Sin stumbled to his feet, grimacing as he put weight onto his burnt soles and moved his charred body.

He dragged Noa’s leather pack over his shoulder, wincing at the extra weight that seemed too heavy for his weak body.

He still had the dull sword by his side, and its blade scraped listlessly on the floor after him.

‘Water…’

The darkness around him was like a shroud, embracing his body as he moved in search of water.

The sound of its rushing was like a sweet melody, causing his throat and tongue to feel even more dehydrated than before. It was still distant, but as he moved forward he could begin to hear it more clearly.

He felt like a zombie, dragging himself toward the source of the appealing sonance. He had lost all caution, all hesitation, but his steps were still slow, pained, and pronounced.

And then, suddenly, he saw it.

The small brook before him sparkled beautifully under the hundreds of stars, glinting with the promise of a cool, revitalizing drink. The soft light shimmered and waved as the water rushed forth with a quick, but relaxing pace. Smooth, round stones parted the stream, and it flowed effortlessly around them, weaving into little whirlpools.

Its soft gurgles and splashes sounded so delightful to Sin’s ear, that he almost cried again.

He kneeled by the brook, his knee resting on a small stone that jutted out. He placed the dull sword down beside him and slung the pack off of his shoulder, placing it down gently against another rock.

His hands reached out and, cupped, entered the water. He gasped at the relief of his burnt hands being caressed by the cool touch of water. Enjoying the sensation for a moment, he then brought his cupped hands out of the water.

Sin knew, in some odd way, that he should not drink too quickly, even if he desperately wanted to gulp the water down in buckets.

So, he sipped carefully from his hands, which were dripping with water down his arms.

As the water entered his mouth, he relished the wonderful feeling and swallowed cautiously.

For a while, this is all Sin did. He brought the water carefully to his mouth, straining against the urge to drink it all in one swift gulp, and drank slowly.

Finally feeling refreshed, he started to remove his clothes. Or… what was left of them. They were just rags now, hanging helplessly off of his battered body. He left the bandages on his shoulder, however.

Naked, he slowly dipped his foot into the stream, shivering as the water embraced his burnt feet. The stream was not too deep, rising halfway up his calves. Sin slowly sat down in the water, allowing it to wash over him softly.

It took with it the dirt, the ash, and the pain.

He finally submerged fully into the water, and it rushed overhead. He stayed in its loving embrace for about a minute, until he felt a small strain in his lungs.

Re-emerging from the water, Sin felt cosmically rejuvenated. The water had not only cleansed his body, but it had also cleansed his mind. And his soul.

It had shocked him back to reality with its cold caress and soothed his aching soul and body.

Sin finally felt like himself again.

He was hesitant to get out, so he dragged the dirty rags that he used to call clothes into the water. They immediately clouded the water with grit, but it was quickly swept away.

He washed them slowly, taking his time. The stars sparkled splendidly up above, watching his domestic motions dutifully.

Satisfied with the cleanness of the rags, he finally stepped out of the stream, letting the soft water run down his body.

Sin was of average height, he guessed roughly. He had been taller than Noa, at the very least. His body was lean, but not exactly chiseled.

As Sin laid the rags out to dry on the cold stone floor, he was suddenly curious to see how he looked. Ever since he had arrived in this strange land, he hadn’t seen himself once. Along with everything else, including his name, Sin had forgotten how his face looked, too.

He had tried to see himself, of course, but the dull blade offered no reflective surface and the water of the stream was not stationary enough to reflect a clear image of him.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

He sat down next to the leather pack, leaning against the same rock, and began searching inside.

Maybe Noa had something reflective.

There wasn’t much inside. A few more strips of cloth, one or two leaves to make a poultice, an empty leather flask, a needle and thread, a broken arrowhead, and… a mirror!

Sin was surprised. He hadn’t expected to find a mirror at all and was actually looking for something even remotely reflective. But there it was, exactly what he had been looking for.

He pulled the mirror out of the bag. It was a small, hand-held mirror with a handle and circular looking-glass. It was slightly battered, and had seen better days, but was oddly quite dainty.

Sin looked excitedly into the mirror. However, nothing was reflected. There was just a reflective sheen and a white sky-like background.

‘Huh… I’m not a vampire, am I?’ Sin thought, completely stupified. ‘Wait, what’s a vampire?’

