Meg blinked, and then her eyes glistened. “Master Chris, that’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard.” I swear, there were little hearts in her eyes.

“Just a line from an old song,” I said, blushing a bit.

She cocked her head and said, “What do you mean? You weren’t singing.”

“A song, you know, not a magic song, just a song with music and words.” I hadn’t heard anyone singing, but I’d only been here less than a day. Surely they have songs? Every culture has songs.

Now she looked more confused than she had since we started.

“Can you sing with words, Master Chris?” she asked, dumbfounded. “What does that do?”

“It’s just nice,” I said. “What I said to you was part of a song from where I grew up.” I shook my head and laughed a little. “It’s called, ‘Do You Believe In Magic?’”

“Why wouldn’t someone believe in magic?” she replied. “Everyone can do magic. It would be like not believing in… like not believing in air.”

She’s a sharp one, I thought. Maybe between the Wisdom and the Intelligence her character sheet is underselling her. Oh, well. Cards on the table time. If she calls me a demon I’ll splash her with the Dream Water and run for it.

“Meg, where I come from… there is no magic. It’s not real. It’s only in stories.” I watched her eyes carefully.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” she said. “Magic is everywhere. Everybody has a gift. Even in stories from other lands. How can you be from where there’s no magic?”

“Another world,” I said quietly, thinking of my lost home. “A different world from this one. Music doesn’t make magic happen there, except maybe in your imagination.”

She shook her head, struggling with the idea. At least she wasn’t panicking and calling for a priest. Assuming they had those here.

“How can you be from another world?” she asked, brow furrowed. It still looked cute on her. “Where is it? Why did you leave? How did you come here?”

“I don’t know the whole story, really,” I said. “But I can tell you why I left.” I swallowed. “I died.”

“You died?” Meg said incredulously. “How can you be dead? You’re as alive as I am. I felt the warmth of your hands!” She blushed. Apparently this was a nice memory for her. I smiled.

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

“I died in my world. I was in an accident. A truck hit me. That’s like a big wagon. They’re made of steel and they go very fast. It hit me and I died and when I died, a Voice gave me a choice to come here instead of being reborn in my world.”

The beautiful girl outright goggled at me when I made this assertion. Her mouth wouldn’t close and she took a long gasping breath.

“One of the Powers talked to you? And sent you here? To Pirisi? Why in the world would they do that?” She was speaking in a very odd tone. To be fair, I’d be confused too.

“Got me,” I said. “To be honest, all they said was that they thought it would be entertaining.” I made a wry face. “For them, I bet.”

“You’re a messenger of the Powers,” said Meg reverently. “Master Chris, I didn’t know. I’m so sorry I was familiar with you.”

“Stop right there,” I said firmly, and she flinched. I felt bad but I didn’t stop. “I am a messenger of nobody. They did not give me a grand quest. They did not tell me to spread any holy words. I’m just a man. I’ve been in your world for one day and I know nothing. I need you to help me or I’m going to end up in a dungeon. Please help me, Meg.” I eased up my tone at the end there.

“I’ll help you, Master Chris,” she said instantly, her voice full of zeal. “Serving you is serving the Powers. That’s how you could make me a Song Mage. The Powers made the world, and you serve them. They can do anything they want.”

I facepalmed. No, I admit it, I went for the full double facepalm. I had to nip this right in the bud or she’d try to build a religion around me. Or stuff me into the one they had. I hadn’t seen a church or a temple or anything but for all I knew there was a huge one further along the street.

“What’s wrong, Master Chris?” said Meg. She sounded afraid she’d offended me. Or maybe the Powers.

“Nothing,” I said, taking my hands away from my face. “I’m not a servant of the Powers, Meg. They plunked me down here because they were trying to lighten their load in my world somehow, that’s all.” I had no idea if the ‘Powers’ of Laroha were the same as the Voice or if they had anything to do with what happened to me, but that wasn’t the important thing here. “I’m just a stranger in a strange land.” I snorted at that. A tiny bit. Meanwhile, Meg’s face fell.

“I’m so sorry, Master Chris,” she said in a sad voice. “You lost your home and your family and now you’re here and you look so lost when you say it. How can I help?”

“Stick by me,” I said. “Help me learn about Laroha.” I paused. “And I wouldn’t say no to a hug.” I smiled at her tentatively.

Meg popped out of the chair and was at my side in a flash, her arms wide as she bent to hug me. Her now loose hair tickled my face. It smelled a little bit like smoke but mostly like soap and beautiful girl. My eyes widened. That was easy.

“I’ll never leave you, Master Chris.” Her voice was breaking. “The Powers sent you to me, I know they did.” She squeezed hard. She wasn’t a big girl but she worked in a tavern and she had some strength to her arms. It felt nice.

I stood up, her arms shifting around me, and hugged her back. She pressed into me so hard it was like she was trying to walk through me. Her eyes were full of stars as she looked up into my face. At that point, I just couldn’t help myself, and bent my head down to kiss her.

(Fade to black.)