Chapter 2

“Huff… huff… huff…” She had been running for maybe half an hour before coming to a stop. Me? I was there in the center of my room. Nothing changed, nothing except my question-filled mind.

Sweat descended her face. She flopped onto the floor and leaned back on a nonexistent wall as she attempted to catch her breath.

I went to my refrigerator and grabbed her a bottle of cold energy drink. I don’t drink these fellas often, but they’re pretty helpful when you need to cram for a deadline.

“Here, for you.”

She looked up at me. “It’s not poison, is it?”

“Why would I keep poison at home?”

“Your home? This is your home?”

Hey, I know my place isn’t the tidiest, but it’s not that bad.

Despite her obvious suspicion, she still took the can anyway and took a drink. Her eyes widened. “Wha- What is this thing? I never tasted something like this.”

“You never drank an energy drink?”

“A what? Where did you get it from?”

I pointed toward the refrigerator.

“... You’re lying.”

“I’m not.”

“Oh yeah? Prove it.”

I wasn’t sure what she was asking to prove, but I opened the refrigerator and took another energy drink.

“No way…”

“What? It’s just a refrigerator.”

“A refrigerator? Is that some kind of ancient magic?”

Well… a refrigerator is old technology… but magic?

“What are you talking about?”

“That’s what I want to know!”

I shook my head and sat on the bed’s end.

“You…” She clenched her fist all of a sudden. “If… If you have that kind of power, why didn’t you help us!?”

I was worried about the neighbors, so I put my index finger in front of my mouth.

“Shssh! You’ll wake everyone up!”

“There’s no one else here!”

I had a strong feeling ever since I saw her, but for me, this confirms it.

Me and her, we’re seeing entirely different worlds. We’re not looking at the same place, we may not even be at the same time. Something wasn’t right.

“Please calm down, I think I understand.”

She held her chest and took a deep breath. “Sorry, I lost my composure there.”

She then put the energy drink on the floor on her right, but the second she pulled her hands away from it, the can vanished. I wanted to ask about it, but we have more pressing matters right now.

“Can you start by telling me what you currently see?”

She raised an eyebrow, but spoke regardless, “The second floor of an abandoned building. That wall is gone, all the windows shattered, part of the room missing.”

Everything was different from the place I lived in.

“And you?”

“A clean, one bedroom apartment.”

“What’s an apartment?”

“It’s like a house, but with multiple floors and rooms. We’re on floor seven.”

She looked at me in disbelief, as if I was pulling words out of nowhere. I of course knew that I wasn’t lying, and after experiencing that pain when I fell off her, I knew I wasn’t being delusional, either.

“No way…”

“Huh?”

“No way no way no way.”

She kneeled on the floor. “I'm sorry! I really am! Please forgive me!”

“Hu- Huh? What are you talking about?”

“I'll do anything you want! Please help me!”

“Ca- calm down!”

It was still early in the morning. I didn't want to be evicted just because she kept yelling.

“As long as I can do it- no, even if I can't, I'll fulfill anything you want.”

“Well… I do want a girlfriend…” I murmured, thinking the wild request would calm her down, but I was so wrong.

“Yes, yes, I'll do it! I'll be your wife, even.”

Just what is going on? I never saw someone this desperate.

“Calm down. Can you please explain things first?”

I patted her head, but to my surprise, tears formed in her eyes.

“I'm sorry!”

“What-”

And she began crying.

•••

It took a ridiculous amount of effort to finally calm her down. We sat on the floor together, facing each other.

“Let's start with names. I'm Nicholas Albert, and I'm a student.” I started with something general. For some reason, she and I spoke in the same language, so we understood each other, but some words appeared because of the changes in my world and an equivalent may not exist in her world, so I tried to keep it as simple as possible.

“My name is Elarina Monterez Tera Kore. You can call me Elerina. My race is an elf.”

“You can call me Nicho.”

“What?”

“What?”

She looked at me, confused.

“Why wouldn't I call you Nicholas?”

“Nicho’s a nickname?”

“Isn't that rude?”

“Rude?”

I guess if you call certain people by their nicknames, it would be rude.

“Yeah. Shortening someone's name is considered rude.”

Ah, different culture, then.

“I don't mind being called Nicholas.”

“Alright.”

Seeing her pointed ears, I got curious.

“Is it true that elves live really long lives?”

She tilted her head. “Where did you get that from?”

“Wait, so you're not old?”

“Me? I'm twenty! I'm not old!”

“Ye- yeah…”

But still… an actual elf…

“Can I touch your ears?”

Her face turned red when she heard that. “Su- sure… I did make that promise…”

“You don't have to if you don't want to.”

“No- no, it's fine! I keep my words, and besides…” she trailed off. She looked at me expectantly. I’m honestly not sure if I even wanted to touch them at this point, but my curiosity won out. I reached out and let my hands touch both the left and right ear. Her ears twitched as I touched them. They felt soft and smooth, like actual skin.

“Woah…”

All of a sudden, still averting her gaze, she reached out and touched mine.

“Ple- please take care of me.”

“Yeah?”

“You know… I expect you to be more serious about this.”

“Huh? I'm just touching your ears? Since elves don't exist in my world.”

Elerina tensed up immediately.

“So you don't know…?”

“What did I not know?”

She slapped her cheeks several times, on the verge of tears.

“That means we're married, dummy!”

“What?”

“To- to- to- touching ears means you claim each other as yours! I'm now actually your wife! It's such an important event, and you weren't even aware of it!?”

“You didn't tell me!”

“I thought you knew!”

“Well, I don't!”

I took a deep breath.

“Let's calm down. We can just rectify it, can't we?”

“No.” She shook her head. “Marriages hold a sacred meaning in elven lives. You need to go through a long procedure to rectify it.”

Oh dear. What have I done?

“So umm… can we do it again, more serious, this time?” She twiddled her fingers.

“But…”

With those puppy-like eyes staring at me, I just could not say no. Besides, it's partly my fault anyway. I acted rashly, despite already knowing the difference between me and her.

I carefully stretched out my hands, holding both her ears at the same time. She did the same to me. We stared at each other's eyes. She moved closer, and her lips touched mine.

“That… that was my first kiss…”

“Mine as well…”

We stared at each other for who knew how long, until my stupid alarm rang, pulling us out of whatever trance we were in.

“Any- anyway, since we're… you know, different, I think we need to talk about some things.”

“Ye- yeah, I agree.”

We share a language, but our cultures are entirely different. It would take a lot of effort to get used to the differences.

“Like before… Why did you cry when I patted your head? In my world, it usually signaled affection.”

“Ah, I see. In elven culture, it's used to scold someone, since you can crush someone’s skull.”

That's one scary culture. No wonder she cried.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to put you through that.”

“It- it's alright. It's just a misunderstanding, after all.”

She scooted closer, looking up expectantly. “You said… it's for affection… right?”

“You're adorable,” I said as I lightly caressed her hair.

“This is nice…”

After enjoying my headpats, she pulled away and sat back straight. Now, the real conversation could start.

“Please tell me about the world you live in.”

She took a deep breath, but stopped. “Sorry, we'll need to move.”

“Ah.”

“Come on, I'll carry you.”

“I don't think it mattered. From my point of view, you didn't move at all when you carried me.”

Looking confused, Elerina took several steps away. “Ah, I dragged you with me.”

“Right…”

“Alright.”

She nodded and began running away. She didn't run any further from me, but she certainly looked fast.