Verse 13: "Meaning & Midnight"

The tree was extremely uncomfortable; even the pew from the previous night had been better. The moon was a little less than full and its brightness was illuminating the entire forest canopy. On the branch below me, I could hear the sound of Vivian breathing softly. I spared a glance down at her to see that she had wrapped her cloak around herself and was completely covered up.
          Despite being several inches taller than me, she had no problem adjusting herself onto the branch and sleeping soundly.
         “You’re different; it doesn’t seem like there’s a facade with you.”
          I tried to understand why she'd said that. I looked up at the night sky through the thin layer of leaves above me and sighed. I closed my fist and pressed my lips together.
          My short white hair gently brushed against my face when a slight breeze blew through the forest. As I moved it away from my eyes with my hand, I noticed something I hadn’t seen before. My hands were soft, and in the dim light of the night, my fair skin seemed to glow.
          With my back still leaning against the trunk of the tree, I put my hands into a brighter patch of moonlight and looked at them. No big scars. No callouses. No real blemishes to speak of. Slowly, I rotated myself so that I was looking down at the branch Vivian was sleeping on.
          I remembered that she had covered herself.
          While I went back to my “normal” position on the branch, my mind continued to race. I was in a country called “Mandl.” The capital of Mandl was a city called “Kuzges.” In Kuzges, there was a “council of archwizards;” and going there was my best chance of finding a powerful wizard who might be able to help me.
          I had no food, no money, and no income. All I had at tha moment were the clothes on my back, a dead cellphone, my wallet, my car keys, and a woman who mistakenly believed that I was a priest. To further complicate matters, she was following me around because I was a “strange” and “great” priest.
          “Ugh.” I groaned quietly as I ran my hands through my hair slowly.
          I had to set priorities if I wanted to succeed.
          First of all, I needed to get to Kuzges. In order to get to Kuzges, I needed food and traveling supplies, though exactly how many I needed was dependent on how far away the capital was from this town of Clearwood. 
          Of course, if I hadn’t told Vivian that I was a priest, I could have just told her to steal us some supplies; but considering what she told me the actual “priests” were like, condoning stealing was probably something that would make her question me.
          “So, I can't steal the stuff I need, and if I take too long to get the stuff normally, then the wizard council is going to be over by the time I get there.” I mumbled.
          There was the chance that Clearwood was right next to Kuzges and it was only going to be a quick walk. I snickered at that idea briefly, then calmed down. 
          The moonlight shone down on me softly.
         “God is with you.” 
          I looked up at the moon.
          “Hey God, if you’re up there, why me? What did I do to deserve being sent to another world?”
          Nothing happened. There was no response. I scoffed at my own expectations. God wasn’t real. I wasn’t being “divinely punished” for anything I’d done.
          What had happened to me was the result of random chance. I’d been in the wrong place at the wrong time and had gotten swept away to another world. If John had gone to use the restroom first, he would’ve been the one to disappear. 
          There was no meaning to any of what had happened.
          “...” 
          The slight breeze that had been blowing through the canopy disappeared. 
          I closed my eyes and breathed deeply as I leaned against the trunk of the tree. I had gone too deep again. There was no reason for me to get that philosophical about my current situation. 
          Who needed meaning? I just needed to get home. The moon seemed to disappear into the darkness of the night as I curled up on my branch. 
          I needed to keep my priorities straight. Go to Kuzges. Go home. Go back to normal life. 
          I didn’t care that no one cared. It didn’t matter that it didn’t matter. Who needed meaning? 
          I just wanted to go home.
          “Mmph.” The sound of Vivian rustling in her sleep snapped me back to reality. The moon was still high in the night sky, the breeze was still blowing through the trees, and I still needed to get to sleep.
        Tomorrow, I would make plans on what to do next with Vivian. We were going to talk about how to raise funds, how far away Kuzges was, and how dangerous the trip would be. All of that was going to happen tomorrow.
          Around what I assumed was midnight, I finally fell asleep on that tree branch.
~~~
          The next morning came too soon. Once me and Vivian were both awake, I asked her a few questions about how far away Kuzges was from Clearwood and how long it would take to get there.
          “It’s about a week journey on foot.” Vivian looked confused as she leaned against her tree and looked down at me. “But Shinko, you only got here a few days ago, right? Why are you already leaving your church?” She looked to the side.
          I came up with an excuse.
          “I’m… I’m in need of a wizard because, I, uh, left something at my monastery that I desperately need for my church.” I said hastily.
          Vivian nodded.
          “Oh. Why not just go back to your monastery then?” 
          I tried to remember the name of one of the other countries Niels had mentioned.
          “It’s past Ellcoast.” I lied.
          Vivian’s eyes widened.
          “You came from beyond Ellcoast?” She looked over my outfit with renewed interest. “Wow, you weren’t kidding when you said you were from a faraway country.” She stood up and walked over to me. 
          I started to smirk as an idea came to me, then remembered something. I was fooling Vivian. She had no clue that I was lying through my teeth. When that reminder came to me, I stopped smiling entirely.
          “I… I left behind my holy writ. You haven’t seen me carrying it, have you?” I said softly. 
          Vivian made a little sound of exclamation and shook her head.
          “I knew something was off; aside from all your other behavioral differences.” She smiled. “I can’t believe I didn’t notice it sooner.”
          “Right.” I replied quietly. “Anyway, we need to get to Kuzges before too long. Do you know any quick ways for us to make money in order to finance our travels?”
          She bit her lip and tilted her head.
          “Well, how are you around monsters?” She asked awkwardly.
          A sinking feeling of dread welled up within me when she said that.

Edited on 09/29/25