Farming.
It’s the activity of planting seeds or seedlings in the ground and later harvesting the fruits grown there.
Despite being a representative labor that boasts a long history of hardship, surprisingly, many people enjoy and love it.
Without even looking around much, I am one of them.
The reasons for liking it are as diverse as the number of people, but I think the most common response is that rewards follow the efforts put in, right?
The earth doesn’t lie, they say.
Well, the high sky sometimes pours out lies that are hard to swallow, though.
Heavy rain, storms, droughts, and so on.
Anyway, today, just like always, the farmers set out to work before the stars disappear beyond the horizon and the sun reveals itself—always at the same time.
We weed, pull up plants, and tread the soil.
Rattle, we generously scatter the seeds.
Even though sometimes the seeds don’t sprout, fleetingly blossoming before withering and becoming fertilizer for other plants, today I also silently plant seeds like them.
And finally, did the sky recognize the sincerity contained in my prayer?
The green leaves began to rise from the seeds I had sown.
Gently, just a little bit.
Crack, the shell started to break.
This is Anna.
This is Remi.
And this is—
—Elli.
I decided to name that plant ‘Elli’ after her nickname.
A month ago.
The day I, Saelli, planted seeds into the ground, that is, the day I met Elli.
After pretending to go crazy realizing I lost my memory and was subdued by Elli, I woke up in a bedroom’s bed, and amidst her worries, I began to slowly spit out my memories.
Didn’t she say that if your head hurts or your heart is in pain, you don’t have to recall? Her words, prioritizing the body over my memories, almost brought tears to my eyes.
Sniff sniff.
Well, it was all an act from the beginning.
‘Aris Akaia’ had to die. There was no reason to be alive.
So, I decided to kill myself.
I said I had forgotten everything.
Ten years of memories, the happy past, precious family, my own name—all disappeared.
Like bubbles formed by waves crashing against solid rocks and disappearing.
Crash, I almost vanished.
Except for one thing.
“Anna…”
“…Anna, is that your name?”
When Elli asked me what my name was, I could only mumble the two letters ‘Anna.’
Anna.
Anna Akaia.
An unfortunate sister who attacked me, the root cause of her inferiority complex, to break free from it.
By now, she’s probably making endless efforts for me, who died in vain from a wrong choice.
“…No…No…!!”
“…!!”
“I…! I’m calling that name… Who is it, who? Ah…!!”
“…Calm down!! Now, breathe. Take a deep breath. Alright—”
I clutched my chest, tears flowing.
Drip drip, the tears soaked the bandage.
Afterwards, regarding me falling back into panic, Elli nearly fainted again or forced me back onto the bed while twisting.
The recoil of being laid down made me scream from the tingling sensation echoing throughout my body.
Then, Elli could only apologize in a flustered way.
Hearing her panicked voice was so delightful.
According to her, they found me downstream of a river.
Though the river serves as a naturally created border, following it, one can pass through many countries, there are limits to that.
Considering my body’s condition, I probably didn’t drift for long.
At best, a few dozen kilometers?
If my body had been floating beyond that, I would have been fish food by now.
So here is within the Tesillia Kingdom—no matter how broadly you expand the range, it’s still ‘nearby.’
That name ‘Anna’ and my aristocratic-looking exterior.
With her kind heart treating such a child gently, she wouldn’t spare efforts to help me find my past.
Then, ultimately, out of her sincerity, she will soon discover.
My horrifying past as ‘Aris Akaia.’
A child found on the brink of death.
I don’t know what vile things were done to my body by some scoundrel, but it had become so ragged I could hardly speak, and I couldn’t even properly recall the situation due to the shock.
The only thing that child uniquely remembered was two letters thought to be a family name.
“Anna… Anna…”
“…….”
The child cherished that two-letter name so dearly, singing every day that they wanted to meet it…
Even mumbling the name in her sleep.
But the divine was cruel.
The truth she eventually revealed was—the sister the child longed to meet was, in fact, the perpetrator of that horrific crime.
