The farther into the forest she went, the hotter it became, until sweat was dripping off her face. If she hadn’t experienced a bone-numbing cold, she might have hesitated going forward. But heat was preferable to that emptiness at the bottom of the sea. The light was preferable to the darkness, so she soldiered on no matter how unpleasant it got.

She had no idea how long she walked through that forest, but it seemed like a long time. Strangely, as long as she kept moving forward, the light stopped its downward motion. But the moment she stopped moving, even to rest, it’d start to dim and move closer to the horizon. After having this happen several times she could not help but think…

…was this light mocking her or something? It’d been so polite before, but now it was practically forcing her to chase it. Did it think she was into games of hide-and-seek? Mucking around this forest with enough heat to roast an animal wasn’t her idea of a good time!

As she stomped forward, she became more and more irritated. When she finally caught it, she’d really give it a piece of her mind. It was fine to be this scorching up in the sky, but it was making a mess of things down on the ground. Didn’t it know anything about moderation!?

And then, without any warning at all, the forest opened up into a field.

It happened so fast she actually stumbled and fell down. Looking around, she marveled. The sky, which had been a dull gray, was a piercing clear blue. Grass, the shade of spring green, was up to her knees and little white flowers were everywhere, with butterflies fluttering here and there.

This place was alive. It was so much more alive than anything else she’d seen so far. Even the forest had been quiet except for the wind, but she hadn’t noticed. She hadn’t noticed because she’d forgotten what a living world felt like.

There, at the very center, was the light. It was radiating light and heat so intensely she had trouble looking directly at it.

After a bit of thinking, she quickly stood up and pointed at it, shouting with pent up frustration:

“Hey you! You think everyone wants to be boiled, blackened, and toasted like a main dish?! Just because you like it doesn’t mean everyone else does! How about you back off a bit!”

The light noticeably flickered, as if surprised. It turned to look at her and she realized it had a face.

This light was a person.

It was a man. He had long gold hair and completely gold eyes that slanted upwards at the corners. From his head, just behind his slightly pointed ears, two tall white multi-pronged antlers arched towards the sky. Like a strange diadem, green vines grew around his forehead and the base of his antlers, weaving their way into his hair. He wore an all-white outfit lined in fur and his face was slender but dignified. He was standing in the meadow with the air of someone completely confident in their own existence.

“Is this more to your liking?” He asked, his voice quiet and strangely layered (as though two people were speaking at the same time).

She blinked.

Now that he mentioned it, he was no longer blindingly bright nor scorchingly hot. Instead, he was emanating a steady but soft golden glow. Seeing that he’d been obliging, she nodded, pleased.

Now that he’d stopped being annoying, she couldn’t help staring at him in curiosity. She remained where she was and simply gawked at him shamelessly.

“…would you like to come closer?” The light inquired after several minutes of her blatant staring.

“Is it alright if I do?”

“As long as you are amicable to coming closer, there should be no problem.”

“Oh.”

For some reason, she hesitated and felt a little bit intimidated by him. Not because he was domineering, but because he was different than what she had been expecting. What he’d looked like at a distance had been very different from what he’d looked like up close.

Nervously she shuffled forward. When she was just beyond his reach, she stopped and clasped her hands together tightly. She couldn’t help looking down at the ground, feeling strangely embarrassed and shy.

“Are you afraid of me?”

“N-no.”

“Then there is no need to stand so far away.”

She twiddled her fingers and glanced up at him. His voice was low and coaxing, but his facial expression remained unchanged: calm, serene, as if completely unaffected by the world around him.

After thinking on it a few moments, she supposed it should be alright. He was very different from her expectations, but he wasn’t bad. She took a few steps forward, until she was right in front of him. At this distance, she could feel the intense heat he was exuding again.

“You… you’re pretty hot blooded, huh?”

“It’s in my nature. I have reduced the heat I give off as much as I am able.” He paused. “I’m sorry if I make you uncomfortable even still.”

“It’s okay.” She appreciated his thoughtfulness. But if he was so thoughtful, then why…?

“Hey, hey… I’ve been wondering… How come you ran away?”

“Ran away?”

“Yeah, you were up there.” She pointed to the sky and then to the ground. “And now you’re down here.”

“Ah, that… it was so that you would chase after me.”

“…so you were playing hide-and-seek!”

The light’s flawless face stiffened and he gave a slow blink.

