Healing

Dizziness and a strange sensation in his chest were the only things he felt, even after three days had passed since he woke up from death. He was lying on a bed that could hardly be considered comfortable, but at least it was warm. He could feel the bandages on his head, lying for days just staring at the ceiling. He was in a wooden cabin, the smell of food filling the place. Alexander stared at his hand, even after three days he still couldn't believe he was alive, after being hit by a speeding car, after countless bones shattered and his body torn apart, after dying.

"Are you still not feeling well?" - A woman asked, catching Alexander's attention. She was kneeling beside him, and her clothes were strange, looking closely they resembled a kimono or traditional Japanese and Asian clothing. It was purple and she wore an apron over it, looking into her face large green eyes and brown hair tied and covered by a scarf, but what caught his attention were the ears. Long and pointed ears, like elves from the game he played.

"...No," he replied, looking at her with his empty eyes, but his face showed no expression. The woman laughed.

"I think you'll be like this for at least a week, healer Tanegashima will arrive here today to treat you, dear, just rest." She said, taking Alexander's hand and squeezing it tightly. "Are you hungry?"

"...No."

"How can you not be hungry? You haven't eaten since morning, Shura."

"Shura..."

"Shura... Your father was against that name, said it brought "evil spirits" but I always found it very beautiful, and they say it's the name of the god of war, so you might become a warrior."

A warm and gentle smile bathed the woman's face, she wasn't old, her face well-preserved and somewhat beautiful. But she seemed uncomfortable, perhaps with the boy's gaze.

"Is something bothering you?"

"Yes."

"Tell me, dear, mommy can help you."

"...Mom?"

The woman's eyes widened and squeezed his hand tighter.

"Shura... I am your mother, what's going on, don't you remember? Did this accident affect your memory?"

"Accident... Can you tell me what happened... Mom?"

"You don't remember?"

"I remember fragments. It was cold and wet, my head hurt a lot, and there was a girl, I think she was holding me in her arms, my vision was blurry, but I remember people shouting my name, that girl, a boy, and a man. That's all."

The woman took a deep breath, looking at him with what seemed to be pain in her eyes, the pain of a mother.

"From what your brother told me, he was flying a kite when it started raining, it seems that a gust of wind made his kite get stuck in a tree branch, he couldn't climb up to get the kite so he called you. You climbed up, got the kite but because of the rain slipped and fell with your head on a stone." She said with a hurt voice. "He called your sister who was washing clothes and your father, they said you were motionless or didn't open your eyes for a few minutes, but in the end, everything worked out."

She smiled, a smile that wanted to hide the worry she felt. Alexander took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment.

"Father, mother, brother, sister, so this is my family." He said with a subtle smile. "Could you tell me their names?"

Those words made a tear roll down the woman's face, she covered her mouth to hold back the tears.

"Your father... His name is Seki, your sister's name is Inoue, and your younger brother's name is Uchida." She said, holding back the sob, Alexander looked at her deep in her eyes.

"What's yours?"

The woman got up quickly, letting the sound of crying take over the place, she grabbed her shoes and left the house, apparently calling her husband's name. Alexander was left there alone, he turned his eyes to something else, to the yellow box floating in front of him, it wielded some words.

[!!!Welcome player!!!"]

"She didn't mention that once, so she probably can't see it." He muttered, trying to get up at least a little. Extending his arm he touched the box that looked like a game message window, and the message changed.

[!!!The player has successfully arrived in the new world!!!]

[!!!The player has been given the chance to live again by the power of the gods!!!]

"New world? Power of the gods? This sounds like a game background, I must be either in limbo or in those Korean stories that always repeat the same plot. maybe I survived and fell into a deep coma..." He put his hand on his belly, remembering the piece that pierced him in the accident. "Damn, drunk driver."

[!!!At the moment the player is recovering from the transition to this world!!!]

[!!!Rest! As soon as you recover, the tutorials will begin!!!]

The message box disappeared.

"Tutorials, huh? So it is like a game... interesting." He said with a smile, not a gentle or calm smile, but a challenging one.

His moment was interrupted by the door of the house opening, his mother was there, along with a big man wearing a green kimono, a girl who seemed a little smaller than Alexander, wearing a red kimono and a small boy also wearing a green clothes. They made way for a man to pass, he was wearing a beige kimono and a blue coat over it, with a briefcase in his hands, he like everyone else had pointed ears, but he was old, his face slightly wrinkled and his hair started to gray.

"Good afternoon, young man, my name is Isei Tanegashima, I am a healer from the neighboring city of Touya. I came here at your father's request, they told me it might be urgent." He said with a warm voice and a smile on his face, he took off his shoes and went to the boy kneeling beside Alexander. "What do you feel?"

He studied the doctor with his eyes, and although he maintained a gentle smile on his face, just to disguise it, he lay down again.

"Dizziness and a very strong headache," he replied.

The healer placed his briefcase on the wooden floor of the house and opened it, revealing some objects inside. He began to remove the bandages on Alexander's head, showing a huge bump and a wound.

