"??: Daughter... you forgot to say goodbye."

  I clutched my chest. My breathing was ragged, my heart pounding hard, and tears threatened to spill from my eyes... Another damn nightmare, and once again I woke from it only to realize I wasn't in my world.

  "M: Next time you fall asleep outside, you'll wake up outside."

  His voice was cold. Honestly, I was starting to get a little tired of his perpetually grumpy attitude, and right now I wasn't in the best state.

  "T: Good morning to you too... Do you have to be so grouchy all the time?"

  "M: Only when uninvited people show up at my house, destroy my door, ruin my garden, steal my bed, and eat my food without paying."

  "T: It's not like I did it on purpose. And you were the one who decided to feed me and give me your bed—I never asked you to."

  My voice began to crack as a couple of tears rolled down my cheeks. When he noticed, Manahu's eyes widened.

  "M: I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—I was just..."

  "T: Besides, I didn't ask to be here, remember? Sorry if I'm a bother. I wouldn't like it either if someone showed up at my house and disrupted my peace. But do you know what it means for me to be here? Do you know what it's like to lose your family, your friends, your life, your world—EVERYTHING? If it bothers you so much, why didn't you just leave me to die in the forest, huh?"

  Tears blurred my vision as I fought uselessly to hold them back. He murmured something I couldn't catch. Silence reigned for a few seconds until Manahu broke it.

  "M: Breakfast is on the table... I'll be outside."

  With those words, he left. It took me a few minutes to pull myself together. When my stomach growled, I got up to eat. The taste of the food mixed with the salt of dried tears on my lips... A little later, I went outside to look for him.

  "T: Sorry for yelling at you. It's okay—if you don't want me here, I'll leave. I just ask for help to..."

  "M: No, don't apologize. You're right. This must be incredibly hard for you. I really hadn't thought about it that way. I'm sorry. It's just... I guess being alone for so long made me forget how to interact with people. There's no need for you to leave, and... you're not obligated to compensate me for anything. You can stay as long as you want."

  His voice was strangely calm—and... sad? He was avoiding my gaze, but I could swear his eyes were almost as red as mine. Had he been crying?

  "T: You're not obligated to—"

  "M: No, I mean it. Stay as long as you want."

  "T: ...Thank you."

  The rest of the day passed in awkward calm. We avoided looking at each other and spoke as little as possible. Manahu seemed lost in his thoughts... We finished fixing the field, repaired the door, burned the sanitary waste... By afternoon we went for a walk in the forest to gather supplies, protected by a barrier so the Beasts of Silence wouldn't hear us. Along the way, Manahu scattered chili seeds on the ground.

  "T: What are the seeds for?"

  "M: If you put seeds in the ground, plants grow."

  "T: I'm not stupid—I know that. You'd be surprised by the agricultural knowledge and technology we have in my world. I mean, why do you want chili plants to grow here?"

  "M: For the tetloch."

  "T: Tetloch? Oh, the spicy-meat animals."

  "M: Exactly. They get their spiciness from the chilies they eat. It saves them from most predators—but unfortunately for them, it just makes them more appealing to me."

  "T: I see... In my world there are animals that do something similar, but if you ate them you'd die instead of getting spicy."

  It reminded me of monarch butterflies and milkweed or poison dart frogs and ants. I guess no matter how poisonous something is, there's always something that turns it to its advantage, resists it, or even enjoys it.

  "T: Why don't you make a farm?"

  "M: I thought about it once, but they're too destructive—they dig holes everywhere, so they're hard to contain."

  "T: Why not use a barrier to keep them in?"

  "M: Nah, it's fine. I'm not going to wear myself out just for that. Maintaining a barrier takes concentration anyway—they'd escape while I sleep. Besides, I like coming to the forest to hunt them."

  "T: Wait—so we're unprotected when you sleep?"

  "M: Relax. At first I had a lot of close calls and nearly died a few times, but my sleep got lighter over time, and they always make a huge racket when they find something. So it's very unlikely they'd catch us off guard."

  "Very unlikely" didn't reassure me completely, but if Manahu was still alive, I supposed I could trust him... Now that I thought about it—how long had he been living here? I was still a bit uncomfortable from our morning interaction, so I decided not to dig deeper.

  We kept walking through the forest, gathering mushrooms and some strange larvae until we finally found the main target: a group of tetloch. And they were... simply ADORABLE. They looked like giant, very furry and fluffy hamsters with rabbit ears—though a bit shorter. The only not-so-adorable part was their long, hairless rat-like tail. Thanks to the barrier, they hadn't heard us approaching.

  "T: They're so cute. Do you really like them that much? Can't you just become vegetarian? Or find another kind of meat?"

  "M: There isn't much edible meat around here. And no thanks—I'm not living on plants. I won't lie: I do feel a little sorry for killing them, but that passes quickly once I remember how good the meat tastes. Well... time to hunt."

