Adam yawned, getting out of bed. Last night he had the weirdest dream.
Being in a plane crash and waking up to a beautiful girl was both a nightmare and a dream come true at the same time.
There was, of course, no girl beside him, to his great disappointment, but reality generally was. He had time, though; if it weren't for his father passing and leaving him all alone to fend for himself, then he may have had a normal life.
Adam stubbed his toe shouting from the pain. Somehow he must have misjudged where his desk was and whanged his foot against it. He limped to the window to let some light into the room, but the window wasn't where it was supposed to be. Confused, Adam walked to the door and rubbed his hand on the wall, trying to find the light switch. He cursed when he got a splinter from the rough wood and winced as he pulled it out with his teeth.
Adam nearly jumped out of his skin when someone knocked on the door beside him. There shouldn't be anyone in his house. It was just him and his dad before he passed away. Now he had the place to himself with no one to answer to.
The voice after the knock made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
It was the same voice as the girl from his dream, with a strange language. Did that mean he wasn't dreaming, and he did wreck his father's plane? But there was no pain in his ankle, so how could that be? Maybe he was still dreaming, but why did the splitter hurt so much? If this were a dream, then it shouldn't hurt.
Adam was lost in his thoughts and forgot to reply to the knock on the door.
The girl must have been worried about his silence and opened the door letting in a ray of sunlight that lit up the room.
Adam was standing directly in front of the girl whose face had reddened.
She gasped in surprise and slammed the door shut, removing the light from the room. Adam felt his face heating after realizing why the girl had acted the way she had. He was still naked from last night when the doctor must have removed his clothes.
Adam threw the blanket over his naked body and waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. He didn't want another incident with his foot. It still hurt from whatever he hit it against, and something told him it was not his desk.
His eyes adjusted enough to see the outline of the room, not that there was much to see. The room was much smaller than he had thought, and the only thing except the bed was a chair that had a pile of clothes on it.
Adam grabbed the clothes wishing he would have noticed them earlier and inspected them. They were not his clothes, that was for sure. It looked and felt like the materials were made from animal hide. He held what he thought were the leggings in front of him with a look of disgust. It was just a belt with cloth on both ends. The materials would barely cover anything, and he feared a strong breeze would expose everything if he wore them.
Adam let out a sigh when he inspected the top. It was just a heavy piece of leather vest that covered the back but left the front almost completely exposed. A dirty thought flashed through his mind as he inspected the shirt.
"If the woman in the village wears these, then I won't complain," he said. A memory of the girl entered his mind crushing his dreams almost as soon as they came. She didn't wear anything that exposed her skin. In fact, neither did the old man. Was he being pranked?
Adam crept to the door and opened it slightly to see what was outside. If they thought he would make a fool of himself because he was an outsider, they had another thing coming.
Just a few feet away was the girl who saved his life with her back turned to him. She was speaking to the old man in a hushed whisper. He could make out the words here and there, but they still sounded jibberish. He ignored the two, looking past them. In the distance were several tents made from various furs, but nobody was in sight. It was still early. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon, so it wasn't that strange for people to still be sleeping.
Adam poked his head out the door, looking in both directions. The old man and girl were too engrossed in their conversation to notice anything. To his relief, he did find someone finally.
A man carrying a spear walked past, wearing the same clothes he was given.
'maybe the old men aren't allowed to wear this,' Adam thought, nodding to his guess. Who would want to see a wrinkly old man in this get-up, not him, that's for sure?
Adam cleared his throat while opening the door letting the two know of his presence. The girl spun around so fast it nearly gave him whiplash from just watching. Her eyes lit up when she saw him, and the smile he found so captivating returned to her beautiful lips. Adam returned the smile and waved.
"Good morning," he said. Although he knew she wouldn't understand him, it was polite to greet someone in the morning. The smile on the girl faltered for a split second before returning.
"Good morning," she replied. Her accent was heavy, but the words were clear.
"you can understand me?" Adam blurted out excitedly. The girl put on a look of deep concentration before replying.
"You can...understand me," she said, slowly enunciating each word. Adam's excitement faded. She didn't understand him. She was repeating what he said, that was all.
