2 - Realize!

“Automated, pre-recorded messages… really?” I muttered to myself.

The situation was frustrating, but I’ve always been a simple person with simple needs. Frankly, just being able to walk again was all I could ask for, even if it meant my life as I knew it had come to an end.

Still getting used to my new body, I frequently tripped over my feet, but the smile never left my face as I wobbled upright again. I’d balance myself with arms outstretched to my sides, and dare to try a short jog. No tiredness, no worry, only the cool, refreshing breeze against my face.

I don’t know how long I walked, skipped, jogged and fell; the next thing I know, I was right up the edge of a large lake, a thin stream stretching away from it so far I couldn’t see where it led to.

I crept closer to inspect the water; it was so crystal clear, I was able to see what I looked like for the first time.

“Ho… I see. This all makes sense now.”

Staring right back at me was a girl of small stature, a wide grin on that child-like face. The large, teal-colored eyes were unlike anything you’d see where I used to live, along with the bright, red hair. An old, tattered shawl did its best to protect my body from the constant winds, covering a plain tunic outfit.

“… Nope. This makes no sense whatsoever. Ah, God!! Why in the world did you reincarnate me into a damn loli in the middle of nowhere?!”

I raised my arms into the sky, pleading for an answer from the automated machinations of godly beings. As expected, I received no answer.

“Hah!”

I was however, hit with a sudden realization.

What did the automated message say again?

“Your new life suited according to your ideals…?”

In the first place, how’d this god even know anything about me? I’m from a completely different world. Unless…

“Think… Were they spying on me, or did I forget about a chance meeting with a god…? Come to think of it, something strange did happen to me in a dream some time ago…”

It was quite a vivid dream. I often brooded on my cartoonishly cruel fate, rightly so in my mind as it was the only place I could muster enough strength to vent my frustrations. I was in a small bedroom, not unlike one you’d see from the first child of an average family. I was seated on the floor across another person, a table between us stocked with tea and snacks.

That’s right… it was a dream, so I never thought anything of it. I just vented to the person sitting across from me as usual.

Ah, I wish I was born healthy. Stupid unknown disease, why me?!

Ah, why is there always construction happening outside my window? This is a hospital, dammit! I wish I was in a place without any of that! Only peace and quiet-

Ah, I wish I can just read all the books in my mind. Actually, I wish I can just live in my own mind, then I can take my time reading everything-

I really want to bury my face into a woolly sheep-

“AHHH!!” I screamed out loud.

Of course! If I were a godly being with little to no regard for empathetic emotional understanding, and complete disregard for human nuances specially harnessed over thousands upon thousands of years of trial and error-

“Healthy body? Easily done, just remove the disease… a child’s body is most likely to be at the peak of health. Peace and quiet? Just throw them into nature itself…”

I see, I get it now. With such flippant disregard for lowly mortals beneath them to resort to pre-recorded messages, it was reasonable to expect the same disregard for careful consideration towards those they’ve been tasked with. Which results in-

“The proverbial monkey’s paw!”

Be careful what you wish for. But it wasn’t as if I’d known back then that whatever came out of my mouth would be taken literally by some omnipotent god.

“Let’s recap…”

In other words, I’d already been living in this world for quite some time. By right, I was supposed to regain memories of my life on Earth. I gained those memories, but lost the ones in this current world, likely due to a mistake.

“It’s like being thrown to a deserted island, all alone. Ah, god!! Why’re you so incompetent…? What a disaster. But even then… I’m still grateful for the chance you’ve given me.”

I put my hands together in a small, silent offering of prayer to whatever god watching from up above.

“Dwelling on the circumstances won’t change anything. For now, I should figure out the basics and go from there.”

I squinted at my own reflection, unobstructed even by a single ripple in the pristine lake. Aside from looking nothing like how I did on Earth, I couldn’t tell apart any striking differences from an ordinary person. There was no mistaking my humanlike appearance, except for one thing.

“My ears are… pointed?”

I strained my head from side to side to get a better look, feeling them with my fingers.

“This feels… completely normal other than the fact that they’re a little longer… and sharper? Not as sharp as those elves in novels and movies… Tapers at the end into a fine tip- woah! I can move them so easily. No hands!”

I observed my twitching ears, staring with wide eyes that seemed to sparkle like twinkling gemstones.

“Mmm, they seem too short to be elf ears, at least for Earth standards. Is this what a half-elf’s ears would look like? Maybe I’m not completely human like on Earth. Some sort of hybrid? Is there a demon race in this world? I’m quite small… some kind of pixie? Can I use magic…?”

I raised my arm-

“Fireball!”

Nothing happened.

“Uh… Thunde- Lightning? Lighting Bolt!”

Nothing happened.

“Ice Needle! Wind- err, blade! Wind cutter? MAGIC MISS-”

I was on all fours, disheartened that the strenuous activity of shouting at the top of my lungs produced no visible results.

Either magic doesn’t exist, I had no magic powers, or I’m doing it wrong.

If only some god didn’t screw up and leave me here without my memories.

“Ghhnnn…”

I thought long and hard, willing my brain to try remembering my life out here in the middle of nowhere. I came to one, singular conclusion-

“Ricolette, can’t recollect. Bah! Let’s stop thinking.”

As I stood up, a strong gust of wind blasted my face, sending my hair whipping about and forcing my eyes shut.

“Mmm…”

The faint scent of fresh greenery filled my nostrils as my body staggered backwards, so light it could be affected by something so trivial as wind.

