From Another World ~ Samo

~ Chapter 17 ~

Sana had a weird dream when she finally fell asleep. She was standing in a dark void which was neither warm nor cold. It was neither welcoming nor uncomfortable.

The girl looked around, only to see people almost identical to her staring right back. Some were older, and one was even a small child. She was trembling as she clutched onto her teddy bear, tears streaming down her freckled face as both of their gazes moved down to the wound in her stomach.

Sana stepped over to her, but just as she touched her shoulder, the girl disappeared. Looking at the other people, they all began to vanish one by one. She couldn't count how many there were, but she definitely couldn't now. Even so, there were at least a few hundred, maybe more.

They all faded away, except for one lady. She looked like she was in her late twenties, and a bright aura was surrounding her. Sana gasped when she saw a gunshot wound in her head. Despite this, the woman was smiling, and didn't look even the slightest bit pained.

"The prophecy." She spoke, her voice knowing and velvety. Even though she seemed young, Sana felt that she exuded wisdom.

"What prophecy?" Sana asked, before widening her eyes in shock. She spoke. Well, anything was possible in a dream, right? She decided to simply use that to her advantage. "Who are you? Where am I? Why do you look like me?"

"So many questions..." The woman chuckled and, for some reason, she made Sana feel calm. "You're a talkative one, hm?"

"That's ironic...I'm not really able to talk at the moment, I guess I'm getting it all out." The woman laughed again at Sana's words.

"Oh, is that so? That reminds me of 'The Little Mermaid'!" She giggled contently, before stopping. "That is what it's called, right? Sanna told me..."

"Sana? I'm Sana."

"You silly thing...No, this Sana has two 'n's. Scandinavian name."

"What does that even mean?"

"If you want me to be honest, I have no idea..." The woman whispered, making Sana giggle. "Bet you thought I'd be intimidating, right? Everyone here knows I'm just a softie."

"Why isn't this dream ending?"

"Excuse me?" The lady laughed again, confusing Sana. Her confusion quickly became fear when she heard a collective laugh in the darkness. "Don't worry about them, they like to listen in on conversations. Anyways, yeah no, this isn't a dream."

"What?"

"I suppose it's more like a vision. As I was saying before, the prophecy." The woman sensed Sana's confusion and flicked her hand in the air, making a scroll appear in her hand. "That's a really good trick...Anyway, where was I? Oh, right. The prophecy." She cleared her throat. "The thousandth life, the thousandth body will break them free. But it is only when she realises the loop she is trapped in, that she will succeed. She'd better not fuck this up."

They stood in silence for a little.

"Did you make up that last bit?" Sana asked, and the woman bit her lip in embarrassment.

"You caught me!" She went back to being serious in the blink of an eye. "You cannot forget this."

"I've had issues with my memory recently."

"Let me rephrase: you won't forget this. I understand it's hard, trying to decode my cryptic message, but you will be guided." She smiled, her eyes glossed over with tears. "I was the first. I have seen hundreds come, but none of them go. I pray to the being who rules this universe that I will never see you here again."

And then Sana woke up.

🐹🩷🐻

The two were quiet, their eyes fixed on the TV. People now thought it was the end of the world. Well, how couldn't they? Killer plants were emerging from cracks in the pavements, children now had a more realistic game to play as they walked.

"Following last night's mysterious thunderstorm, the events have only become worse. Not a single one of these plants are harmless anymore, they are all overtaken by some kind of bloodlust. Here we have a poor girl, who lost her grandfather to one of these attacks, joined by her mother." The news presenter handed over to a small child and her mother, holding back their tears. The pair watching gasped in horror when they noticed it was the same small child who dropped her tiara the other day.

"He was my father." The woman said, her low voice cracking. "I-I can't believe we lost him...My poor baby saw everything..."

The little girl's eyes darted around as she kicked her legs nervously. She seemed paranoid, something a child her age shouldn't experience.

"This is how these plants are affecting the citizens of Seoul, and we strongly advise people stay home as much as possible. That is it for this morning, have a lovely day and stay safe."

🐹🩷🐻

"I am being careful, Dad!" Momo groaned, attempting to tug her handbag away from her father who was preventing her from leaving.

"You told me you saw the news! How do I know you'll be safe?"

"You let Hana go out!"

"Yeah, with boxing gear!"

"Dad! She's probably taken that off already! Now let go of my bag!"

"What's in your bag anyway? Why is it so important?"

Sana was hiding outside the house to prevent Momo's father from getting suspicious, and Momo knew she was getting bored. That wasn't her biggest worry though, because her father finally ripped her bag away.

"NO! Dad, that's...private..." She squeezed her eyes shut when her father pulled out sleeping pills.

"Sleeping pills." He gritted his teeth. "You can't sleep? You're having that problem again and you haven't told me? Momo..."

"Yeah, I haven't, because it's under control. I've been sleeping, it's fine."

"Because you've been taking pills!" Her father pinched the bridge of his nose. "You know exactly why you have to take pills under supervision."

Momo had enough, and snapped.

"Dad! I'm not suicidal! I was scared and sick of everything going on! It was a dumb mistake I made years ago, so you can't keep treating me like I should be in a fucking mental hospital!" Momo snatched her bag (and the pills) back, before leaving the room, slamming the door shut behind her.

(Then they leave the house, see a deadly plant and they all die, the end! Not really, obviously...)