Jyakugai
I opened my eyes, relieved to find myself awake after my slumber. One of the scariest things about the dark was never knowing if I would wake up the next day.
Another day never meant much to me other than the fact that I was breathing - I'm alive. I never left the house anyways.
Honestly, I don't know why - or even how - a person can like the outdoors. It's so wild and unpredictable, and you could die at any moment. If you're inside, away from it all, you can't get hurt.
"Jyakugai!" my dad called. "Are you awake now?"
"If I wasn't, I'd be now!" I called back. My dad's laughter followed.
My dad is probably the only person I have a positive opinion of. It's a sad thing to say, but I'm afraid it's true.
Actually, I'm afraid of a lot of things. That's one of the reasons I don't exactly like myself.
I mean, I don't hate myself either. My fear has saved me multiple times I'm sure - spider bites, car accidents, suffocation. They were all things I avoided because I was afraid.
I peer over the edge of my bed for any dangers there might be. I didn't see any bugs, there was no glass or other sharp objects, and there certainly wasn't a wild animal. So, I carefully lifted up my bedsheet, crawled out, and fixed the bed. It wasn't difficult since much didn't move - if something happened, I wanted to be able to easily recognize it.
Rinse and repeat the process and I'm finally downstairs. Everything so far has luckily been harmless.
My dad is seated at the table, and I can tell he just placed breakfast at the table. It just happens to be my favorites - an omelette, seasoned just to perfection, a bowl of rice, and water to drink. I fear that more complex drinks might make me sick or poison me.
"Good morning!" my dad greets with a smile. I pick up my spoon.
"Good morning," I reply quietly. Nothing can honestly beat my dad's cooking. It's my main inspiration to do things - live to eat something he's made, and maybe, one day, be on par with his skills. My dad always says I give him too much credit.
I mean, I can cook, too. Fears related to the kitchen are likely the only ones I've gotten over. Hot stoves, flying oil - you name it - they all scared me. Still, I got over it. Food is just that fundamental.
"Got any plans for today?" my dad asks between bites. I nod.
"I've been reading this one book, and I haven't quite yet finished yet. I'm thinking of finishing today."
"Oh really? Tell me how it ends, okay?"
"I will. Afterwards, I'll probably study a bit - who knows?"
"Mm. Just don't forget to take care of yourself, alright?"
"Of course. I got it."
We continued on talking about all sorts of things - food, books, just safe things in general - and it takes up the rest of breakfast. I finish first, and then I place the dishes in the sink.
I sit down in the living room and pull out Winter, a really great book that I'd been trying to finish for the past week now. It was the last book in the series, and I just had to know how it ended. I feared that the characters wouldn't get a happy ending.
As I flipped past pages, I suddenly noticed the room get brighter. I set down the book, having finished the last page anyways, and the approached the blinds. Peeking through, I noticed a bright green light.
"Jyakugai?" my dad called, entering the room. "Is everything alright?"
I fell backwards, trying to get away from the window - the outdoors is much too unpredictable when it acts that way. I crumpled up into a ball in the middle of the room, and then I found myself becoming encased by some material - stone.
That's how my world went black. I couldn't remember the last time I had seen light, or eaten something, or done anything at all. I just sat crumpled up for what felt like forever.
Every now and then, I felt threatened out of existence. If I didn't focus, I feared I'd fall asleep and never wake up.
I just wanted to go back to my life. There was so much out there that could get me when I'm like this. I could very easily be killed.
That was my biggest fear - dying. I didn't want to die, and especially not like this.
Was my dad okay? I can't even remember what he looks like. What was his voice like again? I can only recall one thing.
His cooking. If for no other reason, I had to live because I feared there would come a day where I couldn't eat some of his cooking.
There was a cracking noise. At last I heard something.
My right ear found itself free, exposed to the air for the first time in a long one. I managed to turn my head, and then my vision was back.
I was in a cave. I blinked, sitting upright.
I'm in a cave. The realization hit me, and I jumped out and ran out.
Where's my dad? Where am I? This doesn't look like Hakone . . . There was the ocean though, and I could never mistake it. Unless, it was the sea? Nothing looks familiar, and no study of maps could ever make up for that.
There's no one around, but in the distance I can see fire on the ocean. It's mid-day thankfully, and I take some vines to cover myself up - what if there are perverts nearby? Would that explain where my clothes has gone?
I stepped out the cave to look around, and I find the ground is wet. The surrounding areas looks like it had just been hit by a storm. Still, I go off and wander.
In my wandering, I find a deer carcass. It seemed to have been bitten.
I immediately flinch backwards, suddenly remembering this is a forest - forests have animals. Animals would gladly kill a human, wouldn't they?
