The Mimicked Reality - ENVY vol.2

Chapter 15 - Nagisa the Sea Serpent

"Nagisa!" A familiar voice called to me from inside of the little wooden house, my house. It was my older sister, Naho. "Are you done yet?" She asked me as I had just finished folding our worn-down laundry. "In a minute!"

The two of us were orphans. Before our mother died, she put Naho in charge of looking after me. I liked Naho. I had always looked up to her. Even though we were poor, she still did whatever she could to provide for us — to care for me. She was almost like a mother to me, warm and trusting.

It was a cold, snowy day. We got about twelve feet of snow in just a couple of hours. Freezing, I waddled inside of the run-down house in my bare feet. As I placed the straw basket of neatly folded clothes on the tiled ground, Naho turned to me with a chuckle. "It's cold out there, isn't it? You must be freezing! Come, now, Nagisa. Take a seat. I've prepared some hot chicken stew, your favorite!"

I smiled as I moved to sit in one of our rotting, wooden chairs by the old dinner table and began to eat with glee.

My sister took a seat in front of me, her face looking distraught. "Is everything alright, sis?" I asked her curiously. "Y-Yeah. Everything is fine. I'm just having a hard time right now." she responded.

I looked at her in concern. "Oh... I get it... it's because we're poor, isn't it?"

"Please, don't worry about it, Nagi." She reassured me with a smile. "Everything will be alright. I promise."

We had no money and were on the verge of becoming homeless. We couldn't get a job. No one would accept us. We were on our own.

From time to time, on rare occasions, my sister would manage to gather just a few coins by helping out someone in need. Other than that, she would be forced to steal. Either way, it worked, as she was able to provide for us. We were frail and weak, our bones showing through our dirty, thin skin. We couldn't even afford water, so we could rarely shower and would have to drink from the river nearby.

Life in poverty was miserable, but even so, my sister made me happy. Over time, however, things began to change. My sister grew distant. She would often leave the house without explanation.

About a year had passed. Dirty and alone, I left the house to wander around the village. In the distance, I heard a crowd cheer. Curiosity flooded my mind. I secretly crept towards the sound, and that's when I saw it. Across the path was my sister, standing behind a strange venue with a happy smile on her face, surrounded by hundreds of people. On the stand were many boxes of the most ripe fruits and vegetables I had ever seen. No wonder why everyone was so excited. Our village never managed to produce such high quality goods.

Next to her was a gallon-sized glass jar filled up nearly to the top with money. I froze in place. It was as if all of the emotions I had — all of the love I had for my sister disappeared right then and there. I felt betrayed. My own sister had gone behind my back and opened up a business and was keeping the money to herself.

Overtaken by my jealousy, I ran away in tears without bothering to look back. With my eyes in a squint, I sprinted into the forest. I wasn't watching where I was going and bumped into someone, a demon; skin red like blood with a whip of a tail, three golden eyes that could petrify anyone who dared to look, along with two pointed horns and a wide toothy grin. It looked like something straight from hell.

The demon said that he knew what I was going through. He told me that he could help me. He handed me a small, green snake with a red symbol imprinted in its forehead. He told me to take care of it, and in return, I would become wealthy. Though I was afraid, I accepted his offer.