I wondered if I should even tell her about my deaths. Would she even believe me? I decided I would tell her about the soldiers trying to kill me, but I would leave out the dying parts. “Those soldiers have been trying to kill me. They called me a black witch, but I don’t even know who that is!”
“The black witch is a taboo, and most people know about her. Where are you from anyways?” How should I even answer that? Should I tell her that I came from a different world? I don’t even know how much she would believe. I might come off as a crazy person, and that was the thing I least wanted to happen. “I came from a far away place, and I seem to have some amnesia.”
“Amnesia? You poor thing. I don’t know how I am supposed to help with that.” I sipped on the tea before asking her a question of my own. “Say, do you know where in the world we are?” She gave me a pitying look before she answered me. “We are in the Annul kingdom. For you to not even remember that, I am sorry for yelling at you earlier. I thought you were some ruffian breaking into my home.”
“Please don’t mention it.” I remembered the state I was in when she yelled at me. “Seriously, don’t ever mention it!” I was starting to smile again as we talked more and more about this world. Annul kingdom was in the south of the continent. She didn’t tell me whether or not she had any family. She only told me that she lived alone in this house. When it started to get late she offered to let me sleep next to her in her bed. I accepted as I had nowhere else to go. Plus we were both women, so there was no harm.
I grew restless as I layed next to her. She went fast asleep almost immediately, but I was in turmoil. The deaths that I had experienced were taking their toll on me. What was the point of going through all of that? Why was I in this world in the first place? I wanted more than anything to go home to my grandmother that I was beginning to remember. She was the kindest old woman you could find anywhere. She would help me when I was suffering, and she would hold me close when I had nightmares. I must have been nothing but a burden to her. I tried to remember more of my family, but I could only remember her.
Eventually I fell asleep, and with sleep came the nightmares of my previous deaths. I dreamt of dying over and over again. Then I saw a strange man in a school uniform chase me to my eventual death. When my eyes shot open it was still dark outside. I must have not slept very long. Lily was still asleep next to me. My rustling must have woken her up as she slowly opened her eyes. “What are you doing so early in the morning? Did you have a bad dream?” She took me into a hug and before I knew it I started to cry my eyes out. I always hated pain, and the only thing that I have experienced since arriving here is pain.
“Maybe we need a change of scenery.” She said after I finished crying. I took the hand she offered me before we headed outside through the back door. In the backyard of her house were plants that I had never seen before. Several of them were glowing a white light that lit up the dark backyard. There were plants of all shapes in sizes. It was food for the eyes. “Pretty!”
“Isn’t it?” She smiled at my reply, and it was my turn to blush. The light from the plants complemented her beautiful features. “I cultivated all of these plants for years. Some of them have taken years to bloom. They are all used as ingredients in alchemy.”
“What is alchemy?” I had to ask. I played video games in my past life, but I wasn’t sure if it would be the same thing here. “Alchemy is the process used for turning ingredients into potions or reagents. See those apples?” I nodded. “They are called apples of rejuvenation, and they are good for helping people who have lost energy. They are weak if you eat them by themselves, but in a health potion they can help people restore vitality.”
She went on to tell me about different ingredients and their uses, but I was more focused on her smile as she spoke passionately about the different ingredients. What was curious was the way my heart would beat just by looking at her, and listening to her voice had a calming effect on my very being. “Hey are you listening!?” She suddenly grabbed my shoulders which caused my blush to grow in ferocity.
“Lily, can I ask you something?” She looked at me warily before releasing my shoulders. “What is it?”
“I just wonder if-” suddenly it became hard to talk. My face met the dirt as my vision started to become blurry. Then my eyes were filled with red. It became clear that I was seeing blood. My blood. I looked up towards Lily, but I could not see her anymore, and when I looked down the sight made me feel nauseated. My intestines were leaking out of my stomach. I tried to hold them in with my arms, but it only caused the searing pain to grow. I faintly heard a panicked voice trying to speak to me before my vision went black.
When I woke up I was surrounded by darkness, but I recognized where I was. I was inside of the cellar that Lily had hid me in. I still felt nauseated upon waking up, and immediately I started to vomit. The voices outside the cellar didn’t calm me. It was Lily speaking to the soldiers all over again. Does this mean I died?
Sadness was the first emotion I started to feel as I calmed myself. Why is this happening to me? Will she even remember our conversation? Of course not! I was just starting to feel happy in this world. What even killed me? I dread to think that it was Lily, but she had been the only person that was with me. Was it because I asked her a question?
I had so many questions I wanted answers too, but the more I started to remember the death the more I wanted to vomit all over again. I started having a panic attack before I passed out. The last thing I heard before passing out was Lily’s footsteps coming towards the cellar.
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