The day that Kori Murakami sent herself off to her death, she couldn’t help but think about those quiet summer days when her mother was still around. She would always take her out to the large forest in the southern part of Etissia via boat.

Cherry trees swayed, dropping fruit with every gust of wind that nuzzled its branches. The sun  peeked through the leaves, bringing warmth to her face. What once was a bright memory between mother and daughter, now remained underneath her feet as shadows danced on the moss-infested soil.

“Where the hell did she go?” a voice shouted from behind.

“How am I supposed to know? Just find her. Do you have any idea how much that reward will change things?”

Unlike those more peaceful days, however, the scattered sounds of many footsteps rushing forward and leaves being crushed echoed throughout the forest. Muffled arguing could be heard from almost every direction.

Kori found herself in front of a cliff, its bottom nowhere to be seen. She braced herself as she stared at the dark abyss below. The bandages messily strewn around her ribs were starting to become loose and she could barely stand upright.  Her vision blurred as she took another step forward.

Two villagers ran out from behind the trees and pointed at her with weapons in hand. Soon more followed. And more. It didn’t take too long for Kori to be completely surrounded. Despite knowing the situation was turning more grim by the second, a warm smile couldn’t help but come across her face. 

After all, only the image of a young girl following in her mother’s footsteps occupied her mind.

 

She jumped.

 

***

 

A man in his mid-fifties squeezing a plastic bag with all of his might rushed through the empty  street. He kicked up dirt and grime with each giant step he took. Despite popular belief that you shrink when you age, he was still plenty large; others would say he was too large, in fact. If he gained a miniscule amount of muscle mass for each strand of hair that he’s lost over the years, he wouldn’t have any hair left. And he didn’t, aside from the small patches of black fuzz that were on each side of his head.

He arrived at the pier that he had assigned one of his men to build after enough people complained. It shook every time he dared to walk on it and this time was no different. Fortunately, this didn’t affect the girl who sat crouched with one arm perched over her knee while the other held a fishing rod.

Not that she was necessarily normal either.

No, this girl in particular wore a dark blue winter coat with brown fur on the hood. Even though winter had long since departed, the warm breeze of spring taking its rightful place. Even with the extra protection, it seemed that she was still shivering. Her long blonde hair went past her back and spread messily across the wooden floorboards.

As the man dropped the bag beside her, she gave him a quick glance before clicking her tongue and returning her focus to the sea. 

“If you’re here to persuade me or something, it’s better if you just leave. You already know my answer,” she said. “Better yet, just twiddle your thumbs and hope for the best. You’re especially good at that.”

The man opened his mouth to speak but found that no words would come out. Instead, he simply sat down behind the girl with his legs crossed. The waves of the ocean crashed against the pier, and it reminded him of how little time they actually had left together. Soon, he wouldn’t be able to see his daughter. Sure, it was rare to see her come out from Sophia’s library, but simply knowing that she was here in Everhill—that she was safe, it was enough for him. 

But that wasn’t always going to be possible. Soon or later, the ones who you’ve raised and cared for start to become curious about the world around them. He knew that. It was just that the world wasn’t kind to the curious. Around this time last year, luck was just barely on his side when he managed to convince her to stay on the small island after hours upon hours of talking. 

He forced a smile. “I bought those hand warmers that the travelling merchant was selling. Figured it would help you out in case you start to freeze up while you’re out there. Plenty of water in there too, Kori.”

Grabbing his legs and looking down at the ground as if to not let his smile drop, the man let out a disgruntled huff, “All I ask is that you’re careful. Being an Errant isn’t the job of common folk. That exam that you’re so adamant about joining has so many casualties every year, it’s insane to even think about it...”

Kori shook her head and gave him a dry laugh. With her free hand, she touched the floorboard behind her. A small trail of frost trickled from her fingertips and zipped toward the man’s exposed shins. He jolted back and the pier shook some more. Even this didn’t take her attention away from the ocean.

Kori gripped tight onto her fishing pole as the line began to pick up.

“Wow, you really look down on me, don’t you old man?” she asked, eyebrows upturned. Her good mood didn’t last however as she let out a soft sigh. “Last year, when you talked me out of leaving, I couldn’t help but go to bed that night feeling sick to my stomach. Like I had given up before reaching the starting line. It was so goddamn disgusting.”

She gritted her teeth.

“That’s why it just has to be this year, I won’t have it any other way.”

“Yeah, I know. But with no royal blood in your veins —”

“Don’t count me out just yet. I’ll win against any dumb noble.”

