Chapter 7--Fuyuda's Nightmare

Alright, stay calm, don’t panic. Fuyuda told himself repeatedly. Stay calm, don’t panic. Stay calm, don’t panic...

Behind Fuyuda, someone moved. But when he turned around, there was not even a soul to be seen. Maybe I’m feeling things, stay calm, stay calm, stay cal…

At the corner of the room, a little girl was waving at him. She too had white hair, and possessed a pale complexion, but her eyes were purple in colour. The thing that made Fuyuda and her different, if not, they looked almost identical.

Why is she in this maze too? thought Fuyuda. He was very surprised to see his long-lost sister in the maze. But there was something wrong with his sister. She did not age since they last separated, she was still six-years-old…

‘Fuyuhana, why do you look like when you are six?’ asked Fuyuda.

‘What are you joking? We are still six-years-old, you too look like a six-years-old kid,’ replied his giggling sister.

Fuyuda looked at his own hands, they were small and chubby. The walls of the confining room looked taller…

‘What the—’ Fuyuda quickly closed his mouth in shock. He sounded like a kid! Fuyuda lifted his short right leg, felt his chubby and slightly oval face, then proceeded to his hair. His face looked as if he just heard the news that the sky was falling. It could not be, he could not have been…

‘Six. I’m six-years-old.’ muttered Fuyuda in despair.

Fuyuhana giggled again, and said, ‘Of course you are six! Accept the fact, Fuyuda. Stop dreaming that you are older.’

‘Why are you here, in this maze?’

‘What maze? We are in the playground.’

Fuyuhana was right, they were indeed in a playground, the playground where they used to play nine years ago.

‘Stop thinking of such weird stuff!’ said Fuyuhana happily, ‘Let’s go home! Papa and Mama are waiting for us.’

Fuyuda had been standing at the very same spot since he saw his sister and the maze turned into a playground. His mind was racing through several questions: Why was his sister in the maze? Why was he in the playground, wasn’t he in the maze?

‘Hurry up, Fuyuda!’ cried Fuyuhana from the playground’s entrance, ‘Mama would scold us if we come home late.’
***
‘What’s wrong, SyaoInn?’ asked Aaron. SyaoInn had stopped dead on its tracks, and was staring upwards. It sensed that something had happened at where its master was, and felt uneasy.

Since SyaoInn did not answer Aaron’s query, he continued to walk while carrying Natsuki at his back. After a few steps, Natsuki’s weight increased all of a sudden, causing Aaron to lose his equilibrium and fell down.
***
Fuyuda and his sister walked on the extraordinarily quiet streets. Not even one person was seen walking on the streets except Fuyuda and Fuyuhana.

‘Isn’t it weird that none of the villagers are out even though it’s still quite early?’ asked Fuyuda. But his sister did not seem to hear him.

‘Fuyuda…wa….a…wa…a…’ a familiar voice echoed through the streets.

‘Who’s there?’ Fuyuda looked around him for the source of the voice. But the streets were empty.

‘What’s wrong, Fuyuda?’ asked Fuyuhana, ‘You look scared, is anything wrong.’

‘Didn’t you hear it?’ asked Fuyuda.

‘Hear what?’

‘A voice. It’s calling me…’Fuyuda’s voice trailed off. The voice was very familiar, he even had the feeling he heard it regularly. But no matter how hard he racked his brains, he was not able to recall whose voice it was.

‘Umm, it’s nothing.’ Fuyuda shook his head and smiled, ‘Maybe I’m hearing things.’
***
‘What’s wrong?’ asked Fuyuhana as she and her brother reached their home.

Fuyuda shook his head, indicating that nothing is wrong.

‘Don’t lie to me. Whenever there is something bothering you, you would frown like that.’ said Fuyuhana, ‘We promised each other that we shared our happiness and problems together. So what’s the problem?’

Fuyuda hesitated for a while, and said, ‘I am fifteen, and was in a maze. But after you appeared, I became six, and then I’m back in the village. How did this happen?’

Fuyuhana looked at him angrily, ‘You had been thinking about this stupid thing all along? Don’t you know we would be separated today?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Did you forget about it?’ scolded Fuyuhana, ‘Papa and Mama said that they are going on a trip. But they are taking me only. They said that they are going to leave you at Uncle Menomoto’s house.’ And she pressed the doorbell of their house.

After hearing what Fuyuhana said, Fuyuda became horrified. Those words…It could not be, the event he hated and had always wanted to forget was repeating itself…

Suddenly, the door swung open. Standing at the entrance, was a lady whose face was blurred. Somehow, Fuyuda recognized that lady--she was his mother.

‘Welcome home, Fuyuda, Fuyuhana. Come in and pack your stuff, we are leaving soon.’ Fuyuda’s mother grabbed their wrists and took them into the house.

