The lush leaves soothe the weary heart of the person under the scorching heat, while the sturdy branches extending horizontally are perfect for hanging a swing for the child.
The thick trunks are suitable for crafting homes and boats for people, and their stumps serve as chairs for travelers to take a breather.
The tree sacrifices everything for humanity.
It meets a noble death.
Yeah.
A death so meaningful that it’s utterly enviable.
I said.
“──Grandpa. I want that sapling.”
“…..Hmm? This little one takes quite some time to grow, are you sure?” “Yeah.”
That was enough.
─Tap, tap.
“~♬”
The tree. I rolled that pleasing sound once on my tongue.
I felt the refreshing warmth mingling with a soothing energy wash over me.
Grandpa warned it would take a long time to grow, but that didn’t matter to me.
No matter how long it took for the tree to grow, even if I were to lose my life in an unfortunate accident before this tree completed its life span, my will wouldn’t change.
I had found the purpose of my life.
The selfish me, who only coveted what others had, the me living a meaningless repetition, realized it all for the first time.
This is something no one else can do.
This, is something only I can do.
─Swoosh.
“Can I, someday, become like this tree?”
Today, I found the way to happiness.
Tap, tap. I heard rhythmic footsteps from outside.
Just listening made me feel the elegance contained in those footsteps.
As I felt the excitement and exhilaration that couldn’t possibly be hidden, I realized that time had already passed this much.
Has the day begun?
Then, it was time for me to start my daily routine too.
─Swoosh.
“………..”
I quietly stretched.
Maybe because I had been sitting in the same position for hours, my joints creaked as I moved.
The wide window sill, specially prepared just for me. I checked that my stiff body had loosened appropriately, then carefully walked to the soon-to-open door.
Ding-dong───
The bell attached to my ankle made a clear, sweet sound.
After a few seconds of waiting, the door opened.
On the other side of the swiftly opening door, a pair of eyes full of fiery passion was gazing down at me.
A woman, wearing the garb of royalty that symbolizes the queen of the kingdom, oozing with an air of grandeur.
In the somewhat reddish glow of her eyes, I saw the reflection of a girl kneeling on the floor, looking up at her.
In this world, the only person I could call my blood relative.
My older sister.
“──Have you been well, Aris?” “Yeah. Anna Unnie.”
Anna Akaia stood before me.
Anna took my hand and led me up onto the bed in the corner of the room.
There were two pillows at the head of it, but Anna gently laid me down, as if she didn’t even see the pillows, and rested her head on my thighs.
With her arms stretched out, she tightly embraced my waist, and I, now accustomed to her touch, gently stroked Anna’s hair.
Her soft hair felt like the touch of high-quality silk.
Swish──, swish────.
“……..”
“……..”
The only sound in the quiet room was the breath of the two of us.
The unfortunate pillows, unused for so long, lay cold and forgotten.
After some time with her head buried in my embrace, Anna looked up at me with dazed eyes.
Outside, she was called a cold-blooded being without blood or tears, or the Iron Queen, but when it was just the two of us, she was just like a girl throwing a tantrum.
Just like now, Anna would bury her head between my legs and unload the tough day she had, or sometimes she would whine about the annoying people clinging to her.
On days when she was in a foul mood, she would even bite me here and there.
At times like those, her eyes, which appeared to be swallowing something hotter than blazing flames, shone with possessiveness and jealousy, as if she couldn’t let my existence be taken by anyone else.
It was not easy to soothe her feelings, so predicting her mood by her footsteps had become a habit for me.
“……Umm.” “…….”
Seeing her silent today, I thought nothing major had happened.
With an expression almost like that of raising a grown baby, a soft smile unconsciously crept across my lips.
As soon as Anna saw my smile, she raised a hand and gently stroked around my mouth.
On our faces, gazing at each other, the flowers of laughter bloomed.
Just like usual, the repeating daily life.
It was a routine that continued from when I turned twelve until now, at fifteen.
I could say it was like living as a bystander.
I hadn’t particularly wanted to reveal or obtain anything, striving to live a quiet life just like any other girl my age.
Of course, some sharp-eyed individuals realized I was hiding something, but I didn’t want to belittle the talents and efforts of others, so I chose to live a life of supporting my two sisters without doing anything.
Supporting Anna, who put in endless effort in the darkness until late at night to meet others’ expectations.
Secretly accepting Remi, who lived buried under innate positions and talents without ever receiving recognition for her efforts.
Until I turned twelve, that life continued on.
And shortly after I celebrated my twelfth birthday.
An incident occurred.
Anna was cursed by a greedy duke.
The minor trigger of Anna’s wrath, astonishingly, was directed towards Remi.
I initially believed that the conflict wouldn’t escalate into a big issue.
But if there was something I misjudged, it was the depth of the emotional rift they both held, which was deeper than I thought.
In an instant, Remi became the object of irrational and unreasonable anger, and just like Anna, she unleashed the anger that had accumulated inside her.
A person’s reason can easily wobble with just a small shock.
Everything happened because of my existence.
It was a misunderstanding born from both feeling they had been robbed of me.
In the midst of a snowy winter, Anna and Remi began to dance a gruesome dance, blood scattering across the ground.
On the boundary between fighting and murder, I could only sit helplessly on the floor, staring at the two.
Following the saying that the grass always looks greener on the other side, it might be that from the very beginning, they were both envious of each other.
When looking ahead, the ground beneath us is unseen.
To Remi, it would seem I took care of Anna more, and to Anna, it would seem I took care of Remi more.
Arrows of jealousy aimed at each other.
And unfortunately, I couldn’t realize that sentiment.
───Puff!
So, it’s only natural.
“─D-Don’t fight…..!”
“”….Aris?!””
I threw myself between the blades that clashed.
The sturdy tree could support many bodies.
But insufficient and weak as I was, I could only help one person, just one.
This was the disaster caused by my greed to embrace both.
The price I had to pay to stop that disaster.
Two sharp swords pierced deep within my body.
And I lost consciousness on that spot.
What happened afterward, I couldn’t clearly know.
All I could ascertain was that after that, I could no longer see Remi, and that I lived hidden in a chamber of the royal palace, where no one but Anna could visit me, with bells on my ankle.
My only freedom was to overlook the royal palace from this wide window sill.
Leaving here with my two legs or inviting someone here was not permitted for me.
What could be happening outside?
How are my parents doing?
Where could Remi be and what is she doing now?
“………”
Whenever I closed my eyes, concerns about my other sister would come to mind.
But now, none of that mattered to me.
The lesson that greedy desires bring punishment was already engraved deep inside my body.
Yeah.
I couldn’t afford to be greedy.
“─Good night, Anna Unnie.”
“….Yeah. You too, Aris.”
The tree simply remained still in its place.
Whether a storm approached from afar or wildfires broke out.
Whether someone cut down its trunk or stripped its bark.
If there’s someone who needs its existence, if there’s someone who wants its being.
─Swoosh.
“Sweet dreams.”
It just accepted all that was given and provided it.
Another day.
The day in the royal palace faded away.
Tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, a new day will begin.
A new day just like today and everything else.
*
A canary in a cage without bars.
Why doesn’t the bird fly away?
It’s──
“──Already dead.”
Anna Route
Sapling: A tree at a grave.
END
*
The short story is unrelated to the main story.
The short story passes through a different world from the main story.
A small difference, a small mistake, a small change, all those things gather to form a changed world.
The next short story will be from Remi, Remi Akaia’s perspective.
Once all short stories are finished, it will be completed.
*
