The Girl on the Road
Warm sunlight pressed gently against my closed eyelids, replacing the acrid stench of burning wood with the earthy scents of damp soil and dry summer grass. Beneath my back, something wet and sticky had already pooled, soaking through my clothes.
Approaching footsteps crunched against loose gravel.
I forced my eyelids open. The sky above was blindingly bright—painfully so—and my body felt as heavy as lead. Fresh blood drenched the fabric clinging to my torso, spreading outward into the dirt beneath me.
I tried to move, to twitch even a finger.
Nothing happened.
A shadow fell across my field of vision, blocking out the sun. Strands of bright blonde hair drifted into sight, swaying softly in the morning breeze. Beneath them stood a pair of worn, handmade sandals dusted with road dirt.
A woman.
Her face hovered above me, her wide eyes filled with immediate alarm as she spoke rapidly. The words blurred into a low, incomprehensible hum in my ears, slipping right past my fading awareness.
She's beautiful.
The thought surfaced naturally, unbidden.
And at that exact moment—
"…An angel…"
Words that were not my own escaped my lips. The voice was hoarse and barely audible, little more than a ragged breath escaping failing lungs.
The woman blinked in surprise, a faint blush touching her cheeks. But worry quickly overtook her embarrassment as she knelt beside me, her hands moving with frantic purpose.
Something deep within me violently shifted.
The movement of this body wasn't mine. The voice wasn't mine either. And yet, I could feel every horrifying detail. Every ragged breath. Every pulse of agony spreading through torn flesh. Every fading, stuttering heartbeat.
Foreign memories surfaced through the lingering haze. Not mine. His.
A name appeared among them as naturally as breathing.
Viole.
So that was the man whose body I now occupied.
And me? Inside the quiet confines of his failing mind, my thoughts searched inward for an anchor.
A name surfaced just as clearly.
Caelus.
Yes. That was who I was.
Without warning, something freezing cold splashed across my face. A sharp, stinging scent flooded my nose—crushed herbs mixed with something metallic and intensely bitter.
A potion.
The body convulsed as the liquid washed across the open wounds, searing the torn flesh. A ragged groan scraped past Viole's lips.
"…Wh… where…" His voice faltered weakly. "…am I…?"
The woman didn't stop. Her hands moved in a rapid rhythm, splashing more of the liquid across the blood-soaked injuries while muttering something frantic under her breath. The sharp smell of alchemy thickened in the afternoon air.
Warm, firm hands slid under his shoulders, lifting him slightly. The world swayed, the daylight washed out, and consciousness vanished once more.
The potion burned like liquid fire. Even through the haze of fading sensation, I could feel it spreading across torn muscle, forcing wounds that should have been fatal to knit together.
Darkness claimed his senses, yet mine remained. At first, there was only a heavy, ringing stillness.
Then, the body shifted.
Something tugged hard at Viole's shoulders. The ground scraped faintly against his back as his body moved across dirt and sharp gravel. Each pull was small, uneven, and followed by the brief, heavy pause of someone desperately catching their breath before trying again.
Dragging. She was dragging him.
I could feel the sheer effort in those slow, awkward movements—the heavy weight of a grown man being pulled by someone far too small for the task. His arms bumped against the uneven earth with every heave, fabric catching on dry grass and loose stones.
Another desperate pull. Then another.
Eventually, the dragging stopped. The body was lifted once more, settling upright against a rough, solid surface.
Tree bark.
A faint breeze stirred the canopy above, casting dancing shadows across his closed eyelids. The sun rested gently against the right side of Viole's face, its warmth slowly tracking across his skin as time bled away.
And then—a soft humming broke the quiet.
It was an absentminded, gentle melody carried by the wind. The voice was unfamiliar, yet so soothing that I found myself listening silently in the darkness.
When Viole's body finally stirred, the humming cut off.
Light seeped through his twitching eyelids. Bright blue sky framed by drifting leaves came into focus first, followed by the figure sitting beside him.
Blonde hair fluttered in the breeze as the girl leaned back against the tree trunk. Her head snapped toward him the instant she noticed his eyes opening, her gaze locking onto his in quiet disbelief.
Viole's throat worked dryly. "…Where…" The word scraped out like sandpaper. "…Where am I…?"
The girl straightened immediately, startled. "I—" Her voice faltered before she quickly folded her hands in her lap. "I found you on the road. You were bleeding so much… I had to treat your wounds."
She glanced down nervously, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
"I couldn't just leave you there… so I moved you here under the shade."
Viole blinked slowly, his gaze drifting past her toward the open road. "…The road… where is this…?"
"It's outside the city," she gestured faintly. "Not too far, but… still a bit of a walk."
Silence returned, filled only by the slow rise and fall of Viole's chest as strength gradually trickled back into his limbs.
"…How long…" He shifted slightly against the bark. "…was I out…?"
"Well…" She pointed up through the leaves. "When I found you, the sun was way up there. Now it's over here."