  His body glowed. He dropped the barrier, and an icy gust shot from his wand. It didn't freeze the tetloch, but it seemed to slow their movements. Then, with incredible speed, he lunged toward them and began stuffing them one by one into a sack. Some scratched the ground with their hind legs, launching rocks at high speed—probably propelled by magic—but the rocks veered off or lost velocity before reaching him. After catching a few, he let the rest go, and we headed back to the cabin while the captured tetloch thrashed violently in the sack.

  "T: Wouldn't it be better to kill them now? It feels a bit cruel to have them scared inside the sack."

  "M: I don't have the precision to kill them quickly and painlessly on the spot. So I capture them first, leave them alone in the empty room for a couple of days until they calm down, and then I cut their heads off one by one."

  "T: That... sounds way too cruel. It's like you're giving them false hope."

  "M: If I kill them now while they're still terrified, the meat tastes worse. Besides, I use water blades to decapitate them with a single cut—quick and more effective than a regular knife."

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  "T: Still... it feels cruel to me."

  "M: Don't people in your world kill animals for food?"

  "T: Well, yes, but..."

  It was true. Even though lab-grown meat existed, farms still existed—and certainly not all of them killed animals in the most pleasant way. Though I don't think there's really any "pleasant" way to die or kill.

  When we got back, Manahu released the tetloch into the empty room along with some plants and chilies for them to eat.

  The following days were calmer. The nightmares continued from time to time, but they were... bearable. Manahu seemed kinder and more understanding since our argument, though he was still a bit irritable. Occasionally I had another anxiety attack, but the relaxation techniques he taught me helped me cope. Our days consisted of eating, cooking, tending the garden, practicing magic, talking about our worlds...

  Little by little, as the initial shock and excitement faded, I started thinking about the fact that... I was living with a stranger. A man... alone. A wave of fear and discomfort ran through my body at the thought of a certain possibility.

  "T: Hey..."

  "M: Yeah?"

  He paused his reading and looked up at me.

  "T: You're not... going to... you wouldn't try to do something to me, right?"

  "M: Uh... I don't know what you mean."

  "T: I mean... if you... you're not going to take advantage of me, right? I mean... you give me shelter, feed me, protect me, and I... have nothing to give back. So I just want to know if you're not going to make me 'pay' for it. Because if that's the case... I think it'd be better if you helped me get to the capital to find somewhere else to stay."

  He thought for a few seconds. Then his face flushed slightly and twisted into a mix of embarrassment, surprise, and horror.

  "M: What? Of course... NO. What the hell? Where did that come from suddenly? Did I say or do something that made you think I had those intentions?"

  "T: N... no, not at all. On the contrary—you haven't done anything to make me feel uncomfortable in that way. It's just that, well..."

  "M: Wait—you... do you want you and me to...?"

  "T: WHAT? NO! EW! Of course not—why... why would you even think that?"

  "M: You're the one who brought it up. If I haven't done anything to make you uncomfortable, then why would you think that about me?"

  "T: Well, you're basically a stranger. We're alone in the middle of the forest, and clearly you're stronger than me. Don't get me wrong, but I'm scared that if you wanted to try something, I wouldn't have any way to escape or defend myself."

  sigh Manahu touched his temple, trying to stay calm.

  "M: I already told you the other day—you're not obligated to compensate me for anything. You can stay as long as you want. But if you feel uncomfortable, I can take you to the capital to find somewhere else. You don't have to stay here if you don't want to."

  "T: I know, but... still... I can't stop thinking you might try something while I'm asleep."

  "M: Listen—if I wanted to do something to you, don't you think I would've already done it? Besides, there'd be no need to wait until you're asleep. Like you said, I don't think you'd have any way to defend yourself or escape, awake or not."

  "T: That... is not reassuring at all, you know?"

  "M: No, that's not... what I was trying to say—ugh"

  He put his hands to his head, probably frustrated by the situation and his own social clumsiness... But after a few seconds he started laughing quietly, holding it back, until he couldn't anymore and burst into open, uncontrollable laughter. It was strange—I think it was the first time I'd seen him laugh out loud.

  "T: HEY, stop laughing. This is serious."

  "M: I... I'm sorry hahaha, but... I can't... hahaha."

  "T: Hey!"

  My tone was irritated, but I couldn't help it—his laughter was contagious. Before I knew it, we were both laughing uncontrollably. It took a while for our laughter to die down. Manahu spoke first.

  "M: Ahhh... Okay, I get what you mean. Relax—you can stop worrying. I promise I'll never try anything like that. And if I ever make you feel uncomfortable, just tell me. You already have enough dealing with being torn from your world—adding more trauma is the last thing you need."

  "T: Hmm... so if I weren't dealing with that, there would be a risk you'd try something?"

  "M: NO, that's not what I said."

  "T: Then you should be more careful with how you phrase things. Sometimes you're easy to misinterpret."

  "M: Guess that's something I still need to work on."

  "T: ...Thanks. I feel a little calmer now."

  Another awkward silence—one of many we'd already had—filled the room. Time passed while we each did our own thing. I was on my laptop; Manahu continued reading.

