I kept my distance as the last of the townspeople were escorted away from the scene. My soldiers took the bodies away and took away the only remaining water soldier who still lived.
I slipped my cloak back on with one missing sleeve and headed towards the captain.
I instructed him to send soldiers to watch over the townspeople and spread soldiers around the outside perimeter of the kingdom.
As I made my way back to the castle, I felt an uncomfortable feeling creep up my neck, like my every move was being watched.
The next few days were spent away from the kingdom; when I heard there would be an attack nearby, I was there. Of course, I could have sent in some soldiers to deal with it, but I didn't feel right having them take the fall if anything were to happen. I also didn't want to stay where I knew rumors were already starting.
The fall festival was cut short because none of the townspeople wanted to leave the safety of their homes. When the tourists learned what had happened, they fled back to their kingdoms.
I could almost feel the wind of how fast the rumors had traveled.
They went as far as to say that I hated everyone and wanted to destroy the festival purposely.
But what I dreaded the most would be the backlash I would get from the other kingdoms.
They had been quiet for the past few years, but they were always looking for any weakness I showed.
They were like wolves who stalked their prey—waiting for the right moment to pounce.
I'd been on high alert, even in my own home. My sister has only been home these past two days, and I have felt uncomfortable whenever we cross paths. We became strangers in a matter of a few days so when she called me over to have a talk over some tea, I was ecstatic. We might finally make some progress in getting back to normal. This would be the first time in years we would have a real conversation with each other.
Yet…when I drank my sister's specially-made tea, why was it poisoned?
I hadn't even thought of checking for poison or anything inside the tea since my sister made it.
My insides burned, my head felt like it would burst at any moment, and my skin felt too tight for my body.
Through my blurry vision, I saw my sister's tears drip down her face as she repeated, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
I smiled, and as my vision left me, I whispered, "Lead them well, big sister. I'll see you soon."
A sob escaped her lips, and her cries carried me to death.
…
I hummed a tune as I swung my legs around. I gazed up at the sky and watched the clouds pass by. Wait…legs?!
I sat up on my branch and looked down at my leg- I mean…legs! I swung both legs together back and forth happily and laughed with joy.
I finally have my whole body back! But what now? I wonder.
I sighed and laid back down on my branch. Unfortunately, I don't know who I am or how I ended up in this tree. But what I do know is that I died. And for whatever reason, I came back to life. I don't know who I was or what happened to me. I don't even know if my current body is the same as my old body.
"Hmm…wha su ah doo? (What should I do?)" I asked myself and cringed.
I know how to speak and what writing is, but I don't know how to write, and I'm not sure about my pronunciation.
"Wht shold aye do? (What should I do?)" I repeated
I guess it's better? I honestly don't know.
A light breeze blew, and I reached out to touch it. The wind sometimes brought me small objects, like leaves from the trees or feathers from nearby birds. This time, I caught a single light pink petal.
"Cherry blossom," I said out loud. "Pretty"
I sat up and patted myself down to see any changes in my body.
I'm not exactly sure what I used to be before my body returned to its current state. But I've learned that for each new memory I remember, my body returns to how it was before my death.
So far, I have most of what I remember from my older body. So I wonder what would have chan-oh…that!
Okay, so I'm male. I guess.
I laid back down and wondered what I should do now that I had my body back.
I'm not in any rush to climb down this tree and seek out the outside world. I have gotten very comfortable in this tree my whole life, and I am not very willing to part ways with it.
Okay. I lied.
I'm sick of this tree! I want to know what lies beyond the horizon. I want to unlock more memories and make new ones.
But…I'm scared. In my memories, I can sense the frustration and fear I felt in my last moments. And the fire. So much fire.
My heart started to race a bit. I sat up, laid a hand on my chest, and took deep breaths to calm myself.
I've made up my mind. I laid back down and thought, I am never leaving this tree, no matter what!
As the thought crossed my mind, a big, sudden gust of wind blew directly in my direction, pushing me off the branch.
"Gah!"
I caught the branch before I fell all the way down.
"Da hell?!" I yelled
No way am I going to be thrown off this branch right after I swore never to leave.
*CRACK*
Oh shit.
The branch cracked down in the middle, and I fell along with the branch in hand.
There were times when I would drop twigs and leaves on the ground just to watch them shrink like a magic trick. This time, I watched the sky I'd admired my whole life as I fell to the ground. Hmm. Why does the sky look like it's growing? Like my world is about to get even bigger. Honestly? The thought terrifies me.
I let out a breath as I finally descended to the dirt floor.
Whatever. Fears be damned.