Shaking away his weird thoughts that he suspected did not belong to him, or at least the current him, he turned the mirror around.

The handle and back were made out of light-colored wood, with soft wood grain lines running along it.

Most importantly, however, were the words on the back.

Again, he could not read them, as they were in the language of this world, and not of the one he knew from Earth.

However, he could feel the care with which they had been written, and he softly touched the words that had been engraved. He liked them very much, though he could not tell why.

Sighing, he looked once more at the nothingness reflected in the mirror, and placed it back into the pack.

Taking out the rest of the cloth and one leaf for a poultice, he sanitised and bandaged the worst of him. The leaf was bitter on his tongue as he chewed but reminded him of how hungry he was.

Sin made sure to wrap his feet a few times, as they were the most important for his survival. He suspected there would be lots to run from in the near future. He kept one leaf, too, as a reference. He knew how important it was to sanitize his wounds, so if he could identify another plant with the medicinal leaves, he would be grateful.

He had also wrapped his hands, but not too much as to reduce his range of motion, and also bandaged his legs that had touched the coals.

Finally, he put what was left of the bandages into the pack.

He wondered suddenly where Noa had acquired the pack. Maybe she had picked it up off of a corpse, just like he had once done, or maybe it was given to her? He doubted she appeared in this world with it. Especially because of the existence of the mirror, which was definitely not of Earth.

‘Wait, why am I assuming she came from Earth?’ Sin thought. After seeing that dead beast with intelligent eyes, he knew that humans were not the only intelligent species here. And perhaps, not all the humans here had even come from Earth?

Sin shook his head, dispelling the questions with no answers.

He was vulnerable here, out in the open, but he couldn’t find it in himself to move. Edging closer to the water, he took another deep sip. This time, the water did not satisfy as much.

‘If only it could fill the growing hole in my stomach,’ Sin thought moodily. He had to come up with a plan to find food.

He lay his naked body down on the floor, using the pack as a pillow, much like Noa had before. He thought of her for a while, remembering her vibrant green eyes, tragic hairstyle, and stubborn caution. He also remembered the amusement in her eyes when he had bit down on the stick, and her soft, weary words when she explained how she could not escape the grass plains.

In the end, she never did.

He sighed sadly, his heart aching at her death.

Then, he closed his eyes, trying not to think about the danger he could be in while he slept. He allowed himself to drift into the soft embrace of sleep.

***

He dreamt of Noa that night. He dreamt of her leaning against the monolith, her legs crossed as she sat. She was embraced in dazzling sunlight, her green eyes shimmering with determination as she looked east, toward the mountains. Her brown hair fluttered softly in the wind as she held her bow in her hands.

And then, suddenly, there was a fire rampaging around her. Sparks flew, and ash clouded the sky. The flames seemed to drown out even the monolith. Noa was still sitting, cross-legged, but she was not looking east anymore. She was looking directly at Sin. In her green eyes, flames shimmered, and tears rolled down her cheeks. She stared at him accusingly.

Sin wanted to run to help her, or run away, but he couldn’t move. He could only watch as her tears evaporated, her body scorch to a blackened crisp and then get swept away like ash in the wind.

***

He woke up in a sweat. The first rays of dawn were on the horizon, dismissing the chill in the air.

‘Noa…’ Sin thought solemnly. ‘I’m truly sorry.’

He rose to his feet. He dressed himself in the slightly damp clothes.

Then, he picked out stones from around the river.

He placed a large smooth stone at the bottom, and then smaller ones on top, creating a cairn in the river. Its water flowed around the cairn, reluctant to accept this new obstacle, but ultimately gave in. On the top stone, before putting it onto the cairn, Sin engraved “Noa” into it using the broken arrowhead inside the pack.

Placing it gently onto the cairn, completing it, he then kneeled before it in a few moments of silence. The cairn was about half a meter tall, and sturdy enough that the stream or a gust of wind would not be able to knock it down.

Standing up from his kneel, he grabbed the leather pack and slung it around his shoulder once more. He also grabbed the dull sword, holding it steadily now.

As he turned his back on the solemn cairn, he began walking upstream.

“Noa,” he said, aloud. “You are not forgotten. Even when I forget, upon my own death, you shall not be forgotten. The river will always remember.”

The cairn stood with dignity, causing the stream to weave around it, as it was embraced with the first light of dawn.