Part-1
Lucille...
What is she doing in the woods?
Hmm? She seems to be waiting for someone..
I go near her, breaking some twigs on my way.
The noise draws her attention and she looks at me..
"Oh! You caught up! I will not get caught.. Haha" she laughs and runs away from me.
"Hey! Wait for me.. I am gonna catch you sooner or later."
She runs so fast, how am I gonna catch her.
"Hey! This is unfair, don't use your strength and run on my level."
"Nahh... I will never let you catch me.. " and she runs again out of my reach..
I struggle to keep up with her.. Seeing me exhausted, she slows down a little..
"Geez... You are already exhausted!"
She looks at me with a relieved and satisfied face.
Ha! I'll not lose..
"I'll catch... "
"Grwwww!!"
A Daikin shows up from the woods and eats her up!
Huh?! What?!
He chews her up and swallows her down.
Hm? What?
What?
What?
What happened?
I start trembling.. What's going on...
"Noo....!!!!!!"
And I wake in my bed.
Part-2
I wake in my bed covered in sweat and fear...
Ha...h!
*gulp
I look around to check the situation..
It was.. It was.. A dream!
Thank god!
I looked outside the window from my bed. I see everything has disappeared.
The massacre, that Lucille made.. Was gone!
But the uneasiness wasn't leaving me soon. I feel my stomach aching whenever I bring that scene up from yesterday..
(Growllss)
Or is it just my hunger?!
I wear my clothes and get to the main hall. I don't see Lucille here.. So I go outside to check on her..
I don't know but I want to see her as soon as possible. I am getting more anxious because of her..
There is no one outside except Kuro..
He is standing there gazing at his house(Barn), shattered in pieces.
He looks sad. I mean.. I would be sad too if it was my own house.
I pat his head in pity.
Anyways, where is Lucille?
"Rayan! You're awake.. Come and eat the breakfast. I made some.."
She calmly calls me inside.
We sit together.
This is weird.. What is this awkwardness...
I am not able to speak to her..
"Erm.. What about the... "
She knew what I was going to ask..
"I burnt them!"
".."
"Their bodies, right? You were asleep all day.. So I took care of them." looking down kinda frustrated she said
"Yes! But.. "
*sigh
I guess, I am worrying for nothing! She is Lucille.. She's a strong girl. I am just having delusions. Be normal!
"Breakfast is so good!" I compliment her.
"Then you better eat it all and get some rest."
I nod. I really need to rest.
Or I'll collapse again.
But what is this uneasy air surrounding us.. We are not making eye-contact anymore. Our voices and words they aren't carrying any weight. They are dead and there's no joy here...
Lucille's voice seems a bit cold too. Is she angry toward me? Have I done something wrong?
What is going on...?
Don't think! She made it clear already.. That she doesn't want to do anything with me and will protect me untill the time for me to go back comes. I guess.. I will just play along.
Part-3
The whole day went by but they didn't converse with each other properly... Rayan was resting in his bed and Lucille was out in the woods, collecting fruits and all..
Night falls... But the silence remains and the awkwardness increases.
They sit together to have dinner. Only voice over the table, was of chewing food. They quietly gazed upon each other, one by one..
While eating, Lucille thinks
(I can't endanger his life over and over.. How careless I can be..
Day before yesterday, I put him in grave danger. Just one more mistake and he was going to die...
He doesn't have any experience in this world.. I can't have him here. )
Suddenly an eagle breaks the window and invades inside.
"Hyaa!?" Rayan exclaims in shock.
The eagle on the table, squeals at him!
*Sigh
(You are just an eagle, I thought it was another monster attack). Rayan thinks.
"Shoo! Go away.. This is not your home." in an annoyed tone he says.
The eagle checks him out and squeals at him again.
Suddenly, across the table Lucille stands up and comes toward it as if she is familiar with that eagle.
Rayan is surprised to see her come over. He also notices a piece of paper tied to his leg and gets curious.
The eagle doesn't squeal at her instead she effortlessly takes out the paper tied to his leg.
A letter would be a good term to describe it. She starts reading it. In the midway, her eyes widen up as if she read something scary...
It remains the same till the end.
"Wha.. What does it say?!" Rayan asks her.
The eagle flies back. She stands there like a statue for a minute. A statue who can think.
