​ELIS'S BORROWED LIFE

I opened my eyes. My body felt as if it had gone cold. But my head felt scorching hot, like it was on fire. Except for the sound of my own breathing and the ticking of the clock on the wall, I could not hear any other sound in the room. There was a strange smell filling the room. A strange taste was coming to my mouth, too. I have never felt such a strange taste in my life. I looked at the body bathed in blood right where I had fallen. I still cannot figure out what happened to him. Why was I biting his chest? I cannot stay here anymore. If this cruel man wakes up, he might cause me trouble. I need to get out of here. I stood up. My hair was stuck to the tiled floor as if glued. The white tiled floor was now painted in the dark red color called blood. I must go now. But... how do I open the door? I twisted the lock back and forth. It won't open. Oh... the young man said he had the key with him. But there is no way he could have it on him. Where would he keep a key on that naked body? It must be somewhere in the room. I started walking around the room. Oh, it's not here either... I closed the last drawer that was on the table. Where could the key be? Mother keeps the phone under her pillow so I don't take it. I wonder if the young man kept the key under his pillow, too. I pushed the pillows on the bed aside... Oh... here is the key. I ran to the door. It is a good thing it has a lock like Mother's cupboard. I put the key in and turned it. Oh, the door opened. Thank goodness... After taking a step out of the room... I peeked back into the room... It’s like the young man has no face. Because of the dark red color, the tiled floor looks beautiful... He looks better like this than when he was sitting on the bed naked and laughing, or the way he was when he was angry... I must leave quickly before he wakes up. I closed the room door. This house seems to have no hall. Even what looks like a hall is like a room. Are there houses this small? I walked toward the front door. There is no order at all. Clothes are bundled up on chairs. There is no order. How did that young man live here? The room was kept well, though. I wonder if this door is locked... I twisted the handle. Oh... the door opened. It is still dark. How do I go home in this darkness? Since I have never stepped out of the house in my life... how do I find where home is? Where am I? I stepped outside the house. Ouch... In my feet... is this the thing they call sand that is on the ground? Mother only told me about sand, she didn't let me walk on it. There is nothing to do, I have to go on like this. I cannot go back inside this house again. The moonlight is looking down at me from the sky, as if it is piercing through the darkness to show me the way. I gave a smile to the moon. Let's go now. If I stay here, that cruel man might come to trouble me. The headache still has not lessened. Usually, it goes away in a little while. I don't know what has happened today, I cannot figure out everything that happened. I stepped forward, guided by the moonlight, enduring the pain that felt like it was piercing my soles. No, no, I am running. My breath started going in and out quickly, and I stopped. There are trees all around. The path through the trees is about ten feet wide. I looked back. Oh, I have come a long way. The light of the house looks very far away now. I took a breath. I started taking steps forward again. I wonder if the smell from the room is coming from me, too? I smelled my hand. What an amazing smell. It must be the red blood on my hand. I took the edge of my dress and wiped my hand. Oh, it won't go away. I need to take a bath as soon as I get home. But will I be able to find home? I looked at the sky. The moon is still watching and smiling at me. "Help me go home..." I whispered to the moon. My body shivers at the cold wind coming through the dark trees. Except for the sound of the leaves when a breeze comes... and the occasional chirping from a bird... the environment is entirely silent. The trees lost in the darkness are like living people. Why do I feel cold when they move with the wind? I never thought the outside world would be this strange. I need to get to Mother quickly, too. I cannot be alone. I let out a big breath... I started walking forward. What is that light appearing in the distance? I ran toward the light. Oh, the road is split. It's like the letter T. I stopped where the road splits. The road is huge here. It is more than twice as wide as the path I walked on. Doesn't the yellow light coming from the light bulb attached to the iron pole on the side of the road give the road a strange beauty? There are poles with bulbs like that installed far away along the big road, aren't there... Which way do I go on this road now? Where could my home be? Let's go to the right. Maybe home will be found if I go left. Oh, which way do I go? Let's go to the right. I started walking to the right side of the big road. Although there was sand on the path from the cruel man's house... this road feels cold under the soles of my feet. It is like a thick black cloth has been spread on the road. In the middle of that cloth, the white stripes on the road shine from the light coming from the iron bulbs. Mother, you hid me from such an attractive world... Mother is such a fool... don't you remember the cruel man trying to bother you while naked? Mother protected me because she knew about this outside world... How did I come to the cruel man's house? I was at my birthday party... Oh, the headache is getting worse again... I held my head... I cannot walk anymore... I looked around... The shadowy trees lost in the darkness on the sides of the road are moving as if telling me to stay with them... I went to the middle of the road... You never know, if those dark trees cause me trouble... I sat down... My head feels like it is about to explode... I pressed my head with both hands... I don't know what will happen if this explodes. Oh, now it is okay... Thank goodness the pain stopped... Now a strange cold is going through my warm head... I looked at the sky... The moon is still watching me and smiling... "Oh, you tell me how I came here..." Does the moon not hear my whispering… I narrowed my eyes at the moon and made a face. ​Wait, wait... you silly girl... you were having a dream, weren't you? Am I in that forest? No, no... that was a blue forest. Who was that young man? He was an attractive young man... I feel like I can still feel the warmth that came from his