Kino's Journey: Country of Regret

assets/txt/kino/02 Country of Regret.txt

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+-Kino's Journey- Country of Regret
+
+"Kino, do you ever regret the decisions you made?" Hermes asked, as the traveler and motorrad rode to their next destination.
+
+"Not particularly. I try not to dwell on the past much." Kino replied.
+
+"But if you were given the chance, would you do things differently?" Hermes continued.
+
+Kino thought for a moment. "Maybe. It depends on what I'd be changing."
+
+"Well, obviously." Hermes said, "But you could end up a completely different person with only a minor change. Like if you hadn't met Master, or if you'd stayed in your hometown."
+
+"Well, I wouldn't want to change anything that drastic or important." Kino explained. "I'm more thinking I'd change what I had for lunch yesterday."
+
+"Kino, I'm being serious here." Hermes pleaded, but Kino just laughed.
+
+"I know, Hermes. To tell the truth, I don't know. I like who I am now, but I think everyone thinks of something they would have done differently in hindsight." Kino answered.
+
+In the horizon, the two started to see a glimpse of the next country, its borders slightly covering the morning sunrise, causing a beautiful ray of light to shine on Kino and Hermes. It was as if the country was welcoming them itself.
+
+"Wow, beautiful." Kino said, in awe of the sight. Even Hermes seemed taken with the beauty, as he was oddly quiet.
+
+Soon, the country's border was in full view, and Kino headed for the entrance. The area around the walls was empty, not a guard in sight. A welcome change of pace.
+
+"Kino, what made you pick this country?" Hermes asked, curiously.
+
+"Nothing in particular. No one would tell me anything about it, so I got curious." Kino replied, "And that sight certainly helped."
+
+Finally, the two arrived at the entrance. Stopping in front of the guard booth, Kino noticed no one was there. Thinking it was strange, she looked around for something to signal she had arrived, but didn't see anything.
+
+"Well, I guess we won't be going into this country." Hermes said, giving up.
+
+"Hermes, I'm not one to give up right when things are getting interesting." Kino said, turning off the motorrad's engine and hopping off his back.
+
+"But there's no one here. How do you expect to get in?"
+
+Kino took a deep breath, then screamed as loud as she could: "Hello, I'd like to enter your country! Please open the gate!"
+
+Hermes sighed. "Kino you look ridiculous. Come on, let's go somewhere else."
+
+Kino shook her head, hopping back onto her partner and starting his engine. But then, the two noticed the ground begin to shake.
+
+"Whoa, Kino, what's that?" Hermes asked.
+
+Then, the gate of the country opened, with not a peep from any of the country's leaders. Kino laughed.
+
+"Well, I guess we get to go in after all."
+
+***
+
+An abandoned wasteland of a city laid before Kino and Hermes as they passed the gate into the country. Not a peep could be heard, aside from the cries of the crows that watched the two travelers wander.
+
+"Kino, this country doesn't seem to be quite as energetic as I thought. I wonder why no one wanted to talk about it." Hermes said.
+
+"I don't think they would be so secretive about a destroyed wasteland. There has to be something here. Someone let us in, after all." Kino explained.
+
+"That's a good point, but how could anyone live here? It's just ruins. Toppled buildings, rats and crows. It wouldn't be very sanitary to live here." Hermes said, as a rat crept up next to his wheels, sniffing him. "Frankly, I don't even want to be here right now."
+
+"Just a bit more Hermes, I want to make sure." Kino said, starting Hermes back up and riding towards one of the few buildings that still stood. It even had lights on, though it was much smaller than the fallen skyscrapers that lined the ground.
+
+Once they arrived at the entrance to the building, Kino realized there didn't appear to be a door. Not even that it was gone, it simply never existed in the first place.
+
+Kino slowed Hermes to a stop and hopped off, going to the motorrad's rear and opening the pack that contained most of Kino's belongings.
+
+"Kino, what are you looking for?" Hermes asked, curiously. Then he realized. "You don't mean to..."
+
+"Found it!" Kino exclaimed, taking out a small grenade. "I didn't think Ti's little gift would ever come in handy, but here we are."
+
+"Kino... Sometimes I wonder if you're alright in the head." Hermes sighed.
+
+"What do you expect me to do, give up?" Kino said, pulling the pin and chucking the grenade towards the building and ducking behind Hermes. After a brief moment, it blew up, and Kino peeked out from behind her companion.
