TIME

Joel was slumped over at the edge of the fountain, an unlit cigarette in his mouth. It was clear that he had started his night watch shift, then fallen asleep at some point during. Chinatsu kicked Joel hard in the side. He nearly jumped out of his skin. Joel yelled out and reached for something at the back of his waist. He halted when he saw Chinatsu standing over him.

“Jesus Christ, kid! Ya nearly gave me a heart attack,” he said, adjusting the back of his shirt and pulling his hand away.

That definitely seemed like a reflexive response. What could he have been reaching for? He kept his switchblade in a front pocket so it couldn’t have been that.

Chinatsu was about to ask him when he felt something bonk him on the back of his head. He let out a yelp and turned around. A red canvas sneaker bounced on the ground.

“You’re…too loud…” Miyabi mumbled as she rolled around in her sleep, now with one less sneaker.

Chinatsu noticed the others were starting to wake up now as well.

“What’s all the commotion this early?” Peony yawned, wiping sleep from their eyes.

“This idiot fell asleep during his turn to stand guard,” Chinatsu said, gesturing to Joel.

That seemed to immediately wake Peony up.

“He what!?” The Elf jumped to their feet and grabbed their staff.

Chinatsu saw the rage on their face and wondered if he should have said anything to begin with. He had expected them to chastise Joel, but Peony looked like they were about to beat Joel with the staff.

“Now, now. There’s no need to fight. It was just an accident,” Masha said, hugging Peony by the waist to hold back the Elf.

“I didn’t have any barrier up! His accident put us in danger!” Peony shouted.

Miyabi sat up abruptly. Chinatsu thought the arguing might have woken her up, but her eyes were still shut.

“SHUDDUP I’M TRYING TO SLEEP!” she shouted before flopping back down and rolling over.

Peony crouched over Miyabi and began petting her hair. “Shh, shh. Sorry, go back to sleep.”

Chinatsu sighed in relief. At least that diffused the situation momentarily.

“We’re all safe, right? So nothing bad happened. Everything’s okay,” Masha whispered.

Peony sighed, then shot a glare at Joel. They put down their staff and instead started to pace around the courtyard, stretching.

Masha fed the fire and began making a dandelion tea with the flowers and roots of the plant. Chinatsu gathered up more grapes for everyone to have for breakfast. Before they left the courtyard, some more of the edible plants and grapes were also picked and packed into Masha’s pack for later. It wasn’t much, but it would help carry them for a little longer on their travels.

As they were leaving the courtyard, Chinatsu took a peek down the pathway where the Manticore called Monk had emerged. Rays of morning sunlight peeked through the canopy of wisteria, and even though its dark fur blended with the shadows, Chinatsu thought he could see the great beast lying still on the ground. He thought about the cruel cycle of death and revival that Peony had mentioned, and his heart ached.

It had already been five days since Chinatsu and Miyabi had come to this world and entered the maze. He wondered how the flow of time worked between this world and his own. Peony didn’t seem to have any idea of how it worked either. He just couldn’t help but worry about what was happening back home, and it was beginning to bother him. If only there were some way of knowing–

Joel!

He was from their world! But was he from their time period? He seemed like it. But what if he was from a parallel Earth where everything was slightly different, including the year!? The more he thought about it, the more Chinatsu felt like the possibilities were limitless. After all, the existence of Masha, Peony, and this world proved that parallel universes existed!

Chinatsu bit his lip. He scratched his head and crossed his arms. He looked up, he looked down. He hunched over. Chinatsu gave a quick glance over his shoulder at Joel.

Joel had been walking a few paces behind at the rear, with Masha clinging to his arms again. But this time, he seemed strangely okay with it. Chinatsu made eye contact with him and quickly looked away.

“You got a bug up your ass, kid? You’re tweaking out over there,” Joel called.

Chinatsu startled. He hadn’t realized he was doing anything weird. The group stopped walking, and everyone was looking at him now.

“Is everything alright?” Peony asked.

Chinatsu tried to figure out how to put his thoughts into words. He felt more aware of everyone’s stares the longer he didn’t say anything.

“What year is it!?” he finally blurted out, pointing at Joel.

“Uhh…2025…?” Joel responded.

So he’s at least from the same year, Chinatsu thought. But how could he determine he’s not just from a parallel universe? What’s a question they might both know the answer to?

Miyabi put her hand on his shoulder. “Chinatsu, what–”

“American! Baseball!” Chinatsu sputtered. “Oh-Ohtani Sh-Shohei! What team!?”

“...Ohtani? He plays for the Dodgers,” Joel said, scratching his head. “But what’s with–”

It was the same in Chinatsu’s world, so it seemed increasingly likely that they were from the same exact timeline. So if he was from the same year, then–

“What was the date on the day you were murdered!?” Chinatsu was giddy.

Miyabi bonked him on his head with her hand.

“What the hell has gotten into you!?” she snapped. “You can’t just ask–”

Chinatsu looked at her as a wave of realization washed over her face. She was smart–she always caught on easily, no matter how dumb it sounded coming out of Chinatsu’s mouth. She looked at Joel.

Joel was clearly taken aback by the question, but after a moment, he answered. “It was July 19th. Why?”

Their second day in this world was his first day, meaning he was sent to this place the day after them.

“It’s the same…”

Chinatsu felt weak in the knees and dropped to the ground. All he could do was stare down at his dirty hands. Hands that once belonged to Miyabi. The clean and manicured nails were now broken and caked with dirt.

Miyabi crouched down next to Chinatsu and put her hand on his head. Even without looking at her face, he could just tell she was experiencing the same feelings as him. Excitement, shock, anxiety, and…

Droplets of warm water splashed down on his hands. Peony rushed to Chinatsu’s side. The Elf placed their small, delicate hand on Chinatsu’s and held it tightly. Chinatsu turned toward Peony, hot tears streaming down his face.

“Peony…” he choked. “T-time flows…the same here…”

Why was he crying? It felt so unlike him. But the longer he looked at Peony, the more he wanted to cry. They smiled, but their eyes were full of melancholy.

“I understand what you’re trying to say,” Peony said, pulling Chinatsu in for a hug. “But I told you before not to worry about me.”

Miyabi and Peony helped Chinatsu to his feet. Masha handed him her handkerchief, and he wiped the tears from his face.

“I’m sorry!” he sobbed. “I’m sorry I couldn’t–”

“No, you have nothing to be sorry about,” Peony said, shaking their head. “In fact, you’ve taught me something I had never figured out in all 50 years I’ve been here. I should be thanking you.”

“What will you do now?” Chinatsu asked.

“I’ll just keep doing what I’ve been doing, I suppose,” Peony smiled.

The Elf’s kind smile and reassurance were like sunrays breaking through a cloudy day. Chinatsu felt better just knowing he had them on his side.

But weren’t they staring at him a little too much?

“Um…?”

Peony pointed to their own face. “Chinatsu, dear, you have a lot of snot on your face. It’s dripping.”

He frantically wiped his face and blew his nose with the handkerchief Masha gave him. When he went to hand it back to her, she politely declined.

Everyone started walking again. There wasn’t time to waste on something like this if they wanted to make it to the exit as soon as possible. But now, for Chinatsu, it felt like there was a time limit. The sooner he and Miyabi could get out of there, the sooner things would go back to normal.