The young man opened his eyes to an unfamiliar place once
again. He was in a darker room, lying in a bed. Some sunlight peeked through
the shaded window at the bedside. This gave him relief, though he still did not
know where he was. He felt weak, as if he had been wounded, but he felt no scar
of any kind. It was after a short time that the young man saw movement in the
corner of his eye. It startled him, at first, until the source of the movement
revealed its face. A young woman, who looked about his age approached the young
man, carrying a bowl of water with cloths. The young man was nervous, because
he did not know the nature of his current situation. Who was this young woman?
Why was she here? Why was he here for that matter? The questions went through his
mind. For a while, he forgot how to speak out of mere disorientation.
Fortunately for the young man, the woman spoke first.
"You are awake. That's good. If Philip had not found
you when he did, you may not have made it."
The entirety of what she said went over his head. Who was
Philip? Where was he found? He decided to muster up any confidence he could and
ask the question he hadn’t stopped asking himself since he had awoken.
“Am I dreaming?”
To the young man, the question sounded less ridiculous in his
head. Based on her response though, he was mistaken.
"I am flattered, but I'm afraid you will not swoon me
with such words."
The young man quickly tried to explain himself.
"No I didn't mean it like that. I truly am
distraught."
The young woman placed the bowl of water on a table.
"My appologies. I will go get Philip. He will be able
to help you better than I."
By this time, the young man's eyes had adjusted to the dark,
so he was able to see the young woman smile at him before she turned to leave.
"Before I leave, may I ask your name?"
The young man knew the answer to this question.
"William."
William said the name, then immediately remembered
everything that has happened.
April 17, 2012
William’s eyes opened. He immediately grabbed his head as if
he were dizzy. He was in the room he had met the young woman in. Not only that,
but he was sitting in the exact same position, and the room was unchanged. To
William, the brief moment that his eyes were blinking felt as if days passed
between his eyes shutting and opening. His head was still hazed from questions
and confusion, and he still felt weak. Nevertheless, he felt as if he had lied
down enough. He stood from the bed and took a few steps. He looked to his left
to see a mirror sitting where it had plenty of light from the sun. There he saw
his reflection, and though it was just a simple mirror, William was drawn to
it. Though he didn’t know anything about this place, his reflection gave him
comfort. Average height, thin, light skin, brown hair, brown eyes, and not a
single hair on his face. It was him, and he was comforted in knowing that at
the very least, he recognized himself. He stood in that spot, looking into the
mirror for a few moments.
“May I come in?”
The voice came from the door and startled William, pulling
his attention from the mirror. He turned to see a young man, though he could
not make out his physical attributes because his eyes were now adjusted to the
light where he was standing, and the young man was in the doorway, where it was
darker.
“Um..sure”
William stood awkwardly, realizing how foolish he must have
looked staring into a mirror for so long. For all he knew, the young man could
have been standing there the whole time.
“Thanks”
The young man walked in and reached out his right hand,
gesturing for a handshake. William accepted and shook his hand.
“William is it? My name is-”
“Philip?”
William did not mean to cut him off. He simply reacted,
assuming this was whom the young woman had sent for.
“Yes. How did you know?”
“A girl came in here and said she would get you to come help
me”
Philip walked over to the window.
“So you met Megan then? Great girl. She takes after her
brother.”
Philip removed the shade from the window to fill the room
with light. William could now see Philip, and the rest of the room, as clear as
day. To William, Philip looked about the same age. He was a bit taller,
better-built but still almost as thin, black hair, blue eyes, and a smile had
not left his face since the moment William could see it. Then William realized
what Philip had said.
“Her brother? I assume that’s you.”
“Indeed I am. Twin actually. Though I am older.”
Philip’s smile remained. There was something about him that
made even William feel welcome and safe. He had a distinct talking voice that
you could pick out in a crowd of talking people. Persuasive, yet spirited.
Philip sat down in a chair across from a table, where he invited William to sit
across from him.
“My sister tells me that you are distraught. I came here to
see if I could help you at all.”
William sat down across from Philip, trying to pick which of
his many questions to ask first. He decided to take the same approach that he
did with Megan.
“I have some questions.”
Philip nodded, gesturing him to ask away.
“Is all of this a dream?”
Philip had the same look that William pictured Megan having.
“Hear me out. I remember things. Things from another place,
another world. I have no recollection or knowledge of this place. It feels so
real, yet I feels like I am fragmented, and as if when I am here I am a
different person entirely, yet in the place I know, my name is William, and the
reflection I saw of myself is the reflection I know. I am completely aware here
as well, unlike in a dream. For example, I am capable of complex thoughts such
as questioning reality, and I can feel actually feelings, like the
embarrassment I am feeling right now by how crazy I must sound to you, even
though if this is all true, you are only a construct of my own mind.”
William stopped for a moment to breathe. He didn’t mean to
rant that much, and he knew Philip would probably break out in laughter over
how ridiculous that sounded. Philip exhaled slightly, preparing to speak.
“You must be having quite a day then.”
He smiled again, but he did not seem to think less of
William at all.
“I have never heard of anything like that, but that doesn’t
make you crazy at all.”
Philip grabbed a pitcher of water and started pouring it
into a wooden cup as he continued speaking.
“I can tell you that this place is very real. I have lived
for seventeen years. I have felt every emotion and feeling a person my age can.
I have stories I could tell, places I could show you, other people who are as
real as I am who could share their own stories and introduce you to the people
they know and so on.”
Philip placed the cup in front of William.
“Drink it.”
William did as he said. The moment the water touched his
lips, he realized what Philip was saying. The water was cool, refreshing, and
tasted great. It was real. Dreams can imagine up sights, sounds, even people
and pain. Taste is harder to imagine though and a taste that defined had to be
real. More questions ran through William’s mind.
“It’s good isn’t it? It’s from a spring we have in the
village. Do you believe me now?”
William didn’t know what to believe, so he decided to let
this play out.
“Okay, say I believe this is all real. That is just the
first question.”
Philip smiled and gestured him to continue.
“Your sister said something about you finding me, and she
made it sound like I was in danger.”
Philip poured himself some water and started to drink.
“Well it really wasn’t me who found you. It was Marcus. He
is my teacher. He and I were patrolling through the nearby forest and we
found you in pretty bad shape, though I do not know what from. You should talk
to Marcus about that.”
William was having trouble processing everything. Even
though he had just met Philip but only moments before, he was faced with
questioning reality itself. Part of him said not to trust Philip, but he found
himself doing the opposite. There was something about him that gave William
blind faith.
“Can you take me to Marcus?”
Philip smiled and stood from his chair.
“Of course. He will be glad to see you awake.”
Philip started to walk toward the door and William followed.
The two walked through another room and approached a door.
“The light might be a bit bright, so watch your eyes.”
As soon as Philip opened the door, a bright light filled his
eyes, and all he could see was white.
“Welcome to Aldenin, William.”
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