The Goddess of Inokua Temple

Chapter 3

'So, after so much dilly dallying, considering when the light will go dark too, while its still bright outside, let's go. If I happen to die, at least it's not in the outer space of chaos. Yeah, great consolation.'

'So,I took off my outer clothes, using just inner clothes, in case I come back and need some warmth. Walking as far as I can go, then start swimming when I cant. Honestly, I'm walking faster than swimming, but I need to work hard to get to the tree. Poor me. Anyway, finally, after thinking I would be dying of drowning and exhaustion, I finally got to the tree root, and climbed to the bark. Walking around the tree for any possible food, I began walking after a little rest. No, not little. I think I had a nap there. Then I explored the tree roots and found a big hollow in the bark.'

'Big indeed. I bet even the double door can't cover it fully. What's inside though?'

'From what I can see on the inside, there are plants too. Is it possible to stuff a forest inside a tree in a forest? Weird concept. But it sounds fun. Walking inside, I see many shrubs of vibrant green, like in the beginning of the forest, and a little deeper, it starts having a tint of silver.'

'And that is how I found a fruit-looking object! The first time! And when I see that, approaching quickly in hopes of a dream coming true'

'It looks appetizing and yet expensive? It does have a silver tint. It's like a ball, a sphere, like a pearl, but bigger. So, betting my life on my stomach and desire, I bite the mysterious thing that I found.'

'Surprisingly, it tastes really good, very good. It's like the first time I have eaten anything this delicious in my life, like a first drop of water over the span of an entire desert, even if I don’t want to, tears come out from my eyes. It's so soft, so soft I can eat it whole, yet I want to savor it all properly. Maybe it will be my last.'

'Eat it till it all ends in my stomach, it has no seed. A pity. I can take it home to plant if possible, even with a different environment, like a little hope maybe. Looking around once more, I saw that, even from the way I passed earlier, there was fruit there, and in front of me too. I bet there was nothing of the sort earlier!'

'Chills fill my blood. What happened? What kind of sorcery? Why hadn't I seen it before? Why? Am I not allowed? Not enough?'

'Then, one by one, I saw more things properly. There are also flowers.'

'This is weird, very weird even in my standard.'

'Does it mean, the more I think and get it right, the more things are shown to me? Looking around again, nothing changes. Then is it regarding this forest's unique and true identity and the mystery of its existence that I can think of that triggers it? Haha, impossible, how could it be that easy?'

'There is a shining stone embedded around all the room? What? Is it supposed to be stored energy or something? Why can I see it now? Then vines appear like light surrounding the space, like in the background, big and small. Is it supposed to be like arteries and nutrition vessels?'

'Yes, I suppose it is.'

'And to my earlier question, yes, it's that easy.'

'Then there must be so many people who know it, right?'

'But from the traces, not even a single trace of a human I could see.'

'Ah! Nevermind, my sight hasn’t worked properly up till now. I can't get reliant or confident in that regard.'

'I start picking the fruit of many different kinds one by one, with many different colors, juicy and fresh and delicious like the forbidden fruit hidden deep in heaven. Eat a lot, so if I must be punished, my belly is at least full by now.'

'Even after I eat a lot, nothing happens. I just got a big belly and get sleepy.'

'Focus! Don’t sleep now, find a safe place, don’t be out in the open. The last time was just because of exhaustion, so it's forgiven, now it's not. Keep going me!'

'And I began walking forward again, not that long actually, I just found a fork. Which path should I choose? I think it's all the same, like a vein to different places, but still in the same body. So which part will it be the most beneficial to me? The one that makes me more powerful! Treasures! Knowledge! Home?!'

'Can't this tree tell me something? Should I try to talk to it? But I've eaten its fruit without asking, is it too late now? Am I too rude?'

'Late is better than not at all.'

'Um, excuse me Mr. Tree, I have just ate the fruit now. I'm sorry I didn’t ask permission beforehand because I was starving. Please forgive me. And I came here as Mr. Squirrel recommended, to look for food. Thank you for the food, by the way. Now, I'm in a fork. Which path should I choose? I'm sorry to disturb you, but my sense of direction is bad. Could you please give me a recommendation on which path I am allowed to enter? I wouldn't wish to intrude upon you.'

'Then suddenly, magically, mysteriously, the center path looks more enticing, like the stones become a little bit brighter, and the wind flows through that place and the other path looks so uninteresting all of a sudden.'

'Amazing tree that could understand humans! Must be an overlord!'

'Then, thank you for the guidance.'

'With that, I'm walking to the center path, walking, walking, and seeing my surroundings. I wonder how inside the tree the plants could still be alive even without sunlight? The stones might give vitamin D too?'

'Wondering many little things, giving them my own reason, and eating a little fruit along the way. Nice!'

'Until I come to a hall? Or plaza? Or maybe a clearing?'

