Another world

I woke up with a hazy mind. I felt really haggard and bizarre. The feeling was odd.

The light came from somewhere made me squint. I blinked several times. The first thing I saw was a ceiling, maybe. It was old and seemed to be made from wood.

I could turn my head. Looking around it seems I'm in a room, then realized I'm also lying on something that resembled a bed, but mine wasn’t this uncomfortable.

The room was different from the room in the apartment my parents rented for me since I started high school. I felt something was out of place.

I noticed the room’s design and furniture seemed strange. There was a wooden table and chair, along with a candle and a lamp that looked like it was from the old days. The room wasn’t big so despite there wasn’t much in here, it didn’t look that empty.

Umm, was there an unmodern place like this? It must mean I wasn’t in a city. Wait, I was caught up in an accident, I was supposed to be in a hospital if I was still alive. Ugh, my head hurt. Where am I?

I tried to sit up but I couldn’t move. I wasn't hurt anywhere, but the exhaustion was too much. Mustered up the little strength left in me, I raised to look at the hands that clearly couldn't belong to a high school student. They were so much smaller.

I recalled the moment on the bus. It felt so real, I was sure death was unavoidable but here I am, lying on a bed, conscious. The unbearable pain I felt was like a dream, it disappeared. I could feel the warmth in my body, unlike the cold when I was nearing my death door.

As I was mulling over what happened to me, someone opened the door.

There was a cute little girl who was carrying a basin with a towel, slowly walking inside. I look at her, wondering who she is.

The moment our eyes met, she dropped the basin and her mouth was agape, she immediately scampered outside while screaming, I vaguely heard she was trying to call someone. I lay there speechless, looking at the opened door.

Is she someone I know?

I don’t think I know her. She isn't my sibling since I'm an only child nor my relatives. Is she a child of my acquaintance? As I am trying to remember her, an old lady walks in with the girl earlier. She is wearing clothes that look like sister clothes I saw in a movie before.

A sister? Was I inside a church or something?

I notice there are people, a young boy and a young girl, standing at the door. More unfamiliar faces. As I am wondering who they are, somehow, they are looking at me with the eyes that just saw something unbelievable.

“How are you feeling right now?” – With a low voice filled with elegance and sternness, the person who looked like a sister suddenly said.

She came near where I was lying and asked me. I hesitated a moment before opening my mouth.

“I don’t feel anything awful, but can I ask where am I?”

“What?” 

“I can’t recognize this place, so I’m wondering where I am”

Was my question that strange? She had a perplexed look on her face. I really didn’t know, and I was pretty sure this wasn’t a hospital.

“You don’t know? Hmm, it’s strange. You have been living here for a long time now. You don't know this place?”

I shook my head. Now I was starting to feel something was off.

"What about your name, can you recall your name?"

My name? It's Amano Kaede. I open my mouth to say it, then stop. It was so out of place, so I decided to shake my head.

“You don't know about this place, and you don't even know your name. There might be something wrong with your memory” - She said after deep in thought for a while.

Thinking back, there was a strange feeling. I don't remember my hand being that small, at least not of a 16-year-old boy. Realizing that, I touch my face. It felt... not my face. The person who looks like a sister stares at me as I'm making a confusing face.

“Anyway, I was really glad that you now are feeling better. I think you still feel tired, so let's have you take a rest first, then, I will come again, is it alright, Bell?”.

I nod. It was true that I still felt tired. I felt I was about to faint.

Bell? Is that my name? I wrack my brain, trying to ingest these weird feelings. Having an unfamiliar body, a different name, waking up in a strange place, and encountering many unfamiliar faces, a suspicion rose within me.

It is not that, right…

The sister looked satisfied and gestured the little girl and the people outside the door to get going, and closed the door. Still confused, my eyes couldn't keep open.

Bell…

Several hours later, I woke up. I could sit up now because I felt better, I could move my body now.

“A dream…?” – I mumbled.

I just had a weird and so vague dream. In the dream, there was a girl with long silver hair trying to say something. It felt so distant yet so familiar. I couldn’t make out what her face looked like but it seemed she was crying. She extended her hands toward me and tried to say something. I didn’t know why I had the urge to reach out my hand to grab hers.

I got out of the bed. I noticed that there was a small mirror hanging on the wall. It looked like I couldn’t see it from my position on the bed. Standing before the mirror, my face twisted with an awkward smile.

“I had my doubt earlier but seeing this is really shocking”

Reflecting in the mirror is a young boy with white hair. He seemed like an elementary student, probably 7 or 8 years old. Really? I doubted my eyes. This was nothing but “that”.

The many light novels I finished reading during summer vacation slapped me in the face.

“It seems I really am in another world…” – I said to myself.