'Where...?'
Pain. That was the first sensation that greeted him. A burning, piercing pain throughout his body. He tried to open his eyes, only to find it futile. He felt as if his eyes were sewn tight together.
He tried to move his body, but he felt as if a boulder was pressing down on him.
He took a deep breath, trying to gather his thoughts. Where was I? What was the last thing I remember? What is happening? He asked and answered several questions in his head. Unfortunately, he was still unsure what exactly was happening.
Creak.
Creak.
Creak.
A muffled, creaking sound disturbed his thoughts. The rhythmic creaking, he knew that sound. It stemmed from someone's footsteps, slowly getting nearer and nearer. Whether it was a good thing or not, he knew that someone was headed his way.
From the lack of stealth, he understood the person was not trying to hide their arrival.
Confidence?
He grew cautious. He tried forcing his body to move, but once again, it only resulted in the insignificant twitches of his fingers.
Creak.
Another creaking sound was heard, but this one was different. It was the sound of a door opening.
'Move.'
He told his body to move. The steps were only getting closer, yet all he could do was scream in his mind. His heart pounded heavily. He tried to speak, but all that happened was a subtle tremble of his lips.
"Na-"
"Oh, you are awake. That's good."
A gentle, coarse voice greeted him.
"Calm down. I am here to check on you," the voice continued.
Suddenly, he felt something cold and hard touching his forehead. He unconsciously tried to move away, but his body did not obey.
"This may hurt a little..."
Immediately after that short warning, the coldness pressing on his forehead turned burning hot. From there, he felt as if countless ants began marching down toward his neck, then slowly down to his chest.
Wherever they went, it felt as if they feasted on his insides, leaving nothing but numbness and throbbing pain.
Perhaps speaking to himself, he could hear the person mumbling something. He then continuously felt the hot object touching various parts of his body.
"Can you open your eyes?"
Hearing and feeling no animosity from the person, he decided to cooperate, trying his best to open his eyes. Unfortunately, just like before, his eyes refused to obey. He tried for a while before giving up, feeling the futility of the situation.
"Hm, is it because- oh, oh, silly me."
He heard the man chuckling before a cold sensation brushed against both of his eyes. He could feel liquid dripping down his face and seeping between his eyelids. Strangely, the restriction on his eyes loosened drastically almost immediately. He tried to open his eyes once again, and fortunately, some light generously seeped through.
As if the man noticed he was still struggling, he felt the liquid being brushed onto his eyes again. It took quite a bit of time, but he finally managed to pry his eyes open.
"That was a lot of eye gunk...," the man laughed.
The first thing he saw was an old man, older than he had imagined. He tried to say something, but it only came out as a shriek. In the end, he could only blink slowly, trying to greet the old man in his own way.
The old man, however, did not notice. His hazy figure was turned away, doing something that caused a rattling sound beside him.
He slowly glanced around, trying to see where he was. His eyes were still too unfocused to make out anything specific, and all he could tell was that they were in a small room.
Unfortunately, he could not tell where he was.
He blinked several times, praying that each time he did so, his vision would clear. After several attempts, he finally noticed something: he was in a wooden house. But that was not very helpful.
Nevertheless, there was absolutely nothing else in the room that could help him. Maybe if he could see behind the closed window to his side, he could guess his current whereabouts, but the window was tightly shut, only allowing muffled voices from outside to filter in.
"Well, I had better be going. Your friend will be here soon. Please don't move too much too soon. It would be such a hassle to stitch those wounds all over again...," the man said while walking away.
His old voice faded as he left the room. He tried to stop the old man, wanting to at least ask about his current situation. But the old man was in such a hurry that his faint whisper fell on deaf ears.
"..."
Suddenly left alone, he stared blankly at the closed wooden door. From the gentle light that caressed his face, he could tell that it was still early in the morning. But again, that was not helpful in any way.
With his body struck immobile, he could only resign himself to his fate, gently closing his eyes, which had started to burn. His right rib was especially painful, sending waves of agony the moment he tried to take a deep breath. He wondered what might have caused him to suffer such injuries.
The words of the old man resounded in his mind. The mention of the word 'friend' brought more caution than ease to his heart. While it was true that if one of his friends were here, he could get some explanation to clear the fog he was in, he could not sense any presence he recognized around him.
