Once again, I was spending all my time in a forest. Hidden by the trees, covered by all kinds of pollen, spiderwebs, and powdered bark, I sat in the small clearing. How could Ryoko sit like this for hours and hours? It was crazy uncomfortable. The muscles in my legs were growing tighter with every passing second as I waited. The wounds on my back were burning, screaming, but I persevered. Pain was for the weak, for the ones that got left behind.
I couldn’t get left behind.
Desperately, I gathered another deep breath, trying to conjure flames and ignite myself, but all I felt was emptiness. There were no coals in my stomach and not enough good memories to tether me to this world. I really was like wind, light and flighty, capable of nothing except passing through.
The first thoughts of d
