Free bird

When they arrived at the inn, Olive stopped walking and Natsuo observed the scenery, mesmerized. A small lake with water lilies separated them from the inn and a stone bridge led to the other side. Around the building there was a green lawn and wisteria plants gave colour to the place.

The atmosphere was peaceful and seemed like it came out of a fairytale.

"Do you work here?" Natsuo asked.

Olive nodded. "Yes, this is my family’s inn. Our house is nearby."

"It’s a very beautiful place."

"Thank you." The girl smiled.

Olive prepared dinner for Natsuo and she also gave him a room where he could sleep for free. He had been lucky to meet Olive, otherwise he would have surely slept outside.

Natsuo flopped down on his room’s bed and thoughts began to swirl in his head. He had talked a little with Olive and, from what he could understand, the reign where he had transmigrated was called Roselond, and the town where he was right now was called Wisteria Town. He didn’t know how to come back to his world or if it was possible to do so. Furthermore, he had discovered that in this world music didn’t exist: that was why people were so impressed by his music. Maybe it was his chance to become really famous.

Speaking of which, he had to check his Rockstar System and try to figure out how it worked. He had not seen anyone using magic or something similar during the day, so he had no idea of what it could be. He just hoped it was something cool.

He opened the Rockstar System menu and this time there were seven songs saved and one skill. He clicked on SONGS and all the pieces he performed were listed; he put his finger on the first song and a music sheet opened before his eyes.

So he could see the music sheet of all the songs he played; that was good.

He changed the window and checked the attributes, which was the thing he was most curious about. A short description of the attributes’ function was provided:

You can apply attributes to your songs to give them specific properties and effects. You can apply a maximum of two attributes per song.

There was only one attribute available for now and it was called HEALING.

Does this mean that if I apply this attribute to a song, when I play that song I can heal injuries or diseases? Natsuo reflected.

He put the attribute to one of the songs saved and decided to try it as soon as possible.

***

The next morning, Natsuo woke up early in the morning. He didn’t sleep well, in fact he was tired and sleepy. During the night, he dreamt his last moments in the previous world again. He was still troubled by his friends’ words. Did they really think he was a cantankerous narcissist?

He got up and fixed his black hair in front of the mirror. He glanced at his right ear’s piercings in the shape of letters that formed his name. Well, maybe he was a bit of a narcissist… But confidence was needed if you wanted to have success, right?

Natsuo took his guitar and went outside. He sat down on the grass near the small lake and took a deep breath of the fresh morning air: he was already feeling better.

He held his guitar in his hands and started playing one of the first songs he had ever learnt. How nostalgic. He remembered those times when he was a little kid struggling to remember the right position of the fingers on the fretboard. But, despite all the difficulties, he had fun. He always had fun playing his beloved electric guitar.

At that moment, Olive got out of her house with her little bird in her arms. Her bird started to show symptoms of Silence some time ago and she was trying her best to take care of it. But, no matter what you did, healing Silence was impossible: it would take a miracle.

She walked towards the small lake and heard sounds coming from it. She rushed up and saw Natsuo playing the same strange tool of the day before. She observed his fingers going up and down the strings, while his expression was concentrated, but, at the same time, relieved. It seemed like he was emptying himself of all the weights he carried.

The soft morning breeze moved his hair back, revealing his side profile with a pronounced jawline. Olive blushed a little: he was very pretty. His left ear was full of ring earrings that made him look even more attractive, for some reason.

When Natsuo finished the song, he breathed deeply and smiled. When he held his guitar, all his problems vanished away and he felt light as a feather.

The boy heard some noises and turned his head to Olive’s direction. The girl felt embarrassed for what she was thinking about him just a moment ago, and avoided eye contact.

"Good morning" Natsuo said.

"Oh, yeah, thank you… I mean, good morning" Olive replied clumsily.

Natsuo noticed that she was holding something in her arms.

"Why did you come here at this hour in the morning?" he asked.

"Oh, my bird is sick and I’m trying to medicate it, so I come here every morning to see if it can fly again" she replied.

Perfect timing! It was Natsuo’s chance to try the healing attribute.

"Do you mind if I play another song?" he asked.

Olive shook her head and Natsuo started playing the piece on which he put the healing attribute the day before.

Olive opened her arms and tried to push the bird in the air to make it fly.

Her eyes widened. Did a miracle really happen?