I didn’t know if I felt proud when two strangers trailed behind me. Uncomfortable, probably. The more their footsteps crunched the gravel from behind the more it convinced me that I was not in a fever dream. My strides became long and square, my shoulders tensing up as if I expected them to ask for something in return. People always had an ulterior motive.

Anxiousness brewed inside me as their conversation amongst the two ensued; I recognized the comments from the videos from America. The ones where an ignorant-minded individual would yell at someone to ‘speak English’. It must’ve made them uncomfortable when hearing a language they didn’t understand. Though even I had to deal with foreigners in the city, tourists, or some other kind. But this was different. At some point, I wanted to stop walking again, as I carried myself through the mess I’d dug myself into.

For a strange reason I knew where the door to the original world was. Perhaps it was a special ability, like that voice in my head. My confidence showed enough that I opted to cut through the forest and detracted from the dirt road.

Eventually we… I arrived at the place where I had entered this parallel world. Surrounding the door was void of trees, the flat plain arranged in a neat circle as if some divine being had cleared the way. From a distance, white petals danced in the afternoon gale in a spiraling flutter. My sweat felt like raindrops in the breeze. Birds flew from above, while the sun bestowed its presence over this courtyard-like spectacle. It was so beautiful that my body couldn’t even move.

Except that I’d forgotten I’d been run over by a truck a few hours back. The adrenaline my body ran on had ended. I limped only a few steps before my legs gave out. Otoko cried out before he rushed towards me in a panic. His worried face became the last thing my eyes could record before they shut.

“Listen to me, Kawari. For the sake of the Pacification…”

The voice jolted me awake, forcing my eyes to open to a mere flicker of a flame. I was lying down, and some sort of blanket hugged me. The flicker I heard was from a campfire illuminating the dim area around me, its heat fending the cold air. I sat upward to notice fresh bandages had been wrapped around my arm and leg. My joints riveted as my neck turned to scan the surroundings.

“Daighob?”

Was he asking if I was okay? To the right, the door with the rock wedged in the sill sat conspicuously in the gravel. On my left, Otoko sat tending to the fire, his axe resting on his shoulder and his red scarf missing. Onna on the other hand was standing beside him, holding a pail. Their eyes shifted towards me. I quickly looked away. I knew this feeling. I wasn’t scared of them, but was embarrassed that they’d helped me again.

Otoko said nothing but threw more kindle into the pile. Sounds of creatures I’d never heard before echoed in the night. Ones like a siren, others like an owl. Drooping trees lowered their branches in slumber. I gulped and straightened my back.

“Um...”

Otoko and Onna both tilted their heads before looking at each other again. Maybe they were going to expect some sort of payment? The young man then reached out his hand.

“Zuhyo.” An array of stats appeared to him as he began fiddling with the screen. I still couldn’t figure out how they could summon that screen-like thing. My mouth opened again.

“How can I do ‘Zuhyo’?” It wasn’t even a second in and I realized how bad of a question it was. And they wouldn’t even understand me. Otoko stared and shook his head gently. He cleaned the dirt off his pants and stood up to sit next to me.

“Zuhyo dyanee.” He waved his head from left to right, and then pointed to me. “Tahblo. Tah, buh, loh.”

I guessed he wanted me to repeat it. “Tah, buroh.”

[System Announcement]

Lingual Cognizance UP

0 >>> 1

+1

[https://i.imgur.com/CuoHnig.png]

I didn’t notice how my face twinkled. The shock came to me as my own list of stats manifested before me in a blink of an eye. I faced Otoko again, showing a slight excitement. Otoko’s look gave a surprised, albeit warm smile that formed across his face. As if he had been working towards a consensual understanding between us for the first time. He asked the same question again.

“Daighob?”

Words couldn’t describe the sentiment as I stared long and hard at the screen before me. Redolent of my childhood, my youth when a younger version of me would smile with glee at the new game that would release. My mind had a lot of questions, but I was happy with the progress in understanding this world. I decided to respond back to him.

“DaighobI'm okay.”

[System Announcement]

Lingual Cognizance UP

1 >>> 2

+1

The two of them glanced with astonishment upon hearing my reply. I hoped that I knew what it meant, given the context. Otoko closed his eyes, tapping his foot on the ground. Meanwhile Onna gave me quite a disgusted look as if I was trash. She spoke to Otoko and lifted a finger at him, while he opened one eye and said a few words. Without warning Onna leaned towards me. My back arched as she reached in and grabbed my shoulder.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Antan kot zezen qini shtenai khara ne!” Onna yelled directly into my ear. I kept myself straight and resisted the shove she gave me. Otoko raised his hand to her head. He flicked her with his finger and her eyes widened. It wasn’t long before she stormed off to the other side of the campfire, her blue cloak reflecting in the blazing light. Otoko sighed and stretched his legs. I read the atmosphere that he turned in for the night once he took off his headgear.

I shifted back to Onna, who’d turned her back to me, gazing at the darkness ahead. My conscious was worried about sleeping, although my body gradually forced itself to lie down on the ground. A starry sky of exploding colors was enough for me to ignore the rocks digging into my back. And this blanket, which I now realized was Otoko’s scarf, provided me the warmth of the fire and cloth.

Worrying about my life behind that door, I asked myself whether my mother was worried back in the apartment. If I could go back anytime as long as I protected the gateway, then I could explore this world a bit more. I wondered what would become of those job interviews… my responsibilities.

