Day 94-
Tree's still here, guess we're not losing our minds. Well, not in a hallucinating way. Yet.
Komaeda slept on the ground as usual. I don't know why he won't sleep in the tree. It's definitely not a five-star hotel but it feels at least a little better than the ground. At least I convinced him to gather some leaves to make a bed on the earth.
I've got some leaves and sort of rubbed them on my arm I guess? It's a trick I think I learned somewhere in grade school or something that helps tell if a plant is poisonous. If I recall, if you get a rash then you shouldn't trust the plant, and shouldn't try eating from it. It doesn't seem to be rashing up, and that was several hours ago. I guess Nanami could have eaten these leaves if she was here… Nanami… er- anyhow.
This is assuming this method even works, it's probably just some dumb fake story they tell little kids. Maybe oak tree leaves are super poisonous. I don't know anything about oaks. And that's based on the assumption that this is an oak tree in the first place. Sometimes here I have to make blatant assumptions here or there or else I'll start wondering if it's even a plant. Regardless, there's no real reason why I did it besides curiosity. Not like I'm gonna start snacking on leaves when I don't need to eat (Especially considering the taste of grass, eeew). I guess I just feel like risking getting a rash up my arm. Doesn't that sound riveting. I sure know how to have fun around here.
I like the swing a lot, it's sturdier than it appears, even if it sounds like nails on a chalkboard when it moves. I have to warn Komaeda if I try to use it, so he knows to cover his ears. As janky as the thing is… it's pretty elaborate. I've got to wonder who built it. We haven't seen any manmade structures out here until now. It's proof that not only is there someone else out here somewhere, but someone conscious and capable of building. Everyone I know of was unconscious initially, so it couldn't have been one of us. Unless Nanami… was she awake before we found her…? I don't think it could have been her. She didn't mention anything like this place. Plus, I don't think she could have built this, where would she get the supplies? On top of that, she didn't seem like one to have the strength to build something like this. Maybe it's just that I'm used to seeing her in her weakest time… oh, god Nanami. I'm so fucking sorry…
Er. Right. Can't… can't bring myself down with these thoughts again. Gotta think logically here, not emotionally. Anyways… there's also no reason for her to waste strength in such an unnecessary way like building a swing. Also, it would make no sense for her to leave a place like this, if she could eat leaves. There's no promise of food anywhere else. With all things considered, there's no real reason to assume it was her, or any of us. There's got to be more people out here. Not just because of my logic but… also because I hope, I so, so desperately hope it's true. That's not exactly a reason why it has to be true, but… oh, it's hard to explain. Fuck it.
Day 95-
Komaeda's not awake yet. I've been quietly grabbing leaves while he's out. Since I know the leaves aren't harmful to touch, I've been covering him in a whole swack of them as a sort of prank. What the prank is supposed to do exactly… well I don't know. It sounded like a good idea in my head, and I'm too far along to stop. Even if it is kinda dumb. I've never been good at pranks. Just not my cup of tea, but at least something kinda stupid like this brightens my mood a tad.
...
Well I fucked up.
That went terribly. Komaeda woke up with his face covered in leaves, seeing nothing but blackness and being covered in leaves… yeah, he told me he thought he was dead and there was dirt and maggots covering him. The… the poor guy… he started tearing up. Shit… I didn't think this would happen. Talk about worst case scenario…
Of course being the guy he is, he forgave me… but now he's putting all the more emphasis on not being near the tree. He wants to go back, or at least head North again. I mean, I kind of owe him a favor now after pulling that on him, but… I'd like to at least know why he wants to go. It's unlikely we'll find another tree ever again here. I at least want to appreciate it for a few days. I can feel reluctance and disgust dig in my throat at the thought of walking through grey, grey and more grey again, as we've been doing for far too many days now. I'm sure he's sick of it all too, so it's kind of confusing why he'd want to leave something like this so soon.
Maybe he's just curious if there's any more structures or things nearby, which is understandable, who knows really. I personally think the real reason he- don't blame him when- to be honest- scared of the concept of- he doesn't- I probably-
(the rest of the page has been burnt and smeared with ash)