+
+"I don't know if I appreciate you using me as a meat shield." Hermes whined.
+
+"You're a motorrad Hermes, you have no meat." Kino walked towards the building, which now had a fully accessible entrance, custom made by Kino. "Well, now we can go inside."
+
+Kino walked back, grabbing Hermes' handles and wheeling him into the building through the new entrance.
+
+It was bright inside the building, almost blinding at first, but Kino's vision soon cleared. And what lay before the two travelers made them both gasp.
+
+Hundreds of people, most seeming to be in their later years, lay before the two, lined up on bunk beds along both sides of an incredibly long room. Every single one of them seemed to be asleep.
+
+"Kino... I have a bad feeling about this." Hermes said, his voice quivering.
+
+"Yeah, we should go." Kino said, but as they turned around, Kino began to feel light headed. "Hermes... I don't feel so hot..."
+
+"Kino, just get on my back, we have to get out of here!" Hermes yelled, but Kino fell to the ground.
+
+All she could hear as her eyes closed was Hermes screaming her name.
+
+***
+
+When Kino opened her eyes, she was laying in a bed, staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. At least, that's what she thought at first, before she suddenly realized where this old, wood ceiling belonged.
+
+"It can't be..." Kino thought, as she jumped out of her bed. She quickly made her way to her mirror, shocked at what she saw.
+
+The girl in the mirror was a young child in a small, pink dress. Her hair went down to her waist and she looked no older than eight or nine. This appearance, as well as Kino's location, her childhood hometown, made her realize what had happened.
+
+She was in the body of her younger self, and none of her Journey had been real. Either it was all a dream, or some crazy magic had sent her to the past. Thinking the latter illogical, she simply sighed, then laughed.
+
+"Well, I guess it was fun while it lasted." Kino said to herself in the mirror. "I wonder how close I am to becoming an adult."
+
+Kino went over to her nightstand, where a small display was set up. Small chocolates wrapped in foil sat inside numbered boxes, most of which were empty, save for the ones marked from one to three.
+
+"Ah, so three more days, and then it'll be time. I'll finally be an adult!" Kino said, taking one of the chocolates out, unwrapping it and popping it into her mouth. The sweet candy filled her mouth, and she smiled with glee.
+
+"Darling, breakfast is ready!" She heard her mother yell.
+
+"Coming!" Kino exclaimed happily, humming to herself as she walked out of her room and down the stairs to the dining hall. Her parents ran an inn, and Kino hoped to someday own that inn for herself.
+
+When she made it to the dining hall, Kino's mother greeted her happily, and sat her plate on the table in front of Kino as she sat down. It was a simple meal, homemade bacon and egg omelettes, but Kino just gobbled it down without hesitation. "An innkeeper certainly knows how to make the best food!" She said with glee.
+
+"Well, look who's in a good mood. Did something good happen?" Kino's mom said, but then she said the name of a flower for some reason.
+
+"Not particularly, but what about that kind of flower?" Kino asked, confused.
+
+"What do you mean darling? That's your name, are you still half-asleep?"
+
+"Oh, yeah. Sorry, I guess so." Kino said laughing. "Sorry, I had a dream and everyone called me Kino in it."
+
+"Kino? That's a strange name." Her mother said, smiling. "But in just three days, you won't have to worry about strange dreams or anything anymore. You'll be a true adult!"
+
+"I know, I can't wait!" The young girl said, finishing her breakfast and jumping out of her seat. In the week leading up to her operation to become an adult, she was allowed to do whatever she wanted. So she decided she would spend the day exploring her village. "I'm heading out!"she yelled, slipping on her shoes and flinging the door open. Her mom waved as it closed behind her.
+
+The young girl skipped merrily to the town's beautiful fountain centerpiece, humming the entire way. Once she arrived, she hopped onto the side and sat happily, closing her eyes and taking in the spring breeze.
+
+Her final day of relaxation was fast approaching, so she wanted to make the most of the time she had left. Adults didn't get breaks like this, after all, they had work to do.
+
+"Excuse me." The young girl opened her eyes to see a young adult man looking down at her, smiling. "I'm a traveler, do you know where I can find an inn to stay at?"
+
+"Sure, my family owns one, I can take you there." The young girl said, hopping off the fountain.
