CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

The world went up in a white and clear blue splash, and I went down in a dark haze.

As I plummeted into the water, I could only see a long strip of vines that rose from the bottom of the waterfall. The vines were tangled and interconnected and I had tried to reach for them, but they were just a fingertip too far away.

And as I lost the chance, I landed in the river.

The bright clear body of water held salmon and sea shells, moving across pebbles and against the current, over my head and through my legs.

I could hear my heart beat beneath the ripples of motion that flowed past my ears as I floated like a raft on the water. My body was stiff and inert, but my fingers were twitching slightly.

Even with my body submerged in the water, I could still hear the sound of the wild animals in the forest arpund. Their sounds came dangerously close but then drowned out in the distance ahead of me.

I felt my entire body possess a strange and sudden warmth, almost boiling inside me, as a dist