A faint, strangely familiar presence not too far away made him curious, but he was not too bothered, as he could tell that person was not in the best condition either, clearly in a much more severe state than him. He guessed that person must not be the 'friend' the old man was talking about.
Incapable of doing anything, he just silently waited for this 'friend.'
Creak.
"Ha... Ha.... Ha...."
Sure enough, the door to the room was pried open shortly after.
He opened his eyes, which were starting to gum shut again, and glanced toward the owner of the jagged breathing.
Standing in the door frame was a man with teary eyes. He wore fancy clothing, and his brown hair and eyes were luxuriously complemented by his attire. His face was average, with some freckles on his nose. The 'friend' exchanged gazes with him. A genuine, honest smile bloomed brightly on his chubby face, the kind of smile from someone delighted to have finally seen his companion.
"Sontra, thank goodness!" the man exclaimed as he ran into the room awkwardly, his bloated stomach swinging from side to side.
"..."
Sontra, a man with black hair and eyes, looked at the overjoyed person with a strange expression. Contrary to the other man's delight, Sontra's eyes regarded him as if he had no idea who he was.
"What's wrong?" the man asked calmly, looking at the strange expression on Sontra's face.
He looked around and behind him, searching for anything unusual that might have caused Sontra's displeasure. Finding nothing, he looked back at Sontra, and this time, he seemed to have gotten an idea.
"Don't tell me... Sontra, don't you remember me? It's me, Marvin! You saved me from the beasts of Drodh Forest, remember?"
Sontra furrowed his eyebrows. He recognized the name Drodh Forest and knew it was a place only a fool or a crazy person would traverse. He was neither of those, but the seriousness in Marvin's expression made him question himself.
"Argh..."
'...hometown...bring...ple-'
'How...How?!'
'Please take a look at him.'
'Sir, watch out!'
Streams of images flashed into his mind. He clenched his eyes shut, gritting his teeth. His heart, which had calmed down, suddenly pounded viciously in his chest. He was starting to remember what had happened. However, he felt like he was missing something important, something that had caused everything to transpire.
"Drodh... right, you're right, that did happen."
Albeit barely audible, Sontra managed to speak through his dry throa
t.
"You scared me there. Please do not joke around like that."
Sontra's gaze unconsciously went to his right rib.
Why?
He had wondered why his gaze always landed on his right rib. If it was the pain, his entire body was also screaming. So, why?
'Drodh? Drodh Forest?'
No, it was not that. There was something else. Something before that. What was it?
Suddenly, a face appeared in his mind.
"The child... where is the child?!"
"Sontra, calm down... Y-your son is uninjured, but..."
Marvin stopped, unsure whether it was best to finish his sentence. Fidgeting, he played with the hem of his robe, feeling ashamed to meet Sontra's gaze.
"What is it....? Don't tell me..."
The strangely familiar presence, the presence that was so frail it might have vanished with a gust of wind. His eyes widened as he realized who its owner was.
"...He is still unconscious, but please do not worry. The doctor said your son would wake up soon."
"No..."
CREAK.
He jolted out of the bed. His body screamed, and his bones seemed to snap awake. A gory, tearing sound cried out, and blood began to spray like a fountain. Gritting his teeth, he ignored his body's screams.
"S-Sontra!"
Seeing Sontra's sudden movement, Marvin began to panic. Remembering the doctor's warning to keep Sontra from moving too much, Marvin tried to hold him back. He gripped Sontra's trembling body, trying to stop him from getting out of bed.
"Sontra, your son is fine!"
Marvin, however, just like before, could not overpower Sontra. He could hear popping sounds all over Sontra's body as the man slowly rose from the bed. Worse, gaping wounds split open all over his body, puking blood so profusely it made Marvin want to faint.
He yelled and yelled, trying to calm Sontra down. Yet, it was for nothing; he could not stop the man's march.
Realizing Sontra would only be satisfied after seeing his son, Marvin helplessly gave in. In a hurry, he wrapped Sontra's arm around his own shoulder, supporting him as they walked down the hallway.
Shortly, they arrived at the room farthest down the hall. Without any delay, Sontra swung the door open.