The light filtering through the branches had stretched long, amber shadows across the grass. Hours had passed. Not enough to drain the day's warmth, but enough for the broken body beneath me to pull itself back from the edge of death.
The girl glanced back at him, her eyes wide with gentle concern. "…Does it still hurt?"
Inside the quiet dark of Viole's body, I felt everything. The dull, thrumming ache in his muscles. The desert dryness in his throat. The steady, heavy thud of a heart that had nearly stopped beating.
And the warmth of the sun shelter beneath the trees.
Viole forced his eyes shut again. "…No…"
The word barely formed before exhaustion dragged him under once more. Not into unconsciousness—just deep, heavy rest.
When Viole's eyes opened a second time, the shadows had stretched further.
A figure leaned close, her features clearing as the lingering haze of fatigue finally burned away. Beneath the wide blue sky of this unfamiliar world, I saw her properly for the first time.
She was stunning—not in the exaggerated, sharp way of a painted portrait, but with a soft, delicate grace that felt overwhelmingly real. Her face carried gentle features, framing large eyes the color of a calm morning lake. Clear, bright, and deeply expressive.
Sunlight caught in her long cascade of honey-blonde hair, shimmering as the wind moved through it. Near the tips, the color softened into a faint, subtle lilac hue that caught the light just right. A navy ribbon tied part of it back, matching a simple ribbon rested neatly around her neck.
Her dress was simple white linen, off the shoulders and meant for warm days. Yet, delicate floral embroidery ran along the ruffled neckline and hem—tiny, hand-stitched flowers that swayed with the breeze.
Probably her best dress, I realized. Worn for trips into town.
Over one shoulder, a thick hemp rope crossed diagonally over her chest, leading back to a small wooden wagon. Inside were neatly arranged glass jars filled with colorful liquids alongside bundled lavender, its fresh scent drifting through the afternoon air.
A traveling apothecary.
The girl leaned closer, her expression melting into pure relief. "Um… are you feeling a little better now?"
When Viole didn't answer right away, she tilted forward, her face hovering close enough that I could see the subtle tremble of nervousness in her eyes.
Inside the chest beneath me, Viole's heart skipped a beat.
Thump.
A sudden, strange warmth crept across his cheeks, spreading beneath his skin. A small, fluttering storm of nerves swirled in the center of his chest.
Ah. I thought silently. So that's what this is.
"…Do you think…" Her fingers tightened around the shoulder rope. "…you might be able to stand? If you can walk, we can head toward the city slowly. There's a proper healer there."
Inside his limbs, the dull heaviness had receded just enough. Viole pressed his palm against the dirt, his muscles trembling violently as he forced his upper body forward.
"…Walk…" His voice was hoarse, but firmer. "…I'll try."
Viole drew a sharp breath and shoved himself upward. For half a second, he held. Then, his knees buckled.
The world tilted violently—
"Ah—!"
Footsteps rushed through the grass. Before the body could hit the dirt, soft but surprisingly firm hands caught him—one gripping his arm, the other bracing his shoulder.
"W-wait! Please don't rush!"
Viole's full weight slumped against her. Despite her slender frame, she didn't give an inch, bracing her footing to hold him upright. For someone who had dragged a full-grown man off the road, her strength was far greater than her delicate appearance suggested.
"Sorry…" Viole mumbled, his cheeks burning hotter as the scent of lavender enveloped him up close.
She quickly looked away, though her grip remained steady until she was certain he wouldn't collapse. "I-it's okay… Just please be careful."
Once he stabilized, she stepped back, pulling a small clay flask from a satchel on her wagon. "Here… you lost a lot of blood. You need water."
Viole accepted the cool flask with a faint nod. "…Thank you."
The cool liquid washed away the desert in his throat. As he handed it back, she gave a soft smile, taking her place at the front of the wagon.
"Um…" Her voice was small as the wooden wheels began to creak against the dirt road. "We haven't introduced ourselves yet… My name is Ai. I'm from Lunareth Village."
She gestured to the jars behind her. "I'm on my way to the city to sell my potions. What about you? What's your name?"
"…Ah." Viole's steps slowed. "…Right. I'm sorry. My name is… Viole. And… thank you. For saving me."
Ai shook her head quickly. "I-it was nothing—"
"…I'm an adventurer," he continued, breathing heavily between words. "…Silver rank."
They walked in silence for a moment before Ai finally voiced the question weighing on her. "…What happened to you? You were so badly hurt."
Viole's gaze drifted toward the distant horizon. "…A guild request. Herb gathering in Verdant Hollow Forest. It should have been safe… but a monster appeared. Something not from that forest. Too strong. Too fast."
His hand brushed the bandages over his ribs. "I managed to escape… barely."
"…Didn't you have potions?" she asked softly.
Viole let out a tired, self-deprecating laugh. "…I wish. City potions are too expensive for adventurers like me."
Silence settled over the road once more, but the heavy, awkward tension had evaporated. As the wagon wheels creaked steadily against the dirt, I observed it all from deep within Viole's chest.
This road. This strange meeting.
It was the beginning of something neither of them truly understood yet.