MARI'S POV

Dark. So dark. I see nothing but darkness. How it ended up like this is beyond my understanding. I thought this would continue forever.....fortunately, light did return.

"Huh? Where the.....", I said as I suddenly saw my environment again. My eyes see clearly again. I am confused. I touched my body and found it was alright. I still wore the same blouse, jeans, jacket and carried the same purse with it's contents such as my smartphone and shades intact. I totally feel fine...and paranoid at the same time.

I continued to investigate myself before my eyes caught the attention of a very familiar place. Oh my.

"This church.....wait....why am I..."

I am filled with disbelief. Was that just a dream I just saw? Was all that just my hallucination? Why am I at the very place where I "died" in my dream?

"Excuse me, but why are you here?", suddenly someone spoke to me in a foreign tongue. I immediately dropped down and sat on the floor in shock when I learned of the source of that voice.

"Aaaaaahhhh? Yo-Yoshiko!!?", I panickly replied. Yoshiko, once again wearing that same familiar robe, is speaking to me again in a language that I do not understand.

"Huh? Wait.....did you just call me by my name!!? How did you know?!!", she said, again in a foreign language which I don't understand.

Immediately, I felt the goosebumps of that nightmare I had earlier. That nightmare where at this very place, Yoshiko killed me. I am scared, really really scared, as my body shivers.

But I look up to find a girl standing before me demanding an answer. At first I had no idea what to say. I am afraid that that dream would happen again. Taking a risk, I said:

"Ummmm.....Yoshiko....do...do you understand me?", whilst pointing my mouth with my finger. Yoshiko stepped back a bit and nodded her head left to right a bit.

"What did you say? I don't understand you.", she said once again in her foreign tongue.

A/N: Reader, just keep in mind that Mari DOES NOT UNDERSTAND ANYTHING THAT ANYONE SAYS and are just translations for your convenience. I am not gonna repeatedly say that this character spoke in her own tongue just to help you figure it out. Continue reading.

At this point, I realised that she actually does not understand me at all. I decided to take a different reaction to these bizarre events and cautiously chose what words I should say. I decided to HEAVILY RELY ON EVERY MOVEMENT AND FACIAL REACTIONS that Yoshiko makes to guess if what I am saying or doing is correct. This is the only way I can somehow reach some kind of communication with her.

"Hey! It is I, Mari Ohara! You don't recognise me?!!", I said. I am hoping the tone that I used to say it would calm her down. That even if she does not understand me, I hoped she at least sees I am not trying to harm her or anything.

"Foreigner, what are you saying? I clearly don't understand. What country are you from?!!", Yoshiko looked really irritated with my response. Not good.

I knelt down immediately with both my hands above my head grasped together like I am praying. It's all or nothing. I don't want to make it look like I am teasing or messing with her in order to spare my life:

"I AM SORRY!!! DO NOT KILL ME!!! PLEASE!!!", I honestly said. After that, there was a long silence.

This is so awkward. Anyone would totally laugh at me if I did this in public. But right now, I have no choice. I don't want that dream to happen again. I don't want to feel that pain ever again.

I looked at her. Yoshiko scratched her head, puzzled at my body language. She let out a soft sigh and talked to me:

"Sigh. I guess I can tell you are literally begging for mercy. Looks like you ain't a thief or anyone dangerous after all."

I did not get what she said, but she pulled me up and tied my left hand with a rope connected to her right hand.

Yoshiko signalled me: she waved her finger at me back and forth, pointed at the rope, and then pulled her hand through her neck like she seemed to make a decapitation signal. I kinda get the idea what she is saying.

"Cut that rope and I will kill you."

In response, I did a "cross my heart and hope to die" gesture. Fortunately, she got the idea and pulled me as we both started walking.

As we walked outside, I looked at everything in the environment. I wanted to be sure where I am - otherwise I might get into trouble or something horrible. The sky is no longer very gray. The rain has disappeared. Elsewhere, I see nothing but trees. I am constantly troubled with one question: where am I?

"Looks like I have to get her to learn some useful language. I can't move on to my seminar if someone like her is gonna cling to me for help. Why does thy be so unlucky, geez....", Yoshiko whispered. I felt that she seemed annoyed to have me around her.

I continued to think and make sense of what is going on. Yoshiko clearly does not understand me, why? What is she up to? No, where am I actually? Why is a church in this area when I know full well that Numazu never has such a place here as far as I know.

My thoughts were interupted when Yoshiko suddenly pointed a finger at a tree and called me:

"There. Appa! Say "Appa!", she said. At first I didn't get it, which prompted her to try again and said:

"APPA! Ah-pa! AHPA!!"

