The Odyssey: Through Time and Origins

The Odyssey
Chapter One: Mt. Fuji

~Is this fantasy?… Or reality?~

She blinked, her surroundings had changed faster than she expected. Her bare skin felt cold, with chills of the icy winds running up her spine. Her teeth chattered like the tapping feet of a Flamingo dancer's. The wind caused her hair to whip around, her long, jet-black tendrils seemed to make her look like a raven flying in the distance. Even her eyes, which resembled two big, shinny green buttons felt to dry up instantly in the freezing air. Rubbing her hands along her arms to catch a friction of warmth, a thought crossed her mind.

'What was… That light? And just… Where am I?'

She took in her surroundings, seeing that the vast landscape was almost barren. The trees and the ferns that ran across the land were naked without their leaves and wit without the joyous color of green. It must've been Winter time. A little far away from her, there was a calm lake. Gentle ripples appeared along it's surface as she walked to it. Getting near the edge and deciding that it was clean enough, the girl knelt to her knees and took mouthfuls of the cold water, quenching her dry throat. After that, she proceeded to splash her face for water, to clean her face and to see if this was all a dream. A cold breeze passed again and the girl shivered, hugging her knees to her chest and placing her chin upon her knees. This was no dream A hallow feeling stirred in her heart.

'Why… Why am I alone? And… Just who am I exactly?'

She had no recall of her memory. Her name, her identity, her very past, all were gone from her mind. It was like someone had pulled them right out of her head. The pain of it hurt. She was alone. In a place she did not know where of, with not a penny to her name. She felt helpless. She felt afraid.

'All I can remember is that gate of… Light. And that calendar and those two pieces of paper…'   

She then slipped one of her hands into her coat pocket and pulled out the items she had in mind. The calendar was torn and looked ready to fall apart. On the current month it was on, several dates were circled. The girl's eyebrows knotted together. Just why were all these dates circled in bright red ink? Feeling through her pocket again, she pulled out a scrap of paper, the only two words scribbled on it were 'Tokyo' and 'Zephyr.' The girl stared at these words, for a very long period of time. Sighing in frustration, she pocket the items and looked to the lake, something across it catching her eye.

It wasn't that hard to miss. A rigged mountain towered over, the plateau covered in a thick blanket of snow. Clouds of gray swirled around it and very few plant-life could be seen around it. A word came to the girl, her lips escaping the word off her tongue with crisped and fogged breath.

"Mt. Fuji," she whispered, a sudden warm feeling filling her mind. She felt something tremble in her pocket and she reached into it, pulling out the worn-out calendar and watching in amazement as small kanji letters glowed onto the date of Dec. 3, 2011. It was a Saturday. Beneath the letters, was an English letter, fallowed by a small symbol of a mountain. The girl carefully looked at the English letter.

"E," she said. 'The letter 'E'? I don't understand. What does this or the symbol have to do with anything?' she wondered. She looked at the kanji letters, seeing that they had read something.

~The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step~

"It must mean something. But what could it mean?" the girl asked herself. She looked at the lake's surface, her hand reaching slowly to one of the appearing ripples. She gasped as light danced along the swirling water and a sort of portal of light appeared. She felt a warm air thaw her freezing skin and bones and she smiled slightly. The warmth felt good. She wanted to go to the other place that held the warmth. Closing her eyes, she fell forward.

'If I must find out who I am, I first must travel through this… Gate. Yes, this gate. Once I am on the other side. I shall see if I must travel to Tokyo, for that might be the destination I had planned before I lost my memory. And I must find out whoever or what ever this 'Zephyr' is. For now, I must take on a new identity before I find out my original. Because of the letter 'E' is the first on the calendar… I shall be Emily. Yes. I will be Emily. A girl with no idea of her true identity, and on the search to find out why she had lost it.'

With that, she fell through the warm light, her journey beginning. The first Gate had been opened.