“What do you mean by home?”

“Well,” Sobue began to say. “We’re planning on heading back to Earth.”

I had just heard from Sobue that the group was planning to leave, something that caught me off-guard. I had a feeling this would happen eventually, but I had imagined that they would have stayed for at least a little longer.

“You could stay here longer if you want.” I said to Sobue.

“Thanks for the offer,” he replied. “But I think we’re good. Now that everyone can see properly, what reason is there for us to stay?”

“Well, I could still use the help.”

“Look,” Sobue said. “I miss my kids. And Kouji over there needs to be a kid.” He gestured towards the child as he spoke before turning back towards me. “And as for everyone else, well, we all have lives we want to get back to.”

“Is that even possible? For all we know, we could be stuck in this place forever.”

“And why accept that?” Sobue replied. “If there’s a chance to leave, why not take it?”

“Are you even sure everyone wants to leave?”

“Well, we all took a vote, and it was pretty much unanimous.”

I found that surprising. I was sure that at least some of them would want to stay behind, especially the older ones.

“There’s nothing wrong if I ask them myself, right?”

“I guess not?” Sobue responded.

Thank you.” I replied as I rolled over to Oyakawa, who had a rock—presumably Kouji—lodged into the hole of her pendant.

“I didn’t think you’d want to leave.” I asked her while she was moving.

“Well, I’d been wanting to travel for a while now.” She began to explain. “And I haven't been able to move around much since, well, even back in Japan, after my body began to slow down.”

“I see.”

“Besides, someone has to look after this little one.”

“Me?” Kouji asked, suddenly getting up from the little hole inside Oyakawa’s pendant.

“Yes, you, Kouji-kun,” she giggled. “You’re going to have to get out soon. I won’t be able to keep you in there once we start heading uphill.”

“Ok. Good night!” He said, laying back down. Of course, none of us were actually able to sleep, but that was beside the point.

“It's nice to be able to see children every now and again when you get older.” Oyakawa stated. ”So you can remember what it was like to be young.”

“I can see that.”

“Would you like to join us?” Oyakawa asked.

I thought for a moment. The offer was tempting, but…

“I’m sorry, but I have some stuff to do.”

“I had a feeling that was the case.” Oyakawa responded. “Still, it was good to talk with you for one last time.”

I paused for a moment. Though I was disappointed, I didn’t want to show it.

“Yeah,” I eventually said. “It was good to talk with you too.”

“Well, we’re going to get back on our way.” Oyakawa said. “I’m sure that the others would like to say goodbye to you as well.”

“Perhaps…”

“Hey, Kazuki!” Aikawa’s voice shouted from behind me, addressing me by my given name rather than my family name.

“Uh, hey, Aikawa-san.” I said, rolling over to him.

“Don’t worry!” He said. “Just call me Reiji.”

“It hasn’t even been a day since we met.”

“It's been long enough for me,” he responded. Well, if he insisted.

“Ok then, Reiji, I was wondering why you wanted to leave.”

“Well, I'd been hoping to see my drinking buddies again after the past few months.” He said.

“I see.”

I caught something interesting in what he had just said—that he had been here for a few months. As for me, I had been in this world for about a year or so, and I knew Sobue had been here for longer, though I wasn’t sure exactly how long.

“Do you know how long everyone else has been here?” I asked.

“I thought all of us answered already.” Reiji remarked. “Oh, wait! You weren’t with us for that part. Why don’t you ask around? See what everyone has to say?”

“Why don’t you just tell me?”

“I don’t need to.” He responded.

“Fine.”

I went over to Mashita, who was moving ahead with the rock that he was with earlier.

“Sorry to interrupt whatever you’re doing, but I wanted to know something.”

“WHAT?” The other rock spoke. “Could you say that again?”

“I think he means me.” Mashita stated.

“Yeah, you,” I replied. “Anyways, I was wondering how long you have been here, as a rock in this world.”

“Well, it's been five years at this point,” he answered.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

I was shocked. “Five years?”

“Yeah.” Mashita replied. “Five long, excruciating years.”

“Well, it was two years for me.” Someone else chimed in.

“Four years!” said another.

“Three!” I heard Kouji’s voice claim, much to my surprise.

“Wait a minute,” I said to Kouji while he was jumping out of Oyakawa. “Were you one year old when you got here? Or are you seven years old now?”

“Ummmmm… One, two, three, four, five. Then one, two. Is that one or seven?”

Regardless of his age, it seemed that math was something he was still learning.

“Seven,” I replied.

“Oh, okay!” Kouji exclaimed. “Seven!”

I was horrified. That child spent nearly as much time stuck here as he had spent living back on Earth. The thought pained me, and I didn’t want to make things even worse by keeping him here longer.

I looked at everyone else, thinking about all the time that they spent here and all the years they had lost. As much as I didn't want to admit it, it was clear that we were headed on different paths. They all had lives they needed to live, and if they wanted to go home, then who was I to stop them?

“Ok then,” I said to everyone. “To all of you, good luck on your journey, wherever it may lead you.”

“Goodbye!” They all shouted back to me as they began to head up the slope leading to the main road.

----------------------------------------

Though I had only known them for less than a day, seeing them leave was still tough to watch. So instead, I went towards the river, now that I could actually gauge the colors. In front of me, I could see the murky blue waters of the river, with trees adorned with luscious green leaves on both sides of it. To my left was a bridge made of brown wood, while in the distance, I could see the whites of snow-capped peaks. Lastly, above all of this was the clear blue sky. It had been a while since I had seen anything like this, the last time being at the lake prior to when it was destroyed by that ‘hero’.

“Hey!” I heard Yabuki’s voice shout. “You’re in the way!”

