In the forest where everything begins…
"Hahaha… it's real. It's really happening!"
The words tore themselves from his throat in a sound that had been locked away for decades. He could feel his body again. Every part of it. His feet, his legs, his waist, his torso, his arms, his shoulders—every limb was alive, trembling with the strange joy of motion he had never truly known. "I can move it! I can move it! Hahaha!"
Tears streamed freely down his face, catching the sunlight and reflecting it in tiny prisms that danced like the river beside him. The river, flowing calm and steady, seemed to join his joy, gurgling and sparkling over smooth stones. For someone who had suffered from Locked-in Syndrome his entire life—trapped in a body that refused him almost everything from his earliest memories into his twenties—this moment was nothing short of miraculous.
(Locked-in Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder, had left him fully paralyzed, able to control only vertical eye movements and blinking. Until now, every wish, every thought, had been trapped inside a mind that could not act. Until now.)
He raised his gaze to the sky, breath coming in short, broken gasps. "H–how can I ever thank you… for this gift?" His voice shook, thick with emotion. "I–I am truly… really grateful for this chance…"
And then he laughed again, a deep, resonant sound, raw and full of life. His smile spread slowly across his face, unrestrained, uncalculated, and unburdened by years of frustration. It was genuine, pure, thankful. It was the smile of someone who had been freed after a lifetime of imprisonment.
"I'll do it. I'll do it!" he cried, punching the air, his fist trembling and coiling as he raised it toward the sky. "Let's gooooo! Time for an adventureeee!"
He lowered himself into a crouch and then straightened, marveling at the sensation of weight shifting through his legs, the subtle pull of gravity on his spine, the resistance and give of his muscles. He took a tentative step forward, then another, testing balance, finding it, and laughing all the while. The grass beneath his feet was cool, soft, and alive with dew. Each blade pressed against his skin, tickling, grounding him in the miracle of the present.
The forest stretched around him, vibrant and breathing. Trees swayed gently with the wind, leaves whispering in a language only nature understood. Sunlight filtered through the canopy in golden beams, touching him here and there as if blessing his first steps. Vines coiled lazily around the trunks of ancient trees, their green lushness radiant. The smell of moss, earth, and water filled his nose, intoxicating him with life. He breathed deeply, realizing he had never known such a scent.
He laughed again, louder this time, until it echoed through the clearing. "I… I can feel it all!" he shouted, spinning in a circle, arms wide, tears still streaming. His body was a symphony of sensations—weight, motion, warmth, air, and sunlight. Each step he took was like discovering the world for the very first time.
He knelt beside the river and ran his hands through the water, watching it slip past his fingers, smooth and cool. "It's… it's real," he whispered, almost reverently. "Everything… it's all real…" The water reflected the sky, and in it, he caught glimpses of himself—hair long and dark green, eyes bright with unrestrained wonder, skin pale against the sunlit forest. He smiled at the reflection, tracing the outline of his hands in the flowing river, amazed at the simple miracle of touch.
After a moment, he stood and stretched, savoring the strength in his limbs. The world around him seemed to pulse in rhythm with his heartbeat. Birds called to one another in high, sweet tones. Small animals rustled through the underbrush, curious and unafraid. A deer stepped lightly into view, paused, and then bounded away without fear. Everything was alive—and now, so was he.
He began to explore. Every movement was careful yet jubilant. He ran his fingers along the bark of a nearby tree, rough and solid beneath his touch. He bent to pick up a fallen leaf, watching sunlight dance through its veins, a pattern delicate and intricate beyond his imagination. He pressed it against his cheek and smiled. "I… I can feel this," he said softly. "I can really feel…"
The forest seemed endless. Every step revealed something new: mushrooms nestled against tree roots like tiny cities, flowers in colors he had never known, insects flitting past him in chaotic harmony. He marveled at each detail, laughing to himself at the sheer vibrancy of life. Every sensation was amplified, unfamiliar yet completely natural. His body remembered nothing, yet his mind rejoiced in the freedom to explore.
He paused in a clearing where the sunlight poured down like molten gold. Kneeling, he pressed his palms to the soft earth, feeling the texture of soil, the subtle vibrations of life beneath him. He closed his eyes and let himself sink into the sensation, overwhelmed by the reality of motion and touch. For decades, he had imagined what it would feel like to move. Now, every thought became action, every desire became movement.
"I can… walk," he whispered, standing slowly. "I can… run. I can jump. I can… live."
Tears streamed freely again, hot and bright against his pale cheeks. "Thank you," he said, voice cracking. "Thank you… Kami. For everything…"
He lifted his gaze to the sky, arms wide, embracing the infinite canopy above. Wind ruffled his hair, and the sunlight seemed to pulse along with the river, the leaves, the forest itself. He laughed, a sound full of reckless joy and wonder. "This… this is mine! I can… I can finally do it!"
He ran. The first step was tentative, careful, almost hesitant. The second and third were faster, more confident. Soon he was sprinting, arms outstretched, laughing at the freedom coursing through his body. Each blade of grass pressed against his legs, each bump of the earth sent signals of delight through his muscles. He spun in circles, jumping and landing, feeling his body obey him perfectly for the first time in his life.
At one point, he paused to lean against a tree, panting, heart racing—not from exhaustion, but from elation. He traced the rough bark with both hands, eyes wide. "It's… everything," he said softly. "It's all here… I can… I can feel it all…"
A flock of birds rose into the sky, startled by his laughter, their wings slicing through the golden light. He followed them with his eyes, marveling at their effortless freedom. "Just like them," he whispered. "I… I can finally be free too…"
Then, looking up once more, he raised his fists to the sky, coiled tightly, full of determination and pure joy. "Let's goooo!" he shouted. "Adventure… here I come!"
For the first time, decades of paralysis, decades of silence, decades of helplessness, felt like a distant memory. This was not recovery. This was not second best. This was life—real, vibrant, unrestrained life—and it was his.
And as he ran deeper into the forest, the river beside him laughing along its course, the sun casting dappled patterns across the earth, he whispered again, this time to no one and everyone at once:
"Thank you… Kami… I won't waste this. I won't ever waste this…"
The forest stretched endlessly before him, filled with mystery, danger, and wonder. And Moon—finally alive—stepped forward, every muscle, every sinew, every breath of his being rejoicing in a world that had waited decades for him to arrive.
♤