"..."
She didn't reply to my question as she simply stared into the body of the lake, as though mesmerised. It was like she was seeing something I couldn't. The cyan water reflected both her and I as we sat there for a lengthy amount of time before she stepped into the lake. Still dressed in her white dress, she didn't care for it as she stepped further in, by the time the water reached her waist, she looked back at me.
"What, are you doing?"
She asked as I was still taking time to adjust to the surreal scene. An underground lake intruded by thick roots of nature, and a girl still dressed in her white dress in a bright, cyan lake. It was like a scene out of a storybook.
"Well, ehh..."
With no other clothing to slip into, taking my current off wasn't an option and so I rushed into the lake until I started to float. As though my worries were being washed away by the serenity, I laid against the water and stared into the thickets above.
"...Being discarded, yet here I am. Still alive, not even knowing who I am, or who I was."
Technically, I did die. My previous self. Was I one who kept up with correct morals or the opposite?
The girl then floated towards me before staring at me with no further word as most of her body was submerged, reaching just below her eyes, small bubbles formed just before her like she was playing with the water.
"Why, did you save me? You could've just let me die."
I stared back into her eyes as the bubbles continued to pop before she dove down.
"Where are you-"
I attempted to follow her, however, when I dipped my head in and saw numerous silhouettes of things, I immediately retracted and decided not to pursue.
Moments later, she returned rather calmly despite the lengthy time she's been underwater and handed me an item. A fragment of a gem, it glowed orange and was rather cold to touch as it gave me a tingling sensation; it was a strange thing, however pretty.
"This is..?"
"You. Can have."
Staring into it as it was unable to reflect like a regular gem, I looked back at her and offered my gratitude. With it being rather sudden, I couldn't think of anything else to say than a simple thank you.
"Mm."
I believed it was a one off thing, however, she took numerous dives and brought back numerous items. Unlike the gem, they didn't seem like anything of real value, however, it was like she just wanted to show me things she found. I thought it was some way she wanted to talk to me about, however, she reacted all in the same way. Still, it was enjoyable as I found it rather adoring and believed she too in the least was having a pleasant time.
But of course, I couldn't tell. She never smiled, nor snickered.
...
When I woke up the following day from another weight atop of me, I realised she was sitting against me as she pushed her hands against my gut as though offering a massage.
"Are you glad?"
Asking a rather obscure question on whether or not I was pleased with her somewhat massage, I couldn't answer her straightly.
"Ehh..."
"Hepeltuis. They're not hatching. Rather, they won't."
I soon realised that even if I drank that concoction, there was still a chance that either way, my body would still have become a breeding ground for them. I couldn't say it was a relief off my shoulders as I sort of made myself believe my body was rid of them already.
"Well that's good to hear."
"That all?"
She hopped off as she then washed her hands at the sink before turning her attention towards the sound of a whistling kettle. Taking it off the fire, she pours the contents into a rather fractured cup before handing it to me.
"Eh, what do you mean?"
I accepted the cup and stared into the murky water. It had a rather strong scent, enough for me to wince.
"I imagined. You relishing in joy."
"You did..? Well," Taking a small sip, it was a lot bitter and very difficult for me to even think about finishing the cup. "I just, don't really know how to react. I'm grateful, I don't want to die that's for sure, but learning that people out there wanted me dead; I don't know what to feel."
"Hm. You were disposed of. And not even know yourself. How pitiful."
She put it rather blatant, though with it being the truth, I couldn't deny her. The situation was pitiful. With no plans; no memory, I was unable to even imagine what the next day would bring.
"I imagined that, perhaps I earned the scorn of many. But, I know I shouldn't dawdle too long in it.
"...True," Pouring the tea into another cup, she took a long sip as the contents strangely began to swirl after she finished. "Residing in the past. Nothing. Nothing good ever comes out of it." Finishing the rest of her tea, she rose up and spoke in softer voice; it almost didn't reach my ears. "Though. At times, you can't deny it, but wonder...-"
She sat by the stone flooring of the kitchen area and stared at the same scene like the first time I met her.
As the days passed; the time I've spent with her alone, in such a strange place. I couldn't come to terms about her situation. Whether or not she was as young as she looked. The reason behind her staying in this forest. The way she seemed like she accepted being lonesome, yet sought for interaction.
I wanted to ask her, I wanted to know more about her, however, I couldn't bring myself to ask those questions. So instead, as she sat quietly on her own without showing signs of movement, I decided to step outside for the first time as I rested against the railing of the small veranda and gazed off into the forest.
Knowing well the air could perhaps suffocate me once again, for some reason, it feels as though there's some form of tranquility that surrounds the immediate area. The flowers that bloomed bright as the occasional wind that drifted by melted the colours together as I couldn't help but wonder if we were in the same forest which she depicted.
"...Still, I know this isn't a dream. It's reality."
If I stepped out, I would return back there. If there was a way outside, to find out who I was, I would've probably regretted that choice. The truth is sometimes a hard pill to swallow, to remain oblivious, you'll find bliss in such moments.
...
As the days passed into the next, while our interactions were small, they were fulfilling. However, I yearned for something more. No matter how much or less we spoke to each other, our past were unknown to each other. Unlike me, she didn't seem to have much thought on the matter.
I on the other hand, ultimately decided to ask her directly.
"...You said, the state I was in resembled yourself."
In the same position as the last, the place she seems to find more comforting is the spot between the kitchen and dining. I stood up to join her however, I stayed standing as I was unsure on how she'd react.