I looked behind me and saw who I presumed to be Yabuki lounging on the riverbank. Perhaps he forgot to leave with the others?

“Aren’t you going to head up with the rest of them?”

“Why should I?” He responded. “I’ve got the oceanfront property I’ve always wanted!”

“It's a river.”

“Close enough!” he retorted.

I looked over to the slope. The group was making their way up at this point, and they were probably too far away for them to hear me. What luck! The only one of them who stayed behind was the one I liked the least.

Deciding to ignore Yabuki, I instead looked back at the water and remembered that he technically wasn’t the only one who had stayed behind. So, before heading back to the girl, I figured there was no harm in looking around for that other rock again.

I went up to the water’s edge, only to pause when I got there. Even though I had just been in the water, it seemed my fear had yet to go away. But since I had just gotten out, I was sure I could do it again. So, after another moment of pause, I shuffled into the river.

The water was murky at first when I got in, but it seemed to clear up after a few moments. I looked around the riverbank, but the rock was nowhere to be seen. Undeterred, I continued wobbling down the riverbank, moving toward the area where I had seen him before, near the tree.

It wasn’t long before I reached the pit where I had last seen him, with tree roots dangling from above. I couldn’t make anything out at first when I looked down into the pit. But I then heard a voice coming from the abyss, perfectly intelligible even beneath the watery depths. Despite this, it was still a little bit faint, so I leaped down toward its source. And after I landed, I saw the rock, counting to himself near a submerged tree root. He was somewhere in the hundreds at this point, not that it really mattered. To watch him continue to do this was saddening, especially since he was now able to do otherwise.

I went up to him, hoping that this time things would turn out differently.

“You know, it's okay to leave if you want to. You don’t have to live like this anymore.”

But he continued to ignore me. Unfortunately, things were not off to a great start. But despite this, I tried again.

“What’s the point of all of this?” I asked. “You’re only hurting yourself. Why waste a second chance?”

“A second chance?” He began to speak. “Let me tell you something: I did not spend a decade as a rock only for this to be my second chance. Now for the last time, go away.”

I watched as he resumed counting to himself, starting at one once again. I did what I could, but at this point, it was probably best for me to leave. And so I made my way back to shore. However, before I resurfaced, I looked back for a moment, hoping that perhaps he would change his mind.

----------------------------------------

After I finished getting out of the water, I turned towards the woods, ready to head back to the girl. However, I was interrupted by the sound of a splash of sorts coming from the water. I looked back, thinking that perhaps he had gotten out of the river. But all I could see when I turned were some fading ripples in the water, right next to the tree. However, it was difficult to discern any details from where I was, so I went over to the area to get a better look.

I didn’t see much at first when I looked at the water. But after a few moments, I began to see a patch of dust starting to accumulate on the water’s surface, and as it grew, I began to see small particles of rock scattered throughout it. I quickly realized—to my horror—that these particles had come from the rock that I had just spoken to. But how did this happen to him? Did something—or someone—kill him?

I looked to my right and saw the tree I had talked with earlier, still standing next to the water. Maybe she had something to do with what happened. After all, it was her roots that I saw under the water. Suspecting the worst, I went over to her, looking for some answers.

“Greetings, little one.” The tree spoke to me as I approached her trunk.

“Hello,” I responded. “There’s something important I need to ask you.”

“What is it you want to ask?” The tree responded.

I paused for a moment, thinking carefully about what to say. If what I feared was true, then this tree could kill me at any given moment.

“There was another rock down at the bottom of the water.” I said. “He looked very similar to me. By any chance, did you see what happened to him?”

“Hmmm…” The tree paused. “I don’t recall seeing any rocks down there, not that I’m even able to see down there to begin with.”

I couldn’t help but feel skeptical about her response, recalling how the tree reacted to Yabuki bumping into one of her roots not that long ago. Regardless of whether the tree was relying on touch or sight, it was clear that she was able to use her roots to sense her surroundings. I looked toward the water, and I saw the tree’s roots submerged underneath, just as they were when I last saw the rock. It was clear that she was using them for something, and with this in mind, I continued my interrogation.

“What about this?” I asked, hopping onto one of her roots.

“Oh, that tickles!” The tree giggled for a moment, shaking me off of her root and onto the ground nearby.

“Sorry about that.” The tree apologized while I regained my bearings. “My roots can be sensitive.”

“It’s fine.” I responded. “Anyways, I was wondering what those roots are doing under the water.”

“Oh. Well,” The tree began to say, “I was just getting some extra water. After all, during this drought, we trees need all the water we can get, even if doing so can be” She lifted a bloated root out of the water. “Suffocating…”

I looked at the root. Unfortunately, if there was any direct evidence on that root of what remained of the rock, it had probably washed off at this point. I wasn’t having much luck with the tree, and I began to wonder if I would find some answers in the riverbed instead. So, I decided to go into the water again, for what I hoped would be the last time in a long while.

“If that’s the case.” I began to say. “I’ll just go into the water to check myself.”

I turned toward the river and leaped, falling into the water. But before I could enter the water, I was stopped midair as the tree wrapped one of her roots around me and lifted me up in front of her. I tried to break free, but her grip was too strong.

“So now what?” I asked, facing toward the tree's trunk. “Are you going to kill me too? Like you did that other rock?”

She paused, momentarily loosening her grip. I began to fall before she caught me again with her root. “Is—is that what you want?”

“What? Why on Earth would you even ask something like that?”

“Well…” The tree paused, gently placing me back on the ground. “He did.” The tree pointed one of her roots toward the river while twisting her upper half in the opposite direction.

I looked toward the water and at the rock’s remains floating on its surface. Unless the tree was still lying to me, then she was implying that the rock had… Oh dear...