What now?

I’m still waiting for Io to return.

We last spoke in the evening. Now, it’s past 2 AM. My watch glows faintly in the dark, the only thing tying me to the world I left behind. 2 AM. Did she notice it? Of course she did. It’s Io—we both know she doesn’t miss anything.

But she didn’t mention it earlier.

So… where did she go?

The Chief? The guards?

A cold knot forms in my stomach.

Are they planning something?

Will they throw me out? Sell me to the Church? Burn me as a heretic?

I push the thought away, but it lingers, curling in the back of my mind like smoke.

Just when things were starting to go smoothly.

I should’ve lied. I should’ve made something up, given her some half-truth, anything to buy myself more time.

But she would’ve noticed.

She always does.

I exhale, rubbing my temples. I can’t keep going like this. Living in half-truths, dodging questions, waiting for the moment when someone figures me out.

I need to lay down.

I hope I can fall asleep.

###

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

I tap my knuckles lightly against the door, waiting.

A beat of silence, then a muffled “Huh? Io?” from inside. His voice is thick with sleep.

I exhale sharply. “Come with me.”

There’s a rustling sound, a groggy shuffle of movement, then the door creaks open. Nate blinks at me, still half-asleep. He doesn’t ask where or why. He just follows.

We walk beyond the village, past the fields where the wheat shimmers silver in the moonlight. The path beneath us is cool, the air crisp and silent save for the occasional chirp of night insects.

Finally, we stop. Nothing but open space and sky above.

I sit down in the grass, stretching out. The sky is endless. Stars scattered like dust across the void, some brighter, some barely pinpricks of light. A thousand unknowns staring back at me.

Nate hesitates before lowering himself beside me. He doesn’t ask questions—not yet. He’s waiting.

Good.

“I don’t think you’re lying.”

His head tilts. “You suspected?”

I glance at him. “You scream that you don’t belong.” A faint smirk. “Or at least, not to any culture I’ve ever encountered. And then there’s the fact that you appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the forest. Trust me—our guards would have noticed if someone had brought you in.”

His expression flickers—processing.

“But… isn’t this impossible?”

“But it happened, didn’t it?” I counter.

He’s quiet.

###

She’s watching me carefully, like she’s piecing something together.

“Do you know a lot about your own world?”

I blink. “I… guess so? I’m not an expert, but I’ve always been curious.”

She hums thoughtfully. “That makes two of us.”

Io shifts onto her side, propping herself up on one elbow. Her eyes flick toward the sky.

“Then tell me—do you have a sun?”

I let out a small chuckle. “Yes, I do.”

“The fact that my home is so similar to this place is the only reason I didn’t immediately realize I had been… displaced.”

She doesn’t react, only nods slowly.

“Alright, then answer this—are the stars in the sky also suns?”

A test.

She already knows the answer.

“They are.”

Io smiles.

“And do these suns also have planets?”

“Some do.”

She exhales, gaze still fixed above. “And are there people on these planets too?”

I hesitate. We don’t know.

“We’re still looking,” I admit. “For any life, not just another kind of human.”

Io’s voice is quiet. “But aren’t you from one?”

“…Maybe.”

She finally looks at me again. “But you’re certain there are other planets?”

“Yes.”

She smiles again—wider this time, but not at me. At the sky. Like something has just been confirmed.

“…Where did you hear that?” I ask.

She doesn’t answer immediately.

Finally, she sighs. “Well… I didn’t.”

I sit up. “You thought of that yourself?”

She smirks. “You sound surprised.”

“I am.”

Io lays back down, arms folded behind her head.

“Tell me this—” I point up, tracing the glowing crescent above us. “You see the moon, right?”

“Yes.”

“Did you know other planets also have moons?”

She hums. “I heard it from a merchant once.”

I blink. “A merchant?”

“There’s one—Falko. He likes to act superior. He calls us primitive and then rambles about the latest news from around the world.” She rolls her eyes. “Last time, he said they discovered what makes people sick.”

