Insight

The sound of birds chirping and the creaks of floorboards stir me awake. I open my eyes and observe my surroundings.

I am in the same place as before, in a white medical bed inside of a clinic.

'So it wasn't a dream? Did everything really happen?'

I look down at my chest and notice that the uncomfortable feeling is gone. I give it a light touch, but no pain comes.

'How did I heal this fast? Normally broken ribs take weeks to heal, right?'

I begin to sit up, carefully testing to see if any pain flares up while I do so.

None comes.

What kind of medicine did he give me? I'll have to ask him. I also have to help him out around here, because of what I said.

Work off my debt. I wonder what that entails? Another thing to ask him.

I stand up, and walk toward the hallway. I see 3 doors, and presume one leads to his room.

"I'd rather just wait for him to wake up, don't want to start off with a bad impression."

I walk back into the pervious area I was in, and look around more attentively. Herbs, gauze, and various medicines. It's a shame that there's no books, though.

"You seem to be curious."

A voice comes from behind me.

Startled, I whip myself around and see the doctor. How didn't I hear him getting up?

"It's okay. It's just me. How's your chest?"

"I-Its fine. Actually, how am I already feeling better? Don't broken ribs take a few weeks to heal?"

He raises an eyebrow and looks at me inquisitively.

"A few weeks? At most it takes a few days, maybe a week without any medicine. Where did you get that information from?"

Now that its come to my attention, how am i able to be up and walking? Just yesterday I had nearly drowned and now I'm walking around as if nothing had happened.

"Nevermind that. I have a job for you."

I pay close attention to the words that come out of his mouth.

"I need you to go down to the general store and buy a few naku weeds. See if you can check to see if they have any sea ganoderma in stock."

'Naku weed? Sea ganoderma? I've never heard of these two herbs in my life! I don't even know what they look like!'

The man seems attentive to my confused expression, and sighs.

"Do I need to do everything around here? Here, take a look. This is naku weed, and these are sea ganoderma."

He points to the 2 herbs on the shelves. The naku weed seems to be a entirely purple weed with 3 petals, and the sea ganoderma's look like blue roses with petals from the roots to the top of the stem.

"Here's the mora needed, and the location is down the street. You can't miss it. Be back before noon."

He promptly hands me a sack, and inside are what look to be gold coins. Is this their currency? Wouldn't a paper bill be more convenient to use?

"Thank you. By the way, do you know where I can find a library?"

"Keep going down from the store and you'll find a store that sells books. You can't buy one, but you can borrow one and return it for free."

I promptly thank him before leaving.

As I exit the clinic, the sun beats down upon me, the heat oppressive. A momentary gust of wind provides me with a brief respite from the suffocating warmth.

I begin walking down the path, before noticing something.

I'm shirtless and barefoot.

I promptly walk back to the clinic, and ask for a shirt and some shoes, and the man lends me a hospital patient gown, and some wooden sandals.

Okay, not it's time to go finish this.

I walk down the dirt path again, and take in the sights around me once more. Before, it was night. But now under the sun, the movement of the people is easy to see. The streets are quite full, and I have to take care to not bump into someone.

Eventually, I see a store that seems to be selling various things, and I walk over.

After a brief wait in line, I reach the clerk.

"Welcome to Tsukumomono Groceries. What can I help you with today?"

'What a long winded name. And does she have to recite that for every customer?'

"Hello, may I please buy some naku weed and sea ganoderma?"

"Unfortunately, we don't have any sea ganoderma left, but we do have naku weed. How many of them would you like?"

'He didn't tell me how many!'

"Uh, I'll take 5?"

"That'll be 5000 mora."

I hand her the pouch, and hope that it'll be enough.

"Here's you're change!"

She hands me back the pouch, and it seems to be around half empty.

She prepares a bag, and packages the 5 naku weeds. She hands them to me, and promptly says

"have a nice day!"

I walk away, unnerved by her constant happy attitude. How could someone do that for every customer they had to serve?

"Hey, over here."

Someone calls me over. I look around to see where the voice is coming from, and see someone looking directly at me signaling for me to come closer.

I hesitate for a second, and then walk closer. As I reach the man, a smile forms on his face. I'm already starting to regret my choice.

"I heard that you needed to buy sea ganoderma, right? Well, I can sell you some for only 5000 mora each! A rather good deal, compared to the 6000 from others."

'5000 mora?! If I spent 5000 earlier and got half the sack back, that'll be the rest of my mora for 1 plant! Are they really that rare?'

"I'm sorry, but I'll have to decline. 5000 mora is far too much."

"Okay, how about this. I'm losing money at this point, but I can offer it just for you at 2500."

"That's 50% off all of a sudden? If I can't buy it at the store, then it's probably more expensive than 5000 mora. I'll be able to get 2 of them too!"

"Deal."

I hand the man the mora, and wait for him to give me the plant.

"let me just go get the plants from the back."

He attempts to walk away, but I decide to follow him.

We walk deeper into the alley, when suddenly he breaks into a sprint away from me.

"Shit! My money!"

I begin to sprint after him, my legs moving me forward at a surprising speed unexpected to me. Was I always this fast?

I manage to catch up to him rather easily, and tackle him to the ground.

"Get off of me!"

He pushes me away, and stands up. He puts up his hands, and rushes toward me, seeming angry.

I put my hands in a high stance, ready to try to dodge or block his attack. Adrenaline fills my veins, and my vision focuses. The air feels sharp.

He approaches closer, and I stand firm. He reaches me.

and promptly runs past me.

'A feint?!' I try to turn around, but he's already gone.