This was the first time I headed out from that wooden house, blinded by the direct morning sunlight.
The air was being tame on my skin and it soothed my whole being. Even being covered couldn't stop the blowing winds to graze my body.
As soon as my eyes gradually adjusted to the light, a view of the scenery that I had seen before presented itself in front of me.
Homes made out from similar woods were lining up, almost evenly separated. Behind them were rows of towering trees that my eyes gazed upon on the way back home from the beach.
There was a difference on them now, though. Their shade wasn't as purely green as the previous one but tinted with a little yellow in between. Old leaves to be exact.
The houses were also going through some changes for better or not. Broken parts were covered with newer planks; some managed tidily, some plastered poorly, while some even untreated. Seemed like a month wasn't enough for total recovery.
If I looked to my left to the far distance, a vast dark blue sea would appear. The ripple patterns reminded me of the same sea waves in my memory. Going there would mean returning to the beach where I watched my first sunrise in this world, but the woman walked the opposite path.
Going onto a new track, my eyes jumped left and right to look at the different sights that the place could offer. However, I had to hold my expectation because we weren't far enough to notice some changes. The number of people that filled the street was also scarce at the moment.
Similar appearances filled my vision until we reached an expanding path, and that was where the outlandish sightings began. A town with unexpectedly large buildings and varied creatures existed before my eyes.
The houses here could perhaps fit four families inside, complete with a little field or garden on their side. Plants were blooming there with vibrant colors.
Some places were lacking land for vegetation, but those buildings were welcoming more people. Everyone who brought a big sack on their shoulder went to a particular wide building, human or not. The person that counted the sack made me believe it was some kind of storage.
Another building was also crammed by the people who posed as guards. Their chatters were overwhelming the morning air. Beasts corpses' parts were dangling on their backs, smelling as bad as rotten food.
After several steps, a river could be seen as a part of the road. The body of water split the street into two and stretched far over the unending distance. People there carried large tubs in their vicinity, filling them with the streaming fresh water.
The turtle woman occasionally used her power to throw water straight onto their baskets. Some phrased their gratitude afterward, some didn't notice the thing she had done.
Continuing on our way, some people that passed through us greeted the woman warmly and treated her like a well-known person. They usually sparked a bit of conversation before returning to their activity. Somehow I felt that the talks were aimed at me since my mere appearance stole their attention a lot. Their unamusing attempts to make me laugh were the things that occupied me for some time.
I never felt such relief after none of the passersby greeted us again.
Once we made a turn, I immediately spotted an object with a notable presence in the middle of the street. It was an exquisite wood carving that looked like a person. On its side, worn-out candles were stacked on each other, unorganized.
A few humans knelt around it, clasped their hands, and prayed to the idle figure. The carving was sucking my attention in some way, so I asked the woman to approach it by pointing my finger.
"Muumaa," I called her as my other hand lightly grabbed her cloth. When she realized the object I was directing her onto, she seemed abnormally excited.
She leisurely strolled to find the nearest place possible and joined the kneeling people. The turtle lady only stood behind the line, watching us from the side.
After carefully placing me on her side, she closed her eyes and dearly chanted some words in silence. I used this opportunity to get a glimpse of the wooden figure's shape, and that was the moment my mind started to rush.
The form resembled a woman in my memory. A woman with hair long enough to cover her eyes and upper body. Her body wasn't imitated perfectly by the wooden curves but it was recognizable.
The lady under the sea.
I recognized the figure in front of me instantly. There was no way I could forget a person who appeared so majestic before my eyes.
But then, what was her real deal here? Was she a kind of deity in this place? I wondered about the urgency of sending me down here when she was so renowned in this world.
The thing she expected me to do was still a kind of mystery until this day. Was this figure her body in a sense?
Before any of my questions could be answered, a noise distracted my stream of thoughts.
There was a commotion that was approaching our place. The people were making crowded lines on the street, obstructing the view of what happened in the middle.
The people stopped their prayers and quickly joined the riot, increasing the amount of voice that entered my ears.
As the woman's curiosity grew, she stood from her place and walked hesitantly. She found a vacant spot for us to get a better look at the ongoing disturbance.
Even though my vision was mostly blocked, I caught bits of occurrences by looking through the small gaps.
Mocking people, cheering people, they shouted in unison. A group of guards with fancier equipment than usual marched through the street. They had solemn mood plastered on their expression. Their gaits were dignified, brimming with pride.
