Episode 15: The gymnasts' place

A new day had started, the town was busy as always. Taro did his holy tasks as always, but there was something off about him, he took longer to finish, he was spacing out constantly, and he totally forgot to stand his ground next time priest guy tried to bully him

priest guy: hey, Taro! Did you forget to dry after mopping? It's all slippery and disgusting now, I almost slipped!

Taro: ah, yez, sorrri

priest guy: hmph!, and don't forget to go harvest the vegetables next

bald priest: Enjairo! Are you done harvesting the vegetables? Hurry up, we’re about to start cooking. Don't put more stress on sister Sunny, she has not been feeling well!

priest guy went to the garden embarrassed he got caught while Taro was trying to dry a floor that was already dry enough

Shizuka: umm, excuse me!, I’m looking for Taro, is Taro here?!

bald priest: right this way young lady, what holy mandate compels you?

Shizuka: it’s about the guild, Taro is required

Bald priest: ah yes, over there. he is finishing his holy tasks, please wait for him

Shizuka leaned against a wall while watching Taro work

Shizuka: That's right, work harder, look at this, it's all dirty!, you missed a spot there, and there! heheheh

Taro: ah! Shizuka, goomornin, why, here?

Shizuka: goo’mornin’ hehe, I’m here to, uh, guild matters, that’s right, guild matters, hurry up, we have guild matters to attend

Taro: I, finish now, let’s go

they walked out the church, but not in the direction of the guild office

Taro: uhh, guild, there, not here

Shizuka: oh goddess gracious hehehe why could that be?, the guild didn’t exactly call us, but! it wasn’t a lie, we do have guild matters to attend

they went to the usual rock, the stick they left on the ground was still there, tilted to one side

Shizuka: oh! it’s still here, let’s play rock throwing again!

she drew the line on the ground, picked some rocks, and took the first turn, an expectedly failed shot

Taro: uhh, what, guild matters?

Shizuka: if you hit it, I’ll tell you hehe, but! you gotta shoot from here, because you are the rock throwing genius

Taro: (why is she delaying it?, what's going on?, girls can be a mystery sometimes)

Taro made his shot, and missed

Shizuka: oh? you failed?, I thought this was your game, did yesterday’s head bump rattle you that bad?, hehe…

she stared blankly at nothing in particular before making her shot, another miss

Taro: (she has a point though, how did I miss such an easy shot?, I did so well in the… finals… perhaps yesterday’s head bump did rattle me)

Taro focused, got into pitcher position, and hit the stick square in the middle, finally toppling it

Shizuka: ahh, that’s the rock throw genius for ya, you didn’t even give me enough time

Taro: so, uhh, guild matters?

Shizuka: geez, so impatient, alright, um, hmm, I'm curious about something, I figured you’d be the only person who’d know. I'll say a very weird word, it's not in this language, and you’ll tell me if it sounds familiar, ok?

Taro: ok

Shizuka pronounced a word in Taro’s original language, a little inaccurate, but intelligible enough

Shizuka: “jim nas tix”

Taro: (did she say just “gymnastics”?, I’m so used to the language of this world, it’s strange to hear my own language now)

Shizuka: so? does it sound familiar?

Taro: yez, “gymnastics”, familiar word

Shizuka: yes that one!, it's from the language you know, right?... from our world

Taro: yez

Shizuka: I see I see, very interesting, I guess I’m remembering more things from my past life then

Taro: (gymnastics is what she’s been doing ever since she woke up in this world, all the acrobatic jumps and spins, so that's what she used to do before being transported) Shizuka, iz “gymnast”, other world, maybe

Shizuka: hmm, I wouldn’t say so, I’ve already told this to Ari, one dream showed me I was bedridden for a long time, I couldn’t move my body, so I don’t think I was a “gymnast”, well, I don’t know, yesterday, I had another dream

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Shizuka reminisced on what she dreamed about yesterday when the secretary knocked her and Taro out

Shizuka was in a very vivid dream, she was in a school gym, wearing sports clothes, sweating and holding a water bottle

school janitor: can you lock the door when you’re finished? my shift is over, but I don’t wanna interrupt you

Shizuka: le-leave it to me, thank you (where am I?, I was fighting the guild secretary and then… is this a dream?, but I can move…r-right?)