'There is a spring. With molten silver. Literally like molten silver. Not the kind of translucent that I drink, but the kind of that if I go in, I cant see anything. But damn, the surroundings are so beautiful. It's like an altar made to accompany the spring.'

'Is it some kind of miracle spring? Can I go near tough? Or is it private property? But if the tree let me go in this way, then it must let me touch it too, right?'

'I'm not that presumptuous, right? I'm afraid I will die because of this kind of impudence. Aha! Let's ask Mr Tree.'

"Mr.Tree, may I ask if I could go near, touch, or, or possibly drink this spring water?"

'Waiting for an answer, loading.......'

'Okay, I've been waiting a long time, and nothing happened. Must be consent, right?'

'So I got closer, and scooped a little bit of the water. It feels more heavy, more , different.'

'I'm not sure, I think it's just like some liquid silver rather than water. Except for the temperature, of course, it's cold and pleasant. I'm still agonizing about whether I should lick it a little bit, and if it's poisonous, I won't die, or, I can go for a big gulp, and atleast taste it before I die.'

'Anyway, let's go taste it! Gluttony will be the death of me.'

'It tastes fresh, the most solid water I've ever tasted. And hard to swallow. After the gulp goes down, I wonder if it is instant or gradual? The pain I meant'

'Then, that feeling hit me. I felt my body heat up, and I felt like my brain would go explode. I want to throw up and my limbs feel so heavy. Just like that, I fell to the ground and ended up dead.'

'The next thing I know after what I assume is the afterlife, is a bizarre sight. It's like I have seen a movie, but as a person inside. I see a world being created from the dust, and the will of heaven commanding it to make a lump, making a fire from spark and heat, containing water in the lump of earth, from the flow of the stars and breeze from the universe. That’s how special the lump is, to be able to contain all that and be part of it.'

'It's like seeing a very high definition kind of movie with special effects and I'm in the very best seat. It's like experiencing it myself.'

'After that, there is another scene of evolution'

'Many things from before, making something horrible forms, then suddenly, like it's a speeding-like sequence, it becomes a planet. Not quite like earth, I must admit. It's like a DNA-like form or maybe splintered tree bark, yet somehow still has some similarity with a sphere. I'm not sure how big it is. The star, the supposed sun, is not just one! But three! Is it still livable? And then some orbiting moon, seven! It must be pretty if that planet is livable. But we need many, many adjustments regarding the atmosphere and the living environment.'

'For a long time, the scene just depicting that surrounding, I wanted to move closer, but couldn't. A movie watcher can't go to the wanted view, of course. So, I'm just waiting. Watching at things that I can.'

'The moon looks so pretty with many different hues. I mean different shades and lighting of red. Quite terrifying maybe on earth. Having seven of them.'

'And the sun, the stars should be burning stars that provide light. But the fire burns, it's not orange or yellow like the sun. It's dark blue, and purple, and green. Quite a calm comparison to the moon. But again, isn’t the moon supposed to get its light from the sun? Why differences in colors? Because of different materials? How abnormal.'

'And when I thought the scene would change, there was something sucking me, black hole? I don’t know. I just know that the scene is spinning and I think I want to throw up. Terrible in short'

'In the end, how come it all went? My mind is spinning. It's hurt. But I don’t have any strength to even bash my head or choke my neck. It so hurt. Mom, it hurts so f*****g much!'

A long time passed when she passed out and barely awake, again, and again.

When she finally woke and lay there, doing nothing but lying on the tepid ground near the silver spring, the surrounding plants were becoming vibrant and lush, like a new wind of spring giving new vitality in their veins. The soul that had been wandering, finally came back, and recreated.

She sits up and sees the world like it’s a familiar stranger, fond yet unknown, whispering to her like a forgotten old friend, like she has been waiting for this all her life, yet knowing nothing of what she wants. Tears flowing from her eyes, as pretty as a button sewed up in a doll, yet as lively as an underground spring. Happiness and confused, feeling sad about something that didn’t cross her mind. Feeling homesick all of a sudden yet relieved like a bird who has finally gone to the forest.

Hairs spread out like silk, soft to the touch, yet look as fragile as a dandelion. Lips, curving in sadness, her face drowned in misery and relief in her heart, with all the surroundings, feel like chanting her name, welcoming her to where she belongs, however she has become. Crying like an abandoned kitten, so pitiful, yet no one came to console her. And then she thought

'Why is it so cruel? What kindness? What love? Its just ruthless and willful'

Weeping so hard till she lost her voice and her consciousness of tiredness and came into the hands of sleep, and the beings that could only watch before, started to appear one by one, getting close to her like a moth to the fire. Snuffing, licking, lying all around feels like consoling the sad creature asking the reason of the world. For such a pure being to be given such a fate, to see how the white of souls is tainted by the gray of the world.

The next time she woke up again, she had calmed down, like a refreshed rest is all she needed after long hours of day passed by. The animalistic creatures have all gone, yet she knows they are there. In the memory of this place, welcoming her. Rubbing the ghost of them, petting their head like a pet, smiling with just her barely present self.

