The Author, the Well, and Another World (3)

I looked up and I saw an angel.

Ah, my sweet savior. I thought, and if I could have seen myself, I’d think my eyes were glittering.

Turned out that the angel was a little girl, whose image I didn’t even get to remember, as the next moment the lid on the well was shut again.

Once my brain processed what happened, I started banging on the lid.

“Hey, let me out!” I yelled over and over again. I could feel my vocal chords on the verge of breaking. Tears poured out of my eyes as I battled to hold on to the holes in the well. I could feel splinters forming on my fingers as I was holding on with the last of my strength.

I don’t want to die. I was about to give up. Now, I regret each time my thoughts wished that I should just die. I regret not using all opportunities to spend time with family and friends, and finding excuses to lock myself in my room and just look for escapism in books and games. If I somehow survive, I promise you, gods, I’ll change. I’ll find a balance, I won’t turn into a shut-in. I will find a proper job. Just please, don’t let it end here.

And then the lid was opened once again. This time, standing beside the little girl was a man.

“Not another one,” the man sighed. The man standing next to the girl was broad-shouldered and rugged. He kneeled and grabbed me with his muscular hands and sent me flying out of the hole.

I am finally out of the hole, and now I can see the people who were towering over me just a moment ago. Before me stood a small girl, no older than ten, with wide, curious blue eyes that matched the man's. Her blonde hair was braided into two thick pigtails. She wore a simple, patched dress made of homespun linen smudged with dirt. As for the man who pulled me, he had a thick, unkempt beard and greasy brown hair. He wore simple, coarse wool trousers that were perpetually stained with mud and sap, and a faded linen shirt, patched in numerous places.

I didn’t have a chance to speak, but I saw a girl covering her eyes, and clear hostility coming from the man.

“You didn’t even have the courtesy to dress up when you got here. You travelers are the worst bunch. And can you stop using my well?” the man spoke. He didn’t shout, but his voice was a low growl, tight with controlled fury.

Well, travelers? I was trying to piece information together, but then it hit me.

I AM NAKED IN FRONT OF TWO STRANGERS. My face flushed red as I tried to curl myself up to hide my body. Oh, man, this is bad. And in front of the child. They label me a pervert. The scenes of laughter and humiliation started forming in my head, but then a blanket was thrown towards me.

“At least cover yourself in front of my little girl, you pervert.” And there it is. I knew it. I’m getting wrongfully labeled in what I assume is another world. Or, judging by whatever this place is, somewhere where electricity has not yet been invented. The same stoned wall was extended by wooden frames going into the ceiling, and on two lanterns hanging from the ceiling. And furniture is also just plain. Rounded wooden table, wooden chairs, by the looks of them, handmade. They reek of poor craftsmanship. Though I won’t say anything out loud, or I may face my death yet.

The big guy hasn’t killed me yet, so that was a good thing. I silently wrapped myself in the blanket I was provided, while trying to think what my first words would be.

“I am not a pervert, just a very unfortunate individual!”. Yeah, really strong opener right there.

“You traveled to our realm without any clothes. What else are you if not a pervert?”

Well, he has me there. But wait… Who would travel in clothes to this world only to come out of a well?

“I didn’t get here by choice. One moment I was resting in my bath, next I was drowning in your well. Does that sound like a voluntary trip?”

The man crossed his arms, now glaring at me.

“So, if you did not come here voluntarily, who has summoned you?”

“I’d like to know that as well…”. RuggedMan-san. I remembered that I didn’t even introduce myself.

“Why’d you stop?” the man asked me. His voice is rugged as his face. Talk about cliché.

“I find it rude to have a conversation without formal introductions.”

“What are you talking about?” Ah, well, it seems at least for this situation, all formalities are out of the window.

“My name is Kazuki Tanaka. I'm a third-year student at Hiroshima Prefectural High School.”

“Are you speaking gibberish?” Well, he definitely doesn’t know Japanese

Well, he definitely doesn’t know about modern-day education. Yet he seems to understand Japanese just fine. Or are we even talking in Japanese? Maybe I should ask.

“I am speaking Japanese,” I blatantly said, hoping to get some feedback.

“I don’t know what the J-word you just said means. Speak proper language, man.”

Damn it, I have been hoping for a clue. Well, let’s try to get more info on the travelers.

“How should I call you?”

“You can call me John,” the Rugged Man said. Then he looked towards the young one. “And this is Emilia.”

John and Emilia, very English-sounding names. Could it be I traveled back in time?

“Well, nice to meet you both. So you mentioned there were other travelers.”

“Yes, it was a while since the last one of you passed through here, but the fact that I have two of you in the span of a year makes me think I should close up the well permanently. Though I wouldn’t want to hear your dying screams.”

“Don’t travelers go back through here. If this is a gateway, does it go both ways?”

“Man, do I look like a traveler to you?”

Well, I suppose he could be, for all I know.

“You people come here with strange clothes, gadgets, and strange names. And some of you have attitude problems, too. But no, I haven’t seen any of you come back here. And it’s for the better. Except for that one girl, she is always welcome here. What was her name? Ahh, yes, it was…”

My face went into shock as he pronounced her name. It couldn’t be, right? I mean, how was it possible? I mean, it can be just a coincidence; it's not an uncommon name.

“Mio. Yes, she was a nice girl. Handled the traveling shock better than some others. Even played around with Sa.. Emilia, while I was working.”

I pretended I didn’t notice his error there. He is probably hiding their real names for safety. After all, I am just a traveler from another world.

I kneeled on the ground. “Please, John, can you describe this girl?”

“Umm…ok. She had long black hair and blue eyes. Nice posture, and had a sort of shy voice. Sometimes she sounded too polite. She also had some strange what she called a navy collar.”

That's Mio for sure. I thought. My heart raced, and I could feel a knot forming in my stomach. She was wearing the school uniform: a pristine white sailor fuku top with a navy blue collar and a red bow. Her skirt was also pleated, navy blue, reaching just above her knees, and she had on white knee-high socks and black loafers.

I am now realizing that I have been paying attention to Mio’s clothes way too much. Still, she was here. She could be close.

“Do you know any details, anything to give me a clue where to find her?” I pleaded, hoping for a lead.

“Can’t help you there. She was here for a few days, but since she didn’t have a way to get back to where she came from, and I couldn’t help, she decided to visit the nearest town. And I guess that has been about a year now since she left.”

Wait, did he just say a year? But that’s impossible, I spoke with Mio yesterday at most, before arriving here. Is the flow of time here different then in our world?