And so, I reached my hand out into the sky, desperately trying to grasp what I thought I understood.

“The Royal Marshal is suspicious of you.”

A bug decided to serve as my alarm clock as it droned on my face. A pang of pain reöcurred as I flipped myself upright, attempting to swat the vermin in the air. I faced the sun. It was still hiding over the horizon. The fire had been reduced to mere cinders, a scent of ash and smoke tingling my nose. Early birds sang their morning song.

Otoko was still fast asleep. I would’ve predicted that he’d be awake, given how diligent and collected he was. Maybe Onna was awake. On the contrary she was also sleeping on a wooden log. I dared not to disturb her. How were they not curious about the door?

“Huh, what happened to keeping watch in the night?...” I murmured to myself as I scratched the brows of my eyes. The door was still ajar, with the rock I’d wedged in there yesterday. Then an idea came to me.

My room was the same as I’d left it. With the mundane furniture and empty bed, it seemed no one from the other world had crossed through it yet. I sighed in relief. Slipping myself through the door and shutting it quietly I searched my room for something. Anything. A pencil, paper, or an object that would shock some people.

I’d wanted to give Otoko and Onna a gift from my world, after saving me thrice. The unease of them robbing me for something I also contemplated, which is why I wanted to find some trinkets now. Searching the drawers and cabinets, they were all emptied out soon after I graduated high school. There had to be something left. And there was.

By the time I returned back to the humble campsite, Otoko and Onna were already awake. They stayed and stared at each other silently for a couple of seconds, their eyes widening as if I appeared from thin air. Maybe that was how it looked to them. A door that connected two worlds… Probably a crazy concept that would exist in legend. I stuffed the trinkets in my back pocket, while Otoko resumed biting a piece of smoked meat.

“Oha, syin’nin.” He greeted me and wrapped the scarf I’d borrowed back around his neck again. I stared back awkwardly and bowed.

“O… Oha.G… Good morning”

[System Announcement]

Lingual Cognizance UP

2 >>> 3

+1

Eventually I came to recognize that system announcement. Without help I deduced that every time I learned a new word, my Lingual Cognizance stat would go up. Whether or not I knew how the stat worked, I had not the slightest clue.

Otoko gestured to me, while I spent my time comprehending how everything worked. With a blank face, he pointed to the ground, “Ter. Teh, ruh.”

Combined with his straight face and dull voice it left me bewildered for a few seconds. Until I finally got what he was trying to do. I forced my mouth to mimic the word. It must’ve meant ‘ground’, or ‘dirt’.

“TeruGround.”

[System Announcement]

Lingual Cognizance UP

3 >>> 4

+1

I understood what he was getting at. Otoko was teaching me vocabulary. Otoko had been pretty nice to me so far, but I couldn’t even figure out how he knew that I wanted to learn more words. Onna only watched with an annoyed face as Otoko showed me various objects—his axe, the sky, the trees, and body parts. This was too much. I feared that I wouldn’t be able to remember it all, given how I barely passed English class by rote memorization alone. But somehow, the words mysteriously started to stick to me.

[System Announcement]

Lingual Cognizance UP

4 >>> 25

+21

After these brief campfire language lessons, Otoko and Onna were getting ready to depart. Perhaps they really were just helping me for a little bit, then returning to wherever they came. When I’d first encountered them in the forest, it looked like they were simply hunting, or traveling to a known destination. I was just a burden. Even if I was, I enjoyed the time spent with them and Otoko’s generosity in teaching me some of the language. The time was now.

I interrupted the two of them while they packed their sacks and slung their belongings onto their back. “CimeruThank you.”

I held my hands out to Otoko and Onna. In one hand, a white hachimaki headband for Otoko. It had the red Rising Sun with the Japanese word for ‘success’ printed on it. I wore it for high school graduation. On the other, a plastic maneki-neko with a waving hand. I cringed on the inside given that it was the only thing I could offer to a young woman, Onna.

Otoko and Onna faced each other, before they reluctantly reached out and took the gifts. These gifts were the only way I could thank them. I had nothing else to offer except some obscene predicaments in my conscious.

My hand reluctantly waved at them as they slowly made their way into the forest. Now I could safely guard the door and return to the normal world. I had my obligations, and Onna and Otoko had theirs. Until I realized that I had nothing to defend myself against those sankakujuu, bandits, or any other monster that could come this way. Maybe being by myself was a bad idea.

Soon I chased after them with a bad limp, while their silhouettes already disappeared into the thicket. Luckily they hadn’t gotten far, for their heads were still visible. I stumbled over the bushes and tree roots, dirting my suit even more. Twigs crackled under me and branches parted. Before long I’d managed to catch up to them.

Onna twirled and shoved me. I fell to the ground while Otoko caught wind of the situation. He chastised her, took my hand and made me stand. He asked me a question, one I did not understand.

“Could you take me with you? To your village, town, or?...” I spoke in my native language, my inner voice reprimanding me. But there was no way that Otoko could grasp my words. I needed to become stronger to defend myself and the door. That was all to it.

Otoko pressed his hand against his chin, “Hmm…”

Then he faced his back and started walking again. Onna stayed behind, also confused by his action. Otoko looked back. He gave a beckoning wave with a slight smile on his face. Onna gasped at his answer to my question before stomping off with him.