Awakening

A large green forest stood away from civilization. Untouched by the technological advancement of man, its tall trees stood ever so proud and its pristine evergreen leaves protected the land below from the harsh sun rays. Out of its many hills, a particular one stood out from the rest with a cave at its side.

The cave was dark, cool, and dry as it barely got any sunlight. The walls and ground of the cave were smooth without any stalagmites sticking out. Towards the end of the cave, a pitch-black coffin rested against the wall in an upright position. The lid of the coffin slowly opened, revealing the man inside it.

The man's eyelids fluttered and opened slowly, the dullness and lifelessness disappearing and his eyes glowed, filled with life. He stepped out of the coffin, his black shoe making a clicking sound that echoed through the quiet cave when it met with the ground.

The man's footsteps echoed as he walked towards the entrance of the cave, leaving his coffin whose lid slowly closed back after he left.

Just as he stepped outside the cave, before he could adjust his vision to the sudden brightness, the exposed part of his skin made a sizzling sound with steam coming from it as it started to burn under the sun. His face, neck, and arms burnt, the skin melting off to reveal his muscles and tendons. He looked in the direction of the sun making his skin burn faster.

"Still so harsh even after all these years," came his words accompanied by a low deep chuckle. His gaze turned serious then the steam coming from his burning skin stopped and his skin regenerated swiftly, returning to normal.

He pushed his jet-black hair backward and took a deep breath. How long had it been since he stepped outside, the times have changed, he could tell with just a whiff of the air.

***

Two luxury black SUVs drove through the forest on a pathway that had already been cleared of trees, clearly highlighting the path leading to the hill at the side of the forest. In one of the two cars, a man sat barely unable to contain his excitement. Mael was finally awake!

After a few minutes, the hill finally came into view and the man almost jumped out of his seat when he saw a figure in front of the cave.

The man in front of the cave turned his head to the side when his ears picked up a weird noise. His eyes widened subtly when he saw two strange black creatures coming his way.

He watched as the strange creatures came closer, wondering what they were, and when one passed by him, he saw a man inside holding something that looked similar to the helm of a ship. His eyebrows rose in realization, it was a means of transport.

The first car stopped not too far from him while the second stopped right in front of him. A slight frown graced his features as he tried to figure out the mechanism behind the vehicle and was shocked when the door suddenly opened and someone burst out of it.

"Maelllll!!" the man in the car yelled in as he jumped out of the car and wrapped his hands around him in a tight hug, making Mael stagger backward due to the force.

"Get off me, Xacier," Mael said, irritation evident in his voice and features.

"You've been gone so long, Mael. It's been so lonely," tears welled up in Xacier's eyes and he tightened the hug, ignoring Mael's previous words.

"Don't hug me so tight," Mael complained, he was barely able to breathe. He sighed when Xacier didn't respond and he brought up his hand and gave him two pats on his back. "There, there," he consoled, "Now get off me!"

Xacier smiled when he felt the pats on his back, "See, you did miss me," he said playfully his eyes shining with happiness. He stepped back and together with the two drivers, they bowed and greeted,

"Welcome back, your majesty,"

Mael's eyes twinkled in delight, "Rise," he ordered.

After rising, Xacier instructed the drivers to fetch Mael's coffin that was inside the cave. He turned to look at Mael who was staring at the cars in both wonderment and confusion.

"Oh, Mael, Mael, Mael," Xacier called him excitedly to which Mael gave him an irritated 'what?' look. "This is a car," he used his hands to show off the car, "Well, it's a type, this one's called an SUV. Carriages don't exist anymore, cars can travel faster and are way more comfortable than carriages,"

Mael looked at the car, getting the whole gist of it. Fascinating, he thought in his head.

"It's all yours. Please," Xacier opened the car door with a small bow gesturing for him to enter and he did.

Mael sat on the plush black seat of the car and the first thing he noticed was that it was cold. The air in the car was cold, like winter even though it was sunny outside. His eyes moved to the front of the car and they widened subtly in amazement.

There were many buttons and lights at the front of the car. There was a place with numbers and colors enclosed by glass, with many rectangular and circular buttons. He saw something that looked like a small window and he guessed that was where the cold air was coming from. His eyes moved to the steering wheel and he wondered how it would feel to drive the car.

Mael ran his hand across the door panel and found a switch. He clicked on it which made the tinted glass window move downwards then Xacier's face came into his view.

"Amazing, right?" Xacier asked excitedly. He could tell Mael was fascinated by the car and he couldn't wait to show him all that the world of science had created.

Their ears picked up sounds and their eyes moved to the entrance of the cave where the two drivers came out, clearly struggling to carry the heavy coffin. It looked like they would drop the coffin with the slightest wrong movement. Mael's eyes darkened and he shot a glare at Xacier.

"No need to get mad," Xacier waved his hand. He walked over to the drivers and told them, "I'll carry this, you guys go open the car boot," he placed his hands under the middle of the coffin. "And," he added, subtly turning to look at Mael who was still staring at them and whispered with a serious look on his face, "For our sakes, I hope this hasn't dropped at all,"

The drivers' eyes widened, what did he mean for our sakes? "No, it hasn't," one of them answered.

"Good," Xacier flashed them a bright smile. The drivers released the coffin and he felt the weight fall on his hands. "Oof!" he had almost forgotten how heavy it was.

The two drivers went to the first car and its driver brought out its remote. He pressed a button that made the trunk door automatically open which Mael noticed. The back of the car had just opened without anyone touching it and the back seats came into view.

The driver adjusted the seats, by bending it downwards so it could contain the long coffin. Xacier walked to the car with ease and placed the coffin gently in it but it didn't fit in completely because of its length. They had to adjust the shotgun seat too for the coffin to fit completely and then closed the trunk.

Xacier opened the car door and sat inside while the driver rushed to his seat in front of the wheel. He changed the gear from parking to reverse and skillfully turned the car around, to drive back on the path they came from with the other car trailing behind them.

°°°

Mael stared out the tinted glass window as they drove on the highway, he took note of the new changes. Like, the dark tarred road along with the cars of different sizes moving on it too, the billboard that changed its content on its own, and the lamp post that changed colors, amongst many others. He noticed how there were fewer forests and more buildings now. It seemed the people in this era didn't want to live long lives, he thought in his head.

His eyes moved to the people walking by the roadside. He noticed how different the clothing style was now. They seemed more casual and less bulky than what he was used to. The women dressed more comfortably and some even sported male clothes. Mael smiled, he had woken up to a truly interesting era.