"It was quite a blow, tell me what happened." The healer began to inspect his face, piece by piece, carefully.

"Three days ago he fell from a tree and hit his head on a stone," said the father, he was a big man, but his voice sounded with the real concern of a father.

"I understand, I will do a resonance to understand the severity of the injuries." That sounded strange. The healer clasped his hands and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath for a moment. "Body resonance."

Something really strange began to happen, it was as if green flames had taken over the healer's body, but even though they were so close they emitted no heat at all, like an aura. Alexander's body shivered with the sensation of being close to it, it was something powerful.

"What is this... what are you doing..." he questioned.

"I'm just using healing magic, my boy, haven't you seen?"

The mother knelt beside the boy, but not close enough to get in the way of the doctor.

"He's having memory problems, it must have something to do with the injury." Said the worried mother. The doctor's gaze changed, it became more serious.

"If he's having memory problems after a head injury it's not a good sign, it was a fall, was it a tall tree?"

"Three meters high."

"A fall of three meters hitting his head on a stone, it's hard to believe he's still alive... Let me see if this can be true."

The healer slowly brought his hands to the bump on Alexander's head, leaving the palms of his hands just a few inches from the wound. The green flames began to spread, covering the wound, which made Alexander uneasy, but he continued to just watch. He could feel a very intense heat on his wound but not enough to burn, slowly he could feel, the pain of the wound going away, even the swelling that bothered him, the headaches slowly fading away, he was healed.

"It's done."

Alexander got up, putting his hands on his head, feeling for any trace of that swelling. He even smiled because the pain was gone, but the smile quickly faded, the shiver of the healer's magic still bothering him.

"It seems that all the wounds on your body have been healed, but something surprised me during the resonance." He said. "It was an unlucky fall, you weren't supposed to be conscious or even alive while we're talking. The gods saved you from the worst." The healer Tanegashima turned to Alexander's mother. "How did you treat such wounds at the time?"

She approached, still kneeling.

"My daughter used a bit of healing magic at the time, she has healing talents just like you, although she is still very inexperienced and has little power. Then I used warm towels, bandages, and remedies made with forest herbs."

The healer nodded, as if he had already understood, then turned to Alexander's sister, Inoue.

"Young lady, it seems that your healing magic, albeit inexperienced, saved your brother's life. It seems you have some talent, would you like to become my apprentice in Touya?"

The girl smiled and bowed, basically prostrating herself.

"I thank you for the opportunity, Mr. Tanegashima, but I already have a master. Mrs. Kugimiya."

"Ah yes, the mayor's healer in this town, I wonder why they called me instead of her when she is much more talented than I am."

"The mayor traveled to the capital, and as usual took his servants with him, Mrs. Kugimiya also went."

"I see, in that case, it's a shame." He turned to Alexander. "Your mother said you were having serious memory problems, my boy Shura, tell me everything you remember: about your life, your family, whatever you remember."

Alexander knelt, staring him in the eyes, expressionless on his face.

"Before waking up in my sister's arms, nothing."

"Absolutely nothing? How did you end up there, what were you doing before falling?" Alexander shook his head.

"Until this morning I didn't know my name, didn't know that who was taking care of me was my mother, didn't remember the face or name of my father or my brother until I saw them in front of me. I don't know where I am, I don't know what world this is, I don't know who I am." Such words made his mother start crying, as well as his sister, but he seemed to care little about it.

"You don't remember anything, son?" Asked his father, a face full of pain, his eyes moist. Alexander put his hands on his ears, feeling that just like theirs, they were long and pointed.

"I remember that I am an elf."

"Mr. Tanegashima, isn't there any spell or magic that can bring his memory back?" Asked Inoue, her voice trembling because of the tears.

"Unfortunately not, young lady, unlike the body, the mind is like a deep sea very difficult to understand and reach. Only a few sorcerers from the capital can enter the realm of the mind, but I doubt that a humble family of farmers like this one can afford to hire them."

This didn't calm either Alexander's mother or sister, but he seemed to care little about it.

"I recommend resting for a few more days and eating plenty, I'll be at a friend's house near the temple of the harvest goddess, if for some reason the headaches or dizziness return, please call me urgently."

The healer said getting up. Everyone in the family prostrated themselves to him, touching their heads to the wooden floor of the small house, thanking the healer. Everyone except Alexander, still watched Tanegashima, studying him with those empty eyes.

Night came, after the family had dinner around the fire everyone went to sleep, everyone except Alexander, it wasn't easy to leave that wooden house quietly, but he managed. The night was lit by the immense full moon, but something certainly made him uneasy, maybe it was the immense moon in the sky, or the second moon a little smaller but equally beautiful, but this one was blue.

"So I am not on Earth, interesting." He said with a conceited smile. Alexander walked a little away, attentive to the path so as not to get lost, after walking a little, he finally stopped.

"Right, let's see if this is really like a game."

The message window appeared instantly.

[!!!Does the player wish to start the tutorials?!!!]

"Yes."