Still, I'd read that deerskin doesn't make bad clothing, does it? If I could use some vines, I could probably tie it together and get some better cover-up than what I'm wearing now . . .
I take a stone and open the carcass, revealing the insides of the animal. I'm immediately disgusted.
After a bit of vomiting off to the side, I manage to contain the rest of my breakfast and drag the body to the shore. That's when I empty the carcass, leaving a large piece of deerskin. I wash it in the water (probably not the smartest choice), and then dump the deer guts in the ocean (or sea). The smell was horrendous, but I had only kept them around to avoid dealing with sharks - you never know if they're nearby. That's when I divide the deerskin into three parts - a main part for the torso and two straps to help keep it together.
I reenter the forest and remove the vines I'm wearing, pulling off the leaves. Then, I wrap the torso piece around me like a towel. I tie one of the vines around my waist to keep it in place. Afterwards, I lay the straps over my shoulders, letting them hang to about where the first vines were wrapped around. I secure those straps with the other vine.
It's a bad but working dress. I don't have shoes or anything of the sort, but the ground is damp, so for now, I don't mind. I don't want to see another dead body soon anyways.
I gather some fallen branches and approach the fire off in the distance. If there's people, I'm willing to approach them now - my fear of embarrassment is nowhere near as strong as my fear of the wild.
Just before I hit viewing range, I see two islands, connected by bridges. In front of the closest bridge is two young men, one blonde and one brown-haired. The brown-haired one has a scar and is wearing blue clothing and sandals. The blondie is wearing a slightly brighter color of blue, but otherwise, his clothing is the same. I place down my branches and approach them.
"Sorry miss," the blonde begins. "You may have a pretty face, but we can't let you in the village."
". . . I didn't even say anything . . . ," I muttered. I don't have a pretty face.
"He was merely clarifying it for you," his brown-haired companion stated. "And no, we can't make an exception. Rules are rules."
I didn't say anything! Why are they assuming this stuff?
"Uh . . . Okay . . . ," I squeaked out, replying. "I just thought that since you guys are people, and people should stick together at times like this, that maybe I stood a chance."
"You know, you shouldn't go acting all innocent on us," the blonde spoke again. "We're not letting in criminals - and only criminals live outside the village."
"Actually, I woke up just today!" I exclaimed, hoping that may sway them. My voice fell to a hushed whisper. "I haven't done anything wrong."
"That's suspicious," the brown-haired guard proclaims. "Further so as you appear unharmed." He and his partner both pointed their spears' tips at me in sync.
Spears. That caused me to panic, and I backed up so fast I almost fell over. My actions seemed to surprise the shorter guard.
"Oh? Did you not see the spears before?"
". . . I'll just get going . . ." I return to my materials and head along a pathway nearby to build a place to stay. Even if I wasn't welcome, it would be nice to have even the illusion of protection from the outside.
I use more vines from the forest to secure the corners and walls, and the rest is just wood I found laying out and about. It takes forever, and by the time I'm done the sun has practically set, but I manage to finish.
The guards seemed to have been watching me the whole time - the shorter, blonde one with interest, while the taller brown-haired one with suspicion. It's fine though - I don't plan on approaching them anytime soon. Spears are much too dangerous for my liking.
I get inside my makeshift home and let myself starve. No way am I going out into those woods again - and definitely not at night.
I somehow managed to lay there for a while, before remembering bugs exist. Luckily, I couldn't see any, but then again, I could hardly see anything.
There's a knock at my sorry excuse of a door, and I know I can't ignore it - even though it's definitely a stranger. Could it be the scary spearmen?
I push the plank of wood to the side and see the blonde one, and then immediately pull the door back. Of course, I fail at this task because the spearman - spearboy? - is stronger than me and stops my attempt.
"Wait, wait a second!" he hisses. "I'm trying to help you!" I freeze.
"Why would you possibly want to help me?!" I shout back, and he gestures for me to quiet down. No way - wait, is he some sort of pervert?! I'm about to try again when lifts a bowl of something to me.
"Here," he offers. "And to answer your question . . ." He trails off in thought, and his expression doesn't make him seem any but innocent to my claim - definitely a pervert. ". . . well, shouldn't people help each other? Like you said?"
". . ." I accept the bowl - he'll probably stab me if I don't - and nod. "Y-yeah . . . But didn't you and your friend say no to helping me?"
"We said no to letting you into the village. Normally that'd include helping you, but you clearly can't help yourself. Kinro had to use the bathroom, so I decided to sneak you some food."
". . . Thank you . . . ," I mutter, remembering my manners. The blonde boy then leaves to retake his post shortly before his friend returns. I curl up in one of the corners of my build to eat.
These will surely be some difficult times.