Chapter 10
Her body aching, Mai picked herself up and blinked a few times. Strangely enough, this did not chase away the darkness. Confused, she turned around slowly, hoping to catch a glimpse of something familiar. The last thing she could remember was sitting in Sam's living room, before the pain started. There was nothing, literally. Not one small beam of light. Even if there had been things around her, she wouldn't have seen them. Realising that her eyesight was not going to help her in this case, she resorted to carefully extending her arms in front of her, whilst walking slowly forward. After doing this for about a minute, she began worrying that this was all there was to it. A great big, dark void. She sat on whatever hard surface was beneath her feet, and waited for what seemed an interminable amount of time before it started to tremble, at first slightly, then with alarming intensity. Standing up, she instinctively looked for support, but found nothing other than empty space. Something peculiar was happening; what she could only assume to be the sky, changed to a midnight blue. All around her, it seemed as if vegetation sprouted from the very ground at an impossible rate. She stumbled away as trees whooshed up behind her. The only thing she could think about was what would happen to her if a tree grew up from under her. This thought kept her running, on and on, in the dark, away from whatever crazy thing was happening. Thankful for the fact that she hadn't yet ran into anything, Mai carried on going, ignoring her body's plea for her to stop. Her breathing was coming in ragged but the fear she felt was just too strong. After Lord knows how long, her bare feet started aching relentlessly and she slowed down, hoping nothing lethal would catch up with her. Just then, a new sound joined the cacophony that she had gotten used to up until now. Howling. A lot of it. She looked back, only for a few seconds, and that was all that was needed. A pack of hungry looking wolves were coming towards her at full speed, fangs bared. Screaming at the sight of them, Mai increased her speed, too senselessly scared to do anything but that. Sprouting trees were one thing, but wolves?! She imagined their sharp fangs tearing away at her flesh, their saliva dripping everywhere. This only spurred her on further. She couldn't die, not right now, not here. Her body was nearing exhaustion; if this carried on, pretty soon she would trip up and either be wolfed down or pierced by a branch. Mai focused, feeling like the darkness was slowly dissipating. Renewed hope welled up within her, and she ran harder, towards what seemed to be a large field of some kind. With every step, what lay before her became clearer, and soon she could pick out an expansive beach. There were no trees there, just a lot of sand. Sensing movement above her head, she looked up rapidly, and saw streaks of blood red light converging before separating once more, as if partaking in some sombre dance. What was this place?! Feeling increasingly worse, Mai wished that her lungs would stop burning and her muscles would stop aching. Her wound wasn't doing well either. Sweat poured down her body, her clothes stuck to her uncomfortably and her mouth was dryer than it had ever been before. Still hearing the brutal sound of paws hitting the ground mercilessly, she persevered, aiming for the beach. The feeling of the warm grains of sand rolling under her feet gave her more joy and relief than it had ever done before. She stopped and turned back, to see that behind her, the trees had stopped sprouting out around her. It seemed that the beach was safe. The wolves had disappeared into thin air also. From where she stood, it looked like she was stranded on a deserted island, with the thick, jungle like vegetation stopping where the sand began. Mai, breathless, sat and massaged her legs, which were aching from all of the running she had just done. It was then that she noticed the peculiar colour of the sand. It wasn't brown, as she had previously thought, but an off-white. A surprisingly dazzling one, which made the entire beach seem as if it were glowing. Frowning, she wondered what kind of beach had shimmering cream coloured sand. Maybe that would tell her where she was, not that she remotely believed any of this was real. Looking beyond it, she realised that there was a large body of water, which was easy to miss in the darkness. Approaching it cautiously, she saw with amazement that there was not one ripple to be seen. It could have just as well been a large piece of glass or a mirror; it just looked so flawless. Seeing how perfectly still the surface was, she suddenly was overcome with a strong desire to reach out and dip her finger in slightly, just enough to cause a ripple. It was one of those things, like needing to leave in imprint on freshly poured cement, or digging one's hand far into a coffee bean bag. Already smiling at what she was about to do Mai stretched out her hand at which point, a small but incredibly refreshing breeze flowed past her, twirling around her hair playfully and tugging at her clothes. Mai gasped in wonder, as the water encircled her hand. The sensation was utterly indescribable. Unable to remove her hand from it, she advanced further, planting firmly her right foot, then her left, into the darkness. As she walked forward slowly, the ripples around her increased in size. Though it had previously been of a midnight black, the sky began to lighten until it reached a bright blue, as clear as a summer sky, with the sun high in the sky and not a cloud in sight. In the distance, Mai could hear melodious bird songs, and she felt the sun's rays upon her face, warming her up, though the water around remained cool. Soon, her wound was submerged by it, and upon contact started to heal at an amazingly accelerated rate. Mai removed the bandages around it and looked down in complete wonder, as her skin was left without even the semblance of a scar. She smiled, unable to contain the feeling of happiness and wonder which overflowed from her. In a complete daze, she continued to walk on, as the water level around her rose slowly but steadily. Looking up at the electric blue sky, she felt all her muscles relax. In her mind remained only the notion of joy, as she floated on a cloud of euphoria. Devoid of worries, sadness or pain, Mai had never felt such bliss. As the water reached her chest, she absentmindedly took notice of the multitude of tiny light orbs which rose upwards from the now aquamarine water, encircling her before disappearing into the sky. These followed her on her slow progression through the lake, casting soothing light every which way. 'How beautiful', she thought, 'I never want to leave this place…'
'Mai!'
