As I Opened My Eyes (1)

Death.

Excruciating, nauseating, painful death.

If there was anything I wouldn't have expected it was my death, even more so when in such a sudden way.

It was much sooner than I'd expected — how many times had I thought about it?

How many times had I found myself reassuring myself that I would die in a dignified manner that would make me proud of my accomplishments and achievements?

I imagined that, as a struggling college student, I might live long enough to die of old age.

A natural death... from a natural cause.

The ultimatum of old age. Utterly surrounded by confident people, who I could hug, saying I loved 'em.

Nonetheless, all this was but just a mere illusion, crushed by a trampling caused by fatigue.

Damn you fate.

'I can't die like this...'

As the strange scenery around me darkened and I gradually lost my senses, I had a strange thought during my last few breaths.

Surprisingly, I had seen a scene that normally wouldn't happen even in my wildest and wildest dreams.

There was land rising from the sea, floating several feet from the sea surface.

An airship was flying in the air.

When I reached out to the sun in the blue sky with white clouds, my consciousness disappeared.

I...

I had died.

*********

''Aak!''

I felt cold and shivering, as if I had just plunged into a frozen Antarctic pool.

Wait, what the hell was Antarctica, in the first place?

Anyway, I'll worry about that later.

I opened my eyelids quickly, and when I awoke from that dark dream, I found myself on a sloping bank with lush grass.

Strangely, in contrast to my apartment in the middle of the city, there was the sound of grass scraping against each other.

My nose was then slowly flooded with the smell of the lush plantation that surrounded me.

Lying in a place where my pale hand was reaching for the sun, I, "Rodiel", was attacked by a violent pulse.

It was surely weird.

A burning sensation seemed to have lodged itself within the region of my chest, making it tingle.

What was it all about? What should it mean?

"U-uh..."

I felt liquid dripping down my forehead, into my wide, dry eyes, and staining my robes.

The amazing thing was that I wasn't sweating from the heat of the sun, it was a viscous, cold sweat that wouldn't stop.

Fruit of my nervousness, perhaps?

Or just the sense of accomplishment of finally remembering what had happened to me?

I mean, were those vague memories even mine in the first place?

Whatever it was, there was a pulsing throbbing pain in my head and an unpleasant feeling as I sweated buckets.

I tried to ignore them and sat up as straight as possible, trying to concentrate better than before.

"S-so, what was that now?"

Since I sat down in panic, some of the undergrowth that got caught in my clothes fell to the ground with a low hiss.

As the cool breeze blew towards me, the greenish leaves, coming from the grass, moved farther and farther away.

It was a very beautiful scene — many, surely, would take the time to admire such a beautiful view.

Sadly, I didn't have time for that. Not now.

"What the hell...?"

As I thought aloud about this in a strong wind, a giant airship passed over me, blocking the sun with its large shadow.

It was a spectacular sight.

That gigantic airship, which was made and crafted out of wood like a box, was one that periodically came to this territory in search of trading some agricultural items sold here.

It was strange to think that I used to look at him with indifference — my memories were jumbled up in a strange tangle, leaving me extremely perplexed.

However, today, I evidently couldn't hide my wide eyes in astonishment and surprise.

It was as if, strangely, I was seeing this all for the first time, even if I felt a kind of déjà vu.

"Ugh...!" Clutching my chest, I felt my heart still beating wildly.

My ragged breathing didn't calm down either, despite all my efforts to make it lessen.

I was a powerless, ordinary, fragile person — even so, who in their right mind would handle such an occasion well in the first place?

With the momentum of a leap, I lifted myself off the earthy ground and fixed my eyes on the floating vehicle.

I looked closely in the direction the wooden airship was heading, and there, there was a ghostly looking blue-green sea spreading out beyond view.

Again, I felt a sense that something was out of place — the sea and the place where I was standing seemed different, as if they were someway changed.

"What is this? Why..." I slowly walked forward, and then I fell uncontrollably.

I glanced down, scanning my body for injuries, but all I found was more cause for concern.

My pale hands and feet were strangely small, and honestly, although I hadn't noticed before, my voice sounded a lot higher than the normal voice I'd gotten used to.

With an avid shake of my head, I affirmed to myself: I was pretty sure this was my own body, and yet I bizarrely felt that I was very small.

It was as if I had experience with a slightly more developed body that had already surpassed my age.

But did that even make sense?

"I need to focus. That's it. FOCUS."

Frankly, instead of worrying about it now, I had to check the situation first.

