Looking back at it again, I wasn’t good at all. I didn’t know how to save my money, and all I could do was just try to live my everyday life passively.

I woke up early and went to sleep late. Every day after work, when I finally returned home, I cooped myself up in my room, which I decorated to suit my tastes and make it even more comfortable. The black walls with pink and purple camellias and other flowers stretching out, and the blue LEDs over the computer’s monitor gave a sinister aura to the room at night.

I didn’t have much in my apartment, apart my computer and my phone I didn’t care about anything else. After a quick shower, I got into my pajamas and sat on the chair in front of my desk, with my phone in hand I started browsing the net looking for updates about my favorite comics and novels.

After I read the new chapters of the stories I did like the most, I turned on my computer and started playing an MMORPG that I discovered not too long ago.

…

After that, you ask?

Well, I don’t remember.

When I woke up again it was snowing and I found myself in the body of an abandoned orphan, lying on an alley’s pavement, covered in rugs, with my stomach grumbling and aching. I stank so much that I almost vomited, but nothing came out of my mouth since nothing could be found in my stomach either.

I looked around surprised and scared, then got up and started wandering around until I reached the main street flooding with smiling and chatting people. None of them looked my way, and I remained in the shadows observing the world I had in front of me.

The first thing that caught my eyes was the myriad of colors that enveloped all the people, and some objects too. After some time, when I could focus on what I had in front of me other than colors, I noticed the clothes which were so strange and unusual: some men and women were wearing strange gowns, others walked in trousers or even shorts! Capes were floating around, and bizarre people wearing what seemed like armor had swords at their waists.

After that I observed my surroundings and decided that the architecture was what seemed the most normal (by the standards I was used to of course). The european-looking buildings were all made with stone and had around 3 to 6 floors. What made me curious was that some buildings had doors and windows that were dimly glowing with different colors. Some had a red hue, others a blue one, or green, yellow, orange…

My head was spinning because of all the colors I was seeing, and my senses started to get numb. I decided to walk in the opposite direction and ventured further away from the crowded street. After some turns and bumps, I ended up near a store. An enchanting smell of bread and sweets was coming from it. I stopped in front of the back door and looked around, hoping to find something like a bin with some leftovers in it, but there weren’t any, so I stared at the door in front of me thinking about what I should do.

I was so hungry; my stomach was protesting asking to be filled with food. Then the door opened.

A bulky man, probably in his forties, stared at me with a hard expression, then he returned inside and closed the door behind him.

Damn! I should’ve told him to stop and beg for some food. Why won’t words come out when needed?

Fortunately, just when a tear was about to drop, the door opened again, and the man returned with a loaf of bread. He extended it towards me without saying a word.

I hesitated for half a beat and then leaped at the crunchy, warm, and appetizing bread that was given to me. My brain blackened out the moment I took the first bite, and in just a matter of minutes my meal was gone, and I was chocking when my hand grabbed something cool, I looked at the glass in my hand and drank the cold water.

When I was finally able to breathe again normally, I took some moments to recompose myself, then straightened my back and with my two tiny hands handed the glass back to the man who was still staring at me.

He took it, and always wearing a stoic expression, started walking back into the store.

This time I didn’t hesitate: “Wait!”

Ok, I didn’t know if the man could understand me, after all that wasn’t my world, but trying didn’t cost anything. Fortunately, the man stopped and turned. He looked at me up and down, before saying something: “---- ------.”

In that moment a voice ringed in my mind.

[New language detected. Analyzing. Language: Artorian. Loading data.]

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

My eyes widened when together with the voice also a window appeared in front of me. My situation was already strange, and it didn’t hit me right away, but after this something started to swirl, twisting my insides, and making my head spin again, letting my tears roll down my cheeks as a flood.

[Data loaded. You can now speak Artorian language.]

“Hey kid! Why are you crying?!” The man spoke again and this time I understood what he told me. In that moment I completely freaked out and started wailing even harder. The man panicked, and, after hesitating for a second, put his hand on my shoulder-

And then I lost consciousness. Finally, it got to me: I was not in my body, my comfy room, my lovely and monotonous city. I was not in my world anymore.

It scared me so much. I’ve lost everything I had. My life wasn’t adventurous, but I loved that boring and secure life of mine. I didn’t even transmigrate into the body of a wealthy family child’s body, but in that of an abandoned one. I had nothing, and a strange voice talked in my mind too. There was no god to explain what was happening to me, giving me some kind of guidelines or superpowers.

I didn’t want to think anymore. All I desired was to return to the comfortable darkness that I was used to.

