There stood a thick branch by my feet, and I pick it up and swing it around in an exploration, soothed by the weight and rough bark. I’m still panting from the attack, but I am careful of making too much noise; so, I brush aside the small branches, searching for something I may or might not want to see. Leaves a crack to my left. The sound that calls me comes again, footsteps crunching over leaves and branches, circling behind me. My body is paralyzed as a result of my chilled blood. I won't risk looking behind me. I'm still using a piece of leaf to conceal my wound because I know that if I don't make it, I'll die in these woods. Sometimes I suddenly recall who I am and where I am, along with the mental image of the aluminum bleachers, but that is useless right now.
I guess it will take a miracle for me to find someone from these trees.
The snapping of twigs is getting closer, and shallow breaths are only a little behind me. My fingers fall off the branch as my legs begin to weaken. I repeat things to myself to help myself remember them, yet I still have a hard time remembering things.
My neck is touched by warm air, and I can smell my old perfume as well as the stench that sweat leaves on my body.
I can feel midnight coming up, even though I lost track of time. This is usually the time I drink my sleeping pills, due to my paranoia and lack of sleep.
From what seemed like forever, I looked up again and heard birds flying in the distance. I just hoped it won’t be another eagle again. I search the environment in search of life, my eyes fixed here and there.
Just then a huge rock stood below me, and I accidentally stumbled upon it, and my phone died. I flew onto the ground again, screaming in pain and feeling my tears well behind my eyes. I simply can’t do it anymore. I have to go home.
“Hotaru, here.”
I woke up, and the dread of those whispers pulled me in again.
There was a little light, and from what I could make it out as it seems- were tiny little things with eyes that caught me terrified in horror. Now I do not believe in ghosts or even fantasy stories, but from that moment-everything felt real, and as existential as reality.
Holding fireflies that exuded light for me to see our little elves with stretched ears climbing on top of me jeering in the tiniest laughter I have ever heard.
“Look at her!” says the one with the green skin.
“Ha-ha! I see!” She smells like garbage!” says the other one with orange skin, from what I could tell.
They continued to laugh like that as if they have discovered a stupid giant roaming their land.
I quickly rubbed my eyes to see if they were real, and when I did, they were gone.
Hurriedly I stood up once again and stumbling between them; I make my way through the murk until I reach the edge of the forest, the trees giving way to the grounds of a sprawling village.
As I move forward with dried-out blood from my arm, I trudge along the bushes and saw a mother holding a baby in her arms, looking at me. She was wearing a white robe dangling far below her knees, and her head was wrapped in a piece of cloth. A child went up to me and I am relieved by this streak of luck, heaving a sigh of relief.
The boy touched my hair, and I could see the surprise in his eyes.
“Akii elka troku baa!”
She shouted, motioning to the boy to let go of me.
“Help me,” I exclaimed in desperation.
I looked everywhere, while the boy kept tugging at my blue skirt.
I could now see lamps everywhere- men and women with the same white robe passing by, staring at me in terror. They speak in a different language, and words that I don’t understand.
This time I couldn’t help it any longer, I shouted in torment.
“Help!”
“Help me!”
I turned myself around, pointing to the deep wound in my arm, crying in misery.
The boy now returned to his mother, and she whispered something to his ear, while she glared at me; still in disbelief. I could see her fingers pointing somewhere-and the boy immediately obeyed her and took my hand.
We walked along together as I avoided the sight of those men, and I could see some women slapping their husband’s faces in anger. Some of them gazed at me as if they witnessed something out of this world.
It took me a while to discover that the tents they used as shelters were built of animal bones, which were used to support and act as a foundation; the curved tusks were used to support an entry gap, and both the bones and the tusks were probably used to support the animal hide roofing. I could see that some of these houses had a place to start a fire and that during a time when wood was extremely limited, bones were used as nourishment. I witnessed the creation of tough-looking bony chairs, pipes, and harps out of these bones, which were also used to build tools, ornaments, furnishings, and even musical instruments. I could see skulls hung outside the tents, people cooking from the fire made out of charcoal, and warm-looking bears' fur covering their backs.
The boy’s hands were so little, but they held me in such a tight grip as if he feared losing me. I gripped his hands even more just so he knew that he is safe with me.
We came upon a large well and I stopped there to sit and look within. It was still dark to even look how deep it is, but from the boy’s lamp, I could see my body’s shadow in the water. The boy helped me pump water from the well, as he slid a good bucket underneath me. I immediately washed my face with water, drank and sipped from the bucket, and splashed some of it on my arms until it was fully cleaned.
The boy reached for his pockets and handed out me and let out a flour-coated hard candy and watched me gobble it in hunger. He laughed at me hysterically.There was also a river from behind that wall, ten meters away from us, and the mountains stood before me like giants waiting to devour me.Wondering to myself when the dawn will start, I bathed myself in the most invigorating way.After I finished, I saw him lying on his back behind a tree.I laid down my back on the cold ground, and I watched him as he pointed out his fingers to the night sky. I slowly laughed at how incredibly grateful he is that he found a friend like me, and I marveled at the very thought that this journey is special and that this boy saved my life.That night I had a crazy dream.“Could you pass me the hot sauce, Hotu?“Yeah, sure. Here.”I pass the hot sauce to Courtney, while she poured more into her pizza. We were all dressed in pink pajamas, and my pale, light skin stood out the most from their tanned ones
I looked at the shelf once again, and a thick book came out.Hmmm…What is going on? I questioned. What in the world is happening?I thought as I thought that perhaps this spot will have some solutions inside. The area had good sunlight coming through the windows, and the surface may have been made of translucent tiles like the color of old wood, something between light brown and peach, butFrom the inside, I couldn't find the windows I had seen on the outside. In reality, even though I had only moved a short distance, I was now unable to see the walls in any way. There were bookcases in place of that.I rise to the ceiling and branch out from the wide-open corridor into rows and rows of bookshelves.I started walking below, and I see a hallway to my right. I took a cautious turn into one of the hallways and paused to look at the seemingly infinite number of books with astonishment.There were volumes everywhere I looked, stacked on crooked racks that could as well have been ignored.
