I believe life is best experienced doing the everyday things everyone else does. From the moment you're born to when you start growing up you're given options on what path you can choose to follow. Even so most of them tend to follow the same route, going to school, getting a qualification and looking for a job. That is the normal course of the human cycle and I believe it is better to stick to it and live out your days rather than wish for any sort of excitement dreamable from fictional pieces of work represented by movies, novels or mangas.
As much as they seem exciting the truth behind them is that it contains so much struggle and adversity and the promise of the main character coming out on top fills people with ridiculous thought of it being an easy life. Back when I was in highschool my friend would often tell us about how amazing or awesome the manga he had read was and how it would be better to live in a world where he could have all the power and do anything he wanted. And no matter how powerful this mc of his was the steps he took were still gruelling enough to give in long before that. In comparison to this our real world that is unnecessary struggle.
But that was and still is my own opinion. I know that it might just be my perception based on the fact that there are so many beautiful worlds created in the minds of people that they would wish to live in to avoid the harsh reality of this cycle of ours and that in the past I was one of them too before I woke up to reality.
Such worlds could never exist. So what the heck is going on!! I was on my way home from my part time job like any other day and suddenly I'm sucked in to this strange light. I could barely keep my eyes open and my conciousness was fading and that light was the last thing.
When I opened my eyes again I was staring up at the blue sky. The scent of fresh earth was all over. I was laying on my back and when I rolled to my left it was all trees as far as I could see ,and I could say the same thing for everywhere else. A forest?...Last thing I remember I just got off the subway from the depot store I work at and my building apartment was just in sight...so how the hell was I in a forest.
Calm down first. I stood up from the ground and looked around for any sort of path. But even if I did how was I supposed to know where it leads even if I don't know where I am. I'll leave it all up to luck. I picked a random direction to my left and quickly followed it, so many thoughts running through my mind. Was I kidnapped? What the hell was the light, did I get hit by a car?... Did I die? Yeah I didn't really want to believe that last one.
This forest just kept on going and going. And I had to have walked at least two hours, unfortunately I didn't have my watch with me, but still no signs of civilization. Just what happened. Looked like I was going to have to keep moving. Funny thing, it was still sunny out here but when I got off work the sun was already setting. I'd have to be on the other side of Earth for this to happen. And multiple possibilities flashed through my mind and they were all scary.
Walking around for so long wasn't great. I was really hungry now and still no where near safety. I settled down by a small stream, forced to drink some of it so I wouldn't faint from dehydration. I was all sweaty now, my t-shirt clinging to me and making me uncomfortable. I should probably relax. Any more walking wasn't an option, I was completely spent. I fell back in the shade, my arms spread out and before I realized it my eyes were shut. I was sleeping in the middle of a freaking jungle.
******
The cold woke me up first before I felt something creeping up my left hand. I flinched, and fortunated enough it was just a beetle. The sun was long gone and replaced by the vast darkness. I could barely see four feet in front of me and that wasn't the worst of it. The growls, the hissing, the croaking, dry leaves crunching under the weight of the night creatures. Certainly a new experience, a terrifying one at that.
My body didn't want to move, too afraid to make a noise and have whatever was out there come for me, but still shivering from the cold. Would I really survive a night here? Right now I just wished this was some shitty dream and I was going to wake up from it any moment. Well...that wasn't happening and in the end I coiled up next to the tree trunk and wished for the night to end.
The night felt longer than it was but by the time the sun came up I hadn't realized it. I would have been overcome with relief if I wasn't being stared down by some sort of boar. It had long sharp tusks and was larger than what I thought it should have been.
I wasn't going to move from my spot if I didn't wanna be skewered right here and I could just feel it waiting for me to do something, anything at all so it could poke some new holes in me. It took a twenty minute staring contest for it to finally move on. The amount of relief I felt was enough to urge tears out of me. I've never been so scared my entire life and I've been robbed with a knife to my back. Unfortunate story that was and lucky enough the guy took the money and left it at that.
That boar didn't want anything other than to wreck me. I couldn't stay here another second, I didn't want to risk running into him or his siblings, so now I was back to yesterday's mission, just walk and hope someone found me if I could find a way out. I was on high alert for any sort of movement, even a squirrel was enough to make me scream.
Today however, I couldn't hold back my hunger. Hunting was definitely not an option, in fact I'd be the hunted one. My only hope was finding some fruit that didn't poison me and kill me. A few minutes of more walking and finally a tree with some fruit. Even the birds were eating it so it should be fine.
Another lucky thing, it wasn't that high. Just a little climb and I was eating up this red juicy fruit. It's inside was green and it tasted a bit sour but that was nothing hunger couldn't overlook.
The fruits barely satisfied me but it was better than nothing. At least I could cover some more ground before either stopping for a rest or collapsing. I couldn't even tell if I was still headed the same direction as yesterday but I'd do anything not to see that thing again.
By the time the sun high up I'd found a little brook, and this time I had company. Drinking from it was what was supposed to be a deer but the thing had two antlers and one long sharp horn on its forehead. No way going around this, either share with it and risk getting drilled into or move on and hope there's some other water source nearby.
Damn it, no way I'd make it to another source before collapsing. I had to take my chance. Slowly and carefully, I moved and put as much distance between us as I could. The deer noticed me but didn't give a damn. And so I was free to drink and it tasted much better that yesterday's. Desperation for survival was really setting in now.
If everything went as smooth as this for the rest of the day I might make it long enough to find help, but that thought was quickly extinguished by a low growl. The deer heard it too, lifting its head and its ears all perked up before staring at one spot just ahead of it. I followed its line of sight and found a green pair of eyes staring back. I didn't know whether I was its target or the deer but all the same neither of us probably wanted to be it. I backed away slowly, hoping it didn't notice me but the deer wasn't willing to be bait and as soon as it noticed the creature's advance it shot off into the forest.
And a large mass of black fur followed, thick sharp claws and canines. That was my cue to make a run for it.