Her consciousness came and went. Sunlight filtered through the trees, blurred. The coldness of the ground pressed against her cheek.
She did not know where she was. She did not remember how far she had walked. She knew only that she could no longer move.
Her forehead was hot. She felt as if blood were still flowing. Her left arm hurt. Her whole body hurt.
"...It is alright."
The voice of the god of the shrine reached her from afar.
"...He is here."
"...He is still here."
The voice of the god of the vacant lot, too.
The voices of the gods were tethering Koyoi. They were barely holding her fading consciousness together. But she had reached her limit. If she closed her eyes, they might never open again. Even so, her eyelids were heavy.
At that moment.
A footstep. Coming closer. The sound of human footsteps.
The Observer? Had she been caught?
Her body would not move. Even as she willed herself to flee, she could not move a single finger.
The footsteps stopped. Very close by.
"...Are you alive?"
A voice. Low. But different from the Observer's. It had intonation. A human voice.
She tried to open her eyes. Her vision was blurred. She could not make out the face. There was simply someone there. Looking down at Koyoi.
"This is terrible..."
The person muttered.
"Do not move. I will treat you now."
Something lifted Koyoi's body. She was being carried. On someone's back.
"Hang in there. Do not die yet."
Swaying. With every step, her body swayed. Consciousness drifted away again.
"...Who?"
A voice came out. Raspy.
"Do not speak. You will bleed."
It was growing dark. Her vision narrowed. But the voices of the gods still reached her.
"...It is alright."
"...He is not a bad person."
"...Probably."
With that as the last, her consciousness cut out.
◇
She opened her eyes.
A ceiling. A stone ceiling. She was inside a cave. It was dim. But something glowed nearby. An oil lamp. A small flame flickering.
The rock surface took on a reddish hue in the firelight. From deep within the cave, the sound of dripping water echoed faintly. The air was cold, yet a sense of warmth drifted from somewhere. Someone had lit a fire for her.
"..."
She tried to speak, but her throat was dry.
"Are you awake?"
A voice. She turned her neck. It hurt. But it moved.
Someone was there. Sitting with his back against the wall. She could not see his face well. The oil lamp's light cast him in silhouette.
"Where is this...?"
"A hideout in the forest."
The person answered.
"The Observer will not come this far. Probably."
Observer. With that word, her memories returned. She had been fleeing. She had been pursued. She had fallen from a cliff. She had bled.
"...Who are you?"
"I am from the village of the Boundary."
He answered briefly.
"I saw you flee into the forest and followed you."
A person from the Boundary village. He had followed her through that chaos?
"I have closed your wounds."
The person said.
"The cut on your forehead is deep, but it is not life-threatening. Your left arm is bruised. It is not broken."
Koyoi looked at her own body. Cloth was wrapped around her forehead. Her left arm was also held in place with something. He had treated her.
The cloth was wrapped carefully. Neither too tight nor too loose. She could tell the treatment had been done with practiced hands. From the bandages came the scent of medicinal herbs. A bitter, green scent.
"...Why?"
Koyoi asked.
"...Why did you save me?"
Silence. The flame of the oil lamp flickered. She caught a glimpse of the person's face for just a moment. A tall boy. A stern face. But gentle eyes.
"I could not abandon a Gatherer."
The person said.
"What you carry is important to the village as well."
Gatherer. This person knew, too. He knew who Koyoi was.
"You were being pursued by an Observer, weren't you?"
The person continued.
"They crossed the Boundary. The village is in an uproar."
"The villagers...?"
"They are safe. The Observer was only chasing you. They did not lay a hand on the villagers."
Hearing that, she felt a small measure of relief. The villagers had bought her time. Thanks to them, she had escaped.
"Can you drink some water?"
A bamboo tube was held out to her. Koyoi took it. The water moistened her throat. Cold. Delicious.
"Stay here for a while."
The person said.
"Do not move until your wounds heal."
Koyoi nodded. As she nodded, she thought.
Is this person truly an ally? Can I really trust him?
She reached for her pouch. It was at her waist. Safe. The gods inside were there, too.
"...What do you think?"
She asked in her heart.
"...I do not know."
The voice of the god of the shrine.
"...Wait and see."
The voice of the god of the vacant lot.
It seemed even the gods could not judge. But at the very least, they were not on guard. The pouch was not cold.
The person stood up. He headed toward the back of the cave. His back was turned.
Koyoi gazed at his retreating figure. A person from the Boundary village. Someone who knew about Gatherers. The person who had saved her.
Could she believe in this warmth?
She did not know.
She still knew nothing at all.