Fuyuhana quickly went upstairs to pack her luggage, but Fuyuda just stood at the hallway.

‘I don’t want to pack my stuff.’ he said.

‘This is no time to be joking, son. We really need to hurry. Papa and Uncle Menomoto will be here soon.’

‘I don’t want to pack my stuff.’ Fuyuda insisted.

‘Fuyuda!’

‘You and Papa are going to abandon me, aren’t you?’ Fuyuda looked straight at his mother’s blurred face, his eyes were red, ‘When Papa said that I had to stay at Uncle’s house, both of you are going to abandon me.’

‘Fuyuda, this is not what Papa and I meant…’

‘Then why don’t Papa and Mama bring me too on this trip? Why did you bring Fuyuhana only?’

Fuyuda’s mother was speechless.

‘Papa and Mama don’t love me anymore…’ Tears were rolling down Fuyuda’s cheeks. His mother stared at him, her facial expression was hard to tell.

‘My dear son, of course we love you.’ said Fuyuda’s mother as she hugged him, ‘All the things we did, the actions we took, are for you and your sister’s safety.’

‘Is everything prepared?’ Fuyuda’s father said as he entered the house, ‘Your brother has come for Fuyuda.’

‘We just can’t leave Fuyuda with them. Can we bring him too?’ Fuyuda’s mother pleaded.

‘No. We had discussed this last week, we can’t bring Fuyuda. We can’t risk letting him get them both.’

‘Mama, I’ve packed everything.’ Fuyuhana said as she descended the stairs.

‘Where’s your luggage, Fuyuda?’ asked Fuyuda’s father sternly.

‘I don’t want to pack.’ Fuyuda repeated stubbornly. His father opened his mouth, then closed it again. He pointed to an empty spot at the hallway, muttered a spell, and a luggage containing Fuyuda’s clothes and his other belongings appeared.

‘Let’s go.’ he said as he pick up two luggages and headed towards a carriage outside of the house. Fuyuda’s mother and sister followed closely behind his father. His mother was carrying another luggage with her right hand while holding his sister with another hand. Fuyuhana was holding tightly a book in her hands…

Instinctively, Fuyuda ran ahead of his father and stood between the door and his father.

‘Move aside, son.’ Fuyuda’s father ordered him, but Fuyuda stood firm on his ground. His father glared at him fiercely and pushed him aside, then continued walking towards the carriage. His mother and sister walked past him too. Both of them looked at him, as if feeling sorry for what their father did.

‘Please, don’t leave me!’ Fuyuda quickly grabbed his mother’s leg.

‘Fuyuda, please, let go of my leg!’

‘I won’t let you all leave me alone again!’ Tears were streaming down Fuyuda’s cheeks.

‘Trust us, Fuyuda. We aren’t leaving you. I promise, we will return and fetch you later.’ promised Fuyuda’s mother.

‘You are lying!’ cried Fuyuda, ‘Both of you aren’t going back to fetch me. It’s just like before…Both of you would abandon me at Uncle Menomoto’s house and never come back.’

‘Fuyuda, let go of your mother.’ ordered Fuyuda’s father sternly. Fuyuda obeyed his order.

After that, he asked Fuyuhana to hand him the book she was holding. He placed the book on his palm and muttered a spell, two books appeared, one with the title “Heal” whilst the other was entitled “Cure”. Fuyuda’s father then handed “Heal” to Fuyuda and “Cure” to Fuyuhana.

‘Take care of the book, and most importantly, yourself.’ he said and patted his son’s shoulder.

After they finished loading the entire luggage onto the carriage, Fuyuda’s family went up the carriage, and took off. Fuyuda watched in horror as his family went farther and farther away from him. He tried to run after them, but his uncle held him by his shoulder.

‘Let me go! Let me--You aren’t Uncle.’ Fuyuda tried to release himself from his so-called relative, just to find out that the person holding him back was a strange kid wearing an oversized T-shirt.

‘Who are you?’

‘Your family won’t come back. Hehehe.’ said the kid, ‘But you could go to where they are now.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Hehehe. Your family is in a dimension different than Mirage Island and your dimension,’ said the kid, ‘And they can’t return to your dimension no matter what. Even I am powerless when it comes to bringing them back to your dimension. Hehehe. But you could go to that dimension and join them.’

‘How?’

‘Hehehe. By jumping down this hole.’ the kid pointed towards a hole that was absent just now, ‘But beware, once you jump down, you won’t be able to go back to the dimension you are living presently. Hehehe.’

Fuyuda went straight to the hole, if he jumped down, he would be able to see his family again. But what about his friends? They are in the maze now, and they need his help…

After a bit of consideration, Fuyuda took a deep breath, and leaped…

‘Fuyuda, WAKE UP!’