Chapter 1: the Perpetrator

He felt the sun's warmth in his skin. The sweet smells of different flowers filled his nostril. With the smell becoming more prominent along with the chirping, Aki thought to himself;

"Aah, this is nice~", he was still half asleep to process what was going on around him.

"Waking up to the birds, the nice smell..... and sun"

Grass brushing against  his cheeks, a cool breeze making  it dance along, had Aki lazily open his eyes.

"Huh....?"

Still processing.

"Birds? Flowers? Sun? In my room?!"

Realising neither of those three was what he would normally wake up to, Aki's startled.

His eyes dazzled by the bright light as he tried opening them. Aki sits up, his right hand, over his head trying to barricade against the sun. His left hand was on the grassy field providing him with the support he needed to sit upright.

Slowly his eyes adjust to the bright outside. He could finally  see where he was.

It was definitely not his room. Instead he found himself in the middle of the field far away from any known settlement.

The field itself was unlike any he had seen before. It was filled with deep blue flowers.

There were glitters of white flowers among them. It naturally  complimented the natural blue heu of the sky, which turned purple further towards the horizon.

The field on its own seemed endless as it stretched towards the horizon.

Aki sat there, speechless, stunning by the beauty of the place, he forgets everything else.

The blue sky with fluffy clouds was tinted by the golden sun, it seemed to be glittering, sparkling.

Despite the seemingly endless field, there was a peculiar lack of trees around. Yet the chirping of birds didn't stop, in fact it felt to be coming from somewhere nearby. Though he couldn't see them, their clatter was loud and clear.

Aki slowly stands up now, wanting to explore the area, he ended up in.

It felt more like a dream to him as the view was nothing less than surreal.

"Is this what they call lucid dreaming?", he concluded, as he is still aware. And it truly didn't feel like a Normal dream, it was too real.

The cold wind he felt on his bare skin, Aki Couldn't  help but stretch his arms and take a deep breath. The fresh air he inhaled  carried the sweet  smell of flowers.

And the wind carried the sound of Wind chime

But there wasn't supposed to be anything around to produce the sound. That inmind Aki starts looking around trying to find the source of the sound.

Looking around, at a distance  he saw a shrine, a small Red shrine. It definitely  wasn't there a minute ago. But given it was a dream to Aki, he was just curious about it more than anything.

Wanting to inquire about it more, Aki starts walking towards it. It was then that he noticed someone in front of the shrine.

He seemed to be kneeling in front of the shrine.

That person too, wore a bright red robe that stood out under the deep blue sky the robe was dancing  with the wind along with the guys long black hair. It managed to reveal the person's  face.

It was painted with a sad expression. He sat there along, with his look of grief and loneliness. It, for some reason, made Aki feel dejected.

Still walking towards him, Aki's  eyes were fixed by the guy. So it took him a while to notice, no matter how much he walked, the distance between them never seemed to change .

Slowly, his legs started to get heavy, as though the air itself had become as dense as honey.

The chirping and humming dulled down under the struggle. Instead  the sound was replaced by his ears ringing. His breath grew heavy and his lungs too started  to hurt. He struggled to even lift his legs.

Irritated by the sudden change, Aki in anger exclaims;

"Agh.... this is so annoying !!!"

He finally stops. Aki stood still to catch his breath. He hadn't got a chance  when he heard a voice from behind;

"It is, isn't it?", the voice said referring to Aki's comment.

Startled by the voice yelps "aaaaah...." before composing  himself. The voice didn't seem familiar to him. And though it sounded sweet and kind, Aki has seen enough horror movies to know what horror might be standing behind him.

He slowly turns around, his heart ready to jump out of his throat. Aki was remembering  all the Gods he knew, praying  for their protection.

Aki's hand was brought up to his chest as he finally laid eyes on the source  of the voice.

Behind him , casually floating, was a beautiful woman. She had sakura( cherry blossom) pink hair. Her big bright beautiful eyes were of the colour of the flowers. Her pink lip was curled in a smile. Her slightly tanned skin complimented her slightly red cheeks.

Though her expressing itself was that of a loving mother, all-caring and all-loving look wouldn't sound any bell. Normally it wouldn't, but right there wasn't normal.

