I have never been a fan of hikes, but this one had to be among the worst. Conversation was not my strongest suit, but unfortunately, we had nothing but time to fill with words. My mysterious savior maybe didn't live that far, but since he kept supporting me so that I wouldn't further strain my injured leg, even the short trip took us nearly three-quarters of an hour. At first, I hoped that we could get there in complete silence, but he apparently had a particular fondness for speaking.

"So, what is your name, stranger?"

I took a deep breath and wanted to answer him, but my thoughts swiftly stopped me. This was a new and different world. What if my name would sound too unusual? No, I needed to first see what the local naming conventions are.

"What is yours?" I asked, not really caring about how rude it may have sounded.

"Not a very trusting type, are you? Well, I'm Winchester. Pleased to meet you. Now, would you be so kind to tell me yours?"

I gave it a thought for a moment. It sounded very ordinary but seemed to lack any kind of a surname.

"I'm uh... Wright."

"Wright? That sounds so complicated."

"You're one to talk. Winchester is far too long," I replied automatically, not realizing how it sounded.

Idiot! Why did you just insult his name? Now he's gonna hate you even more. Possibly even leave you here in the forest. You should've stayed quiet. I thought to myself

"Then call me Winch. One lady in the city's marketplace calls me that. I think it's a pretty nice nickname."

"Yeah... alright then, Winch." I give him a very awkward smile. He smiled back, which convinced me that he didn't hold my rather rude behavior against me.

"What were you doing so far from the city anyway?" he followed up with the one question I didn't wish to answer.

"Well... To be honest, I don't really remember. I think I must've hit my head? I remember falling, then darkness, then waking up in the woods," I weaved myself a temporary backstory out of the fragments of truth.

"Really? Wow, sounds like one hell of a rough day, huh? But don't worry, once we get to my place, I will brew you this potion that helps with memory. Perhaps it will remind you of what happened."

"A potion?" I asked, slightly horrified by the idea.

"Yeah. I'm a herbalist. I collect plants, make potions, and then sell them in the city. It might not make me rich, but I've got food in my stomach, a roof over my head, and I make living off of something I enjoy. What more can one desire?"

My heart felt like someone was yanking it out of my chest. What more could one desire? So much. I always desired so much.

We walked for at least another half an hour. My leg hurt like never before, but the happiness of seeing a tiny shack appear before us worked as a fantastic painkiller. At least temporarily.

Despite that though, I could still feel incredible fatigue. I have always been physically weak. That's what you get for not doing any sports or going to the gym. My muscles were pretty much non-existent, just like my stamina. But in my defense, I never needed them for my job or hobbies. Nevertheless, I was definitely unprepared for the sudden trip through nature.

"Home sweet home," Winch exclaimed as he triumphantly opened the door to his house as if he was just escorting me to a royal palace.

"Let's get you on a chair. And in the meantime, allow me to show you around. This place is the kitchen, dining room, and also my personal library, all in one," he said as he lead me through a small room that truly seemed to encompass all these functions. A big wooden table was sitting in the middle, surrounded by several chairs. Cooking utensils and desks were gathered in one corner of the room, and in the opposite, right next to a staircase up into the attic, were two filled bookshelves. A very old and moldy-looking door opposite the entrance must've led to the basement, I assumed.

He helped me up to one of the chairs around the table. I sat down with a satisfying groan. It felt so nice not having to walk for a moment.

"Alright, let's see if I can help heal that leg," the man spoke and waved his arms through the air like some sort of a shaman. I watched this brief performance, strongly questioning its purpose. However, what happened once he was done blew my mind. The wooden floor seemed to shift and a large and soft flower bloomed right under my injured leg, lifting it up.

"What the fuck?!" I yelled.

"Don't worry. That's a healing flower. Just keep it there for a moment and the ankle should heal a lot faster.

My eyes could've fallen out of their sockets right there and then. I always wished that magic was real, but actually seeing it was something else. And although it slightly scared me, I had no reason not to trust the stranger. Within seconds, the dull pain subsided, replaced only by a slight tingly feeling. Whatever the plant was doing, it helped, so I decided to simply go along with it, at least for now.

"So, do you feel like walking around again? I want to show you to our room," Winch told me after a moment of rest. I carefully stood up and tested my balance. It still wasn't completely painless, but I would manage to move around at least a bit better than before.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Sure, that would be great."

He grabbed my hand and led me up the stairs, situated in the corner of the room. They lead to the attic, which was one big room as well, working pretty much as storage and bedroom at the same time.

"I know, it's probably not what you'd expect, but it's a really nice place once you get used to it. I sleep on that mat over there, and you can take the one on the other side of the room." I could see on Winch's face that he was very proud of his home.

"No, this place really looks great. Sure, it's a bit small, but I like how you managed to make use of every inch." My awkward nature made me scratch my head. I wasn't very good at giving compliments to other people, even though I enjoyed seeing them smile when they received them.

"Well, I am glad to hear that. Make yourself at home. Have some rest for now and call me if you need anything. Oh, and light the candles when you have time. I'll go and prepare something to eat in the meantime." Winch handed me a pack of matchsticks and went back downstairs. I lay down on the designated "bed" and wondered what to do. Curiosity was telling me to look inside some of the bags scattered around the room, but common sense was warning me not to stick my nose into the property of others. This time though, curiosity won. I limped my way to the end of the room and opened several large white bags I found there. I'm not quite sure what I was expecting. They were filled with what looked like food and some slimy mixture, probably used for preserving. None of the contents looked like anything I had ever seen before. It was practically impossible to tell if I was looking at fruits, vegetables, or meat from some unknown source. I was starting to worry a little bit about what he'd serve for the dinner.

