As he walked down the road, he looked closely at the forest around him. When he first got there, he was filled with nervous energy, unsure and unaware of what or where he was. Looking at what kind of trees were surrounding him was the least of his concern.
He broke off from the road, if one can call it that, and got closer to the tree. When he got to the tree he didn't realize how thick the forest was. He couldn't see further than 50 meters through the foliage.
When he got to the tree he looked closely at the bark and the leaves. The leaves were small, needle shaped, and stiff as when the wind blew through the forest the branches of the trees remained still. He grabbed a small branch and bended it down and saw that the trees had berries.
The berries were circular in shape and had small spikes sparse scattered on the surface that pricked his fingers when he rolled it around in his hand. He tried to squish them in his hand but found that they were hard as rocks.
He broke off the branch that he was bending and gave a close inspection on the leaves and whatever bark formed on the young, small branch.
"A juniper tree," He thought to himself, as played with the unripe berries in his hands, "I guess not all things are different here." A small smile appeared on his face, this was a small bit of comfort for him in this new world. He broke away from the tree and returned back to the road.
The juniper tree is found on both sides of the world on earth. It has many purposes in health and in material practices. Although now the more common use for juniper tree is that the berries are used for making gin.
Lux thought back on the first time he had gin, it was horrible. He almost gagged when it went into his mouth. When he had to drink gin he made sure to mix it with something or make a cocktail out of it. In a cocktail that's sweet and covers the taste of alcohol, then he wouldn't mind.
His way of using Juniper was making tea out of its berries. Although he doesn't prefer the taste of juniper tea, it was much better to him than alcohol.
He returned back to the road with the broken branch and berries in his hands. It gave him something to play with, something to pass the time as he walks on the unmarked trail to a town. A small sense of comfort formed in his mind as he swung the branch like a kid.
Along the road there wasn't a signs that would denote the possibility of any form of society or human interaction with nature. This was alarming to Lux as it made him think that maybe he was the only human to exist but he quickly pushed out such foolish ideas out of his head.
His sense of time was suspended as the thick canopy of the forest block out most of the sky, but light was still able to penetrate such a barrier and he had clear sight of where he was going. He worried what would happened if he stayed out late at night. He quicken his pace slightly at the idea of it.
After a what feels like two hours of walking, his feet covered in mud and pebbles. He still was swinging that branch, now with less leaves, he had thrown away the berries in his hand as they were unripe and too hard to eat. The trail in which he was following felt more firm, and gravely. He mood instantly brightened up, this meant that he was near the town. He knew that he was right, he felt it in his core.
He began to run and started to sprint with joy in hopes of seeing people or some form of a human society. He quickly stopped as he got tired and winded.
He was a high school athlete, but that was back in high school and he's in a completely different body. Now he knows the limitations of his body, it was pathetic.
Up the road he saw a wooden sign and quickened his pace again, speed walking this time as his lungs still felt tight from the sporadic moment of sprinting.
The road appeared longer than what it was. It was a short travel time as the road was more windy and had many twists and turn which gave it a sense of being a long time. When he finally gotten to the sign his mood changed slightly.
"Dear god I can't read," He mumbled to himself, as he stared at the sign. He guess that whatever was on the sign was the name of the town that he was now in.
The more he looked at the sign the more the written characters looked like a combination of a many languages from his world, he saw elements of Sanskrit and Aramaic, strangely it had some pictographic elements to it that he had only seen in Nahuatl ruins. Those were the only ones that he was able to identify
If a linguist say this they would be in over their head seeing how all of this could work. Thankfully Lux was not and carried the blessing of ignorance of not knowing how languages worked. The only thing that he noted is that back on his earth most of these languages are either dead, no longer spoken, or spoken by a small population.
In the academic world, it was very common that people that chose to study religions also pick up another topic in relation to it. For example, a person that studying religion would focus on it relation to the culture of people that practiced it or how religions form and grow. Lux was one of the people that chose on a common topic, chose to study religion and its relation to government and implications into laws.
"I don't know how I'm going to learn that," Lux said to himself, "I can barely speak a second language." He paused and looked at the sky. "Mother would be ashamed," he whispered under his breath.
Everything he had held dear in his previous life was now gone. All family, friends, material objects, all his belongings were removed from his life now. And yet now that he focuses on it, he feels nothing.
Lux is confused by his emotions. Shouldn't he feel sad and remorse for not leaving but losing everything he had worked for. All of his hard work, sleepless nights, stressed induced breakdowns all for nothing. But now that he focuses on it he feels nothing?
"I can think of this later," He said to himself, he knew that if he keep thinking this way he would lead himself to a mental breakdown, he knew that it would get him no where and didn't help his immediate situation, "I need clothes, food, a place to stay, and most important of all, money."
Lux straightened his back and relaxed his shoulders. He held his head high and tried to fix his hair. He never had a chance to look at himself but he guess if his clothes looked horrible so would the rest of his appearance.
Once he was satisficed with what he could do, he began to calmly walk down the road, knowing it would only be a few short moments before he got into a town. Unconsciously he had formed a small smile on face.
*
"Now that he's in a town what do you think he's going to do?" Malstilla said as she sits on the eaves of a house in the shape of shiny black bird. She watched as Lux navigates the new yet boring town that he is in.
"There are two typical answers when it comes to a situation like this" Lithale answered appearing deep in thought, if it was possible for a bird to look like that, "The first is the more common one, he integrates with society, becomes a law abiding citizen and follow every rule and social norm set by this world. The second one is less common but still appears a lot, is that he's unable to accept this new world, too attached to the one that he originates from, and would lash out."
Lithale twitched his head in many ways and in different angles to get a feeling of where he was. He continues with his answer, "This can take shape in many forms, he secludes himself from society, go on a war path to change the world to his version of an 'ideal world', just overall reject all ideas of the new world he is in."
The moment a person who has transmigrated in introduced to society. This is common throughout all of history, when two forms of society meet there are usually three outcomes. The first is rejection from both sides that leads to tension eventually to all out war. The second is integration of the two societies into one society, this is usually through forceful means. The third is the rarest, the separation the two but the acceptance of the other society.
Lithale answered her question but only gave surface level answers as his mind was on something else. "I have a better question, how the hell did he know where to go?" Malstilla didn't say anything but silently agreed with
Lithale jumped around in its bird body in thought, "My guess is remnant knowledge from the original soul that the body hosted before him," He answered himself, thinking out loud.
This is an unfortunate habit that he has developed due to him living alone for such extended periods of time. It is not that he's a hermit who secluded himself from society, he can make friends and acquaintances and he does so very easily. It is just that he expects them to remain in contact with him instead of Lithale reaching out to met them again.
"I think its because the body that Lux transmigrated into died only moments before he entered it," Malstilla gave her opinion on it, "The brain itself might still has memories from when it was still alive, the human brain can still live without oxygen for ten minutes."
They tossed around their ideas on what happened, after all from their perspective it doesn't make sense. A human from a different universe is thrown into a thick forest and somehow finds their way to civilization in the same exact day? No, it doesn't make sense.
Lithale got closer to Malstilla and looked at the sky, the sun was three quarters across the sky. Great concern and something else he hasn't felt for a while in a long time, worry. For what he didn't know but a small drop of worriedness was present in his mind. "There is something unusual about him, more out of the ordinary than we have ever seen."
Personal Message from the author:
I am very sorry for not publishing this chapter and making new ones faster. I had caught strep throat and was almost sent to the hospital as I was having difficulty eating, drinking, swallowing, and moving my neck and head. I am better now and I am on antibiotics.
Also if there is anything wrong please be forgive I made half of it when I was sick
My apologies