+
+"Wow, thank you, that would be a big help!" The man said, sighing in relief. "I haven't been able to find anything, everyone seems so busy."
+
+"Well, they are adults." The young girl said, smiling. "Just like I'll be in a few days!"
+
+"Well, is that so? It's nice to meet, you, miss adult. By the way, I should properly introduce myself." The traveler said, bowing. "My name is Kino. I'll be staying here for the next three days."
+
+***
+
+The young girl watched through the window of her room as the traveler Kino sat outside, toying with the remnants of a small motorcycle. It mesmerized her, though she couldn't quite pinpoint why. It seemed to be a familiar sight, for some reason.
+
+Suddenly Kino looked up towards the window, and the young girl jolted back, quickly shutting the curtains. She then folded herself in her covers, embarrassed to have been seen.
+
+"Would you like to come see?" The young girl heard Kino call, causing her  to jolt out of bed and peek out the curtains. Kino was now waving at her, smiling. The young girl quickly shut the curtains again, holding them shut and thinking to herself.
+
+What if they wanted to hurt her? Take her captive and sell her? There were so many things that could happen if she went out to see the traveling outsider.
+
+After all, the traveler never had the operation to become an adult.
+
+But even so, curiosity got the best of her, and she slipped on her shoes and went towards the back of the inn where the traveler worked.
+
+***
+
+"Is that a motorcycle?" The young girl asked, curiously examining the beat up remains the traveler Kino was attempting to repair.
+
+"Yes, it was given to me here so I could repair it, they said they had no use for it." The traveler explained. "Soon enough, it'll be good as new, chattering up a storm."
+
+"You mean it can talk?" The young girl asked.
+
+Kino just laughed. "Of course. This motorrad and I are going to be partners. A simple pact."
+
+"Pact?"
+
+"Yes. I give the motorrad balance, and he gives me speed. It benefits us both." The traveler explained. "Without me to balance it, the motorrad falls over, and I can go much faster if I ride him than if I walk."
+
+"That does sound like it would be very helpful. Does he have a name?" The young girl asked.
+
+Kino shook his head. "Not yet, why don't you help me come up with one?"
+
+The young girl thought for a moment, but something quickly came to her mind. "Hermes." She said, almost on reflex.
+
+"That sounds wonderful. That was also the name of my last partner." Kino said, smiling. "What made you think of that?"
+
+"I'm not quite sure. He just brought that name to mind." The young girl said. She wasn't quite sure why herself.
+
+"Maybe you can ride around with me once I get him repaired in a few days." Kino said, but the young girl shook her head.
+
+"I won't be able to, I'm going to be an adult soon." The young girl explained. "In just three more days!"
+
+"What makes you say that? You still look rather young to me." Kino asked, confused.
+
+"Once we reach a certain age, we get our operation. They open our head and take the child from it. Then, we can do adult things like work with a smile, even if you hate it." The young girl explained.
+
+Kino was very puzzled. "Do you think being able to do work you don't like is all it takes to be an adult?"
+
+"That's what being an adult is, right? What job do you do, Kino?" The young girl asked.
+
+"I'm a traveler." Kino said. "But I don't consider it work, I enjoy my journey."
+
+"If you have fun, it isn't a job. It's just a hobby." The young girl said. "I don't think you're an adult yet, Kino."
+
+"I suppose under your definition, that might be true." Kino said.
+
+"What are you then? A child?" The young girl asked, confused.
+
+Kino laughed. "I don't think that's quite right either."
+
+"What are you then?"
+
+Kino thought for a moment, then just smiled. "I'm just Kino."
+
+The young girl laughed. "You don't make any sense, Kino."
+
+"What about you, what do you want to do?" Kino asked.
+
+"My parents run the inn, so once I become an adult I'll be helping them." The young girl said.
+
+"No, not what job you'll have. What do you do for fun?" Kino rephrased.
+
+Kino smiled brightly. "I like to sing!"
+
+"How wonderful! I like to sing a lot on my travels myself. Though I'm not very good at it." Kino laughed, then sang a few verses of a song the young girl had never heard. His voice was shaky and his tone all over the place. He smiled afterwards. "Terrible, aren't I?"
+
+"Horrible." The young girl said, laughing. Then, she breathed deeply inwards and sang the same lyrics, but with perfect pitch and tone.
