Chapter 1

The introduction to a strange place and a confusing venture.

Chapter 1

    A young lady laid there upon the sidewalk, her tears streamed out of her glossed green eyes glazed with fear and confusion, over her soft cheeks, and onto the ground underneath her. Her black, messy hair furled across the sidewalk in a scramble with itself. Her curled position did little to show just how pretty a young lady she was, but she had reason to be upset in such a manner. She did not know where she was, nor how she got there, and there was yet no soul to assist her. Perhaps there was no one around at this moment, wherever she may be.  That did make the most sense, after all she might be the only one here in this oddity of a location. She mustered the strength and will to wipe her face and stand up, which proved troublesome as she had no clue how long she was curled there in her dismal trepidation. Upon standing it was apparent she was rather delicate in form and she wore a dress which must have been a resplendent sight before she was curled on the sidewalk as it's once soft pink hue was tainted with dirt.

    She viewed her surroundings to find it looked very similar to where she was before. It looked just like a big city from anywhere in the world with large buildings and expansive streets to even more buildings. The only thing missing was the activity as there was no noise and not a single being in any visible proximity of her. She began wandering in an attempt to locate other life of any sort, to clarify whether or not she was unaccompanied here. Looking through windows was futile as nobody resided in any buildings either. She clenched her arm as the world become ever so eerie with every new piece of information she gleaned.
    As she continued her search she only increased her own confusion, nothing made sense anymore; it was almost like wherever she was did not abide by the laws of physics. She looked at her hands to ensure she wasn’t dreaming, but her hands were the most real they’ve ever seemed. No matter what she did nothing made any semblance of sense to her, everything was off. She stopped to look around again, she looked at what appeared to be the night sky, the moon was still present which incited just a slight bit of reassurance in her that the confusion would cease. However it was small when she came to terms with the situation once more.

    She returned to her investigation to find other people in the area, if there were any. She decided to walk into one of the many buildings but it appeared the door was incorporeal; an insane revelation to be sure as she insisted upon repeated trials. Through this instance she managed to analyze the entire area was immaterial, nothing was tangible in the slightest. She began to assume that this was Death, that this was her purgatory and that she would exist abandoned for all eternity. Exploring that theory, however, led to a rather significant roadblock: Why did she have no recollection of dying? This was confounding at its core and it brought tremors to her core as well. It was here that the opening of floodgates was commenced as once again the uncontrollable stream made its own way down her face. It was too baffling to handle, it was all too crushing for her to shoulder so suddenly.

    As the tears coursed towards the ground again someone called out to her but she assumed that it was a figment of her imagination and not a tangible reality. However the voice called out again, this time more audible. It sounded like a man calling to her though she could not make out what he was saying as she was occupied with her emotional breakdown at the current events.
    He repeated himself, this time louder and clearer, “Exonerate my transgressions but are you alright?” She looked up and saw the man, he had violet skin, he wore square-frame glasses upon his somewhat rectangular face and what appeared to be a black lab coat. He was taller than her even when not accounting for his horns which extended from his forehead and made a perfect ninety degree turn upwards. His hair was pitch black and, although short, was unkempt enough to dress parts of his face as well but did not hide his eyes which were of a similar emerald shade to the girl’s own. His eyes indicated more concern than curiosity which was rather fortunate given the situation despite the glare of his glasses being in a rather impeding spot. “Are you alright?” He asked again but she wasn’t sure how to respond, he was the first other being she’s seen here but that may not necessitate celebration as he appeared to be the common depiction of a demon. He appeared to be thin similar to herself and possessing perfect posture as if none of this reality phased.

She wiped her tears and muttered her own question, “Excuse me, but who are you?” She attempted to look at his eyes but his glasses were at just the wrong angle and she did not wish to make it awkward.

“I presupposed that you would address my curiosity before creating your own.” He spoke with a solid pace and never stuttered, as if this was all scripted to him and he knew the syntax of his speech which would best suit the moment. She looked confused at the man and so he rephrased his response, “I asked if you were alright beforehand, I expected an answer prior to you asking questions of your own.”
    With a nod she stammered back, still recovering from her previous weeping, “yes I am alright, just confused about where I am and what’s going on.” She punctuated the statement by looking around at her environ again to perchance grasp the situation.
    He took off his glasses and placed his face in his palm, “indeed I was granted the encumbrance of acquainting you with Other Realm,” the tone of unhappiness in his voice was rather contrasting to his apparent disposition, “which is where we presently reside mind you,” he interrupted himself by extending his hand forth, uncovering his face once more, “my name is Anthesus Atrocha, I do believe I recognize that I’ll be getting close with you.”
    She hesitantly reached her own hand out to greet him, stuttering out a response only after taking her hand back and beginning to fidget with her hair, “I just tell everyone to call me AA, so this is ‘Other Realm’ as you call it?”