“That was not my intention.”

“It wasn’t?”

“No.”

“…”

“…”

“Then what was the point!? Do you know how much work it was to get here?!”

“You would not come closer, when I remained,” He pointed skyward, “up there. So I moved, hoping you would follow me.”

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“You wanted me to come closer…” She scratched her head. “..you could have just asked.”

He shook his head, the vines entwined along his brow and hair rustling slightly at the motion.

“No, I could not go into the water. And you would not come out.”

“What? Can’t you swim?”

“The sun may shine on the water, but it may never enter it.”

“Ah, so you can’t swim then.”

His lips twitched slightly and he almost looked amused, but then his expression went back to looking serene.

“Why did you want me to be closer anyway?”

“The water wasn’t safe.”

Her eyebrows rose and her forehead crinkled.

“What? It was perfectly safe! I didn’t even need to breath in it or anything.”

“Was it really? Then why did you follow me?”

“Because you’re warm...” Her mouth opened in slight surprise. “Oh. I guess it was unbearably cold deep down near the bottom. Was that cold really dangerous?”

His eyes narrowed slightly and he whispered, “..so it felt cold to you..”

“Huh?”

“Nothing.” He turned his head slightly. “That cold is, indeed, dangerous.”

“..hm… I didn’t know. I didn’t like it, but it wasn’t scary per se.”

“Now you know. If you feel that kind of cold again, you must run from it.”

“Ok, sure. Since you’re here, it won’t be a problem. I can just run to you and then the cold won’t catch me.” She looked pleased with her solution.

“Do you like me?”

“I like that you’re warm.”

He gave a slight sigh. “That is enough for now I suppose.”

They were both silent for a while.

“Hey, hey, Mister, what is this place?”

“This place?”

“This island, is it your home?”

His eyebrows rose ever so slightly.

“No, this is yours. You created it.”

Her eyes widened in astonishment.

“Me? But I don’t remember doing anything like that!”

“It is your desires given form. You don’t have to say or do anything, you simply desire it and it will be. That is the power of this world.”

“Is that what you are? One of my desires?” The thought bothered her so much she ignored the rest of what he’d said.

“You did not make me, but you did call me here.”

“I— I did?”

He nodded. “Yet when I arrived, I could not find you. I waited for a very long time, but you did not show yourself.”

“S-sorry, I don’t remember calling you so I didn’t know you were waiting.”

“It’s alright. I’m just happy you are here now and that we may converse with each other.”

She gave a small nod and smiled.

“I’m glad that you’re here too.”

He stared at her for a moment before turning away and looking around.

“This place that you have made is very… empty.”

“…it’s not like I meant to make it to begin with so…”

“Perhaps that is why, you did not mean to make it.” He spoke in a quiet, thoughtful voice. “Try intentionally making something.”

“E-eh? How do I do that?”

“Just think of something you’d like to make and then it should appear. But think carefully on its appearance, as your imagination will greatly influence how it looks.”

“Oh…. Well, alright, I’ll try!” She thought for a moment and then brightened. “I want a house!”

Almost instantly, a structure appeared near them. Rough wood slates shakily clung to a haphazard frame with a badly tied thatch roof on top. There was a rickety doorway that had no door.

She was stunned speechless at the sight.

“…what an interesting house.” The light walked closer to it. “The construction is a bit.. mmm… lacking.”

“Why? I wanted a house but I got a shack!”

“Did you envision the kind of house you wanted clearly?”

“I did! And it wasn’t this disaster!”

“Then… perhaps you lack the power to create what your desire imagines.”

“You didn’t say I needed power! You said desire and imagination!”

He glanced at her coolly. “There is no need to be upset.”

“Of course I’m upset, you lied to me! I don’t like liars! And now I’ve got a shack for a house!”

“It was not a lie, I simply did not know. There are many things I don’t know about this place. What I do know, I tell you. If the information is incomplete, I can hardly be blamed.”

“You could have told me that at the beginning then!” She huffed, disgruntled.

“…my apologies for not mentioning my limitations sooner.” He then gave an elegant bow at the waist, his hair streaming over his shoulders.

Seeing that he seemed sorry, she gave an awkward cough and muttered, “I guess it’s alright…”

The light straightened his back. “This is your world, the rules are set by you. I can only observe. What I know is from the time I have been here.”