***

The next day when I opened my eyes, I was laying on a couch with a blanket covering my tiny body.

My swelled and puffy eyes were itching, and my body felt heavy and rigid. I remained like that for some time, until I regained control on my body. I started by moving my fingers first, then arms, legs, and lastly, I tried to get up.

“You shouldn’t move. The doctor said you have severe malnourishment, and a really weak body. It’ll take you some time before you can recover completely.” The man from the night before walked through the door and came closer to me with a perplexed look on his face. He seemed to be concerned about me.

“T-“ I tried thank him, but couldn’t even finish the first word because of the hoarse throat. The man understood immediately and vanished through the door just to return with a glass of water which I chugged down and then tried to say again: “Thank- you.”

“You don’t have to thank me, but my wife. She was the one that took care of you after you lost consciousness. You then slept for four days. She was really worried about you and stayed by your side day and night.”

Four days. Oh. So, it wasn’t last night, but four days ago! I gave myself a quick look and noticed that I was completely clean and fresh, my clothes changed into a white shirt and blue shorts.

“I’ll tell her my thanks too. But it was you, mister, who gave me something to eat. So, thank you.”

The man looked at me with pitiful eyes, then shook his head: “No need to thank me. I didn’t see… kids… like you…,” he hesitated, and his eyes wandered around, then in a lower voice he said, “wandering kids like you. There weren’t any roaming the streets for many years already. Usually if parents decide to abandon a child, or something happens to them, the child is sent to the imperial palace.”

What he told me was quite surprising, and I wanted to make more questions, but his pale complexion made me keep my mouth shut. Instead, I told him: “Please let me stay here. I can do whatever is needed, be it cleaning or cooking or anything else… I,” this time it was me who hesitated, with tears filling my eyes, “I-I-I have nowhere. Nowhere to go.”

It hurt me so much to say those words out loud. I was admitting that I was alone in this world. Surely this child was given birth to by someone, yet I felt from the instant that I opened my eyes in this world that there were no parents. This child was completely alone. I somehow knew it, but I couldn’t say why I did.

So, following that instinct of mine, I said out loud the truth.

The man’s face was reddening, and his eyes glistened, but before tears could run down, he shut his eyes and cleared his throat, then he said in a shaky yet stern voice: “Nowhere you say? Well, then… As long as you can be of help, you can stay here. This room isn’t usually used to sleep in. We will give you a bed later on. You will have to help us with cleaning, or other things. Is that alright with you?”

“Yes! Thank you!” I was so happy. I secured myself a warm place and meals, so I won’t die somewhere on the streets, covered by the chilling snow, rotting away until someone would find my corpse.

“Oh, and do you have a name?”

A name. This child had a name? Maybe yes, maybe no. I didn’t know so it was ok for me to come up with a new one. I didn’t want to use the one I had in the other world, yet I still wanted one that could remind me of it. The first name that came to my mind was that of the main character of a book I read not too long ago.

“Feyra.”

“Fey… rah?” The man said it a couple of times before he got it right.

And while he was mumbling something, I asked him: “May I know your name, sir?”

He looked at with a surprised look and then burst into laughter: “Hahahaha! You have quite the eye! I served in the army for quite some years, but it’s the first time someone has called me ‘sir’ after I retired. I’m no ‘sir’ anymore, kid. Mister will do. In any case, my name is Johan. Pleased to meet you Feyra.”

“Can’t I call someone ‘sir’?” I asked puzzled.

“Oh, you don’t know? The title ‘sir’ can only be used with army officials and imperial knights. But not with city guards, which are not under direct control of the imperial family.” He explained, while still smiling.

“I understand. I don’t know much, so if you could teach me more, I would be very grateful.” I smiled back to him, but the next words made a chill run down my spine.

“Uhm, can I ask you where you come from? You said you were alone? Did your parents die? Oh, If you don’t want to tell me, it’s ok. But judging by the way you speak I had the impression of talking with an older person, or… well, a child of higher breed...”

My mind processed his words as quickly as it could and, in the end, I decided to say the truth: “I… I don’t remember… They…” Tears started naturally flowing down my cheeks.

Johan patted my head and filled up himself the other part of my truth: “I’m sorry. Now, now. Don’t cry. I bet your parents are in a better place now. You can count on me and my wife from now on. Since you don’t have anywhere to go to, you can stay here.”

I nodded while wiping off my tears, in that moment another voice came from the door: “Oh, she’s awake!”

When I looked in that direction a dazzlingly bright light made me close my eyes.