That catches my interest. “…And what did they find?”

Io shrugs. “That you get sick when the four humors aren’t balanced.”

Ah. Well, that’s wrong.

I file that thought away for later.

“Never mind that. Moons, remember?”

Io grins. “Please, continue.”

I exhale. “They have names. One of them is called ‘Io.’”

Io stills.

“…What?”

I smile. “One of the moons orbiting another planet was named after a lover of a god in my world’s mythology.”

Io says nothing.

“…Is there a moon named Nate?” she asks, almost hesitantly.

I chuckle. “Not that I know of.”

She turns to me, head tilted slightly. “So your name has no story? No meaning?”

“Well, my full name is Nathaniel. But Nate is shorter. I like it more.”

Io nods slowly. “I like it too.”

I smirk. “Nathaniel means ‘Gift of God.’”

Io’s eyes glint with amusement. “So you’re a divine gift? Well, given how you got here, it makes sense.”

I laugh.

For a long while, we just… exist.

Laying in the grass, staring at the vast sky.

She sighs. “I want to learn.”

The way she says it—it’s not just a passing thought. It’s a declaration.

“Learn?” I ask. “What exactly?”

“Everything I can.” Her voice is steady, but there’s something heavy behind it. “Village life isn’t for me. I want to know. What’s out there? What’s possible?”

I exhale. “And how can I help?”

She turns to face me fully now, eyes sharp with determination.

“Teach me.”

My breath catches.

“You see,” she continues, voice quieter, “we aren’t welcome in cities. And we’re certainly not permitted to study at an academy. I know there are places where scholars teach their students. I want that. But even if I were human in the church’s eyes, it wouldn’t matter.” She pauses. “I’m not a noble. I’m not a man. No matter what, I would never be allowed to study.”

Her voice is even. Matter-of-fact.

It’s eerie how familiar this is. The same injustices, the same barriers.

“But there’s something more,” she adds. “I think you can teach me things even the scholars don’t know.”

I swallow. “…And if you think I’m smart enough to teach you something, how exactly would this work?”

She smirks. “You’ll still be working for me, but in your spare time? You’ll teach me. Honestly, just talking about all this is already a lesson.”

I stare at her.

“…So I’ll be a teacher, huh?”

Finally, a real job.

I exhale sharply. “I have one condition.”

Io raises an eyebrow. “Oh? You think you’re in a position to bargain?”

I smirk. “You teach me too. Everything you know.”

She tilts her head, considering. Then, she grins.

“Deal.”

###

The sky stretches above us, endless and unknowable—a vast ocean of light scattered across the void. Somewhere out there, I know, are planets. Moons. Suns like our own. And maybe, just maybe, another world like this one.

The grass beneath us is cool, the air still. The village feels a lifetime away. Here, in this moment, it’s just the two of us and the universe.

I glance at Io. She’s still watching the stars, her expression unreadable—somewhere between deep thought and quiet awe.

I wonder if she’s thinking the same thing I am.

How small we are.

How little we understand.

How much more there is to know.

After a while, she exhales and shifts onto her side, propping her head up with her arm.

"So, teacher, what’s the first lesson?"

I blink. "You’re eager."

Io smirks. "I don’t like waiting."

I chuckle. "Alright. First lesson?" I tilt my head toward the sky. "The stars."

She hums, pleased. “Fitting.”

We sit in silence for a few more moments before she finally pushes herself up, dusting off her cloak. “We should head back. I have a long list of things for you to do tomorrow.”

I groan. "That sounds ominous."

"You’ll survive," she says, smirking. "You’re a gift from the gods, after all."

I roll my eyes, but I don’t argue.

We walk back slowly, the village lanterns flickering in the distance.

As we step onto the worn paths, something shifts—a quiet understanding.

Tonight changed something.

Io knows the truth now. She knows what I am. And instead of rejecting it, she wants to learn.

And me?

For the first time since I woke up in this world, I have a purpose.

And somehow, that makes the night feel a little warmer.