When I opened my eyes I saw sky.
Clouds drifting slowly, the chirping of birds carrying in from somewhere.
I sat up. No pain. Standing, I looked around — mountains and grasslands stretched in every direction. The scene of somewhere rural.
So this was the other world.
A large tree stood off in the distance. Near it I could see what looked like a road.
“If I follow the road, I’ll probably find people, right?”
Decision made, I started walking toward the big tree. After a while the road came into view. Yes — definitely a road.
“Now, which way…”
I stood at the base of the tree, hesitating between right and left. Hmm, if right leads to a town in one hour and left in eight, that’d be a problem… I was deliberating when the smartphone in my inner pocket suddenly rang.
I pulled it out. The screen read: Incoming — God.
“Hello?”
“Ah, it connected. So you made it safely.”
I held the speaker to my ear and the god’s voice came through. Even though we’d just parted, the sound felt oddly nostalgic.
“I forgot to mention — I’ve adjusted your phone’s maps and compass to function with this world. Make use of them.”
“Oh, really? Well, that’s very helpful — I was just about to get lost.”
“I thought as much. I could have sent you down into a town, but a public arrival would have caused a fuss — so I put you somewhere unpopulated. But then, of course, you’re left without knowing which way to go.”
“Yeah, exactly.”
I answered with a wry chuckle. He was right — I had no destination. No hometown, no acquaintances.
“As long as you check the map as you walk, you’ll reach a town without trouble. Take care, then.”
“Yes. Goodbye.”
I hung up and opened the maps app. A map appeared centered on me, with a road running alongside — the one at my feet. Zooming out, I could see a town to the west. Reflet? Reflet, the map called it.
“All right, off we go.”
I checked the compass app for west and set off.
Walking on, it occurred to me that things might be a little worse than I’d thought.
For one, I had no food. No water. Even if I reached town — and then what? I had no money. I had a wallet, but would my currency even work? Almost certainly not.
As I was vaguely turning that over, I heard a sound behind me. I turned around — something was approaching in the distance. A — horse-drawn carriage. First time I’d ever seen one. Someone had to be riding inside.
My first contact with another person in this other world. How to handle it. Flag down the carriage? Please take me with you. That was an option, but I decided against it. Why?
As the carriage got closer, I realized it was an extraordinarily fine one. Bright detailing, heavy build. Definitely the kind a noble or rich person rode in.
If I stopped one of those and got a “How dare you, peasant! Cut him down!” treatment, it would be — bad. I stepped to the side and yielded the road.
The carriage thundered past in a cloud of dust. Crisis averted, I thought, and stepped back into the road to keep walking — when I noticed the carriage had stopped.
“You there! You!”
A gentleman stepped out — white hair and a magnificent beard, a stylish scarf and cloak, a rose brooch gleaming on his chest.
“Yes…?”
As he approached me in obvious excitement, a corner of my mind noted with relief: the language works.
His hand clamped onto my shoulder and his eyes raked over me. Wait. Is this a — bad situation?
“Th-this outfit! Where did you get it!?”
“What?”
For a moment I couldn’t process the question and just stared, mouth slightly open. He took advantage of the moment to circle behind me, around to my side, examining my school uniform from every conceivable angle.
“A design I’ve never seen. And this stitching… how on earth…”
I started to understand. This uniform was rare to him. Likely there was nothing like it in this world.
”…If you’d like, would you care to buy it?”
“Truly!?”
The bearded gentleman lunged at my offer.
“I got this outfit from a traveling merchant, but I’d be happy to part with it. The only catch is — if I sell the whole set I won’t have anything to wear, so I’d appreciate it if you could provide me with replacement clothes at the next town…”
I couldn’t very well say it’s an other-world uniform, so I improvised an excuse on the fly. If this got me some money, perfect. Plus I’d stop sticking out — two birds with one stone.
“Excellent! Get in the carriage. I’ll take you to the next town and arrange a new outfit for you. Then you can sell me yours.”
“Done deal.”
The bearded gentleman and I shook hands firmly. I climbed into the carriage and we rumbled along for about three hours toward the next town, Reflet. During the trip the gentleman (whose name was Zanac, it turned out) took the jacket I’d removed and examined the texture and stitching with deep interest.
Zanac was apparently in the clothing business, returning from a related conference. Made sense — his reaction tracked.
As for me, I just watched the unfamiliar landscape stream by the window. A world I’d never seen. From now on, this was my world.