Phrenology: E-Lunar (3) Route A (MANUSCRIPT)

Epilogue 1

    "Where... am... I?" Tanaka looked up at a rocky ceiling, his hands spasming by his side.

    "The Awespring." The soft and honeysuckle-like voice of Marian trailed behind him. 

    "The... Awespring?" Tanaka gloated, looking up at a tall tree surrounded by shining water. 

    "Legend says that here, you can tell this tree anything. You can tell it your deepest, darkest feelings. Hm, I wonder why a tree -- of all things -- would care about stuff like that."

    "C- Cravius." Tanaka coughed. "H- His name. He... told me his name! Cravius... Demaysis... Moon."  

    "That was the real name of that man." A sudden stream of tears rolled down Marian's cheek. 

    "Huh?" Tanaka turned to meet his female friend, but a sharp pain went through his arm. "Shit! That hurts." 

    "Tanaka, do you remember how we got here?" 

    "Not really." Tanaka began massaging at his arm. "I... don't. I just woke up, Marian. What is this place? It's- It looks like a cave. It's so dark, yet-" 

    "You raced that crazy, buff guy -- Cravius -- and he egged you on into a-"

    "Oh! I remember now! Yeah. O- Oh. That was... very dumb of me, wasn't it?" Tanaka lowered his head, standing up with dirt and mud covering his black, thin jacket. 

    "And after you crashed... he peered over you and told you his real name. He thought for sure you were a goner. I thought... you were a goner." 

    "There was a crash? Holy crap! Am I okay? I'm not, like, dead, am I? This isn't like... heaven, is it?" Tanaka started running his hands over his torso, feeling up the strands from the hair on his head. "Well, I guess that answers that question." 

    "You're okay- Thank God, and I'm fine too... but Nora isn't." 

     Tanaka looked dead-straight at Marian, his lips tight. "What."

     "I'm... sorry... but that man told me while you were unconscious. Nora- She-"

     "What was Nora even doing there? I didn't see her!" Tanaka punched at his right thigh. 

     "No, no. That's not it. She wasn't there. Apparently, back in Little Japan..." Marian hiccuped, her face a fiery red as she cried. "... she was... pushed. I'm so sorry- I'm so sorry that I ended up telling you... like this. I'm going to find the person who did it! You don't have to worry about a thing, Tanaka." 

     "Pushed? Marian- Find the person who did what? Just 'pushed'?" Tanaka threw his arms out in front of him as Marian began walking away to exit the strange cave-like place. 

     "Why are you in my backyard?" The familiar, deep, and milky voice of Mr. Miguel echoed across the innards of the cave. 

     "What?" Tanaka on his heel. Man, it is just curve-balls today, isn't it? 

     The Hispanic professor grabbed Tanaka softly by the arm and walked him into his house. The man's stubble was getting thicker, almost as though the teacher had yet to shave for the day! Stranger yet, the man was wearing blue pants, instead of his usual pink. "Well I guess this isn't the first time someone has ended up here. Come on, let's get you inside my house, Mr. Williamson. I see your red-headed friend is making her way out of here, too. I guess... I have a lot to explain." 

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