05_ Painful Love
plodding_
As everyone had expected, I didn't die in this excruciating pain. When I opened my eyes, I was lying in the middle of the forest. If only I hadn't woken up to find myself buried or tied up as a corpse... Just a moment, lucky? Lucky to be alive again? An unconscious thought swirled through his mind. Lucky to be alive? How could he be lucky when he was alive and Sherry was a cold corpse? How could he possibly be lucky? How could he possibly live the rest of his life as neither dead nor alive? The nausea surged through him, forcing him to vomit. There was no one around, not even a single person in sight, even as he retched. "...Please, kill me!" No matter how much he screamed, the forest was utterly silent. The forest that had pushed him to his horrific death... And the forest where Sherry's body lay... Why did he open his eyes only to find himself here? It was unbelievable. Why did it have to be this place again? He felt empty and resentful of this world. Why did it have to be the forest again? I was sitting there in despair.
As everyone had expected, I didn't die in this excruciating pain. When I opened my eyes, I was lying in the middle of the forest. If only I hadn't woken up to find myself buried or tied up as a corpse... Just a moment, lucky? Lucky to be alive again? An unconscious thought swirled through his mind. Lucky to be alive? How could he be lucky when he was alive and Sherry was a cold corpse? How could he possibly be lucky? How could he possibly live the rest of his life as neither dead nor alive? The nausea surged through him, forcing him to vomit. There was no one around, not even a single person in sight, even as he retched. "...Please, kill me!" No matter how much he screamed, the forest was utterly silent. The forest that had pushed him to his horrific death... And the forest where Sherry's body lay... Why did he open his eyes only to find himself here? It was unbelievable. Why did it have to be this place again? He felt empty and resentful of this world. Why did it have to be the forest again? I was sitting there in despair.
"Yeah, cliff"
I might have died if I fell off the cliff. Even though my bones would be crushed and I'd have to endure a pain I'd never felt before, it didn't matter. More than anything, I was desperate. I would go find Sherry and ask her why she said that. Why on earth had she sent me back to this hell?
☘
Sigh_
Huh.. Huh_
Having never exercised in her life, her breathing became increasingly ragged. It was pointless to think about it now. After all, she was going to die on that cliff anyway. Jane reached the seemingly endless cliff. Her legs trembled, and she crawled, slowly, on her hands. When she reached the edge, the cliff was shrouded in fog, making it impossible to see the bottom. Shrouded in fog, she couldn't see ahead, and she couldn't imagine how deep it would be. Yet, even facing such a cliff, Jane jumped without a moment's hesitation. It was proof that she had no attachment to life.
☘
The pain I'd felt for a moment vanished. I returned to the pure white room. After looking around a few times, Sherry appeared in front of me like last time. "I've missed you so much, why are you making that face?" Jane thought, taking in Sherry biting her lips as she looked at her. Before she knew it, blood had pooled at the corner of Sherry's mouth. Jane, who had been watching the blood trickling down her pale face, came to her senses and ran to Sherry. It was Sherry, the one I couldn't exchange for anything in the world. The Sherry who had only looked at me.
"Sherry..."
The words I was about to say vanished as Sherry shed tears silently, as if something was hurting her. Why did you send me back to such hell? Did you no longer love me? My curiosity still wasn't satisfied, but seeing Sherry cry made my heart ache, and I hugged her in frustration. Sherry looked at Jane, who seemed flustered for a moment, then hugged her tightly. It felt like I couldn't breathe, but this moment was so blissful. In an instant, Jane was being held by Sherry, but it didn't matter. The Sherry I truly longed for was right before my eyes. Her shoulders were getting wetter, and Jane was silently patting Sherry.
"Sherry, are you okay?"
At Jane's words, Sherry took a step back and looked at her. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she stared at Jane without wavering. Sherry opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, as if trying to say something, and then the words flowed out with difficulty.
"Don't die..."
"Huh? What does that mean, Sherry?"
Wasn't he already dead? I couldn't understand why he wasn't told to die.
"....."
"zein.."
"..Why are you calling me, Sherry?"
"Listen carefully to what I have to say."
Sherry spoke with an expression she had never shown herself before. 'No matter how much you die, you can never die... The way you die is...' Sherry opened her mouth after a long pause, wondering what she wanted to say. '...The person you love... So only the person who loves you and loves you back can kill you.' The sound of his heartbeat, as if it were going to pierce through his chest, traveled through his body and reached his ears. He felt his whole body stiffen as if he had made a fool of himself at those words that made his heart drop.
"What are you talking about, Sherry?"
"I mean it literally... no matter what you do, you can't die."
"Sherry, then you just have to kill me, right?"
Jane stuttered as she looked at Sherry. Why on earth was she turning away with such a sad expression...? The moment she tried to call Sherry's name, her throat felt tight. Her throat felt increasingly stiff, and liquid trickled down her cheek. Despite my appearance, Sherry simply turned away from me without saying a word. Sherry... why? why???
Is this what it feels like to crash to the ground and shatter into pieces? This feeling of not being able to make it new no matter how much I pick it up? This feeling. It feels awkward. Sherry, who was about to reach out to me as I retched and felt nauseous, with nothing left to empty, clenches her fist.
Doesn't he love me?
"Sherry.."
Her voice, cracked and shabby, flows out, as if she'd walked through a waterless desert. After a long journey, she discovers a tiny oasis and runs to it, only to find not a drop of water. She despairs, unaware that this is an illusion of her own making.
"S,,Share..."
Perhaps it was all in her imagination. She didn't realize that what she believed to be an oasis contained only a threatening sunlight. Everyone experiences love at some point. It can be sad, betrayal, or a passionate love. Jane was one of those, too. Even though it was a love that was terribly painful.
"Sherry.."
Her voice, cracked and shabby, flows out, as if she'd walked through a waterless desert. After a long journey, she discovers a tiny oasis and runs to it, only to find not a drop of water. She despairs, unaware that this is an illusion of her own making.
"S,,Share..."
Perhaps it was all in her imagination. She didn't realize that what she believed to be an oasis contained only a threatening sunlight. Everyone experiences love at some point. It can be sad, betrayal, or a passionate love. Jane was one of those, too. Even though it was a love that was terribly painful.
Why Jane might die on the cliff
So far, Jane has been killed by her father (by others), killed by a sharp tree/killed by a knife (by a weapon), and burned at the stake.
But I've never tried falling out of the water. In a novel, it's like, on a windy night, Jane climbs up to the rooftop and falls, smiling broadly (falling out of the water).
↑I thought that if it was a fall like this that I hadn't tried yet, wouldn't I die? So I put it into practice.
Yes, it's been a while since I wrote anything today. Actually, I've been wanting to write something lately, but it's too short to create a new story, so I moved what was originally the second story to the third, and the legend goes that I wrote it in a hurry to write it after "She Wants to Die" ends... (Sudden legend)