“I'm glad I'm here now. I'm glad I know now, even though I don’t remember anything, but I know that I loved you all in the past. And even though I'm no longer the person you are waiting for, I can be some sort of closure to your wait."

'Thank you, thank you very much.'

Back being herself, with her memories of Furrina, not a presence this forest loves and waits for, she starts to look at her surroundings without fear.

'This place is not dangerous, it is mine,no, it was mine.'

With a bitter smile she ventured around the room, remembering dreams, or perhaps,the memories of her past, to apply them in current situations. All the flowers and grass, and the fruit in the room are extremely rare. The garden-like abode is quite large, with what she assumes are bushes of flowers. After she touches it, it is so soft, and she knows that it was her bed before. And the bath is the silver pool.

She is wondering where the utility is though?

'To poop? Do I not need it? Oh yeah, just remember. I'm not, or rather I was not. No need for a kitchen either, I guess, seeing the past, I could survive just by breathing. No, wrong either. I don’t even need to breathe. What am I in the past? I don’t know either. A somewhat goddess, I thought? But no special powers. Just able to create and govern the world I made. This world is mine, was mine. Now it is part of another. Though, as expected from what belonged to me, what I created myself, it still has its loyalty right. From what amount of loyalty a secret world like this could still be. The unconscious of this world, still searching, and always waiting for me. Its true master. I hope my other part of the world is as loyal and obedient as it is. Doubt it though. It has its own consciousness, not very clear, but if the current word could represent it, probably instinct.'

'The will to survive, to still flourish from whatever it comes across, or experiences. After all, those worlds are created by me, and part of me, of course, will be mimicked by them. With every different space they have different personalities, if I have to say it in these metamorphs. This land is my dwelling, one of many. Still, all of my dwellings have a longing for me, like I do with them. Full of me.'

'Good for me. Even the most dangerous territories I have created still love me. I guess my narcissism is from my soul. I will still love myself however much I hate myself and want to kill myself. Narcicism is my soul personality huh'

'Now, I can't get anything here except what it is. It's not like I will save every little treasure in every dwelling. Not all, but yeah, maybe if I scrapped around here.'

"Ah-ha! Found it!"

'My lost and found corner!'

'Let's see what I forgot here'

'Some measly bag, I don’t know what the stain inside should be. Berries? Some knives? I probably use it as a cutting knife. Some clothes. Some little knick-knack.'

'Well, literally, it was all a useless item that I threw everywhere in the past. But now it's not for me. Well, a goddess of the past would think these items as thrown up disposable. For me, I think it could be some kind of treasure. Looking at these clothes with protection and blessing, these knives, with the barest of utility in the past, now seem so precious to the fragile little me.'

'I want it. I want it now!'

'Collecting these items in my arms, deciding which item I could bring myself. Looking at the spring behind, I started to walk towards it with the bundles of clothes.'

'I should wash myself in this first. It is beneficial. Discarding my current clothes and walking towards my old bathtub, pain starts permeating my skin.'

"Aaghh, ughhh, heok, it hurts. Damn hurts!"

Terdrops flow from her eyes, still she walks deeper in the spring. Able to sat herself on the ground below water till her neck, starting to absorb the energy and blessings contained from thousand of years. The medicinal properties the spring contained and the effect gained is tremendous.

'I have to-hold on'

The sound of heavy breathing, choked by the pain and cries of anguish filled the surroundings, for half a day, it continued. A place without night, or rather, the ever shining light from the moss keeps the surroundings like it's in the daylight. Opening her eyes and taking a deep breath, she started stabilizing her breathing and state of mind.

Rising from the spring, and go to pluck a few fruits, eating them right after, many kind of small fruits, with different sequence.

Trustle, a red berry with a horn that should be rid

Grass fumble, yellow neon like grass with-bitter taste, chewed by itself and swallowed

Sukun, white fruit with many seeds, eaten in large amounts

Then drinking water from the water that trickling dorn from the tree that making the silver spring.

After that, she went back into the spring up till her head was below the water. Circulating the energy she gained from the fruit all over her body. Over and over again. Getting a lot quicker each time.

After almost a week passed. She rises from the water and starts getting clothed

"Aah… my old clothes feel so comfortable now. To think, in the past, I thought those clothes were scrappy and less comfy"

"The world has changed, haha, nope, not true. I am the one that has changed. Well, what do I expect from myself who is reborn as a little baby? Anyway, I think it suddenly came to mind. Why is it always 2? They say the world is one. Its either reality or illusion, true and false. Then, there must always be polar opposites, like light and dark. After all, nothing stands alone. Probably. Then what am I? Why am I dying in the first place? My archenemy? My opposite? But if I'm that essential, then my enemy should also cease to exist. Nothing could stand together. Just like the living can not keep on living forever, eventually it will die. Now again, how come I die?"

"Hum... Interisting"