Chương 12: The feeling of flying
I pulled out my pocket watch to check the time and realized it was already two in the afternoon.
I had been trudging along the winding forest path for two hours, yet it felt like I hadn't made much progress at all.
At first, I could still recognize the trails I had taken, but soon everything became increasingly unfamiliar; all I could see were trees, trees, and more trees.
I had no idea where I was headed and wasn't sure if my direction was taking me toward Pennsylvania.
Sometimes two paths would appear ahead, and I could only randomly choose one that seemed more traveled to continue my journey.
Many years later, I often wondered what kind of different life awaited me had I chosen the other path.
Perhaps, as Robert Frost said, "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one more traveled by, And that has made all the difference."
But those were just musings in hindsight. Now, I was slumped against a tree in the shade, desperately longing for the taste of ice-cold cola.
It had to be a cup full of ice, slowly poured over with cola, letting the cold drink trickle through the gaps between the ice cubes; that feeling was simply unbeatable.
A cola without a big cup of ice is soulless.
I instinctively swallowed the saliva that had pooled in my dry mouth and, feeling defeated, sat down under a tree, tossing my backpack aside and leaning against the trunk to rest.
With my aimless wandering in the woods, I thought I might never find my way out of this forest.
Feeling pessimistic, I took out some dry bread to eat, but my thirst was overwhelming, making it nearly impossible to swallow the dry morsels.
I gulped down the parched saliva and choked on the bread crumbs, my eyes rolling back in frustration.
Whichever deity may be out there, I prayed, please manifest yourself quickly.
I will forgive you for not appearing in time during my last plea for help, as long as you can manifest this time. I am still your most loyal believer and servant.
Everything is negotiable; please, I beg you to show yourself quickly. Just let me choke on this dry bread and wake up to find that all of this had been just a vivid dream.
If I couldn't find water soon, I might die of thirst even before the Indians could kill me.
Just as I was about to cry in despair, I suddenly heard what seemed to be a faint sound of flowing water in the forest.
I tossed the dry bread aside and listened carefully; sure enough, a distant sound of running water was coming from the nearby woods.
I hurriedly got up and pushed through the lush forest ahead. After walking about thirty or forty feet, the sound of water grew clearer. My clothes were torn in several places, yet my spirits began to lift.
When I finally passed through the last thicket, a riverbank suddenly appeared before me, covered with strawberries, their vibrant red color glistening in the bright sunlight.
My mouth began to water uncontrollably. I dropped to the ground, frantically picking wild strawberries to eat.
I devoured the fresh, juicy strawberries, their sweet flavor filling my mouth and gradually spreading throughout my entire body.
When I finally felt full, I lay back on the grass and began to enjoy the warm sunlight. Such fertile land, abundant with wild fruits and beautiful scenery, no wonder it attracted the English, French, and Indians who vied for it.
After resting for a while, I got up and went to the creek. When I bent down, I saw a strange, handsome face reflected in the water. I was momentarily stunned, then realized this was my face in this era.
No wonder a noblewoman like Sofia would risk her life to elope with the previous owner of this body; the previous owner really got a pretty face.
The reflection in the water revealed a face as handsome as a marble sculpture, with hair as black as ink framing a breathtaking visage. The chiseled bone structure seemed to be crafted by a master sculptor's hand. The defined lips, the straight, knife-like nose, and deep blue eyes added a wild charm that was simply irresistible.
Is this really me now?
I smiled at my reflection in the water, and the face smiled back, its slightly mischievous grin lending my somewhat feminine features an air of carefree confidence.
Just as I was enjoying my handsome new face, I suddenly heard a noise coming from the bushes on the other side of the creek.
I looked up and swallowed hard; it seemed I had been ignoring a critical question.
There couldn't possibly be large carnivores like tigers in this forest, could there?
I slowly felt around and managed to find two palm-sized stones.
Well, having some sort of weapon is better than none.
My gaze fixated on the bushes across the creek, where the rustling continued, along with… squeaking? It sounded like a puppy.
Before long, a white object tumbled out of the bushes, a small white ball that rolled into the river and quickly crawled back to the shore, shaking off the water and starting to drink.
A little white pup?
My tense nerves finally relaxed; as long as it wasn't a large carnivore, I was fine.
I crossed the creek and reached the other side, grabbing the little pup, which eagerly licked my hand with its wet tongue.
The damp, soft feeling spread across my hand, instantly making me fall in love with this pitiful yet adorable little creature.
This poor pup must have gotten separated from its mother.
Just as I was about to turn around, a low growl suddenly rumbled from behind me, a sound unmistakably from a large carnivore. I froze in place. Oh dear gods, my luck can't possibly be this bad, huh?
I slowly turned around and saw the head of a cougar peeking out from the bushes.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
This is definitely a fucking large carnivore.
Help!
I screamed in panic and turned to run through the woods, my survival instinct kicking in as I fled blindly, still clutching the poor little pup.
I ran in a frenzy, completely unaware of my direction, only feeling that the space ahead was becoming increasingly open.
I didn't even notice that the once bright sun was starting to develop a dark edge around its periphery.
When I finally burst out of the woods, the area opened up before me, but I didn't have time to catch my breath; the beast's roars were getting closer.
I ran desperately, not even glancing at my surroundings, until I realized something was wrong: there was no path ahead!
A cliff!
I practically leapt off the edge in a running jump. The cliff was very high, with towering trees below.
And what was that huge fire burning?
A group of Indians seemed to be performing some kind of ceremony nearby?
Ah, ah, ah!
I screamed in a panic, experiencing the sensation of flying for the first time in my life, terrified to the point of losing control.
I have acrophobia!
I plummeted toward the flames, the ground rushing up to meet me. I could even see a platform in front of the fire, where an elderly man in a long robe, holding a staff, seemed to be saying something.
But my horrified screams began to draw everyone's attention; all eyes turned wide in shock, including the elderly man on the platform, who stood frozen, staring at me as I fell from the sky.
The image of the old man became clearer and closer until I crashed down onto him.
As I lost consciousness, the last thought in my mind was that this old man was rather thin, and his bony frame made me ache all over.
The crowd gasped, initially shocked into silence, before breaking into a commotion.
Meanwhile, the dark edges around the sun expanded, until over half of it had turned black.
The bright sun began to fade, casting diminishing light across the land.
Eventually, the entire sun was engulfed, and the sky turned pitch black.
From high above, only the flickering bonfire emitted a faint light, but in the boundless darkness of the forest, it was merely a speck.
The Indians gathered around the platform exchanged glances, then looked at the scene on the platform, and finally up at the darkened sky.
Suddenly, they erupted into a unified chant,"Deganawida, Deganawida, Deganawida."
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