My eyes jerked open as I heard a rooster crow. Or at least I believed it to be a rooster. Looking around the room I was in I realized the entirety of yesterday was not a dream. It was all really happening and this was a new world. The wave of realization crashing over me on the second day was exciting and dreadful. Turning my head to the side I saw the nightstand right in front of me. I was so tired I left the candles burning all night. They had become a waxy mush that was all used up.
Pulling off the sheets, I jumped out of bed with a start. I was ready for the day. I planned to do all the work Georgis wanted me to do and then head over to the library to check out what more information I could find on the planet and the kingdom, or what I would call the country of Melalova.
I walked over to the closet door and opened it. Inside, I saw four different full outfits. One of the outfits was all black: a plain black shirt and black pants with white seams. A nice pair of brown shoes resembling Georgis's were sitting on the floor. I decided to take them and try them on.
After looking in the mirror with the clothes on, I realized they were a little big but fit me just fine. Staring myself up and down, I did not look half bad.
After examining and admiring myself in the mirror, I trotted into the main room. I found the bathroom off on the other side of the room across from the door for the bedroom. I went inside and it was a fairly nice-looking standard bathroom. The whole was white. Twisting the sink knob in the bathroom water came pouring out. The bathroom had running water! I didn't know what to think of seeing a bathroom in a medieval-style time with running water. This world was advanced beyond Earth's middle ages in many ways.
I thought to myself that this world was unique in having such things as running water in a common house. Finding running water was wonderful, but I felt I needed to take care of my hygiene.
First, I took a bath. The bathroom had no nozzle or fancy shower but a simple tub. Of course, expecting to have a full shower system was ridiculous. Taking small victories like running water was far more important than getting upset over missing things like a modern shower system.
The water was not very hot but it got the job done and I felt the cleanest that I had since I got here. I finished in the tub with its generic soap, hopped out, and grabbed one of the towels hanging up on the wall. I was so refreshed after getting a bath like that.
Next, I worried about brushing my teeth. I had no clue what the culture of this planet and society was on brushing teeth. Looking around the sink area I saw a glass of ooze that was white and yellow. Taking a closer look at it I thought it looked like some kind of toothpaste.
Curious as to its use I looked around the bathroom and opened a wood compartment similar to a cabinet next to the sink. Inside I found little bristled sticks that I hypothesized could function as disposable one-time toothbrushes.
Each stick had bristles on the end of it that I ran my fingers through. It felt exactly like a normal toothbrush back on Earth.
Well, how interesting was that? I suppose this planet was not that different from Earth in many respects. It was like a parallel world with the same base, but a different font.
Finding this discovery, I used it. I brushed my teeth with the little one-time usage makeshift toothbrush.
After brushing my teeth and washing up, I put the clothes I found back on and felt ready for the day. Coming out of the bathroom, I decided it was time to head up to the main estate and figure out what I was going to do for the day.
I headed out of the smaller mini-house and jogged up the trail back to the main estate. When I reached the top and knocked on the door I stood there and looked up in the sky. Yep, just as had been said about the atmosphere, it was entirely blue. Rising onto my tiptoes I squinted my eyes but could not make out anything but a deep stretching blueness in every direction.
Thinking about the planet looming over my head right now was daunting, to say the least. My chest was pounding just imagining what kind of creatures lived on that planet and what could be happening just behind the camouflage of the atmosphere.
While I contemplated these thoughts, Georgis opened the door. "Hello," he greeted me with a wave, "Do you want breakfast before we head out to work?"
"Why not," I replied with a slight grin on my face. Walking inside, the main room looked very similar to the one in my little cottage, it was just far bigger. The cottage I stayed in really was like a mini version of this house, interior and exterior.
Glancing down at a table laid out to my right, I saw all kinds of delicious-looking foods. There were eggs, sausage, and hashbrowns. All foods that you would see on a typical breakfast table on Earth. I was pretty thrilled to have the good food I was used to at the start of my day.
I sat down in one of the chairs laid out and grabbed some food. "Did you make all this?" I questioned.
"Oh, no," Georgis replied, "this food was prepped by the tavern. I deliver them much produce and meat so they cook and make meals out of some of it and give it back to me as a generous gift."
"That is very neat," I replied. The tavern must be full of generous people. Taking a bite of some of the food I once again was reminded not only of the tavern's generosity but also of their skilled cooking. The food was fresh and tasty.
"So, what kind of work will we be doing today?" I asked.
"It's Nothing that difficult," Georgis said. "We will simply be tilling soil that will soon be a cornfield."
"Ahh, that sounds actually kind of nice," I replied. I had only done farm work once in my life, and that was a volunteer program for one day. The only things we did were pick fruits and milk cows. It was a great learning experience but my life felt more upside down at that time than now. It is strange how this new world seems to have straightened my life somehow rather than make it feel like chaos.
Finishing up eating the food we had we got up and prepped to do work. Walking out of the cottage to a widespread landscape of green grass and farmland was exciting. A whole new world with new experiences lay right in front of my eyes. The cool air I breathed in made my lungs feel alive like never before. I felt like a newborn in an adult's body. Before striding across the road, we went to a little shed behind my shack where farm tools were kept.
I could name most of them, but a couple I had never seen before. I wondered if they were tools that simply didn't exist on Earth or if I had just never seen them being used before.
Georgis walked in and grabbed some equipment for us to use. After handing me mine we slowly made our way across the dirt road to get started on tilling.
The hours went by with us tilling the entire land for the field, and before we knew it the job was completed. I wiped the sweat from my brow admiring my completed work.
"It looks pretty good," Georgis said coming over and standing next to me.
"I would have to agree with you on that," I replied. We chuckled and sat down right next to the field. I assumed that all the work took around 4 hours just by guessing.
Infinitely curious I asked, "What do you use to tell time in this kingdom?"
"We use magic circles set to tick every second and count every minute and hour. Do you use something different?" Georgis fired off.
"No, no," I responded nonchalantly. I was thinking that these magic circles functioned exactly as clocks did. I was very curious to learn the inner workings of such a unique mythical existence such as a magic circle. The world seemed to feel unreal no matter how much time I would be in it and ponder over it. Wanting to learn absolutely everything there is to learn I renewed my efforts to visit the library and study up about this parallel world.
Before we got up and headed back to the cottages I couldn't help but ask "Why did you take me into your property so easily even if I said I would work?"
"Because you looked like you really could've used the help and I couldn't think of any real reason to refuse. Besides, look at all the help you have given me in your time here so far," Georgis answered.
"But aren't you worried I could have been dangerous?" I asked.
"No, not really," Georgis answered, "Your eyes are not the eyes of someone who would hurt an old man like me for no reason."
"Smiling, Georgis got up and started walking away, "Well, I will head in first to rest up and relax."
Watching him walk I couldn't help but wonder what to think over his answer to my last question. In one sense, it was exactly as I thought his answer would be. He was a kind individual who could not turn away a person in trouble that appeared harmless. But on the flip side, I had to wonder how accurate he was in his assessment of my character.