“Either way, my new life begins now. I gotta make use of this opportunity to-”

“Grrr…”

“-t-to…”

“GRR!”

I audibly gulped, taking a deep breath before opening my eyes.

There’s a wolf there.

Growling at me.

Huge.

That thing’s bigger than me for sure.

I exhaled with a long sigh. The snarling, gray wolf looked ready to pounce at any moment. What do I do in this situation? For now, I’ll observe it. Looks like it’s still assessing my level of threat. I should take this opportunity to calm down, think of a plan-

The wolf took one step forward.

“GYAHHH!!”

I immediately turned and ran-

I can’t take on a wolf!

-and tripped over my feet.

“Oof-!”

I’m still not used to a free body, having been bedridden for so long. Despite having supposedly lived a good amount of time in this world, my Earthly constitution seemed to have affected this body somewhat-

“Wait a second, this is only because I don’t have existing memories of this world- Why did you screw up, god- GYAHHHH!!”

Next thing I knew, the wolf was on top of me. It opened its jaws, revealing teeth so sharp I was certain they would mean the end of me, a lone line of drool extending from its jaw onto my cheek.

Panic set in quickly, and I began to wildly flail my arms about.

I don’t wanna die, not this soon! Not yet-

“I DON’T WANNA DIE!! WAAAAH!!”

Smack!

My desperate swings finally made accidental contact with the wolf’s head. My open palm connected with the side of its face, ripples of waves forming from the fleshy impact.

Except it wasn’t really a smack. It was more like-

BANG!

A short yelp escaped the wolf as it was blown away. The impact from my slap sounded like a gunshot, with the resulting force to show for it.

“Wha-”

I stared at my hands, still shaking from the ordeal. Come to think of it, I did manage to hold off being crushed by the wolf’s paws, if only for a short moment. And then I realized-

“I… I’m strong!” I cried out.

I can take on a wolf!

“Grr…”

The wolf had already gotten back to its feet, continuing to prowl about albeit more cautiously than before.

“… Maybe not.”

I’d been swinging about randomly, unintentionally managing to do some damage. If I tried to hit the wolf in earnest, would I be able to take it out?

“I’ll just have to test it-”

“GRAWR!!”

“Nevermind!”

I turned tail and ran as fast as I could, hoping to dear god I didn’t trip over my feet.

I can’t take on a wolf! Too scary!

I had no doubt it was chasing me; I didn’t need to turn around to be able to sense its presence.

What am I supposed to do?! While it’s amazing I can run so long without being caught, it’s only a matter of time before-

“Trees!”

I made a beeline for the nearest trunk of solace, jumping as high as I could and grabbing on for dear life. Glancing back, I could make out the bounding figure just a short distance away.

“Waah!!”

I scrambled up, just narrowly avoiding its leap and deadly bite.

Don’t stop, keep going!

I used my adrenaline-fueled arms to pull myself up, helped immensely by my light frame. I didn’t stop until I’d reached a thick branch, swinging myself onto and grabbing it for stability.

Only then was I finally able to catch my breath, panting as a single drop of sweat fell down onto the scowling wolf.

“T-Take that!”

“Grr…”

“Yeek-!” I cowered against my tree of protection.

The standoff lasted for a few minutes as I watched the wolf circle below several times, before seemingly giving up and leaving, disappearing into the shadowed canopy of trees.

“Phew…”

Now that I didn’t have to worry about becoming dinner, I was able to focus on my surroundings. Behind me stood towering trees as far as the eye could see, which wasn’t much considering it was already pitch black a couple ten meters ahead.

I was on the very outer edge of the woods, staring into a menacing abyss.

“… I should stay here a while in case the wolf comes back.”

Is what I said to myself, but frankly the atmosphere was so unnerving I couldn’t take it any longer. A sudden chill running down my spine was all it took for me to change my mind.

After making sure there weren’t any other predators around, I carefully climbed down the tree and made my way back to the lake, not once looking back.

*

I lay against a rock by the lake, gathering my thoughts.

The area around was completely open, the grass too short to hide any nasty creatures that might be lurking about looking for their next meal. As such, it was easy to scout the area to make sure there wasn’t any danger while I rested and thought about my next plan of action.

“There’s plenty of water here, but I’ll need food and shelter. Maybe there’s fish in the lake? But I’ve got no experience with fishing… Come to think of it, is lake water even safe to drink? I’m getting thirsty…”

Since I deduced I’d been living here for quite a while already, I should have a place to return to. Was I simply out on a walk, with worried parents waiting for me at home? It’s worth a shot exploring the nearby area, but there’s no sign of a house anywhere as far as I can see.

“So many things to worry about… Ugh, I need to sit down and think for a bit.”

The sun’s still up, I’ve got some time… In times like these I liked to simply escape into my own little world and daydream, just for a bit. Imagining myself in a small, comfy room lit by candles, shelves full of books lining the walls with a roaring fireplace… A couch for me to laze on without a care in the world… Yes, just a little bit…

After getting into a comfortable position, I closed my eyes, taking slow, deep breaths. When I was bedridden, I often escaped to dreamland to relax and keep anxiety at bay.

It’s been a while.

I felt reassured at the familiar feeling of calmness, the sounds of nature around me slowly dissipating into nothing, until there was barely any white noise left to distract me.

Except there was something.

The air around me began to warm. I could feel a distinct source of heat, as if I was in a room with a lit fireplace. In fact, I could smell a faint aroma of… paper? This is the scent of… books. That’s right. It’s as if I was in-

“A library.”

I opened my eyes to find myself in a completely different place.