Yana returned with five fruits in her hands. It looked like oranges with its appearance but it has a different scent. It was sweeter in taste and its innards looked like an apple’s, only it was pigmented orange. When she saw that Jiro was not able to conjure anything, not even an ember of flame, she could not help but smile. She was not really expecting him to be able to do the task since she knew that Jiro had never done it before.

“I’m sorry for failing to make a fire… After saying that I’ll do it.”

Yana shook her head. “It’s okay. I actually think that it’s going to be bad if we start a campfire here. Some creatures might be lure by the light so I guess not having a fire is better than having one.”

They had decided to settle on a small clear space, just near the edge of the forest, the gentle rushing sound of the nearby river could be heard. The sky above, was already painted with scarlet colors with a full moon, showing its splendor to the creatures below, has started to take over the sun’s throne in the sky. Anyone could tell that night has come.

Over a sweet fruit, they had their dinner. Yana had given three to Jiro, since she had already ate one and kept the remaining two for herself. At first, Jiro was insisting to let Yana have three since she was the one who gathered it, but Yana scolded him for being hard-headed. In fear of her being annoyed at him, Jiro reluctantly surrendered and kept the fruits with him.

The two of them were sitting across each other, both were leaning against the trunk of the trees behind them. Yana was hugging her knees closer to her while Jiro was seating on the ground in a sukhasana pose.

The forest was supposed to be dark but thanks to the radiance of the moon it was not, there were also fireflies drifting in the air that slightly illuminates the area where they are. Yana admirably look at the small creatures and appreciated their beauty. From the city they live in, fireflies were rare creatures so this was a rare occasion for her. Probably, she should get used to this, since she does not know how long they will stay in this place.

“Jiro, what do you know?” Yana asked a little bit later. She had decided about this after crying some time ago, she should assess how Jiro’s condition was, if not she would not be able to help themselves. “I mean, how much do you remember?”

“I… Uh… All I know is that were not in our original world. Other than that, I can’t remember anything. I’m sorry.” How many time he has apologized for this day? Yana had already lost count.

“No. It’s not your fault. At least, you know we are not in our ‘home planet’, that’s better than having the thought that you’re a local here.” And Yana proceeded to the next thing in her to-do list. “Since you know about that, I won’t be having trouble explaining… We have to make a backstory for ourselves.”

She had the thought of it earlier. If they were going to meet someone, what were they going to tell to that person?  Something like ‘Hello, we’re from Earth and we lost our way here. Can you please show us the way back?’ would not work, would it? Yana had confidence that she could bring up something at that very moment but how about Jiro? Could he go along with her act? In his current condition, Yana was certain he could not, so she should talk to him about this, thus, led to this conversation.

“I already thought of one so please listen…” The backstory she thought of was that they were foreigners whose ship got shipwrecked and they were washed ashore to this land. She had not seen any sea in this place yet, nor does she know how near they are from one. If this turned out to be inappropriate, she said to Jiro that she will handle it. “But for now, let’s settle with this.”

Standing up straight from sitting, Yana looked down on Jiro and said, “That’s all I have to say. If there are something else you have in mind, feel free to speak up.”

“…I, uh… No. I don’t have any idea yet but yes, I’m going to tell you if I have one.”

Yana smiled sheepishly and leave it at that. “Well then, I’ll head to the river… Please don’t follow. I, uhm, I’m going to have a drink.”

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Yana headed to the river, but instead of simply drinking, she stripped off her clothes and soaked herself in the cold running water. It was colder than before, but Yana did not mind about it. She was looking down on her body, right at her bare chest. It felt tight there. Like something was pinning her heart against a wall and the stinging pain dominated the coldness of the water.

“Why?” she asked softly. She shut her eyes close yet tears were rolling again from them. She was surprised when her tears started running down when she was about to look for food earlier, but this time it did not. The feeling had been bugging her throughout the time they were eating till the time they had been talking. Throughout the time she was staring at Jiro. She was doing her best to hide it from him; her pain in seeing him in that empty state.

However, this was not Yana’s sole reason for her tears. Yana has her own fears, her own worries. In this foreign place, how will they be able to keep on living like this? Is there a way to go back?

She opened her eyes and look at herself through the water along with the brilliance of the moon. It was then she noticed how bright this evening is. Looking up, another moon was looming up above the heavens. It was bluish-white and a little bit bigger than the other one. The scene was captivating, but it erased all of Yana’s hope, even though it was so small, that they were not on a different place.

Her lips curved, and a feeling of something breaking inside her started. The cries she had been holding onto her lips escaped.

“Why?! Why are we here?!”

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He decided to follow her despite the fact she said not to follow her. He could not erase this anxious feeling, that there is something wrong with Yana. He panicked, when she started to get undress, after all he was not here to peep on her.

Turning his back on Yana, he decided to talk to her later, but to his surprise his feet would not move. Somehow, his desire as a man took over him. He stood there and when he heard the sound of her getting inside the water, it was then he turned again to look at the river. He could not see anything but her back and the river lit up by the moons, this ease his mind a bit.

The scene was entrancing, a woman bathing in the river beneath the two-rounded moons. The flying fireflies added to the picturesque evening.

He could not remember if there were two moons from the world they came from, but he was certain that what he was seeing right now is beauty itself.

Yana. He thought of her as a smart and strong person. She remained calm and composed after all what happened. She is cute too, her smile, her short hair. But he noticed that her eyes carries a lot of emotions. He could not be sure, thus the thought left him jumpy on his toes. He wanted to reach out to her but he does not know how to do it. If only he had the memory from the past, he was sure he will be able to do it. She said they are close, right?

Then he heard her crying out to the heavens, “Why?! Why are we here?!”

He was stumped for a while, he could see her tears running down. She was crying her heart out. He smiled, and turning around he started to go back to the place where they had decided to stay.

Of course, she would be crying, he told to himself. It must be tough for her to wake up on a different land, with a friend who lose his memories, to run for her life being chased by a dangerous creature, to wander inside a vast forest without a clue of where to go.

“Unlike me, she still has her memories with her,” he whispered in the air. “It must be harder for her to accept things.”

He prayed that Yana would overcome everything she has been harboring in her heart.

Cry it out loud. Don’t stop until you let them all out.