Adam noticed the girl's expression fading, becoming a blank slate, and her eyes becoming unfocused. He wondered if the girl was alright after several seconds passed with no change to her behavior. It was as if she were in a trance or something, and he started to worry. He moved closer to her and reached out a hand to shake her awake, but the old man grabbed his wrist before he could. The old man had an iron grip and felt like he would crush his wrist. Adam let out a hiss and tore his arm free with all his might. The old man looked surprised that Adam managed to break free of his grip but made it clear that he would not allow him near the girl.
"I was only trying to help," he spat in anger. The old man raised an eyebrow at his hostility but remained stationary as if he thought Adam would try something again.
'Like hell,' he thought. The old man was stronger than him, even with his weak appearance. He could tell by their brief encounter that the old man was holding back his strength, and not just a little, either. When someone latches onto your hand as hard as they can, their hands will always shake, but his hand was steady then.
Adam wondered if the pair could understand him and were only acting.
He decided to put it to the test with the old guy.
"You know you're a real piece of shit. You know that. If it were up to me, I'd put you in the shittiest home I could find and never look back," Adam said, keeping his voice calm as if he were discussing the weather. He watched the old man's reaction carefully, trying to see if he had let anything escape, but he just turned his head to the side. Either the old man was the best actor ever, or they really couldn't understand him.
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The fog in the girl's eyes faded, and the biggest grin he had ever seen on her replaced the blank look she had.
"Hi, my name is Mana," she said.
Adam's feet gave out, and he stumbled forward in surprise. He caught himself, but the shock of hearing the perfect English coming out of the girl's mouth made him open and shut his mouth several times like a fish out of water.
"You mean you could speak English this whole time?" Adam blurted out when he eventually recovered from his shell shock. He glanced at the old man, wondering if he would strike him for what he said, but the old guy just stared at his fingernails as if they were more important than what he had to say.
"Don't worry about Grandpa. He acts tough, but he's just a Rabbit-Bear on the inside," she said, side-stepping his question.
"Rabbit Bear?" he said. What the hell was a Rabbit Bear?
The girl just nodded enthusiastically, assuming he knew what the thing was. He shook his head, annoyed at taking the girl's bait.
"Don't change the subject. Have you two been able to speak English this whole time?" he asked, his temper rising. He didn't like being messed with. His anger got him into many fights with the locals back home, and he could feel the rage inside him boil.
'Calm down, moron. These two probably saved your life.' he took a deep breath, calming himself. He had no idea where he was, so starting a fight would be the stupid thing to do.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to go off on you like that. I just...don't like being messed with, that's all," he apologized. Adam didn't want to be mad at the girl anyway.
He wanted to know her better, honestly.
Mana nodded her head in understanding. She didn't look offended by his outburst, to his relief.
"I'm a Truthseeker," she said plainly as if that explained everything.
"A Truthseeker?" Adam asked, frowning. Maybe it was a title given to special people in their village. The girl also frowned, looking confused.
"I don't think there's a word for it in your language. Truthseeker is the closest thing I can think of," she said, her eyes genuine.
"Hmm," Adam said in deep thought.
"Maybe you can describe it to me instead," he said after a while. The girl slowly nodded and then shook her head.
"we can discuss this later. We're going to be late," she said.
"late for what?" Adam asked, but the girl was already speaking to her grandpa, ignoring him. After a brief chat, the old man nodded, and the girl grabbed his hand suddenly. He felt his face heat up, but the excitement faded when the girl started sprinting down the street at breakneck speeds pulling him along.
Adam yelped. His feet couldn't keep up with the girl's pace, and soon he was dragged across the dirt like a bag of potatoes.
"Stop," he shouted. It felt like his knees were being scraped raw. He tried pulling his grip free, but the girl had an iron grip he couldn't break free of, no matter how hard he tried.
Mana slowed to a stop giving him a perplexed look.
"Sorry, I forgot you're still injured," she said. He was certain that even at one hundred percent, he wouldn't be able to keep up with her. There was something strange about the girl. Even her strength was abnormal.
"Yeah," Adam panted, nodding his head in agreement. He still had his pride.