The room was small, decorated only with a bed and a shelf beside it. A lone, closed window stood next to the bed. Unlike his room, which was filled with herbs and medicines, this room had no such things in sight, and not even the faintest smell of medicine was present.
However, Sontra did not care about any of that. His eyes were fixed only on the boy lying on the bed. The boy, contrasting with his own inky, dark hair, was pale as a ghost. He was peacefully sleeping, unaware of the two arrivals.
Staggering in, Sontra hastily made his way to the boy, his face full of concern and urgency. Reaching the child's side, he stared for a moment before pressing his thumb against the child's forehead.
"Sontra...?"
Marvin, clueless about what Sontra was doing, stared quietly while trying his best to hold him up. He gazed at the face of the unconscious boy, who had baffled even the best doctor he could find.
After a few moments, Sontra retracted his thumb. A weak sigh escaped his lips.
"...Marvin, where is this place?"
"Excuse me?"
"..."
"...Right now? We are in Erla Town. Why? Is something wrong with the kid?"
Although the question came out of nowhere, Marvin still answered honestly. Nevertheless, the sudden inquiry about their whereabouts only made him more worried about the boy's condition. Sontra, shaking his head, turned to face Marvin.
Although Marvin was of average height, he still needed to look up to meet Sontra's eyes. Faced with Sontra, who had somehow managed to stand on his own, Marvin unconsciously took a step back. He had heard the doctor praise Sontra's vitality several times, and he finally understood that it was not an overstatement.
"You've seen him, right? Now let's go back-"
Thud.
"Sontra?!"
The tall man suddenly fell forward. Startled, Marvin tried to catch him, but Sontra was so heavy that Marvin was also dragged to the floor.
Looking down, he saw that Sontra's eyes had rolled back, showing only the whites.
"S-stay put! I will get the doctor!"
*
**
***
"I am not doing this another time, you hear me?" the doctor said with a disturbing smile.
"It will not happen again, Doctor. And thank you very much."
Marvin bowed repeatedly while wiping the sweat from his face. He then escorted the doctor out of the room, apologizing and promising that he would take better care of the patients.
"Sontra, I-"
"Marvin."
"Y-yes?"
"Please accept this. It's not much, but it's all I can give at the moment."
Holding up his robe, which was placed on a shelf beside the bed, Sontra pulled out a brown pouch. He extended his hand, offering the pouch to Marvin. Whether intentional or not, the pouch clinked loudly as he handed it over.
Marvin stared in confusion.
"What are you doing? Stop saying such nonsense and lie back down," Marvin said in quite a haste.
"...Is it not enough?"
"No, wha-"
Marvin stared at the person in front of him as if he were a madman. He did not know why the man was acting this way. He never wanted anything in return for his help, and he knew Sontra had been the same when helping him escape those fearsome beasts. But the man before him was insistent that he take the money.
After some back and forth, Marvin gave up and took the brown pouch. He was afraid Sontra would not let him leave until he accepted it. During their exchange, Sontra asked for permission to stay in the house for a few more days, which Marvin readily granted.
"...I am really sorry, but I have some matters to attend to."
"I understand. Please do not worry about me; I am fine now."
"You remember what the doctor said, right? Please do not move around too much...," Marvin said worriedly, clearly hesitant to leave Sontra alone.
"Thank you, Marvin."
Marvin left right away for work. Even without being told, Sontra had known immediately that Marvin was a merchant just by the way he carried himself. Thus, he understood that Marvin was a busy man.
Fortunately, he had pieced together his situation from the conversation Marvin and the doctor had while he was being treated.
Left to himself, Sontra began to daze off. He stared out the window, listening to the music from outside. He had heard several times about the town of Erla and its extravagant love of music, but being there in person exceeded his expectations.
The sounds of different songs and melodies from all over the place mixed together strangely well, creating a dauntingly beautiful harmony. He remained in that state for hours, sometimes caressing his right rib while letting out a helpless sigh.
Naturally, the doctor had advised him to sleep, but he could not afford to do that.
Thud.
Feeling that the bandage on his rib was getting sticky with blood again, he immediately, though gently, lay back down on his bed.
"I lost, huh?" he sighed.
It had only been a week since he began his journey as a traveler, yet so many things had already happened.