  "M: So... what are you supposed to be doing with that thing?"

  "T: I'm transferring photos, videos, and all the important information to my phone."

  "M: Hmmm... I don't think I'm following."

  "T: I'm not even sure I can explain how they work, but basically, these devices can hold entire libraries of information and tens of thousands of photos—uh, the 'paintings.' The problem is, without a power source to recharge it, my laptop is doomed to stop working. So I'm salvaging everything I can."

  "M: But... won't the same thing happen to your phone?"

  "T: Well, yes—someday its power will run out too. But its battery is nuclear, so it'll last many more years. With luck, I'll get back to my world before that happens."

  "M: Nu...clear?"

  "T: Hmm... how do I explain this?..."

  I started giving him a mini physics lesson. Between headaches from trying to remember all the science videos and books and explaining it to someone who didn't even know the concept of an atom, the minutes flew by.

  "T: And... more or less, that's how it works."

  "M: I don't think I understood anything."

  "T: sigh It's okay. I don't fully understand how it works either."

  "M: Whatever—the thing that surprises me most is... are these little things really capable of holding so much knowledge? How the hell do they fit so many books inside?"

  "T: It's not... like 'fitting them' physically. It's digital, you see..."

  Manahu placed his hand in front of my face, interrupting me.

  "M: Better forget it. I think I've had enough other-world technology for today. Just because it can heal my headache doesn't mean it's comfortable to feel it."

  Then he looked at the laptop with extreme curiosity. He reached out hesitantly, as if touching it might electrocute him, until he finally touched the screen.

  "M: And these symbols here... are your language?"

  "T: Yes... it's English. You... can't read it?"

  "M: Of course not. Why would I be able to read the language of another world?"

  "T: Well... yeah, that makes sense. But then... how have we been communicating this whole time if I come from a different world?"

  "M: ..."

  "T: ..."

  As if something had unplugged, Manahu and I froze for a few seconds, struck by a question that—despite being so obvious—we hadn't really asked ourselves until now. Manahu handed me the book he was reading.

  "M: You... can you understand any of this?"

  "T: Not really. I've never seen these... letters?"

  And again, we both fell silent in thought. Maybe the language is spoken the same but written differently? Though that doesn't make much sense... What are the chances we've had almost no trouble understanding each other so far? Even between countries that speak the same language, it's natural for some regionalisms to go misunderstood.

  "T: #?Puedes entenderme?#"

  "M: Uh... what did you say?... Piu... des?"

  Spanish didn't work either... So we really speak English, but write it differently? I turned to my laptop. There was a news article from nine years ago I'd used as a debate topic in sociology class. I read the headline aloud.

  "T: #Leader of the world's cartel dies murdered by his 15-year-old son#"

  "M: I'm not understanding a single word of what you're saying."

  "T: What? Wait—what about you? Try reading the book out loud."

  "M: #...however, both the hero and the demon queen disappeared after their battle. It is believed...#"

  "T: That's enough—I understood that. But then why didn't you understand what I said when I read it directly, but I understood you?"

  "M: Hey—one thing at a time, okay? Like I said, I don't want more headaches. Let's leave this mystery for another day."

  "T: I guess you're right. My head's starting to hurt again too. By the way, changing the subject—I've noticed you've been reading a lot... Is that something you always did, or...?"

  "M: No. After our argument the other day, I kept thinking about what you said. I was too insensitive. So I decided to look for some way to get you back to your world and started searching through the books I have."

  My eyes lit up with hope, and a smile spread across my face.

  "T: Really? Did you find a way? Please tell me you did."

  "M: Wow, calm down—no. Beyond some rare distortion in a forest, I really haven't found anything like world travel. So we remain at the beginning."

  "T: Oh, I see. Anyway... thank you."

  "M: Don't lose hope. Like I said, I don't know everything, and these aren't the only books in the world. If I don't find answers here, we'll go to the capital to look for them. And if we don't find them there, we'll go to other nations if necessary. I..."

  His voice faltered for a moment before he continued.

  "M: I promise you: Even if it seems impossible—or if it is—even if it takes decades, I will help you find a way back to your world. You can count on that."

  His words... gave me a strange relief and rekindled my hope. But at the same time, I was confused. I looked into his golden eyes—they were full of conviction. He didn't seem to be lying.

  "T: Really...? But... why... why would you do that?"

  "M: Listen... I don't know what it's like to be torn from your world. I don't know the pain you must be feeling. But... believe me when I say I can get a pretty good idea... My words aren't an empty promise. I mean it—I'll help you get back to your world, Titla."

  "T: I... I... thank you. Really, thank you."

  Tears began to well up in my eyes—but for the first time since I arrived, they weren't tears of sadness or fear. They were tears of hope... And as if my body moved on its own, I hugged him tightly. I cried—cried inconsolably—and, with some hesitation, Manahu ran a hand over my head... And so another day in this world that wasn't mine came to an end."