I couldn't have a glance on all of their faces, but some of them were quite young, I presumed not older than twenty. They looked like undergoing a war recently, being bloodied and all. Neither the human nor the beast had a weak presence, they stole everyone's interest simultaneously.
However, the impression shifted when another group of people appeared behind them.
Everyone noticed their bad condition. A garment was wrapping their heads whole, rendering their face unable to be seen. Their neck was chained and held by some guards. The hands were also bound by rope, leaving the legs as the sole working limbs.
At this point of time, the mocks from civilians became the dominant sound. Some people even started to throw things at them. Those who didn't react negatively could only stand in a daze.
I turned onto the woman to get some insight into this situation, but all I got was the horror on her face. Her eyebrows were tightened in confusion yet her teeth were wincing from rage.
My body was suffocating from her continuously strengthening clutch. I had to let out a yelp before she finally retracted. She flashed an apologizing look to me and returned her attention to the street.
By the time my eyes reverted, the strangled people had reached our position. The shouts were becoming eerier and we were pushed around by the crowd.
Then, just faintly, my gaze caught something. From the fingers of one confined man, lines of amber strings were creeping out. The guard who noticed his act yelled at him before bashing his palm with a stick. His hand was shocked as a result and the strings quickly retreated.
That ability reminded me of particular someone.
I also barely realized all of their skin tones, which were almost in the same range of lightish brown. When I was trying to relate the commotion in front of me and the girl in the house, the woman suddenly turned around. An unintended action.
Turned out it was the turtle woman who yanked her. Unease was haunting her face and her head was shook hurriedly.
"Yola kite (us) huba, ko (you) simuka datida (no) jereni," the turtle woman spoke persuasively while her hand was pulling us from the crowd. The woman was stunned for a short duration before she reluctantly followed her guide. She let herself swayed by the tug as the people started to scatter on our path.
After we went further from the crowd, the turtle woman stopped again. She uttered some words that sounded like encouragement to the woman and motioned her to breathe. She did what was told, looking a little more composed afterward.
While the woman anxiously looked back several times to the people, we resumed our trip to a place I did not know of.
As we paced through the streets, my mind was occupied by the recent event. Would something happen to the girl in the home? I didn't know what they would do to those tethered people but judging from the reaction, it wouldn't be a nice experience.
I hoped the girl did not get herself into the same condition. I knew she didn't have anything to do with my mission of finding Aria, however, I would feel bad if she got an undeserved punishment. She had saved my life twice and I hadn't thought of any way to repay her.
Just shortly after I drowned in my mind's rambles, the steps of the women came to a halt. We had stopped in front of a medium-sized building near the edge of the road.
It conveyed itself as a house anyone would live in. Big yet humble, radiating a comfortable existence.
The walls were furnished with gentle red coloring that fitted the green landscape. There was a board above the door that contained drawn letters, but I obviously couldn't read them. Even in my past life, reading and writing were privileged for the royals.
"Siakah, nomuda?" the turtle woman asked. Her complexion was becoming milder than the previous one.
"Muki ja sia," she uttered shortly before inhaling a load of wind. Her lips were attempting to put up a smile but it might come out as unnatural. Quite some time was spent to let her practice a pleasant-looking grin.
After she was ready, she gave a nod for the turtle woman to knock on the door.
"Nakanak! Hilo! Kite (us) dade pani!" she shouted as her hand banged the wooden planks.
No response.
Not yet.
"Nakanak!" her yell blared again, but she didn't dare to knock any louder.
No response again. However, another sound was nearing at high speed.
Multiple steps were roaming inside, dashing to our location. Sometimes you could also notice excited giggles as they approached.
Then, the door slid with a creaking noise.
A head slowly revealed itself behind the door, showing a boy who was excited to look at us.
"Nonia!" he yelled and hurriedly dash outside to greet the woman. He was still really young, perhaps five years old or more. His white hair was shaking as he jumped around.
Following him from behind, a girl not far from his age sprinted outside. Strangely, her hair color or face didn't match his at all. She possessed lime-colored hair and one glance was enough to tell they weren't siblings.
Before I could form any deduction about them, another distinct child revealed himself from the inside. Then another kid popped up behind him, not wasting any time.
And then, another one. Again and again.
The children kept increasing until the door was practically busted open. I could finally discern what kind of people that this house contained.
A house full of nothing but children.