What the hell is Selune?

Darkness. That's all I feel. My body feels heavy, my mind blank. Is this what it feels like to drown? Drown in failure. That’s right. I failed, huh? I was a loser till the end.

The cold darkness was slowly replaced by a warm radiance.

A bright, glowing light greeted my waking eyes. I squinted, clearly feeling overwhelmed.

I'm lying down. On a bed so comfortable, I can’t find the words to describe it.

I see sky. Warm, blue sky. A gentle breeze washes over my face, causing my hair to dance awkwardly.

I tried moving my fingers. They obeyed. No pain in my chest. No pain anywhere.

“Ah, I must be in heaven.”

That’s what I believed. Until a little girl appeared at the edge of my vision.

“You’re awake!” she exclaimed.

Startled, I quickly pulled myself up, even though my body begged me to rest longer.

“What?” I looked at her, confused.

She blinked. Like I wasn't supposed to be confused.

Before I could process the already bizarre situation, I noticed something even stranger. 

The bed rose and fell beneath me—slowly, rhythmically. It... was breathing.

I slowly looked down and found myself ten feet above the ground. 

“Fwee!” the creature beneath me squealed, raising its trunk and flapping its ears.

“WHAT THE—” I jumped. My jaw dropped. My face, in utter disbelief.

"Don't worry! Fari is a friend," said the little girl, with an assuring smile.

I looked down again, this time more composed. The creature was pure white. It had soft fur. No tusks. But in every other way, it resembled an elephant.

It wasn't a bed that I was on. It was whatever Fari is.

“Fari? Is this your pet?”

“No. He is my friend!”

“Oh.”

Now that I took a closer look at her, something was off. Was it the blonde hair? The green eyes? Maybe her old-fashioned attire?

Could be the elf ears too. Wait.

“You’re NOT human?!”

“Mister, you are weird.”

“I’m the only normal one here!”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I glanced around—green fields as far as the eye could see.

Fari started moving. He was faster than he looked.

“Hey, kid. What is this place?”

“The Pachi Village.”

“And I assume we’re not on Earth?”

“We’re in Selune.”

My right hand came to rest on my head, trying to hold my spiraling thoughts together.

“What the hell is Selune? How am I alive? I was supposed to be dead,” I muttered to myself.

“Are you in trouble, Mister?” the kid asked, tilting her head in concern.

“Huh? No, I just... lost my way home.”

She giggled, covering her mouth with one hand.

“What?”

“This is the first time I’ve heard of an adult losing their way.”

I don’t know why, but my mind relaxed a bit. Probably because of her innocence.

“You’d be surprised how many adults lose their way.”

She remained silent.

“What’s your name?” I asked.

“Aino. And my favorite color is green!”

“Yeah, I can tell from your outfit.”

“What’s your name, Mister?”

“Elias Brooks.”

“Oh!” She seemed surprised. “So you wrote it?”

“Wrote what?” I asked. For a second, I hoped she had read my novel. Then I remembered—we’re not on Earth.

She pulled out a blue notebook from behind her. It was mine. My unfinished novel.

"Where did you get that?" I asked, quickly snatching it away.

"You were holding it close to your chest when we found you here."

So I refused to let it go even when dying, huh?

"Did you read it?"

She hesitantly shook her head side to side.

"It's okay. It was a shitty novel to begin with."

"I liked it."

"What?" I froze.

"It's a great story! Too bad it's not finished."

I suddenly felt warm. Glad. Happy.

"Hey, Mr. Brooks, can I read it when you finish it?"

"Sure." I tried to hide my smile, though I wasn't sure if I managed to.

I had so many questions. Now I can't seem to remember any. It feels right, even though it doesn't make sense.

"Fwee!" Fari squealed excitedly as he picked up speed.

"Look! We're home," Aino said, pointing at a village.

A small, quiet village sat nestled in a shallow valley, surrounded by rolling green forests.

Each home was a little different. Some were circular, others square, but all shared the same handcrafted feel—made from sun-baked stone, clay tiles, or thick logs, with moss and wildflowers growing freely on the rooftops. Laundry danced lazily on clotheslines. 

Tall streetlight poles lined the side of the street, each missing its lantern at the top.

At the heart of the village stood an ancient bell tower. I wasn’t sure if it could still ring.

Strangely, I couldn't see anyone. All the houses seemed to be locked.

"Why is it empty?" I asked, holding tight to Fari as he skipped around.

"They're all sleeping, obviously."

"Why are you awake then?"

She quickly looked behind her, eyes narrowing.

"Because I'm special," she said with a devious grin.

"You could’ve just said that normally," I muttered, turning back to scan the surroundings.

Tucked just beyond the village—where the trees began to thicken—was a cottage.

Aino's home was small and round, built from light-colored stone at the base and capped with a sloping, moss-covered roof.

The windows are round and unevenly spaced. Each one is framed by wooden shutters, hand-painted in a faded shade of green and decorated with sun-and-moon symbols drawn in childlike strokes.

Out of all the houses that we passed, this one feels the most familiar. I wonder why.

As we climbed down from Fari, he began nudging me gently with his trunk.

"Fwee!"

"He likes you, Mr. Brooks," said Aino as she took a key from the hanging flower pot.

"Hey there, big guy." As I patted him, I noticed a crescent shaped scar on his belly.

"The sun’s about to set. We need to leave Fari in the forest."

"Why?"

"He needs to sleep."

"I thought everyone sleeps during the day?"

"Not everyone. Only our village. The Elves and the animals sleep during the day. But Fari isn’t from here. He’s from a place called Kururu—way up north. It’s always snowing there."

Now it made sense why I hadn’t seen any animal other than Fari.

As Fari's figure slowly disappeared into the gloomy forest, I wondered what lies beyond that.

"You know a lot of geography?" I asked.

"I do."

"Do you know Earth?"

"I’ve read about it."

"Do you know how to get there?"
She hesitated.

"I do," she said, her eyes no longer meeting mine.