“Oh. You said you’ve been here a while?”

“Yes. I have waited to meet you for a very long time.”

Even though his facial expression hadn’t changed at all, his words seemed filled with affection. Before she could stop herself, she was blushing.

“T-then,” She sputtered, hoping he didn’t notice her reaction. “How do I get power to make a nice house?”

He tilted his head slightly, eyes closing as if deep in thought. After a while, he reached into his white, fur-lined robe, and pulled out five small marbles. They each had a different color: black, green, red, yellow, and white.

“What are these for?”

“It is my guess that calling me here and creating this island, and who knows what else when I wasn’t looking, drained you of most of your power.” He motioned her to open her hand, which she did, and then he dropped the marbles onto her upturned palms.

He continued explaining, “Given enough time, your power would recover itself, but that would take too long. And for such simple acts to exhaust you… that simply won’t do. A supplement is needed in the meantime.”

“Did you really just imply making an island was easy?” She asked with some exasperation while examining the marbles carefully. She held up the black one between her thumb and forefinger. Despite it’s dark color, it seemed to glitter. “Oh, this one is pretty, I like it.”

“I see, so your strongest affinity is water.”

“Huh?”

“Nature is made up of elements. That marble is the water element. That you showed interest in it, over the others, means you’ve got an affinity for it.”

“Really? But what do I do with it?”

He paused for a long period of time before finally saying:

“Eat it.”

“…is this even edible?” That long pause had been suspicious.

“…yes.”

She stared at him doubtfully. The light looked at her then the marble, before nodding slowly.

“It should be fine. Try it.”

“Well…” She then sighed and shrugged. She’d try to bite it before swallowing it. If it wouldn’t break, she could just spit it out. With that decided, she promptly popped it into her mouth.

It rolled in her mouth just like a marble and she hesitated before biting down.

To her surprise, when she tried to bite it, her teeth pierced it easily. It was as though it had a thin but hard coating, while the inside had the texture of a grape. It had a minty aftertaste, cooling her mouth pleasantly. She munched on it a bit before swallowing.

“How do you feel?” The light asked curiously, though his face remained in its permanently serene expression.

She grinned and put her hands on her hips.

“Just fine! That was tasty! Weird, but good!” Her stomach growled angrily at her and she covered it in surprise. “Oh! I guess eating that marble thing made my stomach realize it was empty.”

“Do any of the other elements look appetizing to you?”

“Oh yeah! I forgot there was more!” She opened her hand and picked each one up. The red, yellow, and white one just… didn’t seem appealing. The yellow on in particular made her nose crinkle in distaste. However, when she got to the green one, she thought it might be alright and said as much.

“That would be the wood element. Try eating that one too.”

She shrugged and popped it into her mouth. It had the same texture as the water marble, but the exterior was just a little bit thicker and required more effort to bite through. When she did, she discovered it had a very light, but pleasant apple flavor.

“That one was tasty too.”

“Do any of the others interest you?”

She shook her head. “Nope, especially that yellow one. It looks nasty.”

When she tossed the marbles back, he caught them easily. Rolling them in his hand a bit, he made a sound that might have been a chuckle. However, his unchanging face made it hard to tell.

“…all very traditional then…”

“Hm? What’s tra—” At that moment, her stomach made another loud noise but this time she grimaced. For some reason she felt even more hungry than before. Her hands began to shake from the intensity.

“D-do you have anything else to eat?” She asked awkwardly.

The light tilted his head and dug into his inner shirt again. After a moment, he came out with more black and green marbles. She instantly upturned her palms and he dropped them on her outstretched hands. Before he could say anything, she began gobbling them up.

Without any sense of shame, she scarfed down all the marbles in no time flat and then looked at him eagerly for more. He exhaled slightly before taking out more and giving them to her. How long this went on, her begging for marbles and him finding some to give her, she didn’t know. For some reason she didn’t question the fact that he had a never ending supply of them, she just wanted more.

And then, all at once, she felt very very sleepy. She gave a huge yawn.

“If you’re tired,” The light spoke kindly at seeing her sway on her feet. “Lay down in this field and sleep. I will watch over you.”

She blinked blearily. “You won’t leave?”

“I won’t.”

“Then,” she yawned again, sitting down and curling up into a tight ball on the grassy ground, “that’s fine by me…”

She’d fallen asleep even as she finished speaking.