A Lifetime to Remember

In the southern part of the Nightjar Forest, was the famous story of a dryad.
Modern people may say that dryads are the allies of the forest, a symbol of kindness
who helps people lost in the forest to return to their home. But dryads in actuality were
bloodthirsty monsters who trap people using illusion, and then slowly suck those men’s
life force as food while keeping them alive until those men died years later as dry
corpses.

Here comes our protagonist, an adventurer. He was a Reincarnator which came

from the modern Earth. In one of his adventures, he encountered these rumors about the
existence of a dryad monster in the Nightjar Forest. As a former modern man who reads
stories about dryads, he became curious and came searching for the truth of those
rumours. But what a rotten luck that he really did get caught by the dryad when he was
asleep at his camp, and caught in an illusion.

“Mnn?” He woke up in the dining room. His father said, “So, do you
understand? This marriage is very crucial to both of our family. As business partners,
there’s no more gesture of trust and assurance better than this. Don’t worry about
whether or not you like her, both of you could each obtain another partner, as long as
you did it secretly. Your marriage will be arranged at…”

He was startled by what his father said, “Arranged marriage? Polyandry? What
the f*ck!” But before he could voice his dissent, the scenery changed. But he didn’t
even realize that the sudden change of scenery was weird.

At the day of the marriage, in the time of consummation, he was still in his
groom uniform, and the wife was still covered in her veil. They are alone in the
beautifully adorned room. He feels that he doesn’t know anything about this person
sitting beside him, all the more about what she is currently thinking. This was also his
first marriage, his first time in a room alone with a woman, and his first time ever sit so
close to a woman!
 His heart beat faster than the fast and the furious, faster than the need for speed,
and faster than formula one! He doesn’t even know why he was thinking something so
unrelated to the topic like right now! Maybe it was his way to escape reality.

The clock is ticking, the awkwardness increases, the tension became unbearable!
The tension which in turn made him brave enough to say, “Can I open your veil?” In his
plan, when came the moment when he look at the bride’s face after this, he would make
himself appear awestruck speechless for a while and say “You are beautiful” to break
the ice. That way, even if the wife was ugly he would not hurt her feelings, and when
she is beautiful, he would also gain benefit!

The wife sitting beside him didn’t even face his way when she nodded a little, shyly.

So he braved himself, braced himself for the unknown, he raised his hand raise
her veil gently. At first, he doesn’t know what he’s currently looking, but when the face
was unveiled fully, he really was struck speechless… Because the wife, was really ugly!

Her face was covered in greenish things of unknown substance, her skin was
dry, her mouth was dry, the little bit of teeth that could be seen was not white but black,
her eyes were white like there’s a grey layer covering her pupils, and her hair looks
coarse. Even the part of her body which was covered by bride gown was covered in
those greenish substance!

But when he looked at how sad her face appeared, he realized his fatal mistake.
He had made a girl sad! He had made his own wife sad! He has revealed in his face that
he was disgusted by his own wife! Quickly, to make up for it, he kissed her all over her
face! He kissed her intently! Like it was the most beautiful face he had ever seen!

In this situation, he doesn’t feel any words he said would appear sincere to her,
so he just shut up, and prove his admiration by action! The consummation progressed
further steadily.

It was until both of them were naked, and his limp thing was revealed. No matter
what he did, no matter what his wife did on the attempt to make him happy with her, it
doesn’t want to stand up! He knows the reason, and he thinks that she knew the reason,
but he made up his reasoning anyway, saying that, “I’ve been like this since who knows
when, I hope that you won’t be mad at me. If you accept me for what I am, I promise
with my life I will give you the best time of your life!”

She knew that the reason why his thing won’t wake up was that because he was
internally disgusted by her appearance. But when she heard him says that, she rejected
her own logic and accepted his excuse whole! In shyness, she timidly answered with a
whisper that almost like silence, “I, I.., yes!”

That night, even though the husband’s thing stayed asleep like that, both of them
attempted to pleasure the other the best that they can. And the scenery changed again.

Even though the sudden change of scenery repeated for many times, he doesn’t
even realize that it was happening. Even though their normal day-to-day household
activities were skipped, every key events and first times were played as is. Each and
every tribulation was passed by the second, the emotions and the background story
seemed real, and even though there are some differences, they always survived it
together and stronger than ever.

But it doesn’t mean the root of the problem changed. Deep inside he was still in
revulsion towards her face, which in turn prohibited his thing for doing its thing,
resulting in them not having any children. The wife knew and saddened by this, but she
also knew that his care was real. Even though the love was false, the affection was true.
Because of how she cared about him, she has been saying that she was willing for his
man to take another wife, but he never did.

It was after some years that the wife starts falling sick. The cause was unknown.
She can’t even walk around by herself. Due to that, the husband retired early and built a
small shop at home. The income was not good, but enough for two. Their parents are
business oriented people machine, and those people have left both of them alone after
their joint business fallen apart. She only got him, and he only got her.