+
+Kino clapped. "Wonderful! You're the best singer I've come across on ,y entire journey!"
+
+The young girl blushed.
+
+"I'm serious. You should be a singer." Kino said, but the young girl shook her head.
+
+"Kids are born to take over their parent's jobs. My parents aren't singers, so I can't be one."
+
+"What a waste, then. You'd be a tremendous singer." Kino said, and the young girl just blushed again. Then she gasped, realizing the time.
+
+"I've got to go back for dinner before my parents scold me." The young girl said, waving goodbye and hurrying away.
+
+"I hope we meet again." Kino called out, as the young girl disappeared from his view.
+
+***
+
+The young girl stared at the countdown on her wall, which now only had one chocolate left. Today was the day she became an adult, but something inside her didn't feel quite as excited as before. Suddenly, it felt like there was more to life than just becoming an adult. The young girl wanted to do what she wanted in life, not what her parents chose for her.
+
+She picked up the chocolate and pocketed it, before going down to the stairs to tell her parents what she'd decided to do.
+
+Once you got downstairs, she saw her parents talking to some strange men she didn't recognize just outside the house.
+
+"Congratulations, today, your daughter becomes a proper member of society. You have done a fine job raising such a respectable young lady." One of the men said, as the young girl's parents thanked them. "Oh, there's the star right now. Come here, young one." Another of the men said, gesturing the girl closer.
+
+The young girl slowly made her way to the group, and took a deep breath. Something made her feel like saying she didn't want the operation anymore was a bad idea, but she couldn't quite pinpoint what it was.
+
+"Dad, can I ask a question?" The girl said, turning to her smiling parents.
+
+"What is it, sweetheart?" Her father asked.
+
+The girl nervously shook. "What if I don't get the operation? What happens? Can I still be an adult?"
+
+The girl and her parents stared at each other for a moment as the girl shook in terror. Her father and mother's loving smile stayed for a moment, but quickly turned to angry frowns.
+
+Suddenly, her father exploded. "You idiot! How dare you question the wonderful operation! The thing keeping this country working!"
+
+"That's right! And in front of this country's leaders! What a disgrace!" Her mother added.
+
+Just then, the young girl saw Kino come out from behind the inn, rolling the motorrad he'd finished repairing along with him. Her parents saw her staring at the traveler, and they turned their hatred him.
+
+"You! It was you who put these crazy, disgraceful ideas in my daughter's head! You evil man!" Her father cried.
+
+Kino just smiled. "She decided for herself. But I won't deny I may have edged her on a bit."
+
+The young girl ran towards Kino, crying. "Kino! I'm sorry, I got you in trouble."
+
+"It's okay." Kino said, before looking towards the group that was staring them down.
+
+"Traveler, I hope you are aware every country has their own customs and rules." One of the country's elders said to Kino, calmly.
+
+"Yes, I am." Kino replied.
+
+"Then you must also know it's not your job to get involved in the matters of these countries." The elder continued.
+
+Kino smiled, "I was just thinking it was about time I left as well. I get the feeling something will happen to me if I stay any longer." He then turned to the young girl. "Really, I'll be fine. Go back to your parents."
+
+"Okay..." The young girl said, and she walked back towards her mother. Her father had gone back inside.
+
+"Do not worry, I will ensure your safety until you leave the walls of this country. That was part of the agreement we made when you entered." The elder said, smiling,
+
+"Thank you, I appreciate that." Kino said, but his smile quickly turned to a frown when he spotted the young girl's father return, a smile on his face. "But what do you intend to do with that knife?"
+
+The young girl trembled and froze, between Kino and the group of men. Something in her knew the next line the strange man would say.
+
+"That? For disposing of this error, of course. Parents bring children into this world, and they have the right to remove ones that do not meet expectations." The elder said, as the young girl's father approached the young girl. She fell to her knees in terror. Her father began running, lifting the knife above his head.
+
+Suddenly, the young girl saw the world turn crimson. But she felt no pain. She quickly realized why. Kino fell to the ground in front of her, the knife lodged in his chest. Her world froze. She reached her hand to her face, then pulled it back. It was covered in the same crimson that now formed a puddle around Kino.
+
+Her father froze. "Oh, looks like this crazy man jumped in front of my knife! What a predicament!" He said, and the entire group broke into laughter. Her father went towards Kino, and tried to pull the knife from his chest. It was stuck tight. Everyone in the group gathered to help.
