crying
What magical hands? I wonder if my partner can be like that, too. He must know that I'm childish and foolish too, I need comfort and understanding. This way he can get my heart as father did to mother.
"Rain, don't cry. She's the new one. She's lost" Autumn said
"Did she touch you?" she asked
What a possessive partner. I will not take her example, by the way.
"No, her distance now is the distance where we talked first" he replied and smiled
She looked at me and cried again. Why is she so crybaby? Does her eyes had a faucet? Or maybe there's a river inside? She hugged me and stole the blanket.
"This is Sunlight's gift to Heat, why is it with you? Are you coveting someone's relationship? You..." she paused and cried again
"No, he helped me in the weird place where winter is deadly colder than I've ever experienced" I replied
"You can't meet him. He's in trouble for losing this blanket. I must stay hidden and give it to him. Stay here... My Autumn, please don't fall for her" she cried and ran away
What a weird lady.
"Icy cold as it touched me.
Soft heartbeats singing.
There's no shelter on the cold breeze.
But her tears are a life's blessing"
Autumn said
"You are referring to that girl, I might guess her name by her attitude," I said and he smiled
"She's rain, the girl who took care of me after I lost her life" he insisted
"Lost her life? You mean she's dead or we were all dead?"
"No, they are two different people," he said
He sat down and requested me to sit beside him and as a person who stands for a long time, I will never reject it.
"People who lived here were lost children. They were finding some adventure and had a good chance to be here. As to why we are here, we chose it over our lives before. Time in here stop, so if we want to leave, we will just return to the time we left. Isn't this place interesting?" he asked
"It's more like a curse to me. I want to go home now" I said
"Oh, by your look, you seem to be 15 years old. People leaving this place at least reached the age of 18" he responded
"Then I'll be here for 3 years?" I cried
"No, time here and your place is different so time may pass by too fast here than the other world. The only difference is, we don't age" he said and tapped my head too
"Then can three years be a blink of an eye?" I asked
"If you begin to love the place, that's when you don't need it anymore. I guess you have some reasons or problems that can only be solved if you live here. The same goes for me and others. You can stay here if you want. I think when you have your self-reflection three years will be a regret." he said
"Won't I be a burden to you?" I asked
"No, Rain and I live here alone, it will be great if you can be our guest for your time line's three years" he smiled again
"Then it will be my pleasure," I replied
With the help of Autumn, I understood the basic knowledge I should know about this place. This place had been open to only selected families. Every child who turned 15 will enter this place before they turn 18. It's quite confusing because I am already 18 and was turned to look 15 years old. Even though that is not my issue, I just hate to say that my height was reduced which made me look younger and baby-faced and Autumn always treat me like I'm a younger sister.
That story aside, time depends on the person's affection towards the place. The more you want to go home, the slower your time will pass. But, Autumn and the rest were different. They've been given a chance to live here by the Master who I haven't met yet, Autumn said it is impossible because he's the one guiding us on this world's entrance.
I told him what happened and he just laughed. He said maybe there's a minor malfunction on Master's teleportation spell that made me nearly dead in Winter's area. He also said that places were named as the seasons for they also play the part of it. Like for example, when Rain visited Heat and Summer's place, there will be chances that a specific place rained. Another thing I should know is I must be aware of everyone's weaknesses and strengths. This is to avoid catastrophe coming to the real world's places. Winter and Heat, though twins and a younger brother of Autumn, do not communicate well. They, for some reason, must be avoided being together.
He told me that I must put it in my mind when I started traveling places in this world for he's not sure of who I am with. Then, sometime later, a man with old traditional clothing of a prince came to Autumn's place. He is clinging on the other man's arm and seems like they have a very passionate relationship. Both men have long hair tied neatly on their heads and wear some gold accessories, so grandeur. I was a little fascinated by their looks even though I am not into boy's romance.
Later on, Autumn introduced that the man who's clinging is Life, while the other was Leaf. Leaf is impulsive, he immediately grabbed my hand and kiss it as a sign of request. Life though maybe my eyes played tricks on me, looks like he has some hatred to Autumn which I don't understand. Then he turned to me and lifted my head by the use of his fan.
"She's cute," he said
I was a bit struck by how he described me. Cute is not how you describe a lady. Though he got into my nerves, I controlled myself. I am grateful to Ms. Aria's nagging. I can hear her voice when I'm out of control. I used my right hand to remove the fan and glared at him.
"Mister, it is improper for a lady to be treated this way," I said full of convictions
He was then suddenly frightened and hid on Leaf's back. Autumn laughed and so as Leaf.
"You're quite brave, I like you." Leaf said
These people don't know how to act decent. How can you frankly say that you like a girl when you just met her for a minute? I looked at Autumn asking for some help and I think he gets it.
"Hey, hey. Do not over rush things. This lady we have here is something you can't mess with" he said
"Why? Is she the partner of Winter?" they both asked
I am now confused. Then, Autumn realized that he's not yet done on discussing that thing and so Life was the one who told me. Every season, there's a couple responsible for every being in their area. For example, Leaf and Life were the partners governing Spring. They have a flower paradise and by the way, he narrated, it is indeed amazing. Rain and Autumn are responsible for the Fall area, where I am right now. Similarly, Heat and Summer are in the middle of Spring and Fall which of course is the Summer area. But Winter is a special case, he lived alone after the last villager graduated in this place. This then made him the "Never -Messed -With" guardian in this world. The master and the creator himself, help him managed the Winter place when no villager entered. Leaf also added that it is winter who commanded the Master to stop opening the portal to avoid partner.
Leaf and Life had some conversation with me and eventually, I changed my impressions about them. After they left the area, Autumn whispered a mind-blowing fact about Leaf.
"Are you mesmerized by Leaf?" he asked
"Somehow, I thought he is a jerk at first because of his impulsiveness. But he is a gentleman" I smiled
"And another villager fell on her trap" he teased
"What do you mean?" I asked
"That man you fell in love with is the lady of Spring," he said
"Eh?"
He elaborated on what he said. Life is his youngest brother, so he is somehow similar to me. He's also a villager while Leaf is the same age as Autumn. Like him, she chose to live here. Leaf is the so-called nemesis of Autumn in terms of getting a lady's affection. Though a girl, she wanted to be a man and teach every man in this world how to properly treat a lady. In short, she is the role model of men. While Autumn, being an unconscious gentleness on everyone, stole her light. Then Life entered and became a partner with Leaf. So she just decided to make Life her disciple and taught him to have manners, but eventually, Life fell for her and is planning to stay in this place like his brothers.
"Then, what will happen to you in the real world?" I asked
"We no longer exist" he answered
"How about your family? Your mother and father?" I asked
"This place is a blessing for us all. It invited you because you need it, but it will be your choice if you want to stay or leave everyone behind" he said and it darkened his face
"But, it will always be your choice. Whatever that choice is, this place will still welcome another villager until the four seasons of love have been completed" he smiled again
That depressed tone a while ago. I wonder if he is requesting that I could stay for his brother. What will they feel if I leave too like the others? That man... I have to find out where he is.