"Huh...?"
Seated on the ground, Elara's face bore a mix of shock and confusion. The soft paws of the cat still clinging to her eyes intensified her feeling of being trapped in this sudden, bizarre situation, yet again.
'Why does this keep happening to me...?' Amidst the turmoil of her thoughts, Elara pondered the question.
Her eyes, initially wide with shock, and the pounding headache from the noisy drums around her, began to respond to the gentle touch of the cat's paws on her eyes. Slowly, her anxiety and pain subsided, and her eyes closed in relaxation.
"Meow~"
The cute meow continued to fill the background, but Elara was no longer bothered by the relentless drumming echoing throughout the forest. Instead, the surroundings suddenly became calm, as if miraculously isolated from the noisy drumming.
When her eyes closed in relaxation, Elara felt her body becoming more and more relaxed. Without resistance, she let herself lie casually on the dirty ground, enjoying a moment of tranquility amidst the chaos.
With the gentle touch of the cat's paws still clinging to her eyes, Elara slowly felt as if her body was floating in the air, as though lying on a cotton-like cloud instead of the uneven forest floor, engulfed in a deep sense of serenity.
"Yes, stay like this."
The emotionless yet melodious sentence echoed continuously in her mind, hypnotizing her to remain in this tranquil state without any resistance.
Unconsciously, time passed, and neither the cute meow of the cat nor the drumming in the forest bothered Elara anymore.
Feeling exhausted from her experiences, Elara instinctively chose to continue basking in the moment of tranquility and comfort without suspicion. With all her heart, she embraced the sensation of floating on a cloud, immersed in profound peace.
After feeling sufficiently rested and realizing the danger of lingering too long in the forest, Elara decided to open her eyes.
As she did, she silently felt relieved yet somewhat melancholic, no longer covered by the gentle touch of the cat's paws.
"Where is that cat?" she wondered, her curiosity piqued.
Her round brown eyes reopened, allowing the light and surrounding scenery to flood into her vision.
Darkness. Yet, aided by the twinkling lights of the fireflies around her, Elara could discern her surroundings with clarity.
"...?"
The scene before her left her speechless.
Sitting in a hammock suspended high between two tall trees, draped with a large white blanket that enveloped her softly. No wonder Elara had felt as though she were floating in the sky earlier!
She was actually nestled in a hammock like this.
'But how did I end up here?' her mind pondered with amazement.
Elara once again surveyed her surroundings, which revealed only the treetops, before glancing downward where it was dimly lit, obscuring anything below.
Yet, Elara could faintly make out a swift-moving black shadow beneath her hammock.
"...!!!!"
Elara swallowed and shook her head.
'I must be seeing things, I must be,' she repeated to herself like a spell.
Deciding to shift her focus, Elara looked away, grateful for the distraction provided by the cool night breeze.
The deceptive comfort of the blanket led her to believe it was still afternoon, as the breeze lacked the chilliness typical of nighttime.
Suddenly, Elara raised her gaze to the pitch-black sky and spotted a full moon, unobscured by clouds.
"Beautiful," she commented, momentarily captivated by its sight as if she hadn't seen it in ages.
Then, realization struck her like a bolt of lightning.
'No way!' With a quick motion, Elara shut her eyes tightly and wrapped herself tightly in the blanket, desperate to avoid exposure to the moonlight.
She immediately recalled her mysterious hereditary condition, along with its strict prohibitions: never to stay awake at night, never to gaze at the moon, nor to be exposed to its light.
The memory of the excruciating pain she endured from violating these prohibitions remained vivid in her mind.
Elara vividly recalled the terrifying experience. Driven by overwhelming curiosity, she dared to defy the taboo she deemed mere superstition. She chose to remain awake in her room when the moon illuminated the dark sky.
However, in a split second, she realized her grave error at a steep cost. The unbearable pain swiftly engulfed her, causing her body to convulse relentlessly on the cold floor. Eventually, Elara lost consciousness, a strange green mist emanating from her mouth.
The ordeal left an indelible mark in her memory, underscoring the importance of adhering to prohibitions, no matter how superstitious they may seem.
'Now what should I do...?' she pondered, torn between confusion and fear.
Confounded by how she ended up asleep in a hammock until nightfall and fearful of enduring that agonizing pain once more.
Luckily, she had a large blanket capable of concealing her entirely, shielding her from any external exposure.
Reluctantly, Elara remained curled up in the hammock, enveloped by the blanket, for a few minutes, contemplating a solution to the recurring strange occurrences.
Suddenly,
Swoosh~
Elara disregarded a gentle gust of wind that brushed past her, mindful of her elevated position.
Yet, oddly, the gusts persisted, swirling around her as if intent on dislodging the blanket she used to conceal herself from the moonlight. Even the hammock she occupied began to sway slightly, responding to the effects of the wind.
"Stop it...!" Elara unconsciously exclaimed,
The winds, previously in full force, abruptly ceased, as if comprehending the meaning behind her words.
"..."
The once noisy atmosphere around Elara, filled with the sound of gusting winds, abruptly fell silent. Elara couldn't help but shiver slightly at the sudden hush that enveloped her.
Pushing aside irrelevant thoughts, Elara quietly checked to ensure whether the strange winds had departed. After a few minutes passed, she let out a long sigh of relief, feeling confident that the eerie winds had vanished entirely from the vicinity.
'Now, what should I do? Ah, my mind went blank suddenly because I panicked about the fear of falling from such a height due to the winds earlier.' Elara furrowed her brow, still wrapped snugly in the blanket.
She sharply turned her head, eager to find an escape route as soon as possible. She didn't want to linger here for long, risking her mother's worry as the night wore on.
".. Huh?"
But Elara fell silent abruptly as if struck by a hammer in her mind.
'Wait... Wind?!' Her eyes widened in shock.
"Don't tell me those earlier winds were meant to guide me home?!" Elara felt like skipping happily because she had finally found a way to go home.
But Elara's excitement waned as she realized her immobility in the bright moonlight of the night.
"If only the moon could hide behind clouds for a while..." Elara murmured with resignation.
That's what she wished for.
Until a strong wind, or rather, a tornado, suddenly materialized out of nowhere, sweeping away everything in Elara's vicinity—trees, her blanket, her hammock, and even herself.
"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?!" Elara screamed hysterically as she was carried away like a balloon by the tornado's powerful gusts.
"Goddess, why does this keep happening to me?!"