The mornings in Bur are monotonous, mainly because of the spring weather that is present all year round. The houses are simple, made of wood with some spaces between them where the sun's rays enter every morning. With these first rays of sun, the inhabitants of the small town get up to go to the center of town where they will listen to the morning sermon of the great elder.
Throughout the history of the Moox, there have been cases in which some children are born with the so-called "fog disease" which causes their bodies to fall into a state of permanent weakness, being so weak that a simple walk can exhausting them, leading to death from fatigue in more extreme cases. Due to the techniques and medicines developed over the years, the number of children with this disease decreased drastically to the point that for more than thirty-two years there had not been a single recorded case of a newborn having the "disease of the fog".
The day Aka was born was a celebration for her entire family; she was the only daughter her parents had conceived after so long of trying. Shortly after his birth, Aka began to show the first symptoms of "fog disease." With effort, her parents managed to hire a healer so that he could reach Bur to see their daughter's condition in more detail and perhaps save her, but after a couple of exams the healer decreed that their daughter would live to be fifteen years old. at best.
Devastated, her parents tried multiple methods in vain, spending all their income and giving their lives to it, leaving little Aka orphaned at a young age, forced to move to the deepest part of the forest on the periphery of the mist mainly due to the obscurantism suffered by part of the tribe due to his illness. As the years went by, Aka had less interaction with the rest of the town as many parents kept their children away from her for fear that they would be infected with her illness, so she did not have many friends. Due to her condition, she was always left behind by other children and many times they forgot about her, leaving her alone in the forest, so she began to create her own exploration games, getting to know the forest much better than most of the adults in her tribe. Due to the multiple medicines given by her parents as a child, the constant visits from different doctors and alchemists and personal experimentation with different types of forest herbs, Aka acquired a superficial knowledge of herbalism by having experienced first-hand their shape, smell and and both curative and harmful effects.
Every day Aka was the first to get up in the entire town, this was not because of her discipline or because she had something special, but because of the pain that over the years began to deprive her of sleep, causing her sleep time to be reduced to a few how many hours a day at best. Today Aka was sleeping peacefully after many years, she was dreaming about her family, living together and finally touching them when a sudden tremor tore her from her grand finale, throwing her to the ground and returning to reality. Still confused from the fall, Aka found a little strength to stand up and slowly head towards her door in fear of what might be outside. His fear was not unfounded, he had seen firsthand multiple beasts within the mist that ranged from similar in size to gray trees to being as tall as a small mountain that could have easily caused that kind of movement in the ground if they started. to fight. With this in mind, very few people would choose to live so close to the fog but as the years went by he found that for some reason living on the periphery of the fog somewhat alleviated the pain caused by his illness so after considering it , decided to live his last years without pain despite the possible danger that comes with living in that location.
After a few breaths she opened the door slowly, ready to close it at any slightest sign of danger. It seemed like hours before he could briefly peek his head out while shivering as if there was a heavy snowfall outside his home. Still afraid, she turned her head to both sides hoping to find some scrap that without waiting would pounce on her, attacking her mercilessly; but that moment never came. With a new feeling of security growing inside, he returned inside his home, closing the door slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible, fearing that he would now attract some beast into the fog. Still without the courage to leave, he thought about his next step for a few moments while his back leaned against the half-broken wooden door of his home. Their options were simple, stay inside waiting for the danger to pass but with the probability that there was actually a beast wandering around and it could find its home, attack it and eat it or arm itself with what was necessary and head to the town in search of the great old man, one of the few people she could call family right now, knowing he would help her no matter what. The only problem with this last option was that if she went out and assuming that a beast actually existed, it could alert her and considering her poor physical condition she would easily be married off and it would be days or even months before someone found her lost remains inside the forest. . Weighing the pros and cons, he decided to stay inside his home, that way if he died at least they could find his body and bury it near his parents so he could be with them in the afterlife. His plan was infallible, it guaranteed his safety and, in case of failure, an acceptable ending; but there was something she couldn't control, her hunger.
Due to his condition, the laborious tasks that the rest of the town did daily such as felling trees, collecting firewood, building houses, moving merchandise were constantly difficult for him, and those in which he could participate required interaction with other people or animals which was a problem due to the mistrust generated by his illness. If it weren't for the great elder and his nephew giving him simple cleaning or herbal tasks, Aka might have perished long ago from hunger. Even so, this type of work did not generate much income, so his eating times were limited to 2 times a day at most, enduring hunger long enough to survive and today was the day he would finally eat.