Mana continued forward only at a much slower pace pulling him along. She still clutched his hand tightly as if she were afraid he would get lost or something.
Adam had to sprint as fast as he could to keep up with Mana, but at least his ankle didn't hurt that badly. There was a small discomfort from his injury, and his knees still stung a little from dragging across the ground. At least the girl didn't break the skin on his legs when she knocked him off his feet.
He thought it strange, though, normally, something like that would have left scabs.
Adam's lungs burned. It felt like he had been sprinting for two miles straight without pause. His breathing was heavy, and if the girl hadn't been pulling him along, he would have passed out by now.
Fear kept him going though he was afraid if he stopped, the girl would continue anyways, dragging him unconscious. He pictured her arriving with nothing but his arm and shuttered.
Traveling to wherever they were going, Adam would see tents scattered throughout the forest. Sometimes two or three tents were placed right next to each other, but for the most part, they were spread out, giving the tenets a modicum of privacy. He figured the tents that were grouped up were for families with several kids who hadn't left home yet. The tents varied, the smallest being big enough to house one, while the bigger ones could fit four comfortably. None of the people he passed had a wooden home like the one he woke up in... which he found odd.
To his relief, the girl slowed to a walk when they arrived at a clearing in the forest. The opening in the forest looked natural like the trees decided not to grow in the area, unlike man-made ones where they chop down large wood sections, killing all the wildlife. It was lush with life and big enough for a small village to gather.
Mana led him to a large wooden table and sat at the edge. WasSheShe patted the seat beside her, gesturing for him to sit beside her. Adam sat beside her, only now smelling the aromas in the air. It was the unmistakable smell of bacon and eggs being cooked in the early hours. It didn't take long to find where the heavenly scent was coming from. The east of the clearing had a twenty-foot-long canopy made just for cooking.
Adam saw several women cooking food under the canopy, and two of them noticed their presence. A tall, dark-skinned woman brought two plates of food and set them in front of them. Mana said something to the girl, and she left smiling. He wondered what she said to make the girl smile like that, but the smell of the food overpowered his curiosity. The plate was packed with scrambled eggs and bacon, with enough food to feed an army. Adam had no idea how he would eat so much, but his stomach was willing to try. Or it would, but something was missing.
"Where's the fork?" Adam asked, eager to dig in. Mana grabbed a strip of bacon with her fingers before pinching many eggs. She took a huge bite before turning towards him.
"Wha..duh.. for?" she asked, with a mouth full of food. Adam winced. It was as though the girl had stabbed him in the heart. He couldn't believe the girl he had a thing for was a savage. Mana went from an eight down to a negative two on his scale. Meaning he would rather date a monkey rather than her.
'Then again, manners can be taught,' he thought, not ready to give up on the girl yet.
Mana broke out in laughter, breaking Adam out of his thoughts. He opened his eyes to find the girl staring at him, laughing as if she had just heard the funniest joke in the world. It was a joyous laugh, and Adam joined her even though he didn't know what was so funny.
"I'm only joking," she said through tears.
She took in a deep breath calming herself before standing.
"I'll be right back," she said, hurrying away. Adam watched the girl disappear behind the canopy and stared at where she vanished. In his opinion, Mana went straight up from a negative two to a solid nine. A girl with a good sense of humor was always a bonus and hard to come by. Many girls think they have a good sense of humor when truly, they only have...a sense of humor. The destination between the two is vast but hardly ever recognized.
Mama returned shortly, carrying two mugs and the eating utensils. She handed him a wooden spoon and set the drink beside him. It looked like fruit juice, and a sip confirmed his assessment, but it didn't taste like any juice he had ever had.
Adam started scarfing the eggs down before they got cold. He would have preferred a fork, but a spoon would work nonetheless.
Adam finished the entire plate of food and let out a giant belch. Sniggering rang throughout the table, and several eyes turned to stare at him. It was only then that Adam realized there were other people at the table. He must have been so consumed with his eating that he didn't notice when the others had arrived.
Adam glanced down at the long table. Not one spot remained empty, and everyone now stared directly at him. He gulped and hoped that belching was not a capital offense in this village.