In front of Aki the kind looking woman was floating.

The fact that her legs were nowhere near the ground, had Aki's blood run cold.

Rightfully scared Aki manages to not run away. It was to say his legs were glued in place out of fear.

Still gathering courage Aki in a sheepish voice asks;

"Wh...who are you ?" His hands were still close to his chest not clasped together.

To the woman looking down on Aki, he appeared like a scared little rabbit, given he stood no more than 5ft 3" in height.

She chuckles a little and says;

"ahaha...  don't be scared"

She then floats down towards Aki, coming a little too close, then introduces herself;

" I'm Maya..."

Aki was stunned. Though he was still a little scared, Maya's beauty had him speechless.

Aki's thought process is unknown when he comes to the following  conclusion;

" Could this be...that?..."

He said shyly, gazing at the beauty.

"  That?", Maya confused as to what aki was talking about.

" What do you mean?", she added.

Now looking flustered for some reason Aki looks away and mutters;

" you know, the type of dream guys have when they are coming of age..."

It took Maya a while to understand wha Aki was talking about.

" Huh?", Maya slowly understands. "Huhh?huhhhhhhhhhhhhh?!"

She knew what he meant. " wha- ... what-.... wait wait wait ...."

Before she could finish, Aki said something else;

"Aaahhhhh... I never knew I was into old hags..."

Maya sighs and then continues;

"Like i was saying...... huh?!", she stopped mid sentence,  " what did you call me?"

Her eyes twitched a little.

Aki was still in his own mindset, not noticing the anger brewing in Maya, he continued;

"I thought I was into girls my age not ... OLD H-"

" WHO DID YOU CALL A OLD HAG AN OLD HAG?!", she bursts out in anger.

" I will kill you you freaking brat".

In anger she hits Aki hard on his head .

"OWW OWW OWW..... IT HURTS"

Aki kneels down holding his head in pain.

" Huh? Why does it hurt?"

"I just hit you, so of course  it hurts ", Maya said raising her brow. She brings her hand and rests it on her hip.

Feeling a little drained, Maya let out a sigh of exhaustion.

"My word, what Is wrong with kids these days...",Maya remarked.

   Aki, now starting to think properly, says;

" soo... this isn't a dream.?"

To him everything that happened or was happening, all of it felt like a dream. There was no reason for him to think otherwise.

     But now that he was hit and was able to experience pain, it became painfully clear that he wasn't dreaming.

"Ah ah ~~~ I see why one would think that..

But no kiddo this ain't no dreamland...", Maya said, half expecting Aki to freak out next.

Instead, Aki still acted weird. He brought his right hand up to his chin, rubbing it as though deep in thought.

" hmmmm....", he starts; " I thought it was weird..".

Aki stopped, prompting Maya to ask;

  "What are you talking about now?"

Aki still deep in thought continues;

" I thought it was weird for me to have this dream.... there's  no way my brain can come up with this stuff..."

Weirdly he starts laughing, and then stands up.

" so .... who are you? "

Maya manages to barely wipe off the expression of utter confusion. She half fakes a smile and says;

" like I was saying..... I am Maya and I'm here to grant your wish~~"

What followed was a long unbearably awkward silence, where  both parties said nothing.

The silence was then broken as Aki opened his mouth to say something;

"I.... I'm.... ", he fumbled.

His face was completely  flustered, his cheeks red, Aki shyly averts eye contact;

" I'm not prepared for that yet..."

He said.

Maya too felt flustered this time around;

" get your head out of the Gutter ....... geeeeez is that all you think about ....."

Aki laughs again, confusing  Maya even more.

"Ahahahah sorry .... I meant that as a joke~"

"Well it wasn't funny.... ", Maya yells holding out her pissed ready to punch again. She clearly didn't find it funny.

" sorry I'll work on my jokes..",he mutters,  scared of getting hit.

Maya:" let's get back to the topic.... soo ...

Do you remember what you wished for a few days ago?"

As Maya says that, literally a hundred of wishes went through his head. Aki had always been an impulsive person. Wishing for things he wouldn't actually want it to come true.

So her words brew a sense of worry in Aki.

"Umm.... soo.... you haven't... killed anyone yet have you ?", Aki said. His voice reflected his worry.