For Aka there was no problem holding on for another day, she had done it on multiple occasions and she hoped to sustain herself that way for at least another 3 days. What she didn't trust was her stomach and the noises it made, noises that sometimes At this point they are more like the roars of some animal in agony, which he knew could attract that beast or entity that was around his home.
With no other option she approached the edge of her bed made of old straw and wood, looking for a stick large enough that could help her defend herself in case she encountered that thing. Finding a suitable stick, she tore it out with all her possible strength, destroying the bed in the process and causing a huge crash to the point that she fell, remaining petrified for a few moments before reacting and fleeing from her home in terror as quickly as possible. In his mind the only thing that was found was the word "flight" while on his face there was only despair, he knew that the noise had alerted that thing and that he would soon find it, his only hope was to get to the town and let them find it. protect or at least distract that thing enough so that it could escape and hide in one of the caves within the forest.
It is not known exactly how long he ran, it could have been only a few minutes or even a few breaths but for Aka all this seemed like an eternity of torture, gaining energies that he had never seen in his life that allowed him to reach the outskirts of the town. When he glimpsed the town in the distance, he could briefly see everyone united talking to the great elder in a calm manner, but due to his fear and exaltation he ignored him, beginning to accelerate his pace with his last energy shouting for help before falling in front of him. of them and faint.
When she woke up she felt a little left behind and confused, the ceiling didn't seem familiar and for some reason her face and legs hurt in a way she had never felt before. She tried to get up but her arms didn't respond either so she assumed the worst fearing that the beast had reached her and was currently feasting on her body. With tears in her eyes she smiled and laughed as she remembered her parents' name in her mind before an old but gentle voice brought her out of her reverie.
– What are you playing little bee?
Little Bee, that was one of her nicknames and in the entire town only two people called her that way, the great old man and his nephew, her only family.
If the old man met her it meant that he had made it, he had reached the town and was safe; or perhaps the old man was in the same situation as her, unable to move and only talking to her to calm her being before leaving. Aka's mind began to wander, blaming herself for the state of the great elder, knowing that he was about to perish due to her guilt, she began to repeat "I'm sorry" while crying and swearing that in her next life she would not bring danger close. of his family.
– Stop crying! What happened to you to get to this state? I've even sent people to your home to check it out and everything seems fine. I have told you on multiple occasions to come live with me and Ran, I will take care of you as if you were my own blood.
It is true, many years ago after losing her parents the great old man tried to convince her to live with him and his nephew, taking care of her without asking for anything in return but she refused. This was not a matter of ego or distrust, on the contrary, she had complete trust in the old man and was willing to help him in any way possible, but she could not stand the stares of people and the contempt they had for her. For his well-being and mental health, he began to distance himself from everyone to the point of establishing his home in a point increasingly further away from the town where he could no longer hear the criticism, the false accusations when something went wrong or the segregation caused by all the inhabitants. . Although the grand elder did his best to spread the news that the disease was not contagious, the townspeople still remained cautious and blamed the disease for multiple unrelated misfortunes such as the reduction of medicinal plants in the forest, snowfall or even the premature death of his parents. With all this, Aka decided to distance himself from everyone and maintain contact with the town in the slightest. If it were not for her affection for the great old man and his nephew, it is very possible that she would have decided to leave the town and head towards the great city of the kingdom in search of anything that was better than the current one.
– Great elder, I was… the creature… The beast! He was chasing me! !It was huge! I got married stealthily even though his steps caused tremors when I walked. We have to escape! – Aka said with a voice evidently panicked and eager to escape despite still being in bed without being able to move.
- Beast? Escape? Did the fall cause any damage to the little bee's brain? Just calm down a little and explain to me in detail what happened to you. – The great elder explained with bewilderment and concern as he approached the girl with difficulty to comfort her.
Aka knew that the old man's difficulty walking was not due to some past injury, but rather to the wear and tear on his body due to time. He had heard long ago that in his youth the great elder was in charge of everything in the village, cutting wood, collecting it, transporting it to the great city of the kingdom and even carrying the sick and injured to the great city of the kingdom at times. critical to be attended to. For Aka, the great elder was her goal and what she wanted to be in the future, someone respected and admired by everyone for what she does and not for what she is. Without hesitation, Aka began to explain to the great elder what had happened, despite not being the best in oratory, she was able to give the important points to the great elder starting from the tremor that woke her up and ending with her successful escape from that beast or being. mysterious lurking.
After his explanation, a deep silence ruled the atmosphere inside the great elder's house. Aka's concern became evident and he wanted to suggest the idea of escaping as quickly as possible before a loud laugh interrupted his thoughts.
– That's what you meant with the beast! This is so funny... - The great old man replied between big laughs like he hadn't had in years. —Don't worry, I'll explain everything to you little by little.