head. Oh, I wish I could stay in that dream forever... He left saying he loved me... No matter who he is, I feel like I know him. But is he also a young man like that cruel young man who was in that room? No, no, if that were the case, he would have caused me trouble when I was holding him... Oh, I need to see him. I took a breath... ​The light on the road seems to be getting brighter and brighter. I looked ahead. Isn't something spreading light across the whole big road and coming towards me fast? What is that? The light from it is getting harder for my eyes to handle. I closed my eyes. There is a strange sound coming from nearby. Is that the sound of something vibrating? I can hear someone's footsteps... ​"Are you sitting in the middle of the road because you want to die?" ​Who is yelling? I opened my eyes. Isn't that something like a rather large machine? The light from it is less now, though. Isn't a man coming towards me from the side of the machine? ​"Are you crazy?" ​The man shouted and stood in front of me. Oh, please don't cause me trouble. I can't run anymore. I looked at the man's face. Oh, a young man. The dark shadows have given his face a strange look. He took a step or two back. Did he get scared by the way I looked? ​"W...who are you..." ​I wonder if the young man cannot find his words? Did I give such a harsh look? It's good that he got scared. Now he won't come to trouble me. I stood up. ​"Wh...who... who are you, you say..." ​The burly young man took another step back. Is he that scared of me? ​"My name is Elis." ​I just said that with a small smile. He took two more steps back. I wonder if he is scared of my name too. ​"This... at this time... here... wh...what are you doing..." ​What else should I do? I am looking for my home. I wonder if this young man knows my mother. If I tell him, won't he take me home? But he looks like he is scared of me. ​"I am looking for my home... can you help me..." ​I took a step forward. The young man stretched his arms out and went a bit further back. He bumped into the machine that was stopped. He held onto the machine and looked at me as he was about to fall. I laughed. Oh, is he this scared of me? ​"What happened? Why did you stop the car here?" ​A young woman is talking by putting her head out from the side of the machine. The young woman's face looks attractive from the light coming from the light bulb on the iron pole. Yes, she is truly attractive. Did she say 'car'? That's right. Isn't this pile of iron in front of me what mother made to make people's transportation easier, which I saw in photos? Mother called it a car too. The young woman came out from the pile of iron she called a car by opening a door. She stopped while looking at me. ​"G...get in the vehicle... she looks... strange." ​Why is the young man yelling at the young woman? Where am I strange, oh my? I am a young woman too. ​"Oh, why are you scared of me... I am the one who should be scared of you." ​Why, oh my? It's the young men who cause trouble for girls, right? The young woman walked up to the young man. She looked at me. ​"What happened to you? Why are you out on the road so late at night?" ​The girl doesn't seem scared of me. I came to where the two of them were. I don't know if these two will help me. ​"I don't remember how to go home... please take me home..." ​I wonder if the young woman's face changed when she heard my words. She came a step towards me and held my two hands. ​"We don't know where your home is. Besides, there are no houses on this road. This is a forest." ​My legs feel like they are losing strength. My heart's rhythm also started to change at those words. How can you say there are no houses? There is the house of the young man who caused me trouble, isn't there? Does 'forest' mean a place without houses? ​"No, no, there are houses. I ran from a house..." ​The girl looked at the young man's face at my words. The young man also took a step near me. ​"Tell us what happened..." ​This time the young man's voice is not trembling. I must tell these two everything that happened. These two will help me. ​"Okay... okay, let's talk while we go." ​The girl said while looking at the young man. She looked at me. ​"I am Clara... let's talk while we go... it is dangerous to be on roads like this late at night." ​The young woman grabbed my hand and turned towards the pile of iron she called a car. The young woman started taking steps towards the vehicle. I started to follow her too. Clara... that's a beautiful name... It's a name that suits her. She opened a door of the iron vehicle. ​"Get in the vehicle." ​I can't imagine how to get inside the door she opened. I looked at Clara's face. ​"Oh... I haven't gotten into one of these before. It's hard for me to imagine how to get inside..." ​A smile drew onto Clara's face. I wonder if she thinks I am a child. But still, I have never gotten into one of these, have I? ​"Okay, watch how I get in." ​Clara... got into the iron vehicle easily and sat in the seat. She looked at me and signaled with her hand. Okay, now it's my turn. I gave a smile to Clara and put my right leg into the vehicle. ​"Ouch..." ​My head hit the top edge of the door. Oh, that hurts. I sat in the seat and pulled my left leg in too. I held the place where my head hit with my hand. It hurts... Oh my, I can't even stand up inside this. It has a stranger smell than outside. I wonder if it's a bit colder inside than outside? Why is the young man sitting in a front seat of the vehicle and looking at my side? ​Clara leaned towards my side. What are you going to do? She put her hand outside and pulled the door shut. Oh... her smell... stay like that for a little while... Clara sat down on the seat. "Let's go..." ​As soon as I heard Clara's voice... the vehicle shook a little. I sent my eyes around. The iron vehicle started moving forward fast, right? The iron light poles that were on the road look like they are close together. When I was walking, they were a bit far away, right? The vehicle's speed is high, isn't it? I grabbed Clara's arm. ​"Don't be scared... Nathan can drive vehicles." ​Is the young man's name Nathan? I looked at the seat where the young man is. Is he driving the vehicle? But he is sitting in the seat and moving a wheel a little here and there. Can it go at this speed if he does that? ​"Now tell us... what happened to you, how did you come to this forest road..." ​I looked at Clara. She is just looking at me. I will tell you everything. I took a deep breath. ​"Two days ago…”