The tale of broken men II Part I

On the flattened top of a mountain, there was a small forest.

In the middle of that forest was a spring of pure water.

Inside that spring of water was a man. He had hoped that the tranquility of his surroundings and the spiritual power of the place would aid his troubled mind…

The stairs had led us up beyond the clouds, and now all my eyes could see was their fluffy existence covering everything until my feet finally came to a stop at the very top of the mountain. Above the clouds, I found myself standing on a green expanse. Two dozen feet in front of me was a small cottage nestled among a copse of trees. Beside it were the remains of a campfire with a black metal pot on top, where water was boiling.

“Ara?” A small voice surprised me, and I turned in its direction, only to find a twelve-year-old girl dressed in an informal manner staring at me owlishly. “Is the contest over?” for a moment I didn’t know what to answer.