When I Awoke
- Thread starter yahzuk
- Start date
I awake to the sound of braying. A jarring sound that cut through the background music of chirping birds and running water.
I was dreaming but I don't remember the dream. All I remember is terror.
I'm lying in the middle of a forest. I see a stream nearby. The faint sound of waves - I can't be far from the coast.
My clothes are in tatters. And charred. And wet. Was I swimming?
I don't remember. I don't remember how I got here. I…. I don't remember my name. Only terror.
Braying. Closer now - a donkey, or a burro.
The sound of hooves on rocks. And voices - People.
My first instinct is to flee. I can hide among the trees.
But the slightest movement brings a flood of pain.
Every part of me hurts.
Braying. Voices. Almost on top of me.
I'm not going anyway. People are coming.
People are coming and they're going to find me and they're going to do whatever they're going to do because there's nothing I can do to stop them.
They're here. Some of them have bundles Some of them have clubs.
One of them points at me. The donkey brays.
I sit up. Almost. I close my eyes and pass out from the pain.
When I open my eyes, its as if a village as sprung up around me. How much time could have passed?
I'm in a small hut of some sort. It still hurts to move but I'm able to sit up.
My tattered rags are gone - I'm dressed in simple but clean robes.
I stand - slowly - slowly - and emerge from the hut. A young boy spots me and runs to a group of men piling stones in the middle of the village.
Soon a crowd is gathered. Pointing at me. Great excitement and nervous whispers.
The words Vida Aqua over and over again.
I step forward and black out from the pain.
I was dreaming but I don't remember the dream. All I remember is terror.
I'm lying in the middle of a forest. I see a stream nearby. The faint sound of waves - I can't be far from the coast.
My clothes are in tatters. And charred. And wet. Was I swimming?
I don't remember. I don't remember how I got here. I…. I don't remember my name. Only terror.
Braying. Closer now - a donkey, or a burro.
The sound of hooves on rocks. And voices - People.
My first instinct is to flee. I can hide among the trees.
But the slightest movement brings a flood of pain.
Every part of me hurts.
Braying. Voices. Almost on top of me.
I'm not going anyway. People are coming.
People are coming and they're going to find me and they're going to do whatever they're going to do because there's nothing I can do to stop them.
They're here. Some of them have bundles Some of them have clubs.
One of them points at me. The donkey brays.
I sit up. Almost. I close my eyes and pass out from the pain.
When I open my eyes, its as if a village as sprung up around me. How much time could have passed?
I'm in a small hut of some sort. It still hurts to move but I'm able to sit up.
My tattered rags are gone - I'm dressed in simple but clean robes.
I stand - slowly - slowly - and emerge from the hut. A young boy spots me and runs to a group of men piling stones in the middle of the village.
Soon a crowd is gathered. Pointing at me. Great excitement and nervous whispers.
The words Vida Aqua over and over again.
I step forward and black out from the pain.
Spoiler :
I awake to water splashing on my face.
I sit up quickly in panic. A young woman recoils in fear. She's holding a pitcher and a cloth. She is beautiful.
An old crone looks up from a pot from across the room. She scolds me. I don't understand the words but the tone is unmistakable.
I lay back down and the girl approaches. Nerveously. Cautiously.
She resumes cleaning my face.
The water soothes and terrifies me.
[i["Vida Aqua?" I ask. They both look at me in confusion.
I repeat the words but it means nothing to them.
Later, she leads me outside.
There is still pain but I can walk now.
In the center of the village, men are piling stones. The pile is much taller than I remember. How long did I sleep?
She points to it. She points to me. "Los dioses te fuiste."
I don't understand.
The village erupts in excitement.
I brace myself but everyone runs the other way - to to the edge of the village.
They cheer a band of returning warriors. I gather that they were exploring something old.
"Vida Aqua?" I ask.
They shake their hands in confusion. One of them holds out a pointy stick for me to inspect.
Life in the village is pleasant.
Slowly slowly my strength increases. A little anyway.
I try to help the men piling stones but the villagers will not allow it.
I take Maria as my wife and father several children.
I lose track of the passage of time.
I beseech the warriors to search West for Vida Aqua.
They consent but its plain that they are humoring me.
My hopes are raised when a runner returns with news of an abandoned settlement.
"Vida Aqua?" I ask.
He shakes his head and raises a tool. Striking a stone waiting to be piled, he splits it in two. The villagers cheer.
One day Maria leads me to the center of the village. Everyone is there.
She's grown very old. I've aged far less than she. My youngest son looks older than me.
She points to the stone pile. "Cesdao"
Its an impressive pile.
On one stone, a particularly large one, near the middle of the piles height, someone has carved a face.
They must have used the mining tools found in the the old settlement.
My eyes go wide. It is my face.
Through all our years, Maria has insisted that the Gods left me at the foot of the monument, refusing to believe I was found here before the village was even formed, let alone the pile started.
The villagers are very proud of their monument to me. I can't help feeling that I don't deserve it.
A young man forces his way through the crowd.
It's a runner from the warriors - continuing to explore West at my insistence.
He clutches my arm.
He's out of breath.
His voice is a whisper.
"Vida Aqua."
I sit up quickly in panic. A young woman recoils in fear. She's holding a pitcher and a cloth. She is beautiful.
An old crone looks up from a pot from across the room. She scolds me. I don't understand the words but the tone is unmistakable.
I lay back down and the girl approaches. Nerveously. Cautiously.
She resumes cleaning my face.
The water soothes and terrifies me.
[i["Vida Aqua?" I ask. They both look at me in confusion.
I repeat the words but it means nothing to them.
Later, she leads me outside.
There is still pain but I can walk now.
In the center of the village, men are piling stones. The pile is much taller than I remember. How long did I sleep?
She points to it. She points to me. "Los dioses te fuiste."
I don't understand.
The village erupts in excitement.
I brace myself but everyone runs the other way - to to the edge of the village.
They cheer a band of returning warriors. I gather that they were exploring something old.
"Vida Aqua?" I ask.
They shake their hands in confusion. One of them holds out a pointy stick for me to inspect.
Life in the village is pleasant.
Slowly slowly my strength increases. A little anyway.
I try to help the men piling stones but the villagers will not allow it.
I take Maria as my wife and father several children.
I lose track of the passage of time.
I beseech the warriors to search West for Vida Aqua.
They consent but its plain that they are humoring me.
My hopes are raised when a runner returns with news of an abandoned settlement.
"Vida Aqua?" I ask.
He shakes his head and raises a tool. Striking a stone waiting to be piled, he splits it in two. The villagers cheer.
One day Maria leads me to the center of the village. Everyone is there.
She's grown very old. I've aged far less than she. My youngest son looks older than me.
She points to the stone pile. "Cesdao"
Its an impressive pile.
On one stone, a particularly large one, near the middle of the piles height, someone has carved a face.
They must have used the mining tools found in the the old settlement.
My eyes go wide. It is my face.
Through all our years, Maria has insisted that the Gods left me at the foot of the monument, refusing to believe I was found here before the village was even formed, let alone the pile started.
The villagers are very proud of their monument to me. I can't help feeling that I don't deserve it.
A young man forces his way through the crowd.
It's a runner from the warriors - continuing to explore West at my insistence.
He clutches my arm.
He's out of breath.
His voice is a whisper.
"Vida Aqua."
Spoiler :
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