Ten thousand years

“Testing, testing. Hello, my name is Jinko Saido. How are you doing? Where do you live? What is your favorite food?”

I practiced talking to pass the time, but I still sounded like a I had a sore throat.

“Mmm...”

Oh? Is she finally waking up?

“Ngh...! Guh!”

Suddenly, Rui's eyes snapped open as if in shock, and she breathed heavily. She sat up on the bed and looked around, confused, before locking eyes with me.

Feeling like I should clarify the situation, I explained.

“You were passed out on the floor when I woke up. I tried to wake you up, but it didn’t work, so I moved you to the bed. Oh, and I can talk now, as you can see, although my voice still sounds a bit strange.”

“...I see. Thank you.”

“Y-You’re welcome...”

Did she just thank me? I was so caught off guard that I almost choked on my words.

Not wanting another awkward silence, I tried to engage in small talk.

“Did you have a nightmare? I did too actually. It was the weirdest dream. I was in a beautiful and enchanting forest, like something out of a fairy tale, with all kinds of flowers I didn’t even recognize. But then, the forest burst into flames out of nowhere. Oh, and there was also a little girl, calling out to her... mommy. Why are you looking at me like that? Did I say something weird? Or is it my voice?”

“Describe the dream in detail. Everything.”

“Huh? I mean, sure, but I don’t really get-”

“Just do it.”

I didn’t really understand what was so interesting or important about my nightmare that she needed to hear it that badly, but at least we were talking.

I described the dream in great detail, from how there were all kinds of different flowers, how the forest was suddenly engulfed in flames, to the little girl calling to her mother.

The whole time, Rui listened attentively, staring into my eyes, making me nervous and causing me to look away frequently. When I was done, she looked astounded,
as if her entire world had just been turned upside down.

“...Are you okay? You even collapsed earlier and were unconscious on the ground.”

She acted as if she hadn’t heard me and instead asked her own question.

“Have you had any similar dreams before?”

“No.”

“Are you absolutely sure?”

“I mean, I can’t be one hundred percent sure. I often just forget my dreams after waking up. But this one is still vivid in my mind.”

“How is this possible? Are... Are you really a human?”

Huh? What does that even mean? What else would I be, a cat in disguise?

“Of course I’m human. Aren’t we both?”

As soon as I said that, it hit me.

Wait, is she even human? She can transform and change the shape of her ears and hair color, she can lift me above her head with ease, and on top of all that, she can fly! There’s been so much happening today, I didn’t even think about all those things and what they mean. Plus, that strange illness, or whatever it was, that took control of my body.

“...You’re not human, are you?”

“...”

“Please just tell me. Who are you really? What really happened to me? You said before that if I told anyone, you would kill me without mercy. I’m still aware of that, so I promise I won’t tell a soul. It’s not like anyone would believe me even if I told them.”

“...Alright, I’ll tell you.”

“Really?”

“But I want something in exchange.”

“And what would that be?”

I was a little nervous, not knowing what she would say. Given the situation, it could have been just about anything.

“I need to run more experiments on you.”

“Huh? Experiments? You mean similar things to what’s been happening now?”

“Yes.”

“...”

“It would be less problematic this time, and it will leave no long-term issues, with me supervising you.”

“Okay. If you promise I won’t lose control over my body again, I’ll agree. But I want you to explain everything, without leaving out any details.”

Rui shot me an annoyed look, but seeing my determined expression, she sighed and agreed.

“Fine.”

“Oh, can I ask for one more thing?”

“What?”

“Can you... Actually, never mind. It can wait.”

I was about to ask her to change into her blue haired form, but embarrassment stopped me, and I changed my mind.

“...”

“Haha, it’s nothing important.”

“I’ll start then.”

“Please do.”

“As you said, I’m not a human, but an elf.”

“Elf? What is that?”

“...Think of us as a kind of fairy. And don’t interrupt me.”

“Sorry.”

“We elves existed long before humans. We are a long-lived race, with potentially infinite lifespans. But only one elf has ever lived longer than the thousand years. That elf is me. I’m part of the last generation of elves, and the only one who survived to this day.”

“Can you tell me about what happened to me when I couldn’t control my body?
And am I completely cured now?”

“You were possessed by a dead spirit, or as you would call it, a ghost. And no, I can still sense that a small part of it remains inside you.”

Somehow, I wasn’t prepared for that.

“A ghost?!”

“Yes.”

“But... How did that even happen? Can anyone get possessed, just like that?”

“I don’t know. I never had the chance to find out, because aside from you, I had to kill everyone who got possessed.”

“But why? You saved me, so why not the others?”

“You don’t think I tried? Do you think I enjoyed killing those innocent people?!
I didn’t have a choice!”

“...”

Noticing my silence after her sudden outburst, she calmed down and explained.

“When someone gets possessed by a dead spirit, they’re practically dead already.
No matter how much time you give them, they can’t recover. What’s worse, given enough time, the spirit controlling the body starts to lose its mind, since it doesn’t belong in the world of the living, goes berserk, and starts attacking everyone around it. But you remained sane. When I found you, you were signaling to me not to kill you and could even communicate with me, something I’ve never seen from possessed people before.”

“So, what makes me different?”

“That’s what I want to find out.”

“So you don’t know?”

“No. What I meant when I said I wanted to experiment on you, was finding out how you managed to break free from the possession, and if it’s possible for others.”

“I see...”

That’s really nice of her, trying to save others, even if it has nothing to do with her.

“Alright. My second question is, if it’s not rude to ask, how old are you?”

“I don’t remember the exact number, but as I said before, I’m the only elf to ever reach the age of ten thousand.”

“Whoa. That’s insane to think about. You must have seen so much of history throughout all those years. But still... doesn’t it get lonely being the only one experiencing it all?”

“It is lonely... It really is.”

“Oh! Uh... are you okay?”

“I-I’m fine.”

“But... you’re crying.”

“Huh?”

Tears were slowly running down Rui’s face. They fell faster and faster, increasing in number, and soon, she couldn’t hold them back anymore. She wiped at them with shaky hands, but couldn’t stop the tears from coming.

Oh no, did I cause this? Should I apologize? Or pat her head? No, what is she, a child? But I can’t just sit here and do nothing.

Not knowing how to respond in a situation like this, I simply sat next to her on the bed. After a moment, wanting to do something more to comfort her, I carefully put my hand on her shoulder and gently patted her back.

She flinched at first, but then seemed to relax a bit, before, out of nowhere, her sobs grew louder.

I quickly put my hand away, thinking I had made it worse, when she suddenly turned to me and buried her face in my chest, clutching my shirt tightly with both hands, her sobs shaking her body.

Ah! What do I do? What do I do?

I tensed up for a second, before taking a deep breath and resuming my gentle pats on her back.

What is this feeling I have in my chest? My heart is beating so fast, as if ready to burst at any moment, yet it also feels heavy, sad, weighed down by sorrow...
She must have been holding that in for so long... No wonder she's breaking down now, finally talking about it all, letting all those emotions out.