She seemed to be repeating one word again and again: "appa". Wait....does she want me to say it?

"Appa!! It means "tree"!! Dear god, please understand what I am saying...APPA! Ah-pa! AHPA!!"

Fortunately I realised soon enough that she wanted me to learn a word. So trees here are called "Appa"? I simply uttered the word to confirm my guess.

"...ah....pa....Ahpa!!...APPA!!", I said. She reacted with surprise.

"Looks like you can learn something! Now my problem has been solved by a thousand ducks!"

And surprise, I was right!! She wanted me to learn a word!! Thank goddness....I am so lucky to figure that out.

It later became obvious when she did some more "excercises". After that, she pointed at her dress and sounded like she wanted me to say "Toyuba". I uttered that, which made her happy. Lastly, she pointed at the sky and said:"Ran!". I said that word and it made sense to her.

Finally, she pointed at those objects and sounded like she wants me to say them again. When she pointed a tree, I said Appa, at her dress I said Toyuba, and at the sky I said Ran. When I did, I saw how happy she is.

I felt a bit of fun as well! I learned three words, hooray!!

"Alright! I know now what to do with you! You don't seem so stupid at all after all!!"

After that, she pulled me again. We resumed our walk.

Nevermind that I look like her slave or some kind of arrested criminal. She didn't kill me, which is a great thing! That dream saved my life, but I am puzzled how I got that in the first place!

I had a lot more to think about along the way. Like knowing if my smartphone still had Contacts of my friends. As much as I wanted to check my purse, I didn't do it cuz, besides my other hand being tied to a rope, I don't want to make any unnecessary movements which might give her the wrong idea. I am actually glad she hasn't bothered to check my purse at all.

After walking silently and kinda awkwardly for so long, I finally saw civilization. And OH MY GOD! A large town which looked like Western wooden buildings!! Weird. I don't remember anything like them in Numazu at all!!

I am astonished with everything that I saw as we got inside the town. The buildings all look old and medieval. The people who pass us by wear clothing that look a bit outdated as well: hats, big skirts, long coats, etc. They all also speak a very unrecogniseable language - almost as if it's the same language that Yoshiko speaks!!

They all seemed so busy. I see a lot of stores filled with fruits which I believe to be markets. Some people are playing music. Others are just gossiping. And I don't understand them at all!! Curses!!

At this point, I am filled with utter confusion. How on earth do I find that a place with people like these are all here at Numazu?!! A large part of me wants to deny an instinct that I have and I decided to make my own conclusion which explains all this: there must be some kind of a festival going on that I have not known about prior.

Thinking so much made me lose my grasp of the time. All of a sudden, I realised that Yoshiko stopped by at some place. I found myself dragged to a big building.

She tied that rope in my hand to the entrance's pillar, waved her finger at me to not leave, and entered the building. She talked to someone in charge there, and after a while she came outside again. She handed me a book.

"Here. This is a library. Judging from how quick you reacted to my quick word exercises earlier, I am sure you can learn some words soon enough!", she continuedly pointed that building, so I kinda get the idea. I think I am in some kind of library or something.

I looked at this book and found it's filled with an entire alphabet of letters that I completely don't understand. Made me feel so dumb, as I just realised how confused I am already.

"Goddamn....what kind of festival is this?", I whispered.

Soon after, Yoshiko unties the rope which freed my hand. Then she struggles to make me understand her by making a lot of body language: pointing at the book, making hand gestures, pointing at the librarian, and then closing her hand to make a fist with a thumb sticking out pointing in another direction, all the while saying in her unrecognisable language:

"Read this book. Learn Minamisian. Ask help from that librarian cuz I have no time to deal with you. I've got an important seminar that I can't miss no matter what. May the Goddess guide you. Bye!"

Soon she ran off so quickly to my surprise. What the heck!!? I quickly chased her since I don't want her to leave me alone helpless. But after she passed by a corner, she disappeared. I never saw her again no matter how hard I looked.

At that point, I just covered my face with my left hand. Facepalm. I slowly walked to a corner somewhere....and shouted:

"Oh no.....WHAT THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO DOOOOOOOO?!!!"

------

A/N: You get it now? I hope this entertains you long enough so that you can check my next chapters which will be filled with the parts and violence I want ya to see.

By the way, just like the previous page, if you see that Mari is speaking in capitalised words, that just means either she is speaking English, or she is simply shouting. Or even both. Use your imagination.

See ya at the next page.