Maya:"Huh? What ? Why would I ?"

"If not that", he felt relieved knowing no one had died cause of him. So now the worry had faded into excitement;

"And I can't seem to be able to fly... don't tell me , Am I finally rich? Or did I get a cool pet..... or or or Am I going to the anime world . . Is it ONE PIECE? "

His excitement was boundless. His head was racing to recall all the wishes he had ever wished for.

Aki Couldn't contain the excitement as it showed clearly on his face.

Maya:" Aah kids these days .... can't you think of something more realistic..."

Maya sighs again, totally tired of the kid in front of her.

Aki:" More realistic?"

Maya:" Yeah like a wish to spend the rest of your life without having to work or you can wish to never have to study again."

Aki :" Huh?  That's why I wished for money .... and just so you know I like to study OK..  you are a weird one you know that."

Maya was dismayed wondering what that even meant. She was weird? How so? She couldn't  understand. To She Aki was more weird than anyone else.

    Maya:" Hmm you think so..." She says not wanting to argue with him.

" well I say that cause I'm here to fulfill those wishes... I brought you here so I can send you to a world where you don't have to worry about your studies, you won't have to worry about classes and school or jobs even earning. Don't you think I will be fun? "

Aki, trying to comprehend, says;

"Another world?! Is this some kind of plot for an anime or something. Though not  having to worry about classes and stuff sounds cool..."

Aki has a displeased expression as he says, " But I'll have to refuse."

Shocked, as Aki might have been the first one to refuse her offer.

Maya:" Huh? What?"

Aki:" like I said, I refuse.... I don't wanna go to such a place... I like the way things are and I am pretty  sure I can manage the future too."

Maya was definitely taken aback his words. Still something worried her.

She let's out a sigh  and then says;

"Well that's too bad."

"What do you mean?", confused by what Maya had said, Aki asked.

"You see, since you come here, you can't go back to your world."

Aki;" What? Why?"

Maya;" Well among alots of things, the main problem is you are dead in your world.... but now they must have already burned your body."

Aki's eyes widen in shock. It didn't made any sense  to him. It had only been a few hours at most since his eyes opened here.

"That can't be...", shook, Aki Couldn't manage any more words.

Maya continues talking,"it has been a few days since you died. I can show you what happened while you were here if you don't believe me."

His head was spinning. Aki Couldn't grasp what Maya had just said. He felt alive and well. He couldn't understand how he can be dead, specially since he felt so alive.

Maya:" Do you want to see it?"

Aki's head felt heavy. He couldn't think straight. A thousand of thoughts wend through his head. He nobs his head half-heartedly.

So Maya waves her hand around, and a mysterious mist appeared infront of him. In it  Aki could see his family.

They seemed to have found Aki dead on the bed. His body was cold, so there was no reviving him.

    They were heartbroken and holding his funeral was especially hard for them.

His father, mother and his two older brothers, were all in tears. It made Aki tear up too. So see his family sad and crying for him, Aki was seconds  away from crying.

But the sentiment didn't last long. As his family seem to have moved on. They were back to normal.

He saw is mother saying; " Well it is what it is. Where ever he is I bet he is happy so we should be happy too."

"Huh? That easy..... I mean you are right but ..... Still.... isn't it too early to have moved one.... ", Aki blurs out.

He felt relieved that they weren't sad any more, but Aki wanted them to atleast  moan his death a little more.

Akis head hung low after everything he saw.

Maya felt alittlt sad so she tries to comfort him.

" umm.. are you OK?", her voice showed her empathy.

"Yeah yeah... I'm fine... since I can't go back, there's no helping it, right?", Aki had being gathering his thoughts and so he says;

     "I'll do it...."

"Hahaha that's more like it~~"

           *** to be continued ***

**Writer's note**

Hey guys, if you made it this far then thank you for your time. Do like and comment ... and yeah that's all~~

I actually always liked writing stories but never uploaded any. so this time I finally decided to share with u all one of my personal favourite story.

to be honest I'm testing the water with this one so I would appreciate any feedback.

And I tried drawing of the scene from today's chapter... can you guess which one....

(I forgot blue flowers ,didn't I? ahah😅😅)

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