She took a step back and felt like she stepped on something, it was a smartphone, which started replaying a video of a gymnast doing her routine, Shizuka picked the phone up and stared at the screen, at the person’s movements, and at the video title, “Olympic Gymnast Rusalva Petrovska Highlights”

Shizuka: (this is… beautiful)

with the phone still on her hand, she started imitating the movements, flowing gracefully between them, it was natural to her. The movements got more and more complex, but she was managing to follow along. cartwheels, front flips, spinning on one leg, back flips, she felt like she was connected to the gymnast on the phone screen, until she slipped on her own sweat

Shizuka: …am I like her?, am I a gymnast too?, can I be… as good as her?

a knot formed on Shizuka’s throat and her eyes felt heavy and hot, she didn’t understand why she wanted to cry.

Suddenly, the video was interrupted by music and the phone started shaking, it startled her and she dropped her phone after seeing that the screen said “mom<3”, she picked it up again and after looking at the screen for a second, she instinctively pressed on the green circle

a familiar voice started speaking from the phone, a voice that made Shizuka feel both nostalgia, and shame

Shizuka’s mom: Shizuka? where are you? do you know how late it is? tell me where are you, I’m going to pick you up

Shizuka: umm, I, I’m in, the… the gymnasts—place?

Shizuka’s mom: the what?, the school gym?

Shizuka: yes! that one, I’m in the school gym, sorry, I’m a little—

Shizuka: alright, I’ll be there in 5 minutes, stay right there ok?

the call ended before Shizuka could answer. Shizuka waited in place, she jumped and spun a bit more, nervous for what was going to happen next. Shortly after, the gym door opened, revealing a lady Shizuka had seen in her dreams before, but this time, she looked younger, fresh, not the sad and tired depiction from other dreams

Shizuka’s mom: Shizuka?, oh, there you are, let’s go

they got in the car, and drove off

Shizuka: um, m-mom?

Shizuka’s mom: yes? what is it?

Shizuka was feeling happy to see her again, confused at her refreshed appearance, and feeling guilty for remembering how sad and tired she was for Shizuka’s sake in other dreams

Shizuka: I, I’m sorry

Shizuka’s mom: don’t worry dear, you know I’ll always come pick you up, but you gotta send me a text at least, how was training? are you tired?

Shizuka: no, I mean, I’m sorry, for making you worry so much, about me

Shizuka’s mom: what’s with you today? that's what we mothers do, we worry for our children, no matter how old they grow

Shizuka’s feelings started to overflow in tears

Shizuka’s mom: oh dear, are you ok? are you feeling bad?

Shizuka: no, no, it’s not that, I’m just… happy to be here

Shizuka’s mom: oh, dear!, do you want a hamburger? looks like you trained a lot today

just as Shizuka was trying to remember what a hamburger was, she heard a familiar voice calling to her

???: Sh–ka!, Shizu–!, Shizuka!

she woke up to a worried Ari shaking her by the shoulders, the guild secretary, Nagye, Sidra, and an unconscious Taro

guild secretary: did you have a nightmare, genius? you were crying, did it really hurt that bad? ha-ha!

Ari: you overdid it old man, they are basically newbies and now you terrorized them

guild secretary: I’m certain I was holding back, and if they don't get used to this intensity, they won't last against real enemies, we gotta do what we gotta do

as soon as Shizuka stood up, she hugged Ari, sniffled for a few seconds, and then cleaned the tears of her face

Shizuka: thank you Ari, for being here, I’m getting stronger, see?, I’m not shaking like before

meanwhile, Taro started to move, and from his closed eyes, tears started pouring out, he was mumbling, and saying words that Shizuka could now recognize

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Shizuka: Actually, the reason why I made up that thing about the guild matters is something else, it was not just to ask about “gymnastics”! don't get me wrong. but it is related, kinda, sorta

She breathed in like she was preparing to do something difficult