"Hey!" Rayan calls her back.
"I am going to sleep!" she says in a cold and distant voice.
"But..."
And she leaves without saying anything and abandons her meal.
People only leave their food when- either they are full or when the appetite died for some reason.
For her, it was the after.
Seeing this, Rayan gets worried.. He has no proper words to communicate with Lucille. They are so out of the reach from each other than they ever can be..
He was left alone with some questions which only she could answer...
Part-4
---Rayan pov---
The next morning I woke up by Kuro's Barking.
It was so early, that I was going to ignore it but somehow I go outside to check what the commotion is about.
The first thing I see is Lucille and Kuro, who are fully geared up like an adventurer or a traveller.. Like they are going on a journey. She even covered the little exposed skin of hers.
"Wh.. What's happening?!" in a soar voice I said.
She stays silent.
"Are you going for a supply run?" I ask her again.
"No.." This time she answers
"Then..?"
"Umm.. You need to calm down first..what I am going to tell you is gonna be hard to accept."
What is she talking about...?
No way! Is she leaving me?
"Due to an emergency.. I need to leave for my hometown." in a low voice she said.
I get surprise by this unexpected announcement
What?
Don't tell me! She's really leaving!
"I have taken care of all the resources you will need to live without me."
Are you kidding me? Who cares about resources.. And why is she telling me now?
Is this some kind of joke? If it is, I am not appreciating it!
"I am sorry... But please try to understand!"
I don't know what to say..
Ah! The letter! She has been changed after receiving that strange letter.
"Is it related to yesterday's letter?"
"Huh? What..." she gets surprised.. I pressed the correct button.
"Yeah... Somewhat?" she says by averting her eyes.
"Hey...! But...."
She looks at me with some hope to understand what she is trying to tell me.
*Sigh
"How long?"
"?!"
"How long will you be gone?"
"Erm... Actually.." Come on.. What is she hesitating for!
Trust me, I can somehow live a week without you or so I think.
"I will return when the time for your return journey comes.."
"What?!!"
No way... How will I live for 4-5 months without you.
"Are..you really sure that this is not some kind of joke?"
"No! It is not! "
Haa...
This is too much to take.
Come to think of it, I never even considered that scene.
And suddenly.. She is already saying me Goodbye?
What.. What about the promise she made to me? Was that this shallow?
How can she say something so easily..
*sigh
Get a hold already.. You knew this was coming...
But it is so early!
Remember what she said 2 days ago...
Right! I don't need to cross that line again.
"Your work? It's important! right?"
"Yeah..." why does it sound so unconvincing.
"Don't leave the forest until I come back! Alright?"
Where could I possibly run off to, there's no other region for me to reside in.
"I won't, I promise!"
Seeing my unwavering, dull reactions, she hesitates and gets anxious.
Come on, already.. Why are you leaving so suddenly? Urghhh...
"Wuff" Kuro comes and shows his sadness in his own way.
"Hey there!" I pick him up in my arms.
"We will meet again alright!" I put him down and pats his head.
"Go! Lucille is waiting."
She continues to look down and says to me.
"There are still dangerous...."
"Don't worry about me! Just come back safely."
How can you care like that if you are the one abandoning me?
The air gets uneasy again..
"I.. I think it's a goodbye then." I say looking right at her as if I am purposely trying to guilt her.
With a surprised reaction she looks toward me.
"Erm..this.." she stutters.
What can I say now. It was bound from the beginning.
This was fate from the point when I realise she is not a person of earth.
Well... I still respect her.. But it hurts! I don't know why... But my chest is certainly aching in pain.
I have a habit of saying something that I won't regret but regret it later.
"Say, if it wasn't me... If there was a person that wasn't me.. Would you have treated him the same way you treated me?!"
With a shallow voice she answers,
"Yess! That's my job and I would have done it either way if it weren't you!"
Why did I ask? I knew the answer and still I asked. Why?
I feel like someone is forcibly taking out my guts with bare hands and it's hurting so much that I can't even scream.
