Where am I?

“Watch out!” I hear a scream and it freaks me out. I kneel and put my hands above my head, unable to move or open my eyes.

“You idiot,“ a female voice says, and she grabs my clothes and pushes me far.

“Don’t be mean, Yuki!” I open my eyes and see where I am.

I’m in the middle of a big meadow, a huge green field all the way to the horizon. There is a huge wolf next to the girl who saved me attacking her. She blocks the bite with a shield and attacks back with her sword, killing it instantly. She is next to a rock where I was seconds ago. That wolf could have killed me.

I remain on the ground, watching how she moves and defeats the huge wolves. I can’t move, I try to, but I feel like I lost control of everything… I’m not sure who I am.

“Move! RIGHT NOW,“ she yells at me with a scary face. My body obeys her and starts to move; first I crawl, and then I take my steps in an awkward and unbalanced way. One huge wolf appears in front of me and I run to the other side.

“Get DOWN.” I hear the order from a guy running to me and I kneel. I feel how the wind passes above me; his hammer at high speed, crushing the wolf behind me.

After a while all the wolves were hunted, and some others left to go back where they came from. And these two people come to me, he has a worry-face, she looks a bit mad and scary. I think they may punch me, but he gives me the hand to help me to get up.

“Are you ok?” he asks patiently, “what happened right now? Why didn't you move?“

I don’t know what to say, and the girl speaks. “He crushed his head, now he’s dumb forever.”

“Hey, Yuki! Don’t be mean. We don’t know what happened behind that rock.“

“I think Yuki is right… it hurts a bit,” I say as I touch my head. “And, I think I don’t remember anything… Who are you? And who am I?

Their facial expressions change drastically, and they give a huge scream of surprise. I wonder who I am for them. I don’t even feel my hands like they were mine.

“But you just said my name, how it’s that you don’t recognize me?”

“He screamed your name, twice,“ I say as I point at him with my finger, without knowing his name.

“I’m Daichi, nice to meet you, again, I guess…,” the big man says with a smile and hugs us. Somehow, I don't feel uncomfortable, as if my body remembers that I'm safe with the two of them. “Anyway, I’m glad we are safe, we survived another day.”

“Stop it, Daichi. You are all sweaty.“ Yuki hits him with her elbow, and slips off the arm from below. She is right, so I do the same and without realizing it, I’m smiling. “And for your information, the day hasn't finished.”

“Hey, guys,” I start to say, and my head starts aching. Yuki looks at me with concern. I took a step back, but I lost my balance. “My head—”

I couldn't finish that sentence. I see Yuki run towards me, I feel a cold and calm breeze that shelter me. The headache intensified, leading me to faint.

I slowly open my eyes and see the clouds moving at fast speed. I feel the wind and some movement; something is carrying me. There's a strong scent of citrus and sweet. I look to the side and see the entire space filled with brightly colored fruits. Damn, I can't even remember the names of these colors. Why do I remember some things, but not all of them?

I raise my hand to the sky. Will I get used to this body? Who am I? I feel a burning or tingling sensation in one of my fingers. It doesn't quite hurt, but it feels different.

“You are awake, Kai?” Daichi asks from behind. I stretch my neck as I turn my head back to see if he's there, but I don't see him, just more fruits.

Kai… Kaiko, I remember, that's my name. I wonder if I'll remember other things with time, or if I'll be without memory forever. I don't respond and keep looking at my hand, feeling the tingling slowly fading away.

After several minutes, I manage to compose myself and sit up. I feel the fruits rolling and bumping against me. I look around finding out that we are on a path over a vast green field. Somehow, this place seems more peaceful than the one where we were attacked.

The movement stops and I feel a tilt forward, toward the ground. But then there's a slight bump, and everything comes to a halt. Some fruits roll forward, and I have no idea what this thing I'm sitting on is. I see Daichi peeking from the side, and he gives me his hand to help me get out.

He explains that this thing I was lying on is a transport cart, and he was the one moving it. "Getting Arsez or Mhulez is expensive, and it wasn't worth it with those muscles," he says as he shows his arms.

“Pure muscle, little brain,“ Yuki adds coldly.

“Hey… why are you so mean today?” Daichi asks, looking at her with curiosity, taking a bite of one of the fruits. “Do you want one?”

“No, I don't want anything. They belong to our client.“ She rejects Daichi's offer and turns around. I can feel her frustration and anger, I believe it’s not just toward Daichi, but also toward herself. “We should have protected him better, especially you, Daichi. You were closer to him. Now he hit his head and doesn't remember anything!“ She turns to look at us and then stares straight at me. “He even became dumber! Look at that sad puppy face.“

I approach her and pat her head. It saddens her worries about me, but I truly feel fine, and I'm sure I'll remember more about my life eventually.

“Don't pat-pat my head!” Yuki exclaims, pulling her hand away abruptly.

“Thank you, Yuki,“ I say, smiling at her. Her concern and anger seem to fade away, and she turns around, crossing her arms. Even without seeing her, I can imagine the color of her blushing face.

“Let's go, we don't have all day,“ Yuki says and starts walking without waiting for us. Daichi asks if I want him to put me back on the cart.

“No, thank you,“ I say, shaking my head and arms. “I feel fine, I prefer to walk and stretch my legs.” Daichi goes under the wide horizontal pole and starts pulling the cart with ease, and we resume our journey to wherever we're going. They didn't tell me, and I didn't ask. I suppose it must be far, as when I fainted, the sun was at one end, and now it's almost at the other end, and I see two small almost white spheres in the sky as well.

After a long walk, they tell me we're almost there. We just need to climb a slight elevation of the terrain, they explain, and then we'll be able to see.

“See what?” I asked, not understanding where we were going.

“Oh… right,“ Yuki said, almost rolling her eyes. “Soon we'll be able to see Zuheinholm, the Capital city of the empire Edealyon, or at least its outskirts.” I nod without much excitement, as neither name seems to sound grand to me.

I notice that Daichi was getting tired, although he wouldn't ask me for anything, I offer to help him with the climb. He accepts without complaint and made space for me. We start going up the slope, with every step I could feel the pull of my arm and legs muscles.

In the last stretch, my body was asking for a rest, but we manage to pull it through; I pull the cart with all my strength, I even scream while closing my eyes. When we finally succeed, I fall to the ground from exhaustion. After a few seconds of heavy breathing, Daichi offers his hand one more time.

As I stand up and look at the city, I become speechless, unable to believe what I am seeing. It is immense, indescribable. A city without end, stretching all the way to the horizon, and maybe even further.

“Welcome to Zuheinholm,“ Daichi says with a huge smile and pats my back.