Though she heard it, the sound was so faint, so alien to the peace which infused her surroundings that she decided to pay no attention to it.
'Mai!'
Still, the annoying syllable persisted on breaching what had become her haven. Turning around slowly, she faced it. Somewhere, at the back of her mind, something stirred. She squinted, trying to figure out why. A man, dishevelled, stood on the shore, just inches away from the lake. His dark hair ruffled by the wind was periodically swept across his face. This did not seem to bother him however. His white shirt was rolled up at the sleeves, and seemed torn in places. Its collar, half upturned, flapped against the breeze, as he fixed her intently, his facial expression one of complete and undisguised desperation. He called out to her once more, and this time, a name popped into her dazed mind.
Naru.
Holding his gaze, she felt a pull, a tug at her heartstrings. Him. She needed to be where he was. Just as she resolved to walk back, she heard laughter coming from the other direction. Tuning back, she saw a man and a woman, both smiling, with their arms outstretched. There was something overwhelmingly familiar about the way her golden hair fell in masses upon her shoulders, and how his smile reached his brown eyes in earnest sincerity. They looked like home. With this peculiar feeling grabbing hold of her, she began to once more walk away from the shore. Her parents. They had to be. The parents she had never known, never had, never gotten a chance to love.
'Mai!'
Again. Again with the yelling. She turned around once more, and saw Naru who this time looked even more desperate than before. She couldn't understand why he wasn't joining her in the water, it was so nice here…So peaceful.
'Mai.'
This time, the sound came from the opposite direction. Turning back round, Mai's breath caught in her throat.
Standing beside her parents, was Naru. Or rather, his exact replica. She knew without a doubt who this was. His warm smile brought tears to her eyes, and all at once, she knew where she needed to go. Her tears had not been this heartfelt in a long time. She extended her hand, waving goodbye. She couldn't endure more pain than she already had, her heart was too full of scars. There was no space left for another. This was where she needed to be.
On the other side of the shore, Naru had shouted himself hoarse. It was clear to him that the lake was extremely dangerous, which was why he couldn't risk entering it. He probably wouldn't have enough sanity and common sense left to drag Mai back onto the beach. Helplessly, he carried on calling out to her. He could tell from where he stood that something had captured her attention. Beyond the lake, there was something drawing her away from the shore. However, there were too many bright lights for him to make out what that might be. Forcing down the panic which was welling up within him, he concentrated on solving the issue. How could he capture Mai's attention long enough to bring her back to him. He needed to shock her out of her euphoria that much was obvious, but how? How could he shock a woman such as herself, who lived so carefree, so carelessly, who respected almost no rule, who would say any idiotic thing just to pull a smile out of someone, and gave herself up to life without hesitation? Looking at her, he noticed that the water level had reached her neck. Thinking was no longer a luxury he could afford. In a few seconds she would be lost forever.
'I love you!'
Mai froze. She froze. Encouraged, he carried on.
'I love you more than I have ever loved anyone. Even myself! I love you, Mai I love you! Please, come back to me!'
Hearing the wobble in his own voice, he quickly attempted to clear it, and continued shouting desperately.
'I know I'm not the most affectionate, or even remotely so. I'm not good at that useless stuff but…I promise, I promise if you come back to me, I will make an effort to…to…to do all that stuff that women want men to do. Please, Mai please, I'm begging you. Come back to me.'
Ignoring the furious beating of his heart, he silently prayed as he watched Mai remain motionless. After a few heart wrenching seconds, she turned around, a smile radiating on her face. 'God she's beautiful', Naru thought to himself. As she slowly emerged from the water, dripping wet, he paid no attention to the fact that her clothes had essentially become see through, and pulled her into his arms. It wasn't until he held her against him tightly that he realised how utterly terrified he had been. Never again. Never, he vowed, would he ever put himself through this kind of ridiculous situation again. This woman needed to be protected, and that was a job fit only for him. Letting go of her for a few seconds, he quickly picked up his jacket, which had been thrown unceremoniously on the ground the moment he had spotted Mai, and reached into its pockets, retrieving the charm and the piece of paper. Not wanting to waste time, he put the charm around her neck, before drawing her shivering body back against him. Taking a deep breath, he uttered the words Lin had hurriedly scrawled onto the note.