Invitation from Rem

When I realized it, I was in a deep forest.
It was so dark that I couldn't even tell if it was morning or the middle of the night; hardly any light penetrated the forest.
All around me were rugged objects covered in deep green moss, so thick I couldn't tell if they were rocks or old stumps. On top of those mossy, rugged things, I could see colorful mushrooms growing in several places, as if claiming they were poisonous.
Only a few hours should have passed since I fell asleep, so I should be in a deep slumber by now. Yet, why am I having a dream right now?
If being in this forest itself isn't a dream, why did I end up in such a deep forest?
Did my wavering heart choose the wrong path? No, I definitely should have fallen into a deep sleep.
Since I rely on many sedatives to calm my brain and avoid accepting invitations from Rem, I should be able to firmly reject their calls.
“Come here,”
Rem’s sweet, gentle voice said.
“What are you so afraid of? Don't be scared, come here.”
Even though Rem urged me, my heart and body should not have been able to move.

I feel as if my summer dress is damp from the breath exhaled by the trees. Is this sensation also just something happening in a dream?
“There’s nothing to worry about. You just need to take it one step at a time.”
Rem’s white, glowing arm reached out.
“Come here.”
Rem’s arm was thick and sturdy. Jade-colored veins stood out on that white, glowing skin.
“What’s wrong? You want to jump into the next world, don’t you? Come on.”
Was that voice the master of the forest, or a god from the heavens?
“It’s too dark, I can’t see anything.”
I shouted blindly.
“Then, I shall grant you a single ray of light.”
As soon as that voice echoed in my mind, a dazzling light shone down at my feet from far away, past the giant trees.
The light moved slowly, guiding me deeper into the forest.
“Now, walk slowly along the light.”
I took one step, then another, slowly firming the ground beneath my feet as I advanced deeper into the forest.

I am walking with my own feet through an unexplored land that surely no one has ever stepped into before. I pushed through unknown grasses and flowers on top of mossy rocks, moving forward little by little.
Droplets are falling from the hem of my summer dress. I don't even know if this is my own sweat or moisture from the forest. That is how absorbed I was in walking. But strangely, I didn't feel tired.

How long had I been walking? The sunlight that had been guiding my path began to take on a reddish hue.
Suddenly, I looked up and saw the sky dyed in a deep crimson. Then, a large, round moon slowly showed its face.
“From now on, the moonlight will guide your path. Watch your step as you proceed.”
Rem’s voice grew even gentler, and I felt as if I were indulging in a glass of rich wine.
“What is waiting for me ahead?”
“The tomorrow you desire.”
“The tomorrow I desire.”
I could not understand the meaning of the words Rem had spoken.

A thin, long beam of light gradually began to illuminate the surroundings over a wider area.
As I took one more step toward the end of the light, the forest opened up all at once. Along with the dazzling light, what jumped into my eyes was a spring, its surface rippling in a mysterious, deep blue.

I couldn't think of how to describe its beauty. Just as the moonlight reflected off it, making it sparkle and delight my eyes as if colorful, glowing jewels were floating in the water, the next moment it would turn pitch black like onyx.
Just as the spring, which had turned black like an onyx stone, began to shine like sapphires and diamonds again, a sound like birds chirping reached my ears. The chirping grew louder and louder.
After a while, I heard the cries of a small animal fleeing from a bird of prey.
“Keee!”
The sound gradually changed.
Was it the voice of the hunted gasping in terror?
“Jiji-jiji-jiji.”
Whose voice was this—the hunter's or the hunted's?
“Pipi-pipi-pipi.”
The bird's cries were fired off in rapid succession like electronic beeps.
“Pipi, pipipi.”
The sound being produced changed again.
“Pipipipeeeee.”
Distracted by that chirping, I suddenly fell into the spring.
“Ah, I’m falling.”

Thud.
“Ouch, ouch, ouch.”
Sitting right in front of me was the bird plushie I had spent 1,500 yen to win from a crane game, which I couldn't exactly call cute.
“Rem, it was your doing after all, wasn't it?”
The plushie Rem was staring intently at me.

“Pipipipeeeee.”
Rem kept staring at me, chirping shrilly.

End

#Sleep #Awakening #Rehabilitation #Illustration #HikamiShobo