Just out of jealousy over her younger sister’s talent, she indiscriminately stabbed her and pushed her off a cliff.
It’s hard to believe that such acts could be committed by a human flowing warm blood like everyone else.
Hehe.
Hahaha.
Will Elli tell me the dreadful truth?
Or betray the child’s expectation and spit out a lie?
They call it a white lie, don’t they?
The words of a doctor instilling hope by telling a terminally ill patient, “You can live.”
Some see it as a good action born from good intentions.
But in the end, a lie is a lie.
The person who told the lie must bear the appropriate responsibility for that sin.
I’m curious.
What choice will my sister make?
Now—
Choose.
Life is a series of choices, and no one can escape that cycle.
She wished for it not to come, but the moment of choice came to her.
Ta-da, like this.
After the ‘disinfecting’ process, which was a bit more stimulating than previous days, I noticed something suspicious in how Elli treated me.
Hmm…?
Of course, I knew before that she felt inexplicable guilt towards me, but today the intensity felt different.
If before it was just coffee, now it’s Starbucks?
“…Sister?”
“……..”
Tack, tack. With her walking cane, she went to the kitchen.
I tried to talk to her, but there was no response.
Unlike before, when she would quickly reply to my words within seconds, now it seemed she wasn’t processing my speech well.
I approached where I felt her presence and jumped in, spreading my arms wide.
Wow, that unique metallic smell from Elli’s body hit my mucous membranes strongly.
Although I could smell flowers or food, strangely I could detect blood smell so well.
How fascinating.
Thump, I crashed into her back and called out her name.
“Elli?”
“……Ah!”
Even though I stealthily approached with all my power, she could easily notice me.
Elli, who possessed such remarkable perception, now couldn’t react until I was close enough to hug her.
Elli, surprised that I had hugged her, began to speak to me in a slow tone.
Hehe.
Sister, you shouldn’t play poker later.
I feel like I’d lose everything.
Just hearing your voice says it all.
“…I’m sorry. I made a mistake.”
“Eh..? What did you…?”
“…It’s nothing. Yes. Now, let’s eat.”
Her tone was broken much more than usual, and it seemed like she was mentally drifting. There was some severe delay in her response.
For a child who likes and follows her sister, it wouldn’t be strange to recognize that.
Sister, you realized?
I’ve realized too.
Was today’s unusually painful ‘disinfection’ the reason?
Feeling her oddness, I slowly sat down in my designated spot for the meal.
A fluffy chair welcomed me.
“…Here it is. Today, I tried something a little different.”
“…………”
“…Is something not to your liking?”
The spoon moved round and round, not lifted, just swirling.
Scrape, the plate screeched against the spoon, producing sharp sounds.
As always, the food was a watery soup tailored to my condition. However, seeing the quantity increase and seeing some ingredients, it seemed Elli felt my health had improved significantly.
Tack, I hadn’t lifted my spoon for quite a while.
“……. ”
“……. ”
As I set my spoon down, a silence fell in the kitchen.
I could feel her gaze upon me. Perhaps she thought I was rejecting the different meal?
Or maybe she thought I lacked the energy to eat due to the unusually painful treatment?
Well, I do want something different.
I said.
“Elli, sister…”
“…Yes? What is it?”
Elli’s voice trembled slightly.
If you didn’t listen closely, you wouldn’t catch the differences in her tone.
But those who appear composed on the outside are often rotting inside.
Isn’t Elli also probably listing one by one the suspects of what she did wrong, indulging in various forms of paranoia?
But what I’m about to say is bigger than all that crude stuff, sort of…
Yeah.
A bomb, right?
I slowly, in a low voice, said.
Gulp, I could hear Elli swallowing her saliva.
“Sister… did you find Anna?”
“…..!”
The air froze.
Now, it’s choice time, Sister Elli.
What will you choose—?
An existence where only despair prevails.
A falsehood where hope does not exist.
Both, well, they’re basically the same.
Just ponder about it.
Think hard.
Real hard.
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