He frowned. The thin line frost travelled up his leg, circled around his large frame, and finally made it to the top of his head before shattering. That was her way of giving him a soft punch in the shoulder.

“I’ll be safe, you worrywart,” she said, ”I promise that I’ll come back safe to you. Besides, I have a trump card that no one else has. One that I hold very close to my heart.”

Kori rose to her feet with a triumphant stomp. The wind began to pick up as her winter jacket fell to the ground, leaving her with a black tank top. She yanked the line back with everything she had, raising the fishing rod well above her head. The ocean rumbled and spat as if it was boiling. 

Suddenly, a large fish-like creature emerged from the depths of the sea, drenching the pier and surrounding area with water. Green and red scales, a tail in the shape of a mushroom,  severe underbite, and vibrant bright yellow eyes. That is what stood before both Kori and the man.

The man reached for his weapon but found that he hadn’t one.

“Get the hell out of here, run!” The man cried as he started to run forward in an attempt to cover his only daughter. 

He didn’t get farther than three steps.

The fish opened its mouth wide and lowered itself, squishing and flattening its entire body as if it lacked any bone structure.

Kori followed suit, inhaling and touching the floorboards, now cracked and on the verge of breaking. 

It leaped out of the water.

The wind soon became frigid. A sheet of ice engulfed the pier along with a bit of the sea. It hooked the tail of the fish and it fell forward, destroying the platform she stood upon. Crashing down to the frozen land below and bashing its head, the fish flailed about for a second before falling unconscious. Kori fell on top of it. Due to its irregular shape, it seemed her fall was less painful. 

The man dropped to his knees at the sight in front of him. Although that time had long since passed and his story already came to an end, the faint chill in the air along with the distinct sour smell of magic reminded him of a memory long since forgotten.  

“Hey Archie, this world is a bit too unfair for my liking. Let’s turn things upside down. Become an Errant and adventure with me, won’tcha!”

He felt something press on his back and push him forward. Or perhaps it was just his mind playing tricks on him. Regardless, Archie scurried on his hands and knees to get a better look.

With each breath Kori took, a white mist left her lips before dispersing into the air. She stood up yet found herself unable to look up at her father. The arm she had used her magic with had shriveled up and turned a bluish purple. She held it close to herself. 

“I…have Mama’s power, did you forget?” she panted, “That’s why I can’t be anything other than perfect. I won’t accept anything less.”

A sigh of relief left his mouth. 

In the end, the world wasn’t kind to the curious. But that didn’t mean that they should lay face down and stay ignorant. Perhaps, Kori was not the one who wasn’t ready.

 

***

It didn’t take long for the boat to arrive after Archie had helped Kori out with her arm. Due to the pier’s last minute destruction, it had to dock on the opposite side of Everhill. Just as she was about to board, Kori was stopped by Archie, who was trying his best to smile when seeing her off.

Kori turned her back to him. “I’ll be seeing you, then.”

“You don’t have to act so tough, you know. You’ve been here all your life. Goodbyes are allowed to be hard.” He threw his head back and laughed. “Hell, most people never know what to say in the moment.”

“I’ve got nothin’ to say.'' She slid the hood up on her winter coat. “...Yeah, nothin’.”

“So you say.”

Kori boarded the boat full of the various exam-takers she would have to face off against and leaned on the railing. The boat slowly began to move forward. Archie clapped twice.

As if on command, multiple people came out from behind the various buildings and trees within the village. Some held good luck posters, others popped party poppers. Overall, it seemed that he had brought the entirety of Everhill just to give her a proper send off. 

Her finger darted towards her dad. “Y-you! You always have to make everything such a big deal, go to hell!” 

She couldn’t hear him over the combined sounds of the boat's engine and the cheers of the Everhill people, but judging by how wide open his mouth was, it was safe to assume that he was laughing.

With a deep breath, he raised his open palm to the sky and screamed loud enough for her to hear, “Kori, be safe out there! You better come back to us!”

Her eyes stung and began to blur. Kori rubbed at her face, but the tears wouldn’t stop falling. As they rolled down her face, she leaned over the railing and waved back at them. At the hometown she had grown up in. So much for not having anything to say.  

“I will, I promise!”

Expectation; a burden in disguise, well intentioned yet endlessly looming. Try as you might with bated breath or with sword in hand, it lurched over us all with the same sadistic grin.

Kori Murakami’s pursuit of perfection is where everything began. Not with a bang but a crybaby’s pathetic whimper.