Maybe this could help me come to a plausible conclusion faster, right?

At least, it was certainly worth the try.

"Hup!"

Once more, I got up and walked, then gradually changed into a desperate run towards the sea.

I staggered a little.

My leg had probably been injured in the previous fall.

'Weird...' I had this uneasy premonition and I got impatient.

Even though I was not athletic, I felt it took a little longer than it should have with these poorly developed child's legs.

Luckily, in the end, I reached my destination.

The place, which had a poorly made fence arranged in large strips, whose purpose was to prevent people from falling down there, looked like the usual scenario.

The common scenery in which I spent all the years of my quiet life.

''Fuuh...'' I sighed, dumbfounded.

"Alright, alright. It's the same business as usual, isn't it?" I spoke aloud. "A floating island shaped by magic."

Some might think it was weird, but not for me.

This was an island floating in the sea.

A land that moved above the surface of the sea, floating endlessly and staying in the air, without the aid of technology.

Many had already wondered why it stayed that way - the only plausible explanation for this event being possible was the use and existence of ancient magic.

Magic. Technology.

An island flying freely as an airplane would, freed from the laws established by modern science and Newton's much-commented physics.

Certainly, if the most famous and intelligent researchers and scientists caught a glimpse of this, they would have an epiphany.

Perhaps they could even reach the point of ecstasy itself?

"Cahum..." I coughed, refocusing.

Quickly, I analyzed the scenario thoroughly, my mind compiling the information into a kind of mental file.

The island was still floating, but I didn't know whether to be happy or sad about that.

And for some reason, just looking at it was enough for me to see an image of an island floating in sea water.

Even so, it wasn't an ordinary image - it looked extremely real, and I felt included in it.

''Maybe...'' I commented, unable to complete the thought of the theory.

I wanted to know what it all meant.

I wanted to understand what that scenario was that, mysteriously to myself, seemed far more familiar than anything in my mind at that very moment.

And while I shouldn't have needed it, I wanted to confirm it anyway.

I wanted to confirm everything I had just seen, heard and felt through what seemed like illusions.

Honestly, it made sense that I would be in that state — something had felt strange to me for some time, even before I had that weird experience.

''Hmm...''

When, once again, I repeated the same process as before and held out my hand towards the blazing sun, a procession of images surged inside my head, permeating my brain.

My head throbbed.

A violent headache hit me like my head was going to crack in half and split into the little bloody pieces it used to be.

The images, previously foreign to me, formed a kind of enveloped video before my eyes, inside my mind.

I saw.

I felt.

I could understand.

It was an unknown foreign language but I could understand it without any problem.

Those memories were part of the whole life of a certain man who didn't live here - his homeland was, without a doubt, very, very far away from where I lived.

There was nothing outstanding or amazing about it, but it still looked nice.

It could certainly be dismissed as a dream or a mere illusion caused by physical and mental wear and tear, but it felt vivid and strangely more real than my own life.

''The name... What was his name again...?''

Although I had seen the entire life of that man, I couldn't remember anything that referred to his name.

How bizarre.

I could remember the name of the girl he called his sister, though — Alana.

''.....'

'I was stunned, petrified like a stone statue in some art showroom.

The headache began to gradually improve as the seconds passed, but all I could manage was babbling unintelligible words, disconnected and devoid of any real meaning.

I felt like I was instantly reminded of the important experiences and decisions of someone beyond my five-year-old age.

Someone who had suffered and overcome countless trials along the way.

Someone with whom, for some reason, I could relate.

''Ugh...''

Dizzy from the overwhelming flow of information, I sat on the ground, unable to fully understand what was going on.

My confused and vague memories of my whole life, which made me seem crazy, suddenly began to change.

I felt as if my current memories, lived and experienced resolutely over the five years since my mother had given birth to me, and those I remembered, were blending together in some kind of bizarre mix.

Was that guy actually me?

So could I claim that I was him? — How much of a complication....

Still motionless, I rested my gaze on the blue sky filled with white clouds of various shapes; my back leaning against the fence.

''R-right...'' I uttered, smoothing my temples calmly. ''... What... what exactly happened to me?''

At the time, even I didn't know who that question was directed at.

Nonetheless, there was one thing I was certain: I, Rodiel, an orphan, had recovered something long lost.

Something that had been overshadowed by a dark veil of unknown origin, but I didn't want to let it get lost.

It had to remain.

So without a doubt, this time, I wouldn't let it slip my mind again.

Never again.