Mira emerged from a deep darkness devoid of dreams via her sense of smell.
The fragrance was similar to burned incense. It wasn't unpleasant, but the scent was heavy and complex, almost medicinal in quality. She wrinkled her nose and opened her eyes.
For a moment, she didn't know where she was, but then the familiar sight of her living room registered into her fuzzy brain.
She was lying on the cream colored leather sofa, with her crochet afghan draped over her body. The room was dark, but the blinds were slightly opened so she could see the dull brightness peeking around the edges of the blinds, illuminating the room.
Was it dawn or twilight? She couldn't tell. There was no way to know how long she'd been unconscious.
She could vaguely remember earlier that morning, experiencing an uncomfortable buzzing in her ear. The buzzing had started early, before dawn and intensified near daybreak. It had gotten so intense that it awakened her before the 5 am alarm.
She remembered letting her Shih Tzu out into the back yard, and when the little girl began barking at something, she followed the tiny dog out to the garden behind the house.
That was when when she saw something...was it a tiny man with bat wings?
No, it couldn't be.
"Good. You are awake." A male voice greeted her.
Mira blinked as her eyes tried to adjust to the dim light.
Someone was in the room with her.
She clutched the afghan to her chest in alarm. She could feel the man's powerful presence as he approached her, even before she was able to focus on his appearance.
Unusual silver-blue eyes met her stare and held her gaze with something akin to an apologetic gentle softness, and then he dropped on one knee and leaned in closer.
Mira gasped at the sight of this man who was inches from her face. He had a strong lean face with prominent eyebrows and thin lips that held a hint of color. His sharp jawline and a tall slender nose was elf-like.
She checked out his ears, but they weren't pointed--so perhaps he wasn't an elf.
She went back to his mesmerizing eyes, which were a strange alien silver-blue that was alive with curiosity. His pupils flared with a razor sharp intelligence that both impressed and scared her a little. This man was extremely handsome, by any normal male standard, but that was not his most impressive feature.
The man had freaking blue hair!
It was thick and long, reaching his waist, and although the room was shrouded in the semi-darkness, she could still make out the color of the deep blue ocean, with waves of deep blue, interspersed with pale blue strands.
He was dressed in ancient looking white robes, edged with fancy silver embroidery and a band of silver metal on the top edge of what looked to Mira like a high mandarin collar. On his right middle finger, he had on a huge silver ring that had strange markings carved on it.
That hand, with the huge ring, was now reaching out to her. Mira winced as the man touched the tips of his fingers onto her face, and then she squeezed her eyes shut.
She tried to move away from him, but at the moment, she was so frightened that her body refused to move. Her heart beat was so loud she could hear it pounding in her ears.
Oh God. He was going to kill her...
The seconds ticked away. Nothing was happening.
She opened her eyes. The man still had his finger tips resting gently on her face, his eyes intently staring into space, as if he was concentrating on something.
She took a deep breath and was about to say something, but he shushed her, as his gaze concentrated on what was happening between the surface of her skin and his finger tips. This lasted for another minute or so, and then he removed his fingers.
"Your equilibrium has been restored, and your life forces are balanced. You should be fine in a few minutes." The man's tone of voice was reassuring, as if he was a doctor, pacifying a sick patient.
Mira struggled to raise her head, but the quick motion caused the room to spin and she had to sink back down onto the pillow.
"Stay still for a minute. The drug needs a little time to wear off." The man said and pressed her shoulders back down onto the sofa.
"Who are you? What are you doing in my house? What did you drug me with?" She asked abruptly, and all at once.
He backed away, his hands up in the universal sign of peace. "Please do not be alarmed. The drug is simply something to awaken you from your stupor." He pointed towards a small dish on the coffee table.
A tiny wedge of something was still smoldering, its heavy scented smoke wafting in the air between them. It was the source that was causing the air to be hazy and thick.
He flicked a finger, and the tiny incense wedge abruptly went out, as if he'd splashed water on it. Then he turned back to face her.
"My name is Zander Tamein, of Ashrya. How may I address you?"
"What are you doing in my house?" She asked sharply, ignoring his request for her name.
"Please forgive the intrusion. I had to carry you inside your home without your permission. You fainted into my arms, and I could not leave you unconscious outside, on the ground."
Well, it was true that the last thing she remembered was losing consciousness. She also remember feeling arms that caught her as she fell, so he wasn't lying about that.
Mira was never one to be openly hostile, especially since she was physically weakened and vulnerable to anything he could do.
"How---how long have I been unconscious?" She rubbed her eyes, noticing for the first time that the headache had thankfully disappeared.
"You have only been unconscious for a short time," Zander Tamien responded. "Now that your equilibrium has been restored, you should be fine."
Mira heaved a sigh of relief. So it was still morning. It seemed she owed this man at least a word of thanks.
"I'm Mira Lee," she extended her hand. "Thank you for bringing me inside. Nice to meet you."
For a moment it seemed the man Zander Tamien looked stunned as if he did not know what to do with her extended hand.
She reached out to touch his hand. He quickly drew back as if he was unsure what her intent was.
"It's OK." Her startled eyes flew to his face in confusion. "I was just going to shake your hand."
"Why?" He guardedly asked.
"Where do you come from that you don't even know hand shakes are a form of greeting?" She glared suspiciously.
"I told you. I am Zander Tamien of Ashrya. Men and women do not...shake hands...in Ashrya."
"But you just touched my face with your fingers. Do men and women touch faces as a form of greeting in Ashryan, then?"
Zander coughed and laughed gently. "No. There is no touching involved with general greetings between men and women. I am, however, a healer--of sorts. Under the healer's hands, there is no male or female. There is only the patient."
"You're a healer from Ashrya? Where is Ashrya? I've never heard of that country before." Mira mused.
"Ashrya is not a country. It's a world, similar to your world. We came to your world through a rupture between our two worlds." He stated matter-of-factly.
Mira blinked, waiting for more explanation but after he said those words his lips compressed and nothing further came out.
"Wait---what rupture? What worlds? And who's 'we'? I only see you." Mira rubbed her head in confusion.
Without saying another word, Zander lifted his hand and pointed at something on the floor to his right. Vera's eyes widened and she gasped.
On the carpeted floor a few feet from them was another man with blue hair, lying unconscious and barely breathing.