I wished there was a tree so I could go beneath it and take a short break, but not even one little tree to escape from the cruel sun.

Oh, sunscreen!

Where have you gone!?

I usually had a small bottle of sunscreen in the handbag just in case, but the handbag was not even here. My skin was getting super hot. A sunburn was unavoidable now.

In addition, I don’t have any sense of direction at all, therefore couldn’t even tell which was north and which was south. Even if I could figure out the directions, I still wouldn’t know which was the right one leading home.

How much I wish this was just a bad dream!

But all the sweat, pain from the burning sun, and dryness of the mouth kept reminding me that this was the reality.

Nana, just accept the reality!

Sigh……………..

As I bit my lips, kept marching in a random direction and prayed that it was the right way, I heard the flapping of wings and a strange roaring sound!

Out of nowhere, there was this giant horse with wings gliding across the blue sky!

It was burning with fire!

Well, that was almost the right description.

As it got closer, I finally noticed that its mane, tail, and feet were burning in orange flames. It even got two horns, and its eyes lit like blue fireworks!

I never knew a horse could fly (except for an unicorn of course), or the truth was that I was too stunned to react to such scenes. It wasn’t like I was too scared to react, but more like realizing that such a mythical creature could not be appearing in front of my eyes!

This kind of unknown creature should be appearing on the screen of a movie theater or popping up as one of the Google images.

Most importantly…..

That was the first moment since waking up that I really have no answer to this question: Where am I?

Oh my gosh!

This was not happening for real right?

Was I still on planet Earth, or did my body and soul traverse to a different time period just like one of those web novels?

That couldn’t be happening! Did that mean I already died previously?

While a million question marks went through the head, my body finally responded instinctively and ran as fast as possible through the thick layer of grass.

I really tried hard, and could hear my heart pounding against the chest. My mouth was dry as sandpaper, and got dryer with every breath. I was never a good runner, always the last one in any race. Why would destiny send such a weak human to this world?

Just to die?

No! I couldn't die yet because Mom and Dad were still waiting for me to come home!

This thought kept me going for quite some distance. The flapping of wings was getting closer, at a speed that couldn’t be imagined with a human mind. I felt as if a helicopter was chasing right above my head, and in any moment, it could speed down and knock me off.

Just thinking about it, the back of my head was knocked by the tip of one of its toes. Those nails were sharp as Gyutou knives.

Yes, I ended up rolling like a worn out soccer ball through the grass, creating this long trail behind.

Great…a couple hours ago my head got hit by a flower pot and life ended in a blink. Now I was kicked by a flying horse on the same spot of my head, and probably sent to a completely different world now…..

What if my body and soul would traverse to the original life again?

Thinking about this made me happy for the first time ever since waking up.

The strong wind and force kept me rolling for some distance. When I finally stopped rolling, slowly opened my eyes and hoped that I would be home.

Argh!

I was still here, in the same savanna and faced the same flying horse burning in fire. I touched the back of my head to see if it was injured and burnt away, but fortunately that was just more like a gust of force that knocked me off. If it was really its hoof, I surely would be bald right now. All the fire on its feet would definitely burn my hair away.

Seeing it turn around and want to give another strike, I hurried and rolled off to escape.

That flying horse was mad, knowing that I once again escaped from its attack. It lifted its head and gave a deep and long roar to the sky, and that hurted my ears a lot.

Suddenly, there were so many fireballs falling down like fireworks. I never knew that a flying horse could spit fire!

Where could I escape? There was nowhere to go now.

One of the fireballs hit right on my left shoulder, and knocked me on the ground. The pain was excruciating and it burned off my skin right away. Now my shoulder was left with blackish red burn marks. Surprisingly it did not smell like BBQ, otherwise I would have laughed with a painful joke.

I frowned with pain, never felt this level of pain before.

The worst pain I had ever felt was the monthly period cramps, but that could be eased with some pain killers. This kind of pain was different, like a never stopping pulse!

Bearing the pain, I stared up at the flying horse. My body shook with fear because I knew in my heart that I stood no chance in front of this gigantic creature. My breathing was heavier as time went on. I couldn’t run faster than those wings, and if it spit those fireballs out one more time, I would be buried in fire with zero chance of escaping.

Abruptly, Mom, Dad, and Lans’ faces appeared in front of my eyes. All those memories, whether happy or sad, everything went by as an old movie.

If I die this time, would I go back to you all?

Or……

Would I be gone forever……?

I really have no answer to this question.

The flying horse did not spit out fireballs again, but surprisingly landed on the ground. I strained every nerve to get up with all the pain, and stared straight into the eyes of the creature.

I was scared, but at the same time, I knew being scared wouldn’t help to solve anything at all. If it decided to end my life right now, being scared wouldn’t change the outcome, but still…….

My legs were shaking like crazy, as if standing on a thin layer of ice!

The weird horse with horns walked closer to me, other than fear, I was astounded by its beauty and magnificent. Never in my whole life had seen such a beautiful creature. His mane, tail, and feet seemed to be made of fire, and the fur was a sea blue color. Those horns looked quite stunning, and that pair of light blue wings when extended reached a wingspan of twelve feet.

“I don’t know what kind of creature you are or whether you can understand me or not, I will fight until my last breath. I know, you must be laughing at how weak I am, but at least I will try to pull one of your hairs out before my heart stops!”

The weird horse was so close that I felt the heat was cooking me alive, but I managed to not back off. I could die, but not to lose my dignity, even though my legs were still shaking uncontrollably.

Well, who said that a person could not act brave? At least pretend to be brave!

I quickly took a glance and tried to find a wooden stick or something, but nope, nothing but grass, therefore I picked up a good size rock and lifted my chin up.

“Little horse, you want to taste this rock?”

The weird horse looked at me with contempt, as though looking at someone who just lost her mind. How could a little rock like this be able to hurt its magnificence?

I don’t give it a damn!

I was about to die anyway, why not try to hurt it even if just for the slightest bit? At least I tried right? Never let this creature take advantage of a life so easily!

The gigantic horse roared with that deep voice again. The roaring seemed to make the whole world shake like an earthquake. The rock fell off my hand and hit the ground.

It stared down at me with even more contempt.

I hurried and picked the rock back up. “Well, that was just a mistake! Little horse, you want to fight, then bring it on!”