Another Chance
It was so easy for the singer to lose herself. The arrays of endless vegetation were so alluring and powerful that it seemed like they had stopped time just for Inori to have the opportunity to look at all of them. A hidden beautiful paradise…she felt lucky to have stumbled upon such a place.
She passed a patch of flowers and slowed her pace as she circled back around. She stopped completely in front of a particularly familiar looking flower: it had six pointed petals that opened up to reveal the delicate heart of the plant. A few moments passed in her utter stillness as she tried to recall where she had seen the flower before, but her memory gave way to no such recollection. Her mind was cleared, as if someone had gone into her head and removed her entire past. Oddly enough, even that feeling of blankness was familiar, as if it had been done before. She knew reaching out might result in severe consequences, but she couldn’t help but want to know.
Inori lowered herself onto a kneeling position until she was within reach of the flower and extended her slender fingers to touch it…when a voice sounded through the garden.
She retracted her hand in surprise and quickly looked up to see who had called out. A young man stood not too far from where she knelt. How had she completely missed his presence? She watched in silence as he took a step then proceeded to use his voice again. It looked like he was having some trouble with his legs. Was he injured? Should she rush to attend to him? But he was a stranger!
She paused in thought before standing up.
"Yes?"
Perfect! The stranger seemed to notice him! If she didn't he didn't know what he’d do. There was bound to be plenty of other people he could ask for help eventually, but that would probably involve looking for them and managing to to walk without falling over. It just wouldn't have been a good idea. Besides, he’d risk actually getting lost if he moved too far from where he stood.
"I was hoping to ask you something!" Tormod called to girl. Hopefully she wouldn't think his yelling was rude. "Do you know where I am?"
He paused for a moment, not knowing how he should continue. There were so many things he was confused about. Should he tell the stranger about his predicament—should he tell her that he had died? No, maybe he'd keep it to himself for now, he didn't know enough about where he was or why he was here.
"I woke up outside, and I don't why why I'm here. I don't remember falling asleep outside either." He scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. "You don't happen to know what's going on, do you?"








