Velara wasn’t here when I woke up this morning. Like yesterday food was ready in the kitchen. I grabbed a wooden bowl from the counter, the broth was kept warm over a fire in the kitchen chimney. It looked the same as the one from yesterday, vegetables floating in a sea of green liquid, pieces of meat isolated like islands lost at sea. A bowl of cereal and a mug of coffee would have been perfect.
It was better than spending the day with an empty stomach, I went through the motions, cleaned up my plate, washed the few dirty dishes in the bassin placed there for this. I was done when Treg called my name, focusing on what he was telling me, I only understood the word Gustav, well granted that’s a name but what did you expect after only one day of learning the language? With his speech done he left only to be replaced by another guard. He looked like one of the guards patrolling the street.
The way to Gustav’s was boring. The guard, a man no older than 17 had short hair, some facial hair was beginning to show on his otherwise neatly shaved face. He was completely silent, this suited me just fine as I had some thinking to do.
By now I had come up with three theories as to what was happening to me.
First I could be in a coma or a dream, a long weird dream more elaborate and complex than any dream was supposed to be. This would mean that everything was in my head, some amalgam of movies, series and books mixing to give me this world. But everything feels real, the dream, if it is a dream, is consistent and most importantly I don’t understand the local language. Why would people speak another language if this was a dream, there’s a clear structure when they talk, the worlds I learned are like nothing I’ve heard before. It would be unlikely that my brain would go to the trouble of creating a brand new language and not give me the ability to speak it.
That brings me to my second theory. Everything here could be virtual. Virtual reality technology has been available for a few years now, headsets aren’t that expensive anymore. But, from what I know, the technology shouldn’t be near to what I’m experiencing. Besides why would they test it on me? All things said, this theory is highly improbable.
The last possibility would be that I am in another world. Either through magic or by being transported by highly intelligent space aliens to another galaxy. This would be bad, returning home would become exponentially more difficult to impossible. Unfortunately after two days this theory was gaining more and more credit.
The wisest course of action is to treat everything as if it was real, if this is another world I wouldn’t want to die by doing something stupid.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
The next morning.
Treg woke me up a few minutes ago, he seemed agitated. When I got out of my room, yesterday’s guard had already replaced him. I ate quickly and soon I was out for another incredible day in the shoes of a 2nd grader.
Learning a new language is hard, on the bright side I know all my letters by now. I don’t think that Gustav intended to teach me how to read but after four years of college memorizing was one of my greatest assets.
The lessons went otherwise without a hitch, Gustav seemed as happy about his new student as he was yesterday. Meaning he didn’t want to do it but didn’t have a choice. He did seem a bit more irritable today, it was hard to say I didn’t know him enough.
The village was silent when we were done, the sun was setting dying the blue sky a tint of red. One of the moons was peaking over the horizon, the early night blanketed the little valley. The air was crisp. A gentle wind blew from the south, rustling leaves and lifting sand. The last rays of light danced with the shadows on the ground, the wind directing the movements of the dancing picture.
Villagers were rushing home, doors were closed, windows were shut. Walking in the middle of the road, a silent guardian to my right, the spectacle was breathtaking. The contrast between the beauty of this world and the hurried steps of the villagers was all the more blatant.
Surprisingly the guard followed me inside my temporary home when we arrived. He sat down at the table and started to eat some bread and fruits left over there. The fire in the kitchen was dead, the pot was cold and empty. Looks like it’s bread for tonight, I’m not particularly hungry, they have provided enough food up until now.
We ate in silence, each on us lost in their thoughts.
Something was off today, I couldn’t ask what was going on but it was obvious that this situation was not normal.
A few minutes after we were done with our dinner, the guard pulled a flask from somewhere, he proceeded to take a few sips before passing it to me.
I would love to say that, after years of partying in college and tempering my stomach with all sorts of alcohol, the drink passed smoothly and that I wiped my lips with a satisfied sigh after my first drink but that would be a lie.
The alcohol was stronger than I expected, I couldn’t stop coughing for a few seconds. My experience consisted mostly of beers, not whatever that drink was supposed to be.
The guard seemed amused but didn’t comment on it.
We kept drinking into the night, passing the flask like a ping pong ball. Well like a ball that would stop for a few minutes on one side before I could take a couple of sips and pass it over.
I was drunk when I stumbled onto my bed, the liquor was strong and my stomach unprepared. It didn’t take long before sleep took me and my world was darkness again.
Half asleep a thought passed through my mind, damn these springs are really digging into my back.