Positive Mana

Chapter 2: Otherworldly Realm

You looked at her, worried. "Yure- Maho, are you feeling well?"  Your concern was ignored, as Maho threw her arms apart and seemed to stare off into space.  You kept watching her smiling face.

"What was it you wanted to show me?" You fiddled with your fingers nervously.  Maho has forgotten one crucial thing in her joy.  You couldn't see what she saw.

"Come," she took your arm and led you forwards into your dorm, until your dorm wasn't there any more.

Around you was grass, sky, and wildlife.  The air tasted clean, nothing like city air, and the atmosphere was warm and nurturing.   Instantly, clusters of wildflowers caught your eye.

"Don't touch anything, come with me," Maho let go of your arm and walked ahead of you, but not by far.  You walked, dragging your feet.  Your body started to feel heavier and heavier.

Your vision also started to blur, as did your mind, and your eyes took comfort in bright flowers dancing and weaving through thick grass. You reached out, you needed the flower.

Before you could touch it, Maho spun around, pulled something from her pocket, and threw it in your direction. Whatever it was struck your head and knocked you unconscious.

It was dark, and you felt the side of your head where... wait, what had happened?  You lay still for a few moments to recollect your memories.  Bright flowers, then bright green eyes.  The picture of the flowers melted in your mind, the bright colours mixing together and making ugly shades of red and brown.

Your eyes were open, but it was still dark. Your hand instinctively went up to your face, meeting a cloth, or rather a bandage around both eyes.  A hand grabbed your wrist to prevent you from taking it off.

"Your new eyes aren't adjusted yet, you'll blind yourself fully if you do that." You recognised the voice, Maho Yurei.  You felt anger bubble up inside of you, as you started to yell questions about what the hell she'd done.

Once you had calmed down slightly, she started to speak. "I told you not to touch anything, but you tried to.  I had to change your eyes, so that you can see why you can't touch."

More anger, followed by blind swings at her head as you flailed your arms around tediously.  It hurt Maho to see you mad at her, but she had your best interests at heart and you would see that soon.  It was more her loss than yours, she liked your eyes.

You lost count of how long you had been forbidden to take your blindfold off, but you had slept several times, and often couldn't tell when you were asleep and when you weren't. Being bed bound didn't give you much choice in activities, but you worried about how long you were missing from school.

If it wasn't Maho who put you here, you wouldn't have thought much about missing school, she could catch you up within a few hours, but following this you wouldn't be talking to her again.

At long last, Maho permitted you to take off the cloth. Your eyes adjusted to the dim light with difficulty, and they ached when they were open. Maho frowned, looking directly at your eyes. They were green now. Not just any green, the colour of Maho's eyes.

You were on a bed, as you had already figured, in a small room, with bookshelves crammed into every available corner. There was also a desk, eerie and somehow out of place in the room. The warm atmosphere from before was now a suffocating yet cold one, and all of the colours seemed less saturated than you had remembered.

When your eyes stopped aching, a candle was lit, which you could only assume was caused by Maho's wrist flicking in its direction. She waited for your eyes to adjust again, before speaking, "let's go outside, and I can explain."

As much as you didn't want to go with her, you felt desperate for answers, and perhaps she was saving you from something, you told yourself this as you followed her out of the door.

All that was in sight was stone walls, dimly lit by yellow torches.  The ground was clumsily carpeted, and all the colours seemed to be different shades of maroon, not changing as you progressed through the never ending corridor. 

Your mind was spinning as Maho told you about the creation of the universe.  She went through all of her experiences with you and how they had affected her mindset.  You were less mad now, but instead a bit scared of her.

She was sick, but you wanted to help her. She didn't understand people at all, but maybe you could help her meet new people and live a normal life.  You had decided to do that, it wasn't Maho's fault she was made this way, and she wanted to change, she said it herself, she wants to understand.

"So... what was the point of bringing me here?" You asked her once the tour had stopped, though less of a tour and more wandering aimlessly through a series of corridors.

"I wanted to see your reactions, and what you would think of me when you found out what I was," she smiled weakly in your direction, "and your face is telling me you don't feel angry at me."

You nodded, "I'm not angry at you Maho, I see where you're coming from." Her smile only weakened. "You say that, but I've witnessed many interactions in my lifetime.  Humans seem to know each other's thoughts though their body language says the exact opposite."

"They say they can read eyes, but how is that so?  You may be mad right now but I can't tell," Maho didn't believe you.

You smiled at her reassuringly, "you can't know I'm telling the truth, so you just have to trust your instinct.  I promise Maho, I'll teach you how to be a human." You stuck your hand out in front of you, and with slight hesitation, Maho took it and gave it a firm shake.

"No going back now Maho, you're stuck with me forever!" Maho's eyes lit up, they lit up properly, and you didn't notice a faint glow from you and Maho's connected hands after you had said that.

She smiled again, properly, before she pulled you into a tight embrace.