Finally escaped the deep forest, but there was no sign of civilization there.
The noisy beach fell silent again. I was surprised by how loud my voice had become. Everyone was staring at me with wide eyes. I had never roared like that before, so maybe that was why. I had gotten irritated. I didn’t know what to do either. For now, I just had to calm down.
Turning my back on my surprised and silent companions, I left the spot. I walked on and on along the endless beach. The lukewarm wind of the calm sea and the sound of the waves calmed the blood rushing to my head. But even if I calmed down, it wouldn’t solve anything. If the residents had evacuated, there had to be another village somewhere. However, I didn’t even know how far that village was from here. Whether I could reach it, and without a guide, it was clear that it would be dangerous to move carelessly.
As my heart sank, the surroundings gradually darkened as if in sympathy. Should I go back to everyone? All that came out were lifeless sighs. For the time being, I would apologize for yelling earlier.
When I returned, everyone was gathered around a bonfire, setting up camp.
“I’m sorry about earlier, for raising my voice. I was just a little flustered.”
Not wanting to create an awkward atmosphere, I tried to act cheerful. Everyone looked a little surprised, but said nothing in particular. Everyone here was probably thinking the same thing. Amidst the heavy atmosphere, Philiana opened her mouth.
“It’s alright, I also lost a bit of my composure. It’s natural to hit walls when traveling. Haven’t we always found solutions before?”
I responded to her words with a hollow laugh. All we could do now was to search for another village. I had to resign myself to doing just that. We gathered our meager food and had dinner. With this many people, it wouldn’t last a few days. We extinguished the bonfire and each went to sleep. Veronica, on night watch, sat and smoked a cigarette.
The yellow moon floating in the clear sky. I should have found it beautiful under normal circumstances, but to me now, it was too bright. I couldn’t sleep. I turned over and listened to the sound of the waves. Still, I couldn’t sleep. My body should have been very tired, but when I tried to force my eyes shut, I started to feel dizzy and nauseous.
There was nothing I could do but get up and decide to walk a little. Thanks to the overly bright full moon, the beach was clearly illuminated. The moonlight reflected on the dark water, sparkling. Veronica, who was sitting, continued to smoke without looking back at me. As if drawn by the moon, I continued to wander aimlessly on the beach for a while. Giving up, I sat down on the ground.
I just stared blankly at the waves that came and went. The waves crashed against a large black rock in front of me and shattered. I wonder where exactly we are now. I don’t even know that. A sigh naturally escaped my lips.
“Brother, what’s wrong? Why the long face?”