"Why did you promise to stay then? To protect me? Huh? Do you know the pain of losing the only hope which you denied from the start but started to believe it? Was it not enough for you to let me die peacefully with hatred and empty hands.. Empty hands of a person which aren't capable of holding anymore! Do you know what hurts more?- To be nothing to anyone. To have no value, to have no identity, that's what hurting me and I finally wanted to be something and you! You are taking it away!! Ha?! Who am I talking to.. A person who only knows how to put a smile on the face... Becau...because of that I smiled everyday!! Now how am I going to smile....Arghhhhhh!!! Hellll!!! You don't know anything if you had known the strangling pain.. But you are the goody two shoes right?! That's why you don't have any frie...? "
Who was I talking to? Was it myself? Yeah I was talking to myself before I lifted my eyes.. If... Only if I had seen who I was communicating with.... Only if the curtain of loneliness, frustration, anger and sadness wasn't blocking my vision.. Then maybe I wouldn't have watched her crying in front of me..
With tears dropping fiercely.. I can see her pain.. And she calls out to me.
"Yes! I do!" she turns away and starts walking "Let's go Kuro!"
Kuro still confused with his unheard feelings of departure, stands there staring at me with those passionate eyes.
"Kuro! Let's go!" she calls him again
Huh?! WHAT THE HELL DID I DO?
Thinking about what I said I cuss myself and try to bang my head to the walls in hope of getting some loose screw tight or getting my brain in a thinkable place. At some point my head starts to bleed but nothing fits right! Maybe I was build that way.
I convinced myself what done is done and nothing productive can come out of thinking about it.
Without a proper talk, without a proper goodbye, the feelings unshared vanish in the thin air.
Humans are so gullible, they believe what they see. If you can't understand each other then atleast try to understand one another.
I hate those kinda people.
And that's why I hate myself for not trying to understand her...
Part-5
The winter came to an end. The ecology and weather of this forest differ from earth. Seasons change so often because of the-out of ordinary natural forces.
It's been a week since Lucille left this place. I still can't move on from it. It was like a rejection on your face or even worse..
Not gonna lie, I miss them.. And what I did to Lucy.. I am still regretting it.
The argument and my everyday wake up commotion with her.
I think it's because I never had this much fun in a long time..
And now that I lost it... I am craving for it more.
"Arghh... Wake up!" She is gone, accept it!
I am heading back to my residence after collecting some firewood and fruits. I come closer to my residence.
(People are speaking in distinct voices)
Hm!? What's that noise?
By covering myself, behind a tree, I look toward my residence.
*Thud
A man breaking the front entrance comes out.
A man with long blonde hairs. Two hair braids at each side.
Fair skin and handsome.
A man which every girl dreams and even the heaven bow down. That's how I would describe him.
And his attire is nothing normal. Its like a royal outfit worn by kings and nobles.
Who's that?
I am in awe to see another man beside me and it's the time I saw someone from this world except Lucille and her grandpa.
From the barn(which I repaired over the week), another unfamiliar voice appears..
"My lord! We are unable to find him anywhere here."
I think they are acquaintances of Lucille...
Did they come here to oversee me as an alter..?
Two persons come out of it, equipped with silver armor or I would rather call them soldiers.
I try to eavesdrop them.
"He is here.. The person who was living with Lucille." with compelling and soft voice the blonde man says.
Oh! So he knows Lucille? Nice!
"Find him and kill him the second you see him.."
*Gulp
What's going on..
I don't even know any of the people here then..
Why are they conspiring to kill me?
"Yes! My lord!" soldiers answer at once.
He walks toward the center of the compound.
"I'll leave this matter into your hands! Don't disappoint me."
With this he closes his eyes and utters something, which is unclear to be heard.
After completing, the ground lits up.
It feels like deja vu! The same green color flames swallow him!
And he disappears just like Lucille's grandpa.
An unusual pattern was etched into the earth.
"Let's find that imbecile punk!"
What.....?
I run off in desperation. However strong, I am now I can't be a match to both of them.
I made sure I was far enough!
"Huff..! Huff..!"
Ha!
What should I do now? The threaten of that blonde man surely took the best out of me and the fear crawled within my skin.
"My.. My residence is compromised. I can't stay in this forest for long either.."
There should be someplace safe here..
In that instant a place came to my mind.
Kanisha!
Yes! Totally! I can go there...
But.. Lucille said not to set foot in the city with people.