+
+"As the man simply ran in front of the knife, there will be no charge. It's simply an unfortunate accident." The elder said, smiling.
+
+The young girl watched as the townspeople she once loved and cherished now gathered around the corpse of an innocent traveler and were working furiously to remove the weapon so they could kill her. She collapsed against the mottorad Kino had finally fixed. Then, she remembered. The dream she had had before wasn't the dream. This was.
+
+"No matter how many times you relive this past, it will never change." Hermes said.
+
+The young girl laughed. "I'm the reason Kino died. If he hadn't jumped in to save me none of this would've happened. He could've lived a long life, and I cut it short."
+
+"That's true." Hermes replied.
+
+The young girl burst into tears and turned around to face the mottorad. The world around them had frozen. It was just her and Hermes, everyone else was stuck in time. "Then why? Why would he throw his life away for a girl he met only two days before? Why do I deserve to live instead of him? What makes me special?"
+
+"Absolutely nothing." Hermes replied. "You probably even deserve to live less."
+
+"Then why? Why won't the world let him live instead? Let me just die here." The young girl said, collapsing into tears.
+
+"Would Kino want that?" Hermes said.
+
+The young girl didn't answer. She just continued to cry.
+
+"Kino chose this himself. He didn't need to save you. He could have walked away. But he did. And that was his own decision. You should honor that." Hermes said. "Live, Kino. Live."
+
+The young girl turned around. There, standing before her, was Kino. "Kino..." She ran to him and jumped into his arms.
+
+"I need you to live for me. The world needs to be seen in the eyes of a child. That's when it's at its most beautiful." Kino said, hugging the girl.
+
+"But why do I deserve to see that and not you?" The young girl said.
+
+Kino just laughed. "Everyone deserves to live. No one deserves it more than anyone else. I wasn't trading my life for yours when I saved you. I was giving you a chance to fulfill your dreams. It's up to you what that means."
+
+The young girl just clung tighter to Kino.
+
+"I would like to know your name though. I don't think I ever caught it." Kino asked.
+
+The young girl let go of Kino and wiped the tears from her eyes, before finally cracking a smile. "My name, is Kino."
+
+Reality returned before the young girl's eyes and she found herself once again overlooking the townspeople as they tried to remove the knife from Kino's body. The young girl quickly jumped onto the motorrad's seat and started it up, bolting away from the townspeople and making her way to the exit.
+
+She passed by all the buildings she once loved. All the ones she once dreaded. Her entire childhood slowly faded into the mottorad's mirrors.
+
+When she finally reached the exit, the guards were trying to quickly close the gate. But even as it started to fall, the young girl knew she'd make it. It was her destiny. She wasn't going to let the chance Kino had given to her go to waste.
+
+And sure enough, she made it.
+
+***
+
+"Kino! Kino, please wake up! Kino!" Hermes called to his partner. Kino's eyes finally opened. "Finally! Thank goodness!"
+
+"Hermes? What happened?" Kino said, feeling dizzy.
+
+"Don't worry about that, get up quick, before you fall back asleep!" Hermes hurried Kino, who quickly got up and hopped onto the mottorad.
+
+Kino hurriedly started up her partner and the two zoomed away, out of the building and then, the country's main gate. The moment the two passed through, it closed forcefully behind them.
+
+The two rode onwards without a word as the country became smaller and smaller behind them. Hermes could tell Kino was deep in thought.
+
+"You know, one of the robots of that country that watched over all those sleeping people told me what their country is all about." Hermes finally said. Kino didn't respond, but Hermes continued. "They send people into a state of deep sleep, where they get the chance to relive their most prominent regret. They can change that fate and then relive their entire life from that moment, without a single memory of who they were before. It's basically immortality."
+
+"I see. What a terrible idea." Kino finally spoke, "It only makes it all worse."
+
+"Too bad, it seemed like a good idea to me." Hermes replied.
+
+"It just made it all more painful." Kino said, her voice wavering as she held more and more tightly to Hermes' handles.
+
+"Would you say you regret going there, then?" Hermes asked.
+
+Kino stopped Hermes and wiped her eyes, before finally smiling. "I will admit, it was nice to let it all out. Let's go."
+
+Kino started Hermes back up, and they continued onwards to their next destination.
+
+-Country of Regret- end