"Is that all your luggage?"
Patricia nods as she watches her personal belongings packed and store away in a pick-up truck by one of her grandmother's assistants. She shifted her look at her side as she feels her sihsih come up by her side. "I know it's a bit sudden, but you know it must happen, my darling."
Patricia sighs, "I know, sihsih. Ever since I saw my classmate in that position that I forced her to be in, I know that something similar to this would happen. I imagined it to be the police rather you, but I am thankful that this happened instead. I don't want to be in jail, and I never planned to go on one." A gentle hand caresses her back, "Don't worry, sihsih's here. You're going to a much better place than a rotten jail."
They ride the pick-up truck to a harbor that Patricia didn't knew she was stepping on. "A harbor?" She looks at Klizzette, "I'm sure there are better transportations than a boat, sihsih. I have my passport on me." The old lady shakes her head and slightly giggles, "I'm sure that this is the better transportation towards our destination."
Patricia is still confused about their choice of transportation but she chose to not dare oppose her. "If you say so, sihsih. The sea doesn't really bode well for me." Klizzette smiles, "We won't be too long in the sea." They approached a ticket booth where it's unusually empty except for the person-in-charge.
"Across the Atlantic Ocean, please." Klizzette looks at the man in the ticket booth. "What do you mean? Europe?" The old lady just smiled. The man looks around before looking back at her, "I'm surprised that you passed by the restriction of the inner harbor." Klizzette shakes her head and chuckles, "I needed to visit… well, fetch someone here. You know what happened, I can't imagine other children or people unaware of their abilities still stayed hidden."
"I can't imagine it as well, but I have heard from that the Commission of Interworld Connections that they got it under control. That's why there's no report in the televisions yet about people going crazy with their abilities." Klizzette sighs, "I wish." The man hands their ticket over, "Here's your pass, ma'am."
Patricia looks closely at the ticket, she feels it was rather different from a normal ferry ticket. She never rode one before, but the gold border and the strange aura of the piece of paper gives her a feeling that this one is special. "You're just in time as well, ma'am. Special rides these days are quite rare, seeing that no one really arrives back here. There are two or three times that there will be a ride and one just arrived a moment ago."
"I understand as to why." Klizzette stores their ticket on her handbag. "Thank you. In tlalli uil mixtenuan." They approached the staircase towards the big boat parked near the shore. Patricia looks at her grandmother, "Sihsih, what does that mean?" Klizzette looks at her and giggles, "It means the earth shall bless you, my child." The young lady gulps, "Does your home in this Thereal thing speak that? I can't survive in that place if they do." Her grandmother giggles, "They don't, in fact, they rarely speak Camalot language nowadays. There are nations that still speak languages that rooted from that. But I don't fear that man not understanding what I have said, it's a common saying. It's to further prove I am indeed a mentiel. Ever since our interaction with this world, English is mostly used."
"So, it's not just one nation, sihsih? There's really another world out there? The man said that there's a commission about Interworld Connection or something." Klizzette smiles, "It's better if you see it for yourself. Besides, the world itself will answer your question best."
They aboard the ferry and approached a particular person that Patricia didn't even recognized to be an important personnel in the vehicle. Klizzette handed the four tickets to him. The man nods and escorts them to the rooms. Patricia is getting a lot of weird feelings about all of this. She feels like she's boarding some secret and illegal boat but she knows it's not the case. The discreetness puts her off.
"Enjoy your ride ma'am. Rest assured no unaware arthiels will be aboard in this ferry. Still, keep your abilities in you. With what happened in Thereal, we don't need anything else triggering this problem to spread." Klizzette nods, "Don't worry, I got mine all in control." The man nods and leaves them be. The two assistants of Klizzette settled their luggages in their rooms.
"If you need anything, don't be shy to knock me on my door, okay?" Patricia nods as they all part ways and into their rooms. Patricia looks around hers, much to her dismay, this wasn't some private class ferry. It's just a room with a bed and some other utilities to use while in the ride.
With the disappointment that she had with the room, she decided to get some fresh air in the deck. She went upstairs and was greeted by the gentle breeze from the sea. She looks out in the horizon, thinking where the 'Thereal' place could be. She looked at the harbor as well, she saw some people boarding the ferry she was in. She wasn't expecting that there will be other people in the boat, but there was a continuous load of people going up to the stairs.
There are some that seems the same age as hers, there are even children. She can't confirm whether they're like her or not, but their presence in the boat says the prior. She watches them until there were no more passengers left. The captain announces their departure where she felt the boat started moving. She looks at the deck that was once void of people fill up. There are some that are going to the utilities and rooms below, and there are some that decided to stay on the deck.