The wife was saddened by how her husband was suffering because of her, which
in turn worsened her complexion. And the husband was also saddened by how her wife
was increasingly frail and weak.
 It was at the critical moment when life would be gone from his wife at any
moment that the husband realized that he was in fact in an illusion! He somewhat
realized that the wife he cared affectionately for all this time was, in fact, a dryad
monster! That makes his revulsion towards her increased, he was confused and
despaired, did all of their feeling for each other for all this time even real? Or is it just
him being manipulated by this dryad? And it was that time that he somewhat
understood that the reason of his “wife’s” sickness was because the dryad was close to
escaping the illusion!

He was going to be mad and say harsh words to her, but when he opens the door
to their room and saw the withered and sickly figure of his wife, his sole wife for all
these years, he decided to forget all of his logic and reasoning, and allowed himself to
be overwhelmed by gentleness instead. He sat silently beside the bed, holding her hand,
and watched her peaceful sleeping face.

He lost in thought for quite some time, and didn’t even realized that his wife has
been awake since some time ago, also staring at him with gentleness. After quite some
time in which both are shrouded in silence and thoughts, even though weakly and
almost like a whisper she finally said, “Husband, this life, I, I don’t know how long I
will be able to.., tomorrow, maybe even today? My life is done and I’ve been happy
with it. Living with you was the best time of my life.”

“Husband, did you remember what you promised with your life on our first
night together? I want to say you have fulfilled your promise… but you haven’t. I am
content in this life, but I don’t know if I can be content in the afterlife! Don’t you want
me to be happy in there? If you want me to be forever happy… don’t ever be sad
because of me. I will be happy when you are happy. When you are happy, you have
fulfilled your promise to me to make me happy.”

She was gasping for breath while holding her husband hands tightly, but in front
of her husband, she was masking the fact that she was in so much bodily pain with a
gentle smile on her face. She said, “Isn’t a promise by the name of our own life the most
sacred thing in the world?”
 The husband’s heart was split in two by the realness of his feeling and
experience with her in this illusionary world, but also torn by the fact that it is all an
illusion. He wanted all of this to be true, but yet, he doesn’t, because this wife of him
would forever vanish and woke up as the dryad monster. Will her personality in this
illusion became the truth or none of it would remain?

“Husband, there’s something I’ve never dared to tell you, afraid that you would
left me. But now only in the deathbed, I know how stupid I am, the kind you would
never left me because of this. Husband, the truth is that my father has been cursed by a
dryad demon. By some way of another, I was the one which the curse is befallen, my
skin became dry and there’s a chance that if I suffer extreme despair, it could turn me
forever into a dryad monster.”

“Sometimes, I suffered this particular nightmare where I turn into a dryad. In

that dream I despaired so much that I lost all faith in humanity. I kill human left and
right, it was like all human was my enemy. But I know husband, I was stupid, it was a
stupid dream. How could I lose faith in humanity when there’s someone like you? How
could they become my enemy when one of them is you?”

It was at that point that he couldn’t hold back his tears. The story seemed to tell
an alternate reality, something that truly did happen that is very well the opposite of
their life together in this illusionary world! And somehow, his revulsion for her in all
this time vanished without a trace! Sobbing, he couldn’t hold back and said, “Wife,
even if the nightmare was the truth and our life together is but an illusion, I am sure that
my feelings for you are all true.”

Without saying anything he immediately kissed his sole wife, even if they have
been living together for years, this will be the time when he and she truly became a
husband and wife, because this is the night where all trace of his revulsion of her were
gone and the real consummation can begin!

Even if this “first time” was painful for her, it feels that her happiness today
numbed all pains and turned it to pleasure. This is the first time where she truly feels
that she had repaid her husband kindness, however only a bit. And miraculously, her
health since that day began to improve. Maybe it was because all her sadness is gone
along with the blood of her virginity, or because of the feeling of having the way to
repay her husband’s kindness little by little.

It was the day when love truly began to bloom between them. The wife was still
ugly, but the husband doesn’t feel any revulsion anymore. He truly loved and cherished
her. And one year later, their first kid was born. Life was good, and year by year the
husband started to forgot that this was all an illusion!

When they became old and wrinkly, their first son cared for them. The daughter-
in-law was kind, and their grandchildren were naughty but cute! These were happy
memories, but somewhat their earlier experiences sailing through sadness and
tribulations were more memorable. But it doesn’t mean that these later experiences
weren’t memorable though!

In deathbed, this time, the wife didn’t say much, she only smiled and said, “See
you later, pipi…” “Yeah, wait for me, mimi… ehehe.” When the wife died, the husband
suddenly thunderstruck by realization! This was an illusion, and in the outside world,
the dryad monster which woke up first could kill him anytime!

But when he saw the smiling face of his departed wife in this illusion, he feels
content. It was enough. This life was enough. Even if his “wife”, the dryad killed him, it
would be okay. Let this be the only reality for him. But, if somewhat his wife existed
“inside” that monster and it didn’t kill him, maybe someday he could find a cure for her,
and return to this day together as husband and wife. But at that time, that life will be the
real thing!

He wakes up in darkness, and when he reached, he feels that he was wrapped up

in silk. This layer of silk, despite being thick, was surprisingly easy to break. He
emerged from something like a cocoon. He was still inside the hole he first came in, but
deeper. He can’t see any trace of the dryad, and the hole was filled with nothing. He was
unsure whether his “wife” has shown mercy to him or she just left for a while and kill
him later. So he left…