You can only see some things if you are actually looking out for them

Apparently, I fell asleep after my screaming bout. When I woke up, my throat was killing me. My mouth was dry, and there was not a single drop of water around. The cell was pretty bare in that sense, which only made me appreciate the “hospitality” I received back in the village.

Once again, my actions came back to bite me in the ass.

It was brighter than before, more light coming out of the slit that led outside. Was it day or night? Regardless, I was sure the light came from lightstones, not the sky.

At the very least, now that my emotions abated, I finally had enough free space in my mind to think.

It's dire.

Not that it was not dire before, but now that I can actually breathe… now it’s even worse than I thought.

They really were going easy on me back in the village, weren’t they? You truly don’t know what you have until you lose it.

I hate having to agree with my father on that.

Father…

No, that can of worms must wait. Hopefully forever. The prison break goes first.

I sat down, and for the first time, took a look around the cell. It’s actually bigger than I expected, about the same size as the hut they used as infirmary back in the village. But there seems to be some more stuff in here. Something huddled in the back.

I rose up and slowly walked near it, ready to examine it and discover what options I had for my escape this time. But when I got a couple of steps away from it, I could see it moving very slowly.

I stopped, unsure if I should go on, but so far from the slit window, there was not enough light for me to distinguish what the hell I was looking at.

They wouldn’t put a rabid animal or something of the like down here, right? they need me alive, right?

I looked around, hoping to find… perfect!

Someone had thrown a branch through the slit! It was very, very thin, it would probably snap if I swung it around, but it was perfect for the purposes I had for it.

As far away as I could, I poked the thing in the cell with the branch. Waiting for any kind of response.

The branch did snap, it was useless after all.

But whatever was back there, did wake up when I poked it. It moved. Most of it remained still, but a part of it started to grow, and grow. It soon was taller than me and…

Is it just a person?

“?uoy htiw gnorw s'tahw ?kcits a htiw su ekop uoy did lleh eht yhw” Said the person, in its unknown language I had no hope of understanding.

The man looked at me, apparently as confused as I was. At the very least, he didn’t look aggressive, considering that he was thrown into prison. For a moment I had a hope they were in the same situation as me, but I quickly dismissed that thought. They spoke in the same kind of gibberish Lyra spoke. They are locals. They also dress as such, even if their clothes are full of dirt and grime.

“Sorry, I hadn’t seen you there.” I said, bowing down to try and convey that it was an apology.

Soon enough the rest of the bundle started moving, and the blanket they were under fell, revealing other two people that were sleeping. There were two men and a woman in total, which was slightly familiar, but I couldn’t really put my finger on why. The woman rubbed her eyes as she woke up, and rose up, telling something to the man I had been poking before.

When she turned around and looked at me, I finally recognized them. They were the three people that had walked into the veil some weeks ago, the ones that had to fight the tentacles away before entering.

The woman looked at me, first looking surprised, but then she just looked saddened. I tried to find something to say, but I knew it was pointless.

“They catch you too?” She said, not quite in the right way, but clear enough for me to understand.

I could not believe it. She actually spoke english. I had to take a couple of seconds to recompose myself and prevent any stupid questions from being asked, before answering.

“Yes, I fear so.” I said, looking at the man at her side, wondering if he could understand us too.

The man looked about as surprised as I was. He said something in their language to her, but I could not grasp a word.

“I’m sorry, I don’t speak englesh well.” The woman said, in a mix of her own accent and a deep European accent.

Was she imitating Howard? For some reason, he was the first person that came to mind. Even if he probably had never been to Europe before.

“Don’t worry, it’s quite good.” I responded, with actual honesty. “Did Howard teach you?”

“Yes, just a little.” She said, starting to walk towards me. “I always found very… interesting, to understand where you two came from.” She said, taking her time to find some words.

“I see, I’m just so glad that I have someone to talk to. My name is Pole Rast, I don’t think we spoke before” I said, extending my hand, as a greeting.

She looked at me, confused for a moment, but soon enough she realized my intention and shook my hand too.

“I’m Swerans, the pleasure is mine.” She said. Moving her hand up and down with very wide movements.

I gladly shook her hand, but then the moment went on and she kept shaking it while smiling at me. Finally, I had to wriggle my hand off from hers, as I noticed that she was not gonna stop.

The woman turned around, still smiling, and said something in her language to the other men in the back. She started mimicking the handshake, explaining the concept to them.

Only then it truly dawned on me, something that was extremely obvious, but that I had never stopped to consider even once.

Paranoia truly messed with my mind, didn’t it?

“Wait, I have to ask. Howard taught you English, right?” I asked, confirming it once more.

“Uh, of course, who else?” The woman asked, shrugging.

I’m such an oblivious idiot. I spent so long with the guy and the idea didn’t even cross my mind.

“And… Howard comes from the same place that I do, right? From earth?” I finally asked.

“Well, where else would he be from? Didn’t he tell you?” She said, confusion seeping into her voice.

In a way, he didn’t even have to tell me. I hadn’t questioned it before, but WHY did people know english around here? It certainly is not a local language, almost nobody in the village spoke it. But moreover… Howard Thompton? Seriously?

He didn’t even have to say it. An English speaker with an earthly name came here to introduce me to all the things I needed to know about this new world. I had it in front of my face the entire time and I was too busy looking at his stupid unkept beard.

And now he’s no longer here. I can’t ask him about it, I can’t speak about home with no one who will actually understand it. I wish I had realized this all before so I could ask him where he was from, how he got here, the things he did when he got summoned.

But overall, the thing I now wondered the most was simply, why didn’t he just tell me? Shouldn’t he have said that first when we met?

Why did he not explain anything, unless he was basically obligated to do so?

My mounting confusion must have been very evident in my face, as Swerans started looking at me with pity.

“Do you need talk?” She said, walking towards me and putting her hand on my shoulder.

“Yeah, I think I do” I responded.

She smiled at me, and pointed me towards the other two, inviting me to join them.

I knew that they probably would not understand me, but at that moment I just needed to be with someone. I felt terrible for thinking about it, but I was so glad I was not alone in my cell at that moment.

I was truly, truly happy to have someone at my side.

Even if most of them still could not understand my words.