In a dark forest, under a sky scattered with stars and lit by two moons, a mother and her child moved quietly, picking herbs together. The forest was deep in shadow, but they could still see the world around them. Glowing flowers dotted the ground, lighting up with a soft, steady glow whenever night fell, making them able to see their surroundings.
Out of nowhere, a strange sound drifted down from the sky above. The child's head turned quickly, trying to find the source. She pointed her finger up toward the stars. "Mom, is that a shooting star?" She asked, her voice filled with wonder.
The mother, kneeling to pick herbs, paused. She straightened up and looked up at the sky as well. "Yes, Anna," she said, smiling, "that is a shooting star."
Anna's eyes went wide, as if this was her very first time seeing one. She had seen shooting stars before, but somehow, this one looked a bit… different.
"It doesn't look the same as the ones I've seen before, Mom," Anna said, her eyes fixed on the star with curiosity.
Her mother looked down at her with a gentle smile. "Well," she replied, her gaze drifting back to the starry sky, "there are many kinds of shooting stars in this world, Anna. You just haven't seen most of them yet."
***
A day has passed...
Lucas lay sprawled on the ground, deep in sleep. Around him were trees and flowers that looked like they belonged in a storybook. He seemed to be somewhere high up on a mountain. After a moment, he stirred and opened his eyes slowly, feeling a sharp ache in his head, as if he'd fallen from a great height.
Groaning softly, he blinked, trying to make sense of his surroundings. It took him a moment to fully open his eyes, and when he did, he froze, realizing he was in a place he didn't recognize at all.
"Where… am I?" he whispered, still groggy.
His heart began to beat faster as he took in the landscape around him. He slowly got up, still a bit shaky, and looked around again, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.
"Where the hell am I?" he said, his voice a little louder this time, a hint of fear creeping in. "Is this… heaven?" He swallowed hard. "Did I actually die? Was it all not a dream?"
Feeling a surge of panic, Lucas sat back down, his mind racing. He tried to calm himself down, forcing himself to take deep breaths. But the sight in front of him was just too strange. It felt like he had been transported here out of nowhere.
"Is this really heaven?" he wondered aloud, looking around at the beautiful landscape surrounding him. "But.. It's strange… this feels more like Earth than what heaven is supposed to look like."
After sitting and thinking for a moment, another thought came to mind. He blinked, shaking his head a little as he spoke to himself.
"Wait… would heaven even look like this?" he asked, his voice full of doubt. "The view is amazing, but… it just doesn't feel like heaven."
Wanting to make sure he was still alive, he clenched his hand into a fist and lightly punched himself in the cheek. "Ow! That hurt!" he exclaimed, rubbing his cheek with a small smile. "Okay… I guess I'm still alive."
He slowly stood up, his eyes scanning the scene around him again. "But where am I?" he said, feeling even more confused as he took in the view in front of him. The landscape looked untouched, like a place where time hadn't reached yet. He could see mountain after mountain stretching into the distance. The trees were unbelievably tall, and the flowers nearby were strange and unfamiliar.
Lucas felt both amazed and overwhelmed by the view. He kept his gaze on the landscape, unable to look away from the incredible sight. He took a deep breath of the fresh, cool air and murmured to himself, "Unbelievable…"
Then, like a switch, memories started flooding his mind. Questions he hadn't thought to ask suddenly came up. How did he end up here? What was that strange black hole he saw in his bedroom? And most of all… where had that vase really come from?
He tried hard to remember what had happened yesterday, hoping he could figure out how he ended up in this strange place. His thoughts turned back to the vase he had found and brought home. He remembered how it had fallen, landing without a scratch, and then started disappearing into dust.
Nothing about it made sense. 'How could a vase just fall out of nowhere like that?'
Lucas sat still, going over everything in his mind, when a new idea suddenly hit him. His eyes widened as he considered it.
"Wait… could it be… when the vase turned to dust, it somehow summoned that black hole and brought me in this place?" he said aloud, not sure if he even believed it himself.
It was the only thing that made sense, but at the same time, it left him feeling even more puzzled. Now he was more curious than ever about that strange vase.
'But how?' he wondered. 'How could a vase have that kind of power?'
The more he thought about it, the more confused he felt. He sighed, realizing he didn't have any answers yet.
Lucas never thought in his entire life that something like this could happen to him.
But Lucas knew thinking about it forever won't change his current situation.
Right now he had a more important situation to face.
He was transported in another world.