Chapter 2

Where am I? I blinked a few times. It took me a second to realize I was lying on my back. The sky above me was free of clouds and a beautiful blue. Wait. Sky?! Wasn't I in a building?! I sat up quickly and the whole world seemed to spin. Falling back again, I waited for the dizziness to pass. After a few minutes, I slowly propped myself up on my elbows. I seemed to be on a grassy hill which overlooked a lake. The view was breathtaking. The still water shimmered in the sunshine throwing dancing rays of light upon the shore. Beyond the lake were forest covered mountains. This fact gave me the distinct impression that this was Lake Kizaki but I couldn't be sure. I could be anywhere. I may not even be in Japan anymore, I reminded myself. This might not have been such a good idea. That could've really hurt me. It could've killed me, but I wouldn't have cared much about that. I wonder if I'm actually in a different time. Well... Only one way to find out. With no other thoughts than that, I slowly got to my feet. There was a dirt road next to lake at the bottom of the hill. I would just follow that until I met someone, saw a road sign, something. This seemed like a nice little place. The air smelled really clean and you could here the animals all around. It had been so long since I had taken the time to actually listen to the birds. It made my heart feel better and worse at the same time. I sighed. I've got to get through this! I know I'm not going to be able to go on torturing myself! I'm going to end up actually killing myself. I can't do that to my mom. I can't do that to Keisuke. Or Yui. Oh, what am I going to do?! Tears started to flow down my face again. Putting my face in my hands, I had to stop walking. What am I going to do?!

"Um, Miss? ...Miss? Are you okay?" I looked up startled. Was somebody talking to me? A guy stood in front of me, looking very concerned. Something about him seemed odd. Not that he appeared strange or anything. He was cute even. About average height, he stood a few inches taller than me. He had a fairly pale complexion and light brown hair. His glasses where just the right size for his face and he couldn't have been older than me. Yet, something still seemed odd. "Miss, are you hurt? You're crying. Is there anything I can do to help?" He look genuinely concerned. Oh God! I must look stupid. This is so embarrassing. Why does this have to happen all the time? He must think I'm a complete idiot! No, stop! You have to pull yourself together! He's waiting for a reply! I quickly wiped the tears from my eyes. I didn't know what to say. Was I going to look strange if I asked what year it was? Yes, I decided. That would be odd. What should I ask? What will he think? I can't say, 'Yes, thank you. I think I just traveled through time. Can you please tell me, what is the date?' He'd think I was crazy.

"Uh, I don't know. I don't know where I am. I don't know what the date is. I don't even know where I live!" That's right! If I did jump through time, I won't have a place to live. Oh no! I was starting to panic. That was really the stupidest thing I had ever done. The tears were starting again and this time I couldn't hold it in. Right there on the side of the road, I released the flood, crying with everything I had. Idly I noticed I had never let go like this in front of anyone, not even Keisuke. The boy in front of me looked worried. I dropped my head into my hands again. What have I done?! Maybe it's not that bad. Maybe I'm in the same time, just a different place. Maybe I hit my head and got confused. It may not be that bad, I told myself. If I had only hit my head hard enough to confuse and delude myself into believing I had traveled through time, that actually wouldn't be that bad. After all, weirder things had happened to me. Hitting my head definitely wouldn't be that bad. Not as bad as the reality that was fixing to hit me.