A white blinding flash of light followed by a deep rumble groomed the evening sky. The air was livid with the sounds of thunder, and crackles of leaves showered by the heavy rain. Suddenly, from below the tall pines, and sturdy britches a sharp shrieking cry emerged. It came from an area just a mile away from the tree-line, and next to a flowing river that ran along a twisting dirt-road. This dirt-road cut across the forest floor, and was used instead of the stone-road twisting along the borders of the forest. A perfect, but dangerous route for anyone in a rush to reach the town on the other side. There was a deep ditch on the side of the dirt-road, and next to it an overturned carriage.

The road was littered with broken glassware and merchandise spilling from tore-opened wooden boxes. Next to the whole mess was an overturned carriage, and a horse struggling to get on its feet. Its reins were entangled in the wheels of the carriage. But even in its predicament the horse desperately tried to reach the unconscious body lying a few feet away. The horse used its horn—attached to its forehead—to break free of its reins.

“Wha—where am I?” The trashing and neighing of the horse helped the man regained his senses. The first thing he noticed after opening his bloodied eyes was the charred-black trunk of the pine tree crushing his carriage, and his horse stuck in a ditch beside it.

“If you hadn’t fallen into that ditch, we both would have been crushed by that falling tree. I guess today was our lucky day.” With a chuckle, he tried to get up and to free his horse, but as soon as he got up a sharp pain climbed up his right leg. He fell into the dirt with a splash and a thud. His hands patted down his body to find the source of the nailing pain.

“Ah! Oh my…” A muzzled cry escaped his mouth as his fingers caught one end of the large splinter skewering his right leg. The wood had torn his major artery and blood gushed out of the wound creating a small puddle under him. He quickly ripped a piece of cloth from his Grey silk shirt and tied the area above the wound. It stopped the bleeding, but a lot of it had spilled out of his body when he was unconscious.

His right arm and left leg had turned blue. He could feel that one of his lungs had been punctured by a broken rib. His body felt numb, and this feeling climbed up his entire body. It was not soon before his vision became blurry, and the light from his eyes escaped into a narrow tunnel. It was at this moment that panic should have settled in, But instead, he laid there with a single thought running through his mind:

Tomorrow is Mary’s birthday. I hope she likes the dress I bought her… The misses must be worried sick, I need to get back home or else I won’t hear the end of it from her…I… need… to reimburse the customers for the damaged goods…

There was no strength left in his arms or legs. His body was spent, but he threw his hands and legs forward like a puppet with its strings cut off. He tried to reach his horse. The light had completely faded from his eyes, and his ears became his guide as he crawled towards the neighing horse.  His breath was wheezing, and heavy. His body could no longer move and with a frustrated cry, he turned his body facing the sky. He could no longer hear or see. The world fell into a great silence, and in this silence, another thought crept from the back of his mind.

At…At least I get to die a peaceful death…

The rain droplets seized to move. The splashes of river water and mud were suspended in mid-air. The sky was illuminated by a never-fading stream of lightning. The blood from his wounds stood still as it left his body. Even the horse that was thrashing and neighing quietened down. The world as it seemed had stopped all its motion. All except for the battered body lying in the mud.

“No! Not again. Not now when I am so close to being released.” His mind alert to the sudden stillness panicked. His face and body language showing the telltale signs of someone who knew what had happened. The light returned to his eyes, and his ears could hear small footsteps approaching him. The footsteps skipped and hummed a jolly tune as it got closer and closer.

“Drip…Drip…Drip. I love that sound of blood dripping.”

His pupils contracted to focus the small shadow approaching him. Until it stood over him, and he could see who it was. It was a little girl, barely, over the age of ten. She wore a white gown contrasted by her black her that reached her thin waist. Her eyes were a pure shade of blue, and her skin color was pale white in complexion. It was as if the light could pass through her body. An image of a doll brought to life. She stood over him and smiled.

“Finally, we meet again. This time it was sixty-years. You sure are getting better at this game.”

“No, please let me die! I don’t want to start over again.” His body had no strength left, but still, he tried to wiggle and crawl away from her. His breath was short, and his eyes teared up even more than before. But his body felt stuck in that one spot, and no matter how much he struggled he couldn’t move.

“You are so cold, Kazuya-san. You know how much I hate it when you don't look at me.” Her voice was cold and sharp, but with a hint of playfulness to it. She walked up to him and grabbed him by his black locks of hair. Her petite body with twig-like arms lifted him like he weighed nothing. She moved her face closer, and sniffed his cold body. Her tongue snaked a blood droplet from his forehead, and with a grin from ear to ear she chuckled, “I love the sweet taste of your sweat mixed in with your blood.”

“Please let me die peacefully. I can’t live through another life. I don’t want to play you game!” In a final act of desperation, he bit his tongue and undid his bandages. He hoped to bleed out before she could do anything, But the blood did not flow out. Like everything around him it froze the moment it left his body.

“My, my Kazuya-san. This is the seventieth time, or maybe the eightieth time you’ve tried to kill yourself. But you needn't worry anymore. I will end it soon.”

Her right hand twisted and cracked. Its appearance changed into a form similar to a jagged dagger. She pointed her blade on his chest, and with a smile dug it deep until the blade tore out from his back. He choked and croaked on the remaining blood in his body. His breath stopped, and everything below his head lost its sensation. Her smile disappeared, and in its place, her face was swollen red from tears. Before the end, she leaned his cold body in and whispered into his ear:

“You are my Savior, and I am your salvation. Find me, and you will find the truth to all that is hidden from you.”