I didn't know where I was going.
I didn't even know who I was.
I was a spirit… floating. Wandering.
Then I found him—the boy beneath the tree.
Was it wrong to take his body?
Was it wrong to feel alive again?
The forest didn't speak.
It just breathed—old, heavy air soaked in fog, roots curled like sleeping hands, and leaves that whispered of forgotten things.
You—a wandering spirit with no face, no name, no voice—floated through it, unseen.
You had no heartbeat, no memory, no form.
Just a question in your chest.
"Why am I still here?"
You had drifted for what felt like years, maybe centuries.
No one saw you.
No one heard you.
No one ever would.
Until… you found him.
A boy.
Slumped against the base of an ancient tree, arms resting in his lap, as if he'd simply dozed off.
But he wasn't sleeping.
His skin was cold. His lips were pale.
He couldn't have been more than sixteen.
And for some reason, when you saw him… your entire soul stilled.
You reached out.
You didn't steal. You didn't force it.
You borrowed.
The boy's body welcomed you—like it had been waiting.
For the first time, you had weight. Breath. Fingers.
Eyes to see the forest around you. Legs to walk. A voice—small, trembling—to whisper:
"Is this… me now?"
Then, from behind the tree, a quiet voice replied.
"You're a little awkward in that body. It doesn't quite fit you yet."
You spun around.
Floating above the grass, glowing like a lantern woven from starlight, was a fluffy ball of fur—about the size of a cat, with two soft ears, shimmering eyes, and a long tail that curled like a question mark.
I blinked slowly, as if I'd been watching you long before you noticed.
"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone. Spirits borrowing shells… that's old news around here."
You stared, confused.
"Who… are you?"
I hovered a bit closer, just outside of reach.
"I'm Eui, a Narrator Spirit."
"I don't guide. I don't interfere. I just tell the story."
"…My story?"
"If you want it to be."
You looked down at your borrowed hands. Flexed your fingers.
Felt the weight of grief hidden deep in this body's chest—whoever this boy once was, he had died feeling empty.
But now… he had a second chance.
"Then I want to travel," you said.
"Even if I don't know where to go. Even if it hurts."
"Will you come with me?"
I paused. My tail flicked once. Then again.
"Alright, wanderer. I'll follow. I'll remember every step."
That night, the forest remained quiet.
But for the first time… the trees listened.
Because a forgotten spirit had taken a name, a body, and a companion.
And somewhere, fate began to stir.