The Wind
The hospital room was cold, sterile, and suffocating. The faint hum of fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, and the scent of antiseptic filled the air. I sat on the edge of the examination bed, my hands gripping the edge so tightly that my knuckles turned white. The doctor’s words echoed in my mind, each one a hammer blow to my already fragile sense of reality.
“Makoto, we are so sorry, but the analysis has shown that there is no cure for your disease. That virus is like a time bomb. When the time comes, it will spread, and in the worst-case scenario, it may cause death.”
My breath hitched, and the room seemed to spin. I was only 20 years old—barely an adult. I had my whole life ahead of me, or so I thought. College, friends, dreams of traveling the world—all of it felt like it was slipping through my fingers. And now this? A disease with no cure? A virus so rare that the odds of contracting it were 0.00001 percent? It felt like a cruel joke, a twist of fate that I couldn’t comprehend.
“Why me?” I whispered, my voice trembling. The doctor looked at me with pity, but there was nothing he could say to make it better. No words could undo the diagnosis or erase the fear that was now gnawing at the edges of my mind.
I left the hospital in a daze, the weight of the news pressing down on me like a physical force. The world outside felt surreal, as if I were walking through a dream—or a nightmare. The sun was shining, people were laughing, and life went on as usual. But for me, everything had changed. I was no longer just Makoto, the ordinary college student. I was Makoto, the guy with a death sentence hanging over his head.
Days turned into weeks, and I tried to carry on with my life as best as I could. I went to classes, hung out with friends, and even managed to laugh now and then. But the shadow of the virus was always there, lurking in the back of my mind. I couldn’t escape it, no matter how hard I tried.
Then, one evening, something extraordinary happened. I was walking home after a long day, my thoughts swirling with the usual mix of fear and frustration. Suddenly, I felt a strange sensation—a tingling in my feet, as if the ground beneath me had shifted. Before I knew it, my feet were no longer on the ground. I was floating, suspended in mid-air.
Panic surged through me, and I flailed wildly, trying to regain my balance. But it was no use. I fell, tumbling through the air until I landed hard on the grass. For a moment, I just lay there, staring up at the sky, my heart pounding in my chest. What had just happened? Was I hallucinating? Was this some kind of side effect of the virus?
But as I sat up, I realized that something had changed. I could feel it—a strange, almost electric energy coursing through my body. I focused on it, and to my astonishment, I began to rise again, this time with more control. The wind seemed to respond to my thoughts, swirling around me and lifting me higher. It was as if I had become one with the air itself.
I laughed, a wild, incredulous laugh. This was impossible, and yet it was happening. The virus that had threatened to destroy my life had given me something in return—a power beyond my wildest dreams. But what did it mean? And what was I supposed to do with it?
The Time Traveler
Meanwhile, in another place—or perhaps another time—a young woman was running for her life. The world around her was a blur of chaos and noise. The air was thick with the acrid smell of smoke, and the ground trembled beneath her feet as explosions echoed in the distance. She ran, her breath coming in ragged gasps, her heart pounding in her chest. Her legs burned with exhaustion, but she couldn’t stop. Not now. Not when they were so close.
“Faster!! Search for her in every single area of this town!! Her power is something we need!!” a voice roared, cutting through the din like a knife. It was a voice she had come to fear—a voice that belonged to the man who had hunted her across time and space.
“Yes, sir!!” came the reply, followed by the sound of boots pounding against the cracked pavement. She could hear them gaining on her, their shouts growing louder, more urgent. She didn’t know who they were or why they were after her. All she knew was that she couldn’t let them catch her. If they did, it would all be over.
She darted into an alleyway, her eyes scanning the shadows for a place to hide. But there was nowhere to go. The walls were too high, the exits too far. She was trapped. Desperation clawed at her chest as she pressed her back against the cold brick wall, her mind racing. What could she do? Where could she go?
And then, as if in answer to her silent plea, she felt it—a strange, almost magnetic pull in the air around her. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and the world seemed to slow. Before her eyes, the air began to shimmer and distort, forming a swirling vortex of light and energy. A portal.
She didn’t hesitate. Without a second thought, she leaped through the portal, the world around her dissolving into a kaleidoscope of colors and sounds. For a moment, she felt weightless, untethered from time and space. And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the sensation stopped.
She stumbled as her feet hit solid ground, the impact jarring her senses. She looked around, disoriented and breathless. The world she had left behind was gone, replaced by a quiet, unfamiliar landscape. The air was calm, the sky clear. But the peace was short-lived.
“A portal... Gentlemen, we are going to enter the portal as well. Full speed ahead!!” The voice was faint but unmistakable. Her heart sank as she turned to see the massive airship charging toward the portal, its engines roaring like a beast unleashed.
“Wait until I get you, girl,” the leader of the platoon said, his voice dripping with malice. She could see his face now, twisted into a cruel grin as the airship plunged into the portal after her.
She didn’t wait to see what would happen next. She ran, her legs carrying her as fast as they could. The ground beneath her feet was soft and uneven, the air thick with the scent of earth and vegetation. She had no idea where she was or when she was, but she knew one thing: she couldn’t stop. Not yet.
The Wind and The Time Traveler
It had been two years since I discovered my ability, and in that time, I had learned to control it with surprising ease. The virus, for all its terror, had not progressed as the doctors had feared. It was as if the power it had given me was keeping it at bay, at least for now. I had no idea how long that would last, but I wasn’t going to waste the time I had left.
I lived every day as if it were my last, savoring the small moments—the warmth of the sun on my face, the sound of laughter, the feeling of the wind beneath me as I soared through the sky. It was a strange kind of freedom, one that I had never expected to find.
One afternoon, as I was flying home after a day out with friends, something unexpected happened. A portal appeared in the sky, its edges crackling with energy. Before I could react, a figure tumbled out of it, falling toward the ground. Without thinking, I sped up, catching her just in time. But the weight of two people was too much for the wind to handle, and we began to fall.
I struggled to control our descent, the wind whipping around us as I fought to slow our fall. We landed in a forest, the impact jarring but not fatal. I groaned, rubbing my head as I sat up. “Ouch, ouch. Even though I slowed us down, it seems we can still get hurt if we fall from that height.”
The girl looked around, her eyes wide with confusion. “Where am I? What year is this?”
“Kuala Lumpur. The year is 2022,” I replied, studying her carefully. She looked disoriented, but there was something about her—something familiar, though I couldn’t quite place it.
“Kuala Lumpur? Arrghh...” She clutched her head, as if in pain, and then her eyes widened. “I remember... I came from Japan to meet someone. Thank you for helping me just now.”
“Japan? Meet someone?” I asked, my curiosity piqued. But before I could press further, she grabbed my hand.
“We can’t talk for long here. Let’s go somewhere else.” In an instant, we were gone, teleported to a small, cluttered room. I looked around, my jaw dropping. “What the heck!! This is my room. How did you even... So, that portal was your doing too!!”
“Yes...” she murmured, her voice weak. And then, without warning, the world went dark as she passed out.
- to be continued -
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