"No! I'm slipping!"
"Come on, you can do it! Hold on!"
"I...Can't! Help!"
"Just...keep-"
"Ahh!"
"No! Sjin!"
It was dark. That he was aware of. It was a murky darkness. The kind that gladly takes new victims. He could feel the black wisps wrap around him. He could hear it too. The roar of the souls in their misery flooded his ears in an eerie and haunting fashion. He couldn't move or breath either, no matter how much he wanted to. He felt no ground or stability but instead felt weightless in a cold, dark world. There was only one explaination. He was dead. Suddenly he felt something grab his collar and pull him up.
"An angel," Sjin thought. "I'm going to heaven." He allowed this being to take him away. But instead of heaven, he was taken somewhere else. When he entered the new realm, he couldn't help but take a big lungful of air. Afterwards he coughed and choked, his chest aching. This realm was dark too. Blurry shapes and colours occasionally appeared in front of his eyes but they soon left him. He still felt cold but now he also felt heavy and sore. At least the noises were gone.
"Are you okay? Speak to me." a voice spoke. Neither Sjin's mouth nor mind were willing to answer. He felt himself get picked up and carried like a lump of meat. He was then placed somewhere, sitting up and dangerously close to falling over. He then felt a warm body sit in front of him.
"Don't worry, alright? You'll be fine."
Sjin quickly slipped back into unconsciousness afterwards.
The morning light gently glided through the windows, the shining rays warming up whatever they touched. Sjin woke up slowly, enjoying the comfort of the bed. The material was clean, soft and warm. That alone made it hard for him to get out of bed. But he was hungry and the scent of freshly baked bread in the air only sharpened his appetite. So he sat up and opened his eyes. The man was confused. This wasn't his room. This wasn't his house and this wasn't his bed. He then winced as his blurred memories came back to him. If he fell... and ended up in someone else's house then... he must have been rescued. Sjin had some questions so he decided to look for his rescuer.
He had a good look of the room first before realising the house was the one room. The walls and supports were made of pink logs and planks and the wooden roof was a grassy green. He saw another bed across his, unoccupied. Crates took up most of the space around the room. Next to his bed was a small table that had a loaf of bread and glass of water sitting on top.
"Don't mind if I do," Sjin said to himself, taking a bite.
He sharply turned his head towards the window as he heard a whistle coming from outside. Soon after someone whistled a happy tune. A tune Sjin thought he heard before. Curious, he stood up and strolled towards the pink door with the heart-shaped window built in. He stepped outside and breathed in the fresh air. The sky was clear and the day was warm, the plains in front of him stretching outwards with only a few trees braking the horizon. He heard another sharp whistle in his right ear and turned his head towards it. In front of him, he saw large birds of different colours ambling around, whistling to each other and eating some greens. There was a man amongst the birds, who had blonde hair and blue eyes. He wore a white shirt and simple black trousers, both looking a little worn. The man was going around each bird, petting them, feeding them, giving them attention.
He then looked over at Sjin, smiled then proceeded to walk over to the fence.
"Morning!" the man yelled cheerfully. Sjin waved and smiled back at him.
"How are you feeling?" the stranger asked.
"N-Not bad, actually," Sjin replied hesitantly. He frowned for a moment and ran a hand through his brown hair.
"Do you know what happened to me?" he asked, memories still unclear.
"Don't know," the man shrugged. "I was doing rounds on my chocobo and saw you in the river. I thought you were dead."
Sjin's frown deepened as he tried to recall what happened.
"River? Last thing I remember was being in the garden..." His blue eyes widened as he remembered.
"I fell! I slipped and fell... There's a cliff at the end of our garden. I-I must've-" Sjin stopped himself and shook his head. Why was he telling this stranger all this anyway?
"Anyway, thanks for saving me back there. Don't know what would've happened if you didn't," he thanked. The man waved his thanks away.
"No problem, er, Mr...?"
"Sjin."
The stranger crossed his arms and smiled at Sjin.
"Well, Sjin..." he started. "I'm Lalna."