Argh...! Even if I stay here, I will die by hands of those soldiers. So.. If I have to choose -
I would rather die by fulfilling my curiosity about the city.
I carried fruits which I collected and some water from the waterfall and took off to the city.
The first time we went there, I was super intrigued. But after learning the truth, I took a step back from the door of my desires. But finally, although the time isn't right to be happy.. But I am really excited.
I reach the end of the forest only to find, it isn't there anymore.
"Huh? What in the world...happened here?"
Where is the city?
The city..
I.. I don't believe my eyes so I take another path down to the ground.
It's real.. The city has really vanished..
I can't believe the city which was here 2 months ago, is nowhere to be found.
There are still imprints of houses or building which were standing here. Then just how?
What am I supposed to do now? My last hope is gone too.
As far as I can see, there is only sand. On the other side is the death waiting for me.
Although I am unwilling to leave this place, I start walking in the opposite direction.
Toward the desert. I can only see a never ending horizon.
Only with a few equipments, I set off to the ends of the empty horizon.
It was my only choice..
As I gaze through the golden sand around me, I feel anxious.
No community, no food, no water.. Only hot, rough, uneatable sand.
I take my 10,000th step in this desert. Today, the sun is shining brighter and hotter than the usual days.
I look up to it in a hope that it will take pity on me and reduce its hotness.
I take my 20,000th step, the water which I took from the river is almost empty. There is no sign of a single drop of water. What I see around are the ancient ruins swallowed and destroyed by the sand.
I take some rest in the shadows of those ruins.
"I can't think straight? Why is there so little water?"
It is already dusk, I decide to rest the night here.
The fruits which I brought weren't plenty enough to hold on..
With an empty stomach it is impossible for me to fall asleep. So I eat it all to endure the cold and restart anew tomorrow.
The cold that appeared with night froze my mind. However strong a person can be, eventually he will breakdown in some specific conditions.
As for me it was this condition..
The shallowness is growing rapidly inside me.
Anyhow, I survived the night!
I take off in search of a village where I could get food or water.
I take my 30,000th step.
With my starving and dried eyes, I see a glimmer of hope.
I see a pond nearby.
"Wat... Water!!"
I run toward it like a mad dog. Despite how hilarious I may have seen moving, I was desperate.
I get to the pond to drench my thirsty throat. I thank god for finally helping me. I take a sip of the precious water infront of me only to find sand in my mouth.
"bleahh!!!"
I didn't not notice it early but I started to see mirage and hallucinations.
I continue my search, covered and soaked with my sweat. The saliva that accumulated in my mouth is nowhere to be found.
I take my 60,000th step I realise it became difficult to even swallow.
Miserable and hopeless, I come on the verge to break.
I take my 60,100th step, I see a tent tied up.
I don't feel anything beacuse what I've seen so far are either hallucinations or mirage.
I reach the tent.
To my hopelessness, it is real.
I slowly and cautiously try to open it. A rotten smell gust out of the tent.
"Scoff..ar..what is this smell?"
Three corpses.
Withered to bones
I witness them inside the tent.
I stumble down in a shock.
As far as I can tell, they were normal men with normal clothes.
I crawl backward in fear. I am still hoping that it is just a illusion but to my surprise they are real.
What I fear most is not the dead bodies, but the future where the possibility of me being one them gets real.
I run off. Scared amd terrified.
I never imagined this would turn out like this. Rather than dieing by torture and pain, I should have died by hands of those soldiers.
It might have been painless... I think.
I take my 80,000th step. Two days of non-stop walking and resting.
The cycle I followed to save energy isn't working anymore. My heart feels heavy. I want to eat.. I want to drink..
"Argh!!! " the last scream of my remaining strength and I fall down on the ground.
I stare at the sky, changing its color from light to dark.
In the end... Alone, I will die. That, I am not regretting but the way- isn't how I imagined it would be. I close my eyes to see nothing. I didn't find my joy.
Lucille came to my mind but she vanished just like she did in real life.
This is my last agony... With this I rested my eyes..
(Distinct voices)
(People speaking)
Noise around me wake me up again.
Only little could I see with those weak eyes..
The vivid images of a beast or a horse? Or a person? flashed in front of me.
"Carry him with us. We will take him back to Rosa!"
I feel like I am being lifted and put down.
With that I fall unconscious....