Perhaps it should be true, I have nothing to fear. I don't seem to have received the blessing of feeling danger, nor of feeling pain. Ever since I was little, I was like a child that other children coveted. If I couldn't feel pain, I could be like the superheroes on TV that we always watched together.
Maybe that's why I was able to be friends with Noir and Sunny in the first place, it was because of that that I was invited by them. Maybe to become a decoy maybe not, I always respect their decision. Because other than that, I can't do anything.
Speaking of the fourth member in our group, Rudy, where is he now? I hope he's okay. My grandmother who was the village chief always beat us with rattan when we broke her rules. And that time Rudy, I don't want to remember it anymore.
He left later that day and we haven't seen him since. No, in fact, we had forgotten about Rudy's existence, as if he never existed at all.
A very nostalgic moment, somehow it feels a little, I don't know. I want to go back to when we still didn't know anything, this strange feeling, is this called pain? I don't know yet. At least maybe, for now.
Mom always told me, i can do it. And by 'it' is a word full of nothing.
---
"You should know that this Lagtrain train was invented and designed by professor A**. It took 3e10 years to discover it. Using spatial techniques, time can be slowed down and accelerated. Professor A**'s sacrifice as a Catalyst as well as a record of the expanse of horizon science is such an honorable task. No one can replace that task, because it is the essence of the universe." Mr. Umbrella yapped as he took out four umbrellas.
By the time we reached the city, it was only midday, and it was raining by the time we got there. Though we still had to travel on a rutted asphalt road that stretched for who knows how long.
"Maybe we should stay here until the rain stops. After that-" Sunny's words were cut short.
"The rain won't stop for 26 hours 37 minutes and ten seconds. Are you going to wait until tomorrow, Sunny-kun? Then the use of Lagtrain will be meaningless." Mr. Umbrella said.
"Don't call me that." Sunny took a deep breath. "If I get struck or Aadflyn gets carried away by the wind, don't blame me."
Mr. Unbrella laughed.
"Don't worry, the tall trees along the road will act as lightning rods. You should know, aren't you from here?" Mr. Umbrella asked.
The train doors closed, things returned to normal, at least until the train left. I don't know why the train departed covered in fog, maybe the rain was getting heavier. The others have started walking out, I can't be left behind.
Our village, called Hidden Cloudy Hill, has always been hit by rain for nine months. That's why even though it's so hot and dry in the capital, here the rain is always there for a long time. Just like Mr. Umbrella said.
Along the way, nothing interesting happened, if you consider the coconut trees falling onto the road and my umbrella being stolen by the wind to be interesting. What I did find interesting was when Mr. Umbrella could keep pulling out the same umbrella over and over again no matter how many times my umbrella was taken away. Maybe the name Mr. Umbrella really suits him.
In addition, the snakes popping up left and right made Noir scream hysterically. The rainy season is really terrible here, the fog is so thick that even seeing each other is very difficult. Let alone to speak, it feels like my throat is starting to hurt.
"Mr. Umbrella, can you estimate when we will arrive?" I asked.
"I don't know, the fog is so thick. Maybe we can arrive this afternoon. That is, if we're lucky." Mr. Umbrella took a candy bar out of his pocket, tossing it.
"What does that mean?"
The candy thrown by Mr. Umbrella was some sort of mint, my favorite candy flavor. I ate it without hesitation.
"No, no. I was curious from the beginning why Noir brought me here, why Noir?" I asked.
Noir shook her head.
"To be honest, I don't know either. But we must be close, I feel it. Our village, Hidden Cloudy Hill-" Noir's voice was lost in the pouring rain.
Damn it! The wind was getting stronger, it felt like my umbrella was going to fly away once again.
The rain still didn't let up, in the middle of the road there was a small hut, not very nice but still able to hold the rainwater. We decided to take a break there, with the fog becoming thinner and thinner. Our village was getting closer, going down this road would take too long.
Mr. Umbrella kept urging us to leave quickly, but we, who were cold, decided to stay put for a while. This was a good opportunity, I hadn't asked or atleast haven't heard the answer from Noir, why she wanted to return to this village.
"The reason we're back, Noir. What's on your mind is making us wet and cold." I commented, because I hadn't really heard Noir's words earlier.
"I don't know, my intuition says I should go back. You know, my intuition is very precise and always right." Noir replied, wringing out his jacket that had soaked up a lot of water.
"We're so close, even though I swore never to come to this place again. This shack, where we fought the last boss, that old gramp." Said Noir.
I smiled, Reminiscing the moment.
I felt a kind of nostalgia, I still remembered when I was taken by my mother in a rickety car with my father away from here. Until I came back on foot. Looks like grandma was right, no, grandma was always right.
The road became more visible, the ash fog opened the way again. We left that place and continued our journey. Along the way I always felt there was a gaze directed at me, none other than Mr. Umbrella.
I ignored him, distracted by the village gate that was already visible, labeled Hidden Cloudy Hill. My head immediately reacted violently seeing the writing, memories immediately flooded me reminding me of what I had missed. Ah, I remember. This place is where I grew up, where I spent two-thirds of my life to become who I am now.
"Well, now. Let's go." Mr. Umbrella said.
"Go? Where do you mean? We just got here." Sunny asked.
Mr. Umbrella smiled.
"A place that is very important for human survival, without it, the earth would stop spinning, science would not run. That place is called, Annt. A place where 'special' people gather. A place you know very well, one of you. That silver door."
Mr. Umbrella smiled.
"I guess I'm exaggerating a bit but that's the point."
We all followed Mr. Umbrella up the slightly uphill path, away from the village. There was no one in the village anyway. This was indeed the road that I and the others had traveled. Although with hazy memories.
Since then, I experienced things that I couldn't understand, until now it still happens. Hallucinations of an unknown figure, my body that can't sleep at night. The dizziness that comes suddenly, or the buzzing in my ears when I try to remember.
I fell down, holding my head.
My vision was getting blurry, I could see Noir and Sunny running towards me, I had been walking slower than them. I couldn't hold it in anymore, I couldn't feel my body anymore. It's tight. Finnaly I got to sleep, after a long time.
I collapsed, hope they would carry me again.
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