CH 35

Prologue: Dream of a Bird in a Basket

Translated by Hikaru

Edited by Mel

The woman was trapped in a cold prison. She was born with a mysterious power which caused her to be targeted and used by many different people.

After being treated like a tool, she was pushed into a darkness that no one could see. A woman born with great power lost her freedom before she knew it, and was forced to spend her days in the dark.

The darkness never ends, and the light never reaches.

I forgot the scenery outside, I forgot how to talk and the sound of my own voice, and eventually I even forgot my own figure.

I want to be free.

The wish was ephemeral in the dark.

The woman died alone.

***

The woman was trapped in a stone tower.

It’s a little better than a prison. There is a window so sunlight can enter, but the door did not open from the inside, and no one stopped by the tower except for one servant with a sly face.

Minimal food and minimal drinks.

Minimal books, minimal furniture.

The minimum objects for a person to live as a person were made available. However, that alone is not enough to kill the time.

The only thing that healed the heart of the woman was a little bird perching on the windowsill.

I was fascinated by the beautiful coat. My cheeks were loosened by the cute cry. But above all, I longed for its wings, which allow it to fly in the sky at will.

“I want to be free.”

Upon hearing the wish, the little bird flew somewhere as if it were someone else’s affair.

The woman died alone.

***

The woman was trapped in a room like a jewel in a box.

The woman had given up her freedom from the beginning.

I was born with a mysterious power. The moment she realized that fact, she decided to abandon her freedom and become a puppet.

Perhaps the puppet was more obedient than in the past.

The pleasant owner gave the woman a large and gorgeous room. In the center of the room was a large bed that you couldn’t fall out of even if you rolled over. There were ten luxurious dresses in the chest of drawers. There was no one to talk to, but instead a cute little bird was allowed to stand by.

But the room was a cold prison.

It was in a stone tower.

When I released the little bird trapped in the cage, it went out of the window without looking back.

When I witnessed the scene, a wish that could never come true came to my mind.

I want to be free.

The wish is no longer allowed to be said.

The woman died alone.

***

A girl was watching everything in a dream.

A dream that has been going on since I could remember.

Uninterrupted, unfathomable desires and longing.

The lives of strange women ruminate in my head over and over again.

I want to be free.

I want to be free.

I want to be free.

A craving that sheds tears of blood flows into my head.

I hardly remember when I woke up.

But even if she doesn’t remember, the women’s remorse was certainly engraved in the girl’s heart.