I don't understand a lot of things.

I don't understand why heaven is a place we have to go.

Why isn't every place a paradise? Wouldn't that make more sense?

I don't understand why these non-birds are so desperate to find my friends, who are on the east side of the great river.

- Is she a creature that needs special attention? Or is the hunting of non-birds more indiscriminate? Are we always caught up in it by chance?

I don't understand why I'm a sunflower.

- Maybe it doesn't get any better than that?

This seems like a reasonable assumption.

We left the river and continued our journey day and night in the damp woods.

My friends are getting stronger and stronger, and so am I.

-[Sunflower]-

You are bathed in the sun

+ 1 exp

Experience Points: 148/240 EXP (Birch): 26/55

Soon.

Many bones lined the water's edge, hovering in the loose silt and mud of the embankment.

My friend has always wanted to eat fish, but it doesn't seem to be suitable for starvation here.

Obviously, there are many other hungry things in the wet forest.

- In the water.

She looked around the area, and then we continued along the river, making sure we kept some distance from it.

However, we seem to have identified a bigger problem.

The river held us back.

If we want to follow the sun and go west, then the south-flowing water will hinder us. It is most unwise to walk through it, as can be seen from the strong deep currents and the bones on the shore.

So, instead, we sail against the current, hoping that we will find a safe passage through the muddy waters.

Or not. I don't think I care, really. There is also plenty of sunshine and water here.

However, the soil was too wet for me to do. My roots don't like this damp, oversaturated dirt that flattens with every step.

- Maybe I should reconsider my apathy? After all, there is still a lot to see in the world.

A huge shadow followed us, swimming upstream, hidden beneath the salty waters.

What an interesting sight.

Wow.

Our camp.

Birch read her book, and from time to time lifted her upper limbs and pressed them against her torso.

I don't know what she's doing. But every time she did this, she seemed to be sad, then went back to the book and tried again a little later.

How strange.

- If this makes you uncomfortable, why are you repeating this pattern?

She's such a strange person.

I'm tired of the damp forest.

I never knew the forest could be so big and so wet. It's incredible.

Thankfully, its end is in sight.

My friend Birch and I stood on the bank of the river, looking out at the water on the other side. They flow down in the direction we started. A series of slippery rocks connect this place to the other side of the river, which anyone with the courage can jump over.

- However, slipping is indeed the most unfortunate. Maybe it's best for us not to slip?

Maybe we'd better not try to get through here, though?

Nature is confusing when one thinks of nature's many spectacular sights. On the other side of the water, to the west, one of the most beautiful suns shines on the world and shines on us. It seems to tempt us to try; Live a little.

- After all, is there any other meaning in life?

Yes.

What a fool I am.

Of course, my friend couldn't have been a bee, otherwise we would have flown across the river. I've found this weakness before.

- But I made the same mistake again.

How stupid.

Maybe it's time for her to make a mistake? Even if it means the end of our adventure.

But what the outcome will be.

It's magical.

There are many ways to die.

I was in awe.

She sighed, her shoulders drooping, and she turned to the right, going further along the coast as before, rather than bravely trying to cross here, now, even though we were so close to the road to heaven.

- Blind luck? Or did she know it intuitively?

I can't say.

As my friend walked along the embankment, he wisely missed the opportunity to wade, and I turned around and watched as the stepping stones, the rocks, slowly rose from the darkness. A huge stomach, belonging to one of the most terrible, gigantic creatures, living in the water, appeared.

- They are teeth, old and flattened as a result of years of prosperous hunting, not stepping stones.

Many fools have been fooled. That's why there will be bones in the lower reaches of the river.

But my friend has a strong intuition.

Perhaps this is what one needs if one wants to survive the journey to where the sun is.

We lived another day.

I was calm and excited.

Another day passed and there was very little sun shining on us, which made me the saddest the most. Moist forests are thick and wet.

However, our journey was surprisingly peaceful, with no non-birds following us. It is the most peaceful.

But as the day wore on, we finally found what we were looking for.

-Crossroads.

It reminds me of those houses. It was built of wood and bones. It hung over the river, like a fallen tree, on which she stepped on, testing the wood with her feet.

It looks sturdy.

I decided to take the chance, my friend crossed the river, I looked around and wondered, how did such a thing come about? Her kind is indeed the most industrious animal.

As we left, I looked back at the murky river, hoping to see the great shadow of the water hunter again.

But there's nothing to see there.

Wow.

I never knew there was such a mysterious thing in the world.

We left the damp forest and entered a new place on the other side.

The grass here is well trampled, and many people's footsteps have carved a path in the soil.

We follow it, in the footsteps of those who came before us. I wonder if they're on their way to heaven too?

Our camp.

Birch sat down to read her book and started her new life, which I didn't care too much about.

I miss the quiet nights.

Tonight, for the fifth time, my friend lifted her thighs, which were the legs below her shoulders and neck, and reached out into the darkness.

(Birch) use: (small pulse)

A word appeared.

But truth be told, nothing happened.

I felt a small feeling spread throughout the world. Ripples rippled through the moist soil, and it disturbed my roots. It disturbed the thousands of creatures crawling beneath her feet.

But, despite the lack of impressive results, Birch seems happy because of what happened, and she emitted a series of rat-like sounds and movements.

- It's terrible.

I don't understand, but maybe, like many things, it simply doesn't fit my understanding?

After all, I'm just an overly moist sunflower.

- Something has crawled into my roots. It's itchy.

The most unusual oddities.

Birch and I hid as usual, and we looked out for ourselves.

There, smoke rose in the distance.

In the distance, are some houses.

And, dare I say, a lot of her kind.

There are a lot of them.

I never knew there could be so many people like her in one place.

It's magical.

Aren't they solitary animals? As far as I've seen, they always live alone and travel alone. In front of us, however, close to the horizon, there are more than a hundred houses, embedded in each other like beehives.

I wondered, what would she do?