Shin1985The sound was so loud and clear, yet I don’t know what it was or which way to go. As a young boy hurdling my way through the empty unnamed streets, it was the scariest thing I have ever encountered. I could feel the weight behind my shoulders, and the gut feeling that something is wrong. My stomach rumbled. I am hungry; I wonder what Grandma cooked for today. I could feel the heat in my shorts, so I went to the forest to pee.The roaring laughter now blasted through my ears, and I couldn’t find a way to stop it; so, I hid under the tree beside me and sat for a moment.There was an unbearable stillness and I felt sick to my stomach.I searched in my pockets for a biscuit, and luckily, I found one.For a moment I fell asleepWhen I open my eyes, everything was still silent, and I could feel somebody watching me.I sat silently, while I try my best to hear the sound- footsteps.I can hear shoes walking here and there.I raised my knees in front of me, my mood switching to anoth
Shin1995I work at a local coffee shop downtown at Barry's. I knew I had to step up because my father was always away, and grandma Wida is getting older and older by the day.I finished high school, but I could not put myself through college, considering the reality that I do not have much support."You are a warrior, my child." she would always say."You are born to be a fighter."Now by then, I didn't know what she was talking about, but as time goes by; I realized she was right.Deep within me is a surging power no one should ever know.Growing up after that memory in the forest was both a blessing and a curse. I immediately felt a power developing inside of me that is very unnerving. I remember this one moment when I sent my work application to Barry’s. After the interview, I saw a huge truck and there came out three guys, five steps behind their target who is an old man with grey hair holding a suitcase, and those guys began staring and nodding at each other. They planned it at
“What do you want?” asked the old man.“Please, I beg you.” Set us free.I wondered as my stomach grumbled and my throat dried up, how I had gotten myself into this situation. The hard, chilly floor echoed with a faraway thump that rang in my ear. Someone was approaching.I recalled slowly the night came. Had I fallen or was I the victim of a blow from him? As I see the figure moving closer to me, my tongue became firmly attached to the roof of my mouth. The streetlight that shined from behind the faceless, bulky man wearing the grey hoodie guaranteed a sense of security. He was now approaching. It was gloomy. How much time had I spent here? I was having trouble determining my surroundings as my head hurt. It was agonizing to be tortured. Stab. Smash. Bruise. As our attacker approached, I tried to filter out his terrifying thoughts and come up with a strategy. I looked around the blank space. Every object was tarnished by dust, which merely added to the already excessive clutter in t
"Hey!"He shouted; and quickly I blew a fist at him, knocking him out.The other guards came at me while I punched the first guy in the face while elbowing the other one in his stomach."Stop right there!"Coming out of the dark is the woman again, wearing another flowing outfit.The other guys flocked in beside her as if there was a huge commotion."Let this old man go, or I'll kill each one of you," I said.They all busted into laughter, while the guards winced in pain."On one condition."The woman looked me up and down."This man will only leave if you fought all these guys and you have shown me what you got."I smirked. "That's alright with me."The bald guy stepped in closer.He threw a fist at me.I raised my head, striking back to his chin and punching his stomach.He flew back."Ow!"He whined."Is that all you got?"says the other one.Goodness, if they want me dead, they could have shot me right now.The other guy even undressed his coat and started playing punch gestures.
As I got back home, I saw Mama at the front door, waiting for me to come home. "Mai-bebi, why are you so late?" She cried.“I just visited some new library, Mama.” There's really strange stuff there, I thought; but of course, I never said it."How's your sleepover Hotu?""It was good, Mama. The girls are terrific.""I'm also hungry," I whined."Sure, baby. I prepared some sushi in the kitchen," she said.I look at our dining table, my mouth watering in hunger.The okazu looks so yummy.The primary okazu is typically a protein-based meal, such as grilled fish or a beef dish. A vegetable dish or one with more protein, like a bean dish, may be served as the secondary okazu. Typically, each item is presented in its container. Particularly the secondary okazu are frequently served family style, with each diner taking their share. Typically, when we eat our normal Japanese dinner, we take the rice bowl in our hands and then nibble on bits of various okazu. On occasion, we put the rice bowl
I quickly became aware that my eyes were open and saw very unfamiliar things.I stared at the boy. He appeared to be physically weak from the way his head moved.I wonder how he had slept, and for how long? Were there any voices and if so; how did the voices sound like? And the ups and downs, like the sound of breaking waves on pebbles? I watched him as he stretched out a clumsy hand to get his bread from his pocket where he always kept it and touched something slick and hard, perhaps glass. He was very surprised by this because it was so unexpected. He suddenly rolled over, gave me a brief momentary gaze, and then fought to sit up. I see that he was surprised by how challenging the effort was, which made him thrilled, weak, and dizzy.I helped him stand up as he rubbed his eyes. The puzzle of our surroundings was confusing to both of us but his mind was very clear, it was obvious that his sleep had helped him. He was not in a bed at all and I guess he will never know what a bed is-as