Once my nosy nature was all satisfied, I did as he asked and lit the candles in the room. There were quite a few of them. It surprised me. The house was made solely of wood, so having so much fire in it must've been dangerous, but he told me to do so and I wanted to trust his judgment. Once all that was done, I sat down on the parapet and gazed outside. It was already getting dark, so I wanted to see if I'd notice any stars, maybe even the moon, if the place had any. But to my surprise, this world was completely dark. There was no celestial object illuminating the sky. In fact, the outside was pitch black too, which I attributed to the absence of the moon. Without it, there was nothing the Sunshine could reflect off of. Now I finally understood why Winch didn't want me to wander through the woods alone in the dark. In such an environment, I would most definitely fall somewhere and get hurt.

"Ah, I see you lit the candles as I asked." Winch's voice coming from behind startled me.

"Oh! Yeah, I did."

"Good. Wouldn't want to find you here in pieces. Come downstairs then. The dinner is ready." I stood there for a moment, completely unable to process his words. Find me in pieces? Did I hear that right? He used those words in such a simple manner as if it was just your everyday conversation topic. I had many questions I wanted to ask him, but his cheerful "Come on! Before it gets cold." quickly pulled me out of my thoughts.

What he made actually looked really great. It seemed like a grilled steak, but in reality, it was some seared sour fruit mixed with various spices that added sweetness. I found it surprisingly tasty.

"Why are you looking outside all the time?" Winch asked me after I looked out of the dining room's window for about a hundredth time.

"I was just wondering, how come we can't see any stars?"

"Stars? What is that?" I wasn't expecting such an answer. My heart sank to the bottom of my stomach when I realized that I might've given myself away. Why are you so goddamn stupid! The nagging voice in my head scolded me. Say something! Talk your way out of it! Come on! It's awkward silence!

"Umm... Never mind. I'm just not used to it being so dark outside. You know the city is always full of light." This answer seemed to have eased the tension. Winch smiled and nodded.

"Oh yeah, I bet the lamps keep you all safe. But still, don't tell me you guys aren't used to seeing at least some Darkness."

"Of course, there is some darkness. I mean, if there is the light of the day, there has to be the dark of the night. Heh, that's logical, no?" I tried to sound at least somewhat normal, and not like some sort of an alien.

"I'm not talking about just the dark of the night. I'm talking about The Darkness." I was not sure what to say to that. My brain was scrambling for an answer but found none. Eventually, I sighed and put the utensils down. This man healed me, cooked for me, and was pretty much my only guide in this new world. Perhaps it was better if I didn't hold secrets from him.

"I... Look, I wasn't exactly honest earlier. You see, I didn't lose my memory. I am... not from around here. It's difficult to explain, so I am gonna try my best, but let's just say that I died in a different world and then kinda... came here? So I don't really understand what you are talking about. The darkness, this food, the very soil I walk on is just one big mystery to me."

For a moment, Which didn't say a word, though his expression didn't show any significant shock either. Maybe a mild confusion.

"I... Wow. Okay, well, that is something. But I guess it doesn't really matter that much. If what you say is true, then let me start by giving you one tip that can save your life, okay? Always surround yourself with light. Darkness is everywhere. Once the sun sets, the Darkness appears. Nobody knows what it is or how it kills. All we know is that when you become enveloped by a total absence of light, you die almost instantly. Nobody ever saw it. All we know is that there are some creatures in the dark that kill whatever they can see. So there has to be a light at all times. Walls, doors, locks, spells, none of that can protect you. It's dark, you're dead. That's the first law of this world."

I was in absolute shock. Sure, this world had creatures in the dark, but let's be completely honest with ourselves, which world doesn't have something scary to it? Even my previous realm of existence had some crazy laws of nature. No, this wasn't the scary part. What frightened me was the fact that I knew this 'Darkness', and I knew it far too well. It was I who created it. This was from the world of my second novel. It took me ages to publish it and almost nobody liked it. A world where Darkness lives. Creatures of endless hunger roam the world without light, devouring what they can and hiding away from the light that kills them. What he described was one of my first creations. My mouth flew open and I stared out of the window, unable to bring myself to react in any other way.

"I see you finally realized it." Winch's tone of voice changed dramatically. The soft and happy sound was now replaced by someone who sounded like an irritated butcher. I looked him in the eyes. Suddenly, they felt different. As if the kind herbalist somehow disappeared. "Hahaha, man, it was worth it. That face you're making is just priceless. Ah, for a god, you are incredibly stupid, you know that?" At that moment, he was scaring me more than any creature of darkness.

"W-Who are you?" I asked the question that plagued my mind.

"You seriously don't know? Man, you're so dumb you don't even recognize your own children? That hurts, you know?" My children. Who was he? "Perhaps this will refresh your memory. My real name is Vincent Chester. Guess you didn't see through my disguise as easily as I thought you would. That's quite sad. We all know what you look like. Do you even know how you made us? Would you even recognize your own creations? Because clearly, you have some problems with that."

I remembered. "Vincent Chester, the thorn mage? The villain of my second book? No... This is messed up. This can't be right. You can't be him!"

"So you do remember me? Great. Don't worry, right now, you are in denial. But that will get fixed very soon, Eddie. Welcome to your own world. And to your worst nightmare."