Chapter 5 - Reaching out

The rest of the day went by surprisingly peacefully. Of course, Mila’s aching body prevented her from doing anything exciting, but the point still stood. She was currently sitting in the kitchen at the table, watching Tiff cook their dinner.

The girl was a bundle of nerves. She twitched and jumped at every noise. Mila wanted to calm her but found the language barrier too big of a hurdle.

Instead, she sat in silence, trying to make sense of what she had learned.

The fact that the gods took an interest in mortal affairs baffled Mila to no end. They just did not do that. And Silinth had said that one of them had died, which was impossible. They were not sentient beings.

At least not how humans understood it. Gods were ideas and concepts. They could change but not die!

And then there were the reactions the world had to some specific things. Why would the knowledge of a supposedly dead god elect response? Even more so because-

Mila stopped herself from thinking any further. She was messing with something she did not understand.

Either the world had changed to the point she could barely recognise it, or Mila’s dreams were not a credible source of information.

Mila considered the second option. There definitely were problems with the viewpoints her dreams offered. She lived through the last days and months of soldiers.

From her removed perspective, Mila could tell the leaders told soldiers lie and half-truths. It didn’t mean they were malicious. They simply did what they had to to win their war.

That said, thus far, the basic information has been correct. Mana moved as Mila expected it to. The language was ancient but had existed. The spells formed in the way she recognised.

So, what was the cause of these changes?

Mila frowned in displeasure. Whatever had happened, it scared her. She did not know if she wanted to find out, but at the same time, her curiosity was killing her. There was something else too-

She stopped herself from thinking too deeply.

Tiff interrupted her thoughts with what she recognised as an apology. Mila looked at the girl, who kept her head down in surprise. She didn’t understand her.

Instead of trying to speak, Mila got up from her seat to leave but sat back down when Andrew and Isabel entered the kitchen.

“Hey,” Andrew greeted her. “We were looking for you.”

Mila shifted in her seat. It wasn’t like she was hiding from them. She just did not know how to interact with people her age. Scratch that. She did not know how to interact with people of any age.

“You sure make it clear you don’t want to talk,” Andrew remarked as he and Isabel sat at the table across from Mila.

“It is not that.” Mila schooled her expression. “I needed time to think about our situation.”

“Yeah, we wanted to talk about it.” Andrew nodded knowingly. “It’s been-” He searched for words. “An experience.”

“It’s been a disaster.” Isabel helped. “I still hope to wake up in my bed, away from-” She waved her hand at her surroundings. “All of this.”

“So do I.” Andrew joined her with a sigh. “We decided to make a little support group with the three of us as the members.”

So they were here to see if Mila needed a shoulder to cry on. Once again, she was reminded of their upstanding personalities. They did not know of her situation. She had grown apart from her family years ago and had no real attachment to the previous world. Apart from it being more comfortable to live in, that is.

“I appreciate you both reaching out to me.” Mila bowed her head slightly.

“Uh, please stop that. It makes me feel itchy.” Andrew shuddered.

“What appears to be the problem?” Mila did not understand.

“You-” Andrew looked at Isabel seeking help.

“You speak-” Isabel tried to explain. “Weirdly?” She cocked her head sideways. “It’s like speaking with one of the professors at the Uni.”

“You sound old.” Andrew agreed. “Oh, but we don’t think it’s bad or anything, right?” He asked Isabel, who hurried to nod in agreement. “Right!” He smiled.

Mila chewed on the new information. This was not the first time she had been told that. “And it makes you feel uncomfortable?” She tried to clarify.

“It’s not bad!” Isabel hurried to explain. “I like it! Andrew just has problems with anyone who sounds like they want to teach him something. He is resistant to learning. Like a wall or something.”

“Yeah, well, and you suck.” Andrew did not appreciate the way Isabel explained it. “Whatever. I simply have more fun hanging out with friends than being stuck inside.”

“I apologise if my conduct brings you discomfort. Such is not my desire, and I’ll seek a way to remedy myself.” Mila tried to joke by going overboard.

Andrew looked at her in horror while Isabel slowly blinked.

“I think that was a joke.” Isabel correctly deducted.

“Was it?” Andrew squinted. “Is she messing with us? It’s hard to tell.”

“It was indeed a jest.” Mila nodded, continuing with her act. It appeared her attempt at humour had not been successful.

“If you say so.” Andrew looked at her with suspicion. “Anyway, how about we start by telling an interesting fact about ourselves? I’ll go first.” He beamed a smile. “My left toe is smaller than the right one.” He lowered his voice as if telling a great secret.

Isabel groaned. “At least tell us something useful.”

“Hey, it helps to break the ice.” Andrew defended himself. “See, Mila thinks it’s fun- Err, maybe not.”

“No, I did think it was funny,” Mila admitted. She found Andrew to be easy to get along with, but they did not look convinced.

“Okay, then I’ll go next.” Isabel hyped herself. She hummed while thinking. “How about this - I can recount the alphabet in a reverse order.”

“Boooo!” Andrew did not look amused. “Boring! How is that an interesting fact?”

“I- I mean, it’s kind of interesting, right, Mila?”

