And so, that brings us back to the present.
I shook free from Reina and the firefighters and dove into the crimson blaze, so what exactly was I doing laying here like an idiot in some forest I’d never even seen before?
I had pushed my way through the roaring sea of flames and managed to make it all the way to the kitchen. Then I hastily grabbed my old man’s knife, but in that instant, the building collapsed with a tremendous cacophony of noise. I should’ve been crushed flat then, scorched by the flames and smoke as I held the knife tightly.
And yet, I couldn’t find a single burn or even so much as a scorch mark on my body. And on top of that I was holding my old man’s knife, which should’ve burned up along with me.
“I... guess this really is the afterlife, huh?”
I gave my cheek a pinch to check, and sure enough, it hurt.
Guess that makes sense. Whether this is the afterlife or whatever, it was at least clear that this was no dream or hallucination.
The smell of grass in the air was so strong it felt almost stifling. There was a humid, lukewarm breeze blowing. I could feel the sweat rolling down my cheek.
The knife’s white magnolia sheath felt smooth to the touch.
There’s no way this was some dream or hallucination...
“So then I really did die...?!” I yelled out to no one in particular, then collapsed back to the ground.
Well, guess it’s no surprise that I died. I mean, I went and dove into that sea of flames, so I suppose that’s the natural result.
Still, a fact remained that I couldn’t just turn a blind eye towards: The whole reason I had gone and done something so idiotic in the first place was because I didn’t want to see that hopeless expression on my old man’s face. But there was no point if I didn’t just lose the knife, but my life on top of it!
10 years ago he lost his wife to illness. Now he lost his shop, and his son, and even his precious Sakaki knife... So just what did he have left to live for?
I clutched the knife in its sheath tight with both hands, squeezed my eyes shut, and ground my teeth. If I didn’t do all that, I would have collapsed into an ugly, sobbing heap.
I’m sure Reina must be crying about now, too...
We’d grown up together like we were siblings, but now I’d never see her or the only family I had left, my old man, ever again. Just like my dad, I’d lost anything and everything.
What was even the point of my life...?
Just as that painful question flashed to mind, I heard a rustling from the nearby brush. This was followed by the unmistakable bellow of a beast. I slowly looked in that direction, still laying on my side. On the other side of the brush, in the dim darkness, two burning red glints shone back at me.
What’s that...? Is it some sort of demon or devil?
This place looked like a southern paradise, but maybe it was actually hell rather than heaven...
The animosity in those eyes was strong enough that I couldn’t help but think so.
Come on, give me a break... I didn’t do anything that bad back when I was alive, did I?
I got up nice and slow, so as not to provoke whatever it was that was staring at me.
And then... it finally showed itself.
Whoa...
It was a boar. Or well, something that looked a lot like one. The thing was a four-legged beast that looked just like a boar, and must have been about 200lbs. Its hard, wire-like fur was a brown so dark it almost looked black, and its hair stood up running from its head down its back like a mohawk. Its legs were short, but its thighs were quite thick. It had a squashed snout, with three sets of sharp tusks jutting out. The small eyes staring at me were fixed on the sides of its face. Its large body was short, stout, and round looking.
No matter how I looked at it, it looked just like a boar. And yet, it couldn’t be one... That was because there were two splendid white horns growing from its forehead, as if to form a pair with its tusks.
“Whoa...!”
When I saw it kicking off the ground with its hind legs out of the corner of my eye, I took off running as fast as I could. The boars I knew could apparently go upwards of 40 kilometers per hour, but what about this guy? And the boars I knew were omnivorous but didn’t tend to go after live prey, but would that hold true here?
While pondering such questions in the back of my mind, I ran desperately as fast as I could. I ran a whole lot back when I was alive, and now I’ve got to do it in the afterlife, too?
Maybe I didn’t have anything to fear now that I was already dead, but I’m sure getting stabbed by those horns and tusks would hurt a whole lot more than pinching my cheeks did.
✦ ✦ ✦
