The Way we Breathe: Book of Beginnings

Chapter - 2: Through The Seams

     I stood frozen in place for a while as my eyes gazed upon a strange figure that loomed over the table. It stood a little more than six feet tall. From what I could tell, it’s body looked to be some sort of fabric. It seemed to be looking for something, Hanako? Luckily it didn’t seem to have noticed me. I took a few steps back hoping not to alert this… “thing”. My mind raced with a million thoughts that clouded my reasoning and made it a tremendous burden to keep up with. My body moved on it’s own, step-by-step. I stopped moving backwards, approaching this. I must be insane. This can’t be… I reached out my trembling hand, but before I could touch this… this thing, my body suddenly jumped in freight.
    Turning its attention to me, it let out an odd but loud noise. Rushing towards me, I fell to the ground. Then my body was suddenly lighter than the air itself. Realizing I was being carried out of my home on this thing's shoulder. I began to flail, screaming and yelling, “No! Let me go, leave me alone!” Hitting it’s back I could tell we were heading out back. Looking up I could see lights shining from the front of the house, “Help! Please!” Fixing me on it’s back, I felt the back of my head hit something hard, then everything fell pitch black…

    “This way! I think it’s over here!” 
        “Are you stupid?! Wait up!”
    W-what the-...
            “General, This way!”
I’m… I… over here...
    “Commander we-...” 
        “...-Think so?”
    “What-... with her?”
            “Leave her-... our concern.”
W-wait…

 7

    My vision was blurry and the sunlight beaming down on my face made my headache even worse. Sitting up, I took a look around only to see that nobody was around. “Ugh… What happened?” “Woooow, you’re alive?” Immediately, I looked around but all I saw was trees as far as I could see. “You look pretty banged up down there, looks like you hit your head pretty hard huh?” ‘Down there’? Looking up, the sunlight blocked my view, there was a silhouette of a girl sitting on a tree branch. “H-hey, you’ll get hurt up there! Who are you?! No, hey wait-” Before I could finish my sentence she jumped down from way up there and landed as if she herself were a leaf floating with the wind. “Geez, lady if you’re gonna scold me about getting hurt you should take a good look at yourself first.” A short, young, dark-green haired girl stood in front of me wearing a cloak with a small skull on the back… while she scolded me? “H-hey- ouch...” my head is killing me. “Darn, y’know up close you really aren’t looking too good. Well, what a drag, guess it can’t be helped. Can ya walk?” I stood up and nodded. “Great, follow me!” Just like that, an odd encounter begins an even weirder friendship…
    “Hey, hey! Lady you’re a real handful y’know that?” I collapsed onto her. Those puns remind me of Momoka… it’s comforting in a way. “S-sorry.” She pushed me up and pointed towards what looked like a bundle of giant leaves. “I thought you said you could walk, geez. Look, we’re almost there okay? So hang in there for at least a little while longer.” Trying not to drag my feet, we’d finally arrived.
    She pushed two big leaves apart and we walked into a huge room. “Pretty impressive ain’t it? Hmph, this is my home de la creme. Err, just where I live. You can sit over there.” She pointed towards three chairs near a table and hung her cloak up on a coat rack. “V I’m home! Get your butt out here and say ‘hello’, we have a guest! Sit there, maybe he’s in the back.” She pointed at me and walked deeper into this house. Taking a look around this place, it was a bit cluttered with a bunch of junk. Does this girl keep everything she sees? A television? Oh maybe I can check the local news and see if anything is covering these abductions… “Huh?” This damn thing isn’t turning on. “Maybe wacking it on it’s side will-” As the television turned on it rose higher and higher. Arms, legs, a torso… All mechanical. “What the-... what are you?!” Before it got any chance of communicating anything to me the girl burst into the room. “V, there you are! Were ya hiding? Oh, you were sleeping huh?” She hit that thing right on it’s side. “At this time of the day?! What are ya doing ya bum!? Huh? Oh hey lady… you’re…” Before anything else, I blacked out.