“Oh, um, yes?” Mila was unsure. Was it interesting? She certainly could not do the same.

“Don’t make her lie. Tell us something else.” Andrew demanded.

“Oh, fine!” Isabel huffed. “I can touch the tip of my nose with my tongue.”

A moment of silence settled over the table. Mila did not know what to say, while Andrew looked away on purpose.

“What?” Isabel looked at both of them. “Why are you both not saying anything?” She started to blush. “It fits!”

“Yes, this shameful tidbit fits indeed.” Andrew went out of his way to make her feel uncomfortable. “Well, you aside, let’s see what Mila has to add.”

Suddenly, all of the attention was on her. Mila ignored the urge to run away and tried to think of what to say. After a bit of pondering, she thought she had it. “I have not grown more than a couple centimetres in the past 4 years.”

“Uh,” Isabel appeared to be at a loss. “So, you are actually nineteen?”

Mila pursed her lips. “I believe I already said I am.”

“I still can’t believe it!” Andrew commented. “You look the same age as that girl there.” He pointed at Tiff, who was concentrating on stirring the pot, while pointedly ignoring them.

“I said I am nineteen.” Mila felt her mood plummet. “I don’t appreciate you both doubting my words.”

“Uh,” Andrew felt something had gone awry. “Wait, wait, wait! We are not calling you a liar!” He tried to explain.

“We are just surprised,” Isabel hurried to join Andrew. “We are sorry! We didn’t want to make you feel bad.”

With both of the teens desperately trying to appease her, Mila’s mood worsened. Only this time because she felt she had done wrong. She bowed her head deeply. “It is me who needs to apologise. I am sorry for misunderstanding your words.”

“No, please, it’s fine.” Isabel tried to stop Mila. “Let’s pretend this didn’t happen, okay?”

“Yeah, let’s talk about something else. How about-” Andrew moved their conversation along.

Mila appreciated it. Andrew and Isabel moved past her mishap. Their talk moved towards their lives before coming to this world. She learned more about her new comrades.

For example, Isabel had a younger sister. Her grades were exemplary, and she played chess in her free time. She liked to eat chocolate and spend her time reading.

Andrew was the opposite in many regards. He had three siblings and enjoyed hanging out with friends and playing basketball. His grades were not the greatest, but he always managed to talk his way out of failing.

They had known each other for years, attended the same university and led average lives.

While they talked about their past, the boy, whom Mila recalled was named Kefo, arrived and started to help Tiff. He put plates and eating utensils in front of them.

Mila told Andrew and Isabel a bit about herself. Even before turning ten, she had been a solitary child. Then, she had spent most of her time in bed. Nothing was interesting about her besides her dreams. Those, however, she kept secret.

They spoke about their dreams and plans for the future when dinner was finally ready. Andrew wanted to travel the world, while Isabel wanted to work at the local library.

Simple, pure dreams that had been taken away from them. Kefo and Tiff sat down at the far end of the table and ate in silence. Silinth was the only one missing, which meant they could not reach out to the younger pair.

Mila enjoyed the soup. She listened more than spoke. Their conversation slowed down while they ate.

And then Andrew asked a painful question. “What of our families?” He stopped eating. “Will they think we died? That we spirited away?”

This was the likely outcome. But Mila had no heart to tell him that. She looked at the duo and noticed Isabel was clearing her eyes from tears.

The rest of the dinner was spent in silence. The two children had left soon after Andrew’s outburst. They had finally finished their food, so Mila got up from her seat and started to clean the table.

Isabel joined her while Andrew continued to stare at the table. Once everything was in order, Mila headed for the door, and the duo joined her.

Before exiting the kitchen, they blew out the candles, lighting up the place and entered the hallway. This building was built as a canteen for tens of people to use. Now, it was mostly empty, just like the other ones.

Mila walked through the unlit halfway towards the exit. The only sound was their steps, and soon, she walked out into the courtyard. Her eyes moved upward, and for the first time, she saw the night sky of this foreign world.

It was strange to look at the almost familiar sky. Mila could recognise the moon and some of the stellar formations. The guiding star was just as she remembered it from her dreams.

But everything was slightly off. As if an unseen force had bumped against the canvas that was the sky, smudging the once clear picture.

Mila took a deep breath of the crisp evening air.

“It really hits you, these skys.” Isabel stood beside her, gazing up. Large tears rolled down her cheeks. She tried to wipe them away to no avail.

Andrew walked towards the building where their rooms were, leaving them behind. His step was fast, making sure he was left alone.

“Well,” Isabel continued and tried to give a reassuring smile. “If you need a shoulder to cry on, you know where my room is.” She tried to leave.

And was stopped by Mila grabbing her sleeve. She still did not know what to say. Instead, she hugged Isabel and pulled her head down onto her shoulder.

For a moment, Isabel froze before a loud sob broke out of her chest. Once the first one came, the others followed freely. She returned the hug, letting her fingers dig into Mila’s back. Her cries grew stronger as she released her pent-up emotions.

Mila held the taller girl for a long while. She felt her shoulder soak with the tears. Isabel’s desperate hug hurt her, but Mila ignored the pain. She could only offer her warmth.

For now, this was the best Mila could do.