The more I continued this journey, the more I started noticing things about myself that I didn't know when I was in the tree.
Like eating, I know what it is and what its purpose is, but I have no need for it, which I thought was perfectly normal.
But now…witnessing the lengths a hungry animal will go to satisfy its need to eat is terrifying.
I hid under a bush as I was forced to watch a leopard cat devour a nest of birds.
The leopard stopped eating and sniffed the air. I held my breath and hoped it wouldn't notice me. It flicked its tail once. Twice. Then, it turned in the opposite direction and walked away.
I let out the breath I held and crawled out of the bush. I walked towards the nest and saw bloody feathers scattered around the fallen nest.
I piled a heap of dirt on top of the fallen nest and picked out a few flower sprouts from nearby. I gently planted the sprouts in the dirt and hoped that they would grow, just like the nest of birds should have.
I continued walking.
"Hmm Hmm. Hmm Hmm Hmm."
I hummed a tune and wondered what it would sound like with words.
"Oh, this world! So very odd. I wonder~ Just what awaits me~."
My voice cracked, and I stumbled on my words, but I did not care and kept singing.
"Ba da da da! La di da! Oh what fun it is~ To run! To jump! To dance!"
I huffed a laugh. It's kind of fun!
I sang and danced around the leaves. I held the straw hat made from leaves and sticks to my head. The loose white clothes I've had since I existed swished around the leaves.
I laughed and sang out loud in the middle of the forest as the trees' leaves fell upon me. The sun shined through the leaves, which fell into beautiful patterns on the ground.
So, this was what I had been missing! I would not have known this had I not climbed down that tree!
And I know that I fell down that tree, but I refuse to accept it! From now on, I will say that I climbed down myself!
As I twirled around, I was blinded by a piece of cloth that had been flowing in the wind.
"Gah!" I scrambled around as I tried taking it off my face.
I held it out and saw a familiar symbol.
It had a red and orange bird in the middle of a circle surrounded by flames. At first glance, it looked like it was rising from the flames…so why does the bird look like it wants to escape the flames?
Where is this from?
I tied the cloth to my wrist so I wouldn't lose it and walked in the direction it came from.
The forest had begun to thin out, and I saw an empty land. Nothing but dirt and dust carried by the wind as I walked through the land. But…even if my heart burned with a particular emotion, I wanted to know more about this place.
Has my past self had anything to do with this land? What happened? Was it me? Did I do this? If not, then who?
Questions flooded my head, and I tripped over a stick. I looked behind me and saw that my food had been cut not by any old stick but by a sword. It looked like it had been forced into the ground. The hilt had a simple blue design look to it, and the blade gleamed with a blue tint.
My eyes shined as I grabbed the hilt and pulled it from the ground.
I smiled, and with a short laugh, I yelled, "Mine!"
My body does not usually produce any fluids so I wasn't even sure if I was supposed to. But the cut on my foot slowly healed and I continued my walk through the empty field when I heard voices.
I looked around for a place to hide but couldn't find anywhere! Gah! What the hell?!
I stood still, closed my eyes, held the sword to my chest, and waited for the voices to leave. But why did it sound as if they were getting closer?!
I heard a clomping sound combined with the voices getting closer until they stopped.
I breathed a sigh of relief and opened my eyes. Big mistake because right in front of me was a giant long face covered in fur. Were those voices coming from this thing? I kind of expected something that looked more like me.
"Ahem!" Someone coughed
I looked up and saw a human.
*Oh! The voices belong to them! That makes more sense now!*
There were three people in all.
The one before me had dark hair with a reddish glow that reached just below her shoulders. Her facial features were unique—not in a bad way, but not a face that one would soon forget. They all wore dark clothing with pouches strapped onto their clothing.
The person on the left had shaggy brown hair with a mix of blonde strands. His hair beautifully matched his light green eyes.
However, the one on the right was the opposite of green eyes. His dark jet-black hair contrasted with his light blue eyes in a gorgeous way.
"Who're you? Haven't seen you here before. you new here?" Blue eyes asked
I nodded.
"Where are you from, beautiful?" Green eyes asked with a small smile.
I shrugged.
"Man of few words, eh?" Red asked
Green eyes whipped his head towards her. "That ain't a man! Just look at her!" He pointed at me
I pointed at Red.
Red smirked at green eyes. "Told you"
He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. We need to set up camp. The sun's about to set." He said as he rode his horse into the woods where I first came from.
Red followed Green Eyes, but Blue Eyes stayed back as he stared at me for a while. It wasn't until Red called back for him that he went into the woods with the others.
I watched them disappear into the woods, and I was left alone again. I looked back at the desert land and wandered back and forth until I decided to follow the group.
I have nowhere to go, so why not follow them for a while? I thought to myself. But…where did they go!?
I hesitated before going in the direction they headed into until I heard voices from deep in the forest.
I sighed a breath of relief and headed in that direction. All was well as I followed the group for a few hours until an arrow flew towards me.
With no thought or hesitation, I swung the blade I still carried at the arrow and slashed it in half. The two pieces, still coming at me at full speed, narrowly missed my neck and instead pierced the trees behind me.
Oh, dear God! I thought I would see the tunnel of light today!
"Boy?" A voice called out from where the arrow came from.
I nodded as I held the sword to my chest.
"What're you doing out here?! Go back to where you came from! It's dangerous where we're headed!" Red said as she jumped down from a tree.
I shrugged.
She sighed. "Do you not have somewhere to go?"
I shook my head.
"Well, you can't stay with us. Find somewhere else to go," she said as she walked off.
I followed her.
She turned back. "Didn't you hear me? Go away!"
I continued following her.
When she turned back, I was ready.
"Really? I can see you! As thin as you are, hiding behind a tree as small as that won't make you invisible!" She yelled at me
"Why don't you let him follow us?" A voice called from behind Red.
She jumped as she turned around. "Jeez! Don't scare me!"
I peeked around the tree I hid behind and saw blue eyes standing behind red.
Blue eyes shrugged. "He won't be able to follow us to the town anyway. What's the harm?"
"Well…" Red looked me over. My white scraps put together flowed in the wind, and my messily made straw hat atop my black hair to keep my pale white skin from burning from the now setting sun's rays. My body may have all the necessary parts to blend in with the common people, but I was in no way my whole self. My body didn't have its natural color, nor did it produce as much vital fluids, such as blood. I don't have a lot of that. Which I guess made me look sickly and weak.
Red sighs, "I guess. He looks like he'll fall over dead soon, though. Are you sure?"
Blue eyes shrugged. "Everyone is damned to die sooner or later."
Heartless.
I followed them back to where Green Eyes had set up a campfire for the night. The horses, along with three sets of blankets and furs, lay on the ground as makeshift beds.
"He followed us?" Green eyes asked as he got up from the fire.
"Yeah. But not for long. Only until he knows he can't follow us to the next town." Red said as she put her arrows and bow next to a bed.
I nodded in agreement, only if I can't follow you guys into the town.
Green eyes shrugged as if he didn't have a care in the world whether I followed them or not.
I looked over at the fire and watched as it danced with the slight breeze. I walked over and crouched over it.
"Don't get too close. The smell of burning hair smells like shit." Blue eyes commented
I moved my hand over the flame, and the fire grew brighter and hotter—but not hot enough to burn my hand. I wanted to get closer to the flame until someone grabbed my hand.
I looked up at blue eyes.
"Burning flesh smells even worse," he said, letting go of my hand.
"Let's just head to bed. It's going to be tough tomorrow," Red said as she buried herself in the covers.
Walking over to a nearby tree, I waited for the sun to return.