"...Did someone take you in?"
Regardless of her age, I couldn't imagine her living in such a large place alone. Someone must've lived her; people must've lived here.
"..."
She remained silent for a prolonged amount of time as I believed she chose not to reply. Though as I began to walk away, she started to speak; though rather subtly.
"I'm not sure how long it's been since. But, yes. The Master of the forest; she took me in."
"Master of the forest..?"
She moved towards a cupboard and rummaged through a drawer before taking out a few peculiar wood resembling firewood. Starting a fire and tossing them in, the smoke that rose seem have shifted into silhouettes of a person before returning to normal.
She stared at it for a moment longer before continuing.
"...As far as I remembered, I was walking through the alley; without knowing what I was doing, or where I was headed."
The atmosphere turned rather tense as she continued forth.
From the beginning; her earliest memory, she was alone. Waking up day after day in various alleyways of the town, she did what she had to in order to get by. She took to theft as a way to obtain food; a single loaf would last her for the day. As one day blended into the next, she knew she couldn't have kept it up forever, however, she was left with no other choice.
Until one day, she met a man dressed in a business suit. It was as though he was waiting for her. With an offer in which she couldn't refuse; a place to stay, a bed to sleep on and enough food to fill her stomach, she accepted.
"Was he... A terrible person?"
Adoption. Because of that, I immediately thought he was the one who drove her out. However, she shook her head.
"No. He was, strange."
In her words, he was neither kind nor cruel; simply neutral. She didn't think much of the man. His home wasn't extravagant, but it had things she yearned for. Somewhere safe, free from the noise of the town, she wanted peace and quiet.
"Do you know why he took you in?"
"I don't know. He rarely spoke. Or paid much attention to me."
The man lived an ordinary life, working from dawn till dusk, he'd return home in the end to sleep as the cycle continued. Perhaps she may have picked up something from that; someone home to return to. That may have been the reason, but he never said why, because she never asked. She too, didn't disturb him.
"Still... To take someone in like that and not cause any trouble... Wouldn't he be rather kind then?"
Without much complaints as he took her off the streets, she wasn't abused or anything that'd cause trauma from what she told me. However, I knew something changed in that peaceful lifestyle.
"Then... what happened next?"
Perhaps I wasn't ready for it as she went straight to the point.
"He died."
"He... D-... How?"
"I didn't know. They said, he was dead for weeks when they came."
At first the information didn't really match up, or at least, I had trouble trying to understand it all. The two slept in different rooms and during the day, they'd rarely see each other due to work and being totally different people who weren't as close as others would think; being in the same house and all. As one week stretched into the next, she didn't find it peculiar that she hasn't seen him, much less, she thought he was still alive somewhere in the house.
When the authority was called up due to him being off work without notice, they stepped into the house and found him in his bed. He was prescribed with medicine to aid his sleep; but one night, he took too much and passed on in his sleep.
"...I'm sorry to hear that. It must've been tough."
"Don't be. After all, we. We didn't know each other."
Given from her story, perhaps so, however, it doesn't change the time she was with him. To be taken in and given the necessities to sustain yourself.
"Even so, his passing must've had affected you."
"Hm, I suppose it did. I was moved to an orphanage."
No one knew what her relations were with the man, she was taken in for interrogation, however, they obtain little information from her as she was sent to an orphanage later onwards. And though orphanages are supposed to care for children equally, the one she grew up in wasn't of that kind.
Children tend to have rather imaginative minds, that coiled with the conspiracies of the tenders, she became the object of hate; they both despised and abused her in her days there. It was just a way for the children to bound together, they said.
"What kind of a sick, twisted orphanage is that? There's no right in that."
"So, I set the place alight as I ran away during the night."
"Wait you- ...The Tale of the Witch, you know it, don't you?"
"..."
She closed her eyes for a short period as she then recited the entire tale. It was though the words were in front of her as it made my hairs stand on ends just hearing it from her. Someone who knew of the tale and still chose to step out.
She chose to be hunted by the Witch as she later lived out her days here.
"The Master of the Forest, is that-"
It was then that she suddenly stood up and walked towards the window and peered out into the forest as I followed her shortly after.
"What's wrong?"
I stared out into the same forest, however, naught piqued my curiosity. But something was out there, that much was obvious by her gaze.
"Someone, is here. Or rather, many."
I asked if she could truly see past the trees and the faint mist that surrounded the perimeter, however, she said she could not. She pointed towards a hanging accessory on the balcony that was made up of sticks and other things. A ward is what she called it, she could tell if something unusual passed by it.
Or rather, she could feel the hatred.
"Where are you going?"
She was already on her way out as she then turned to me while she was on the steps.
"I. Will see who they are. You stay here."
She continued on her way without looking back. Whether or not they pose a threat, I couldn't watch her go on her own.
"Wait! I'll come with you!"
She stared at me in the eyes as though she was telling me to rethink my decision, however, I couldn't just let her be. I too wanted to see the disturbance, but overall, I just wanted to be by her.
"...You may die."
Such words scared me before, however, at the moment I knew I shouldn't cower away.
"I understand."
She pulled a strand of her hair out and offered it to me.
"Wrap this, on your fourth finger."
Beyond the confusion, I brought myself to accept her antiques as I followed behind her into the thickets of the forest. Even if the dangers lurked out there, I believed that I'd be at least safe enough around her.
Or so, I believed.
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