Patricia sighs and look out the sea once again, admiring the view of the waves as they topple on one another. A moment of peace present itself to her, and she willingly embraced it.
Night came to fall and they have gathered to a hall with multiple round tables. "When will we arrive, sihsih?" They take their table and sit on the seats surrounding it. "Sometime tomorrow. I'm sorry this is a bit long, but it will be worth it in the end." "Do you need to travel this long just to get to ours?" Klizzette nods, "Yes, but it's nothing, especially if you got used to it. Besides, a day in a boat is not that big of a deal. It's relaxing rather than stressful like you seem to imply."
"Sihsih, are they… Mentiels, as well?" Patricia takes a glance on the other passengers on the boat in their respective tables. "Of course, darling. How will they aboard this ferry if they are not?" "There are… many of us?" She sighs, "And, here's me thinking I was special." Klizzette giggles and places her hand on top of hers. "You're still special, my darling. There's still more to you than meets the eye. Of course, a world shall have a population of many to inhabit the lands it offer. This number still doesn't compare on how many mentiels you will meet in the other world."
"Don't you rather feel much more welcome and included when you see more people that's similar to you as well?" Nickolo looks at her, "It must be hard for you to be in the dark all these years. It's your time to meet other people like you, even make friends that will understand what you have in those hands." Klizzette giggles, "Nickolo is right, my darling. It's better for you to meet the other side of your world. You will be thankful that you did."
The night has past and the ferry Patricia was in comes into a halt. She looks outside, the golden hue of the sky confirms her that she's not in the world she knows anymore. She goes down the ferry with her family, still mesmerized with the sight that beholds in the horizon. She can see mountains in the distance and strange looking houses all around. It was rather colorful, and she loves to see it. She rushes to see more of what she's seeing from the ferry. An overwhelming happiness emerges inside her, as if she met an old friend she never seen for years.
Klizzette walks up behind her, "Here, Patricia. Welcome to Messiless, your new home."
"Messiless? That's the name of this place?" Klizzette nods, "Yes, this is the County of Magrana, to be precise." Patricia wanders her eyes around, feasting on the vibrant colors of Magrana. "It's colorful in here, sihsih! I also feel some countryside vibes!" Klizzette giggles, "Because it is."
"So, we're in Thereal now?" Patricia looks at the horizon, she can't see any landmasses in the distance. "America's over there, I imagine?" Her grandmother shakes her head, "No, there are no landmasses across that ocean. Well, we are several kilometers away from the nearest shore of Maino."
"We're really in a different world now?" Klizzette smiles, "Yes, we are in the inner world, as they call it. There are no Americas nor Europe here. You are in a very different world, but quite similar as the world you were used to." Patricia looks at her, "We're… in a different planet?" Her grandmother shakes her head, "It's a long story to tell how this world works to you. The term 'inner world' best describes it all. But don't fret, my darling. You'll be perfectly fine. I am sure you will get along with the people in here."
A vehicle stopped by their front as they reached what seemingly a parking lot. "There are cars here too?" Patricia looks at the vehicle that has similarities to the cars she knows. Although, the shape of it is weird as she expects it to be, but it's a car nonetheless. "Even with magic, we are not void of technological advances. After all, there's a clear communication between mentiels and arthiels. It's not that surprising, but if you are, that's not all."
They go aboard the vehicle. "Madam Klizzette! Never expected you to go home so early. That's not the vacation that you always have." A weird looking man was in the driver's seat. His arms were magenta in color, shining like Patricia's right hand. With the positioning of the seats, he was the only one in the front. "It was an emergency, Lonin. This is Patricia, my granddaughter."
"She was affected too?" Lonin sighs, "It is really a big problem. The COIC still doesn't have any news for that matter." "It really is which makes me think it's best suited for my granddaughter to take a rest for a while. It's been a long week for her." The driver nods, "As you wish, madam!" He shifted his gear and started driving the vehicle they were in. Patricia leans her head on the wall beside her and look outside, admiring the view of the bustling harbor.
The terrain slowly changed into a much more rough one, but Patricia doesn't feel being thrown around the place. Even when they were riding up a mountain-looking place, it was a smooth ride all over. Although, she feels sometimes that something is happening below the car she was in. She decided to take a look out of curiosity. She founds out the tires were adapting on their surroundings, ensuring a smooth ride for them.
"So, these vehicles are from my world?" Klizzette looks at her, "Just the idea. The power of Techno may not be in our hands, but there are certainly mentiels that possess some of it."
After traveling for hours, they have arrived at a colorful mansion. Its structure is a lot different than the houses she saw before. "Welcome to my humble abode, my dear."