Anthesus’ response was a simple nod. After a moment he returned his glasses to his face and commenced his own elaboration in a rather matter of fact, lecturing, voice, “You see, Other Realm is the dimension in which we ‘demons’, as you refer to us as, take residence. A select few of us have a tendency to select humans to take care of in some form of tradition, and thus you are here for me to be your caretaker as I have selected.” His manner was rather inviting and his body language and eyes indicated the same thing, providing some evidence to the claim.
    Evidence was not enough for such a spontaneous act for AA, she refuted the statement as quick as possible, “But Anthesus I had a life in my own dimension, why would you select to bring me-” yet AA was interrupted by her supposed caretaker which she refused to lay much faith in.
    “I have witnessed your occupancy in your dimension, and I objectively conclude that a life it certainly was not.” The criticism from this swift backlash was extreme yet AA was unsure who it was criticizing and how it should make her feel. “I have selected you in result of observing your repetitive suffering and in wishes that I might understand and improve.” Anthesus did not appear to be forcing his welcoming disposition which AA was still, in slight, distrustful of.

“You were able to see my existence?” It was difficult for AA to grasp, her perplexed voice emphasizing this clearly. If was as if the information was present yet intangible to her.

“Indeed I was, anyone who presides within a wished upon destiny of being a caretaker may observe the residents of several dimensions in pursuit of somebody to foster.” His responses seemed as though they were all planned before the meeting which was an interesting concept for sure.

“Anthesus, I appreciate this very much but suffering is a part of life where I’m from, it is important in order to make the good times better.”

“Well, AA, does life have to possess suffering to make it enjoyable? If so then suffering will be created regardless of where you reside, for the living create their own suffering if none other is present.”

AA did not know how to respond, it was wisdom that few would dare to say but it was not necessarily reassuring. She responded still with almost no thought in her words, “So you’re saying I will end up making my own suffering here?”
    Anthesus looked up, pondering something which was unclear, “possibly, but that is not my point. What was intended was that you will create what you need, is that not what life always attempts? So if your implicit claims of suffering being necessary for life is true, then you will create it.”

AA shied away, his words were nonsensical in a sense. It took her words and bent them to mean something which she may never have thought but was always true in spirit. “So, explain this caretaker thing.” She turned her head away but peered to the side of her peripheral.

“In short I will take care of you here, explain how the world works, and I do anticipate that we will become high friends.” Anthesus donated a simple smile along with his stoic voice which almost eradicated the previous atmosphere. Emphasis on almost, as he had admitted his demonic identity prior and that alone had enough negative connotation to derive such a horrid air.

“I see,” AA looked at Anthesus which she no longer wished to avoid, or so it was apparent that she was more accepting. “I suppose I have no one else here anyhow so I can't deny the chance of a friend.” She grinned in the slightest at the fact her social ineptitude did not appear to constitute a reaction from Anthesus however.

“Magnificent!” he exclaimed and wrapped his arm around AA’s. “It appears we do possess the quantity of time to permit a prestige exploration of my abode.” AA looked upon him with noticeable perplexity and he stopped himself from saying more. Given a moment he restated it but in a more satirical way to taunt his own habit, “We have time for a home tour.”

She smirked in response to the simplification of his words, AA admired his apparent intelligence. Having never encountered a man of such intellectual stature made Anthesus baffling to her, with additional consideration of how he treated AA with such respect even while she requires a simple version of the majority of what he says. AA remained hesitant of trusting him but as it stood he seemed trustworthy, however that may have been the clouded judgement of having not found any other life before hand. The confusion of her surroundings persisted as well, however she attained some hope that Anthesus would explain more of what reality had become.

It did not take an extensive amount of time to find other beings yet they were far enough that AA could not have signs of their existence from where she began. Most of these did not look like Anthesus, some looked similar to insects, others like some sort of Lycan, some appeared to be albino almost. There was also the occasional, additional being which AA assumed was being cared for here. She did notice a few other humans which appeared to resemble the ones she assumed were their caretakers with some sort of minor trait far too abnormal to be human by nature.

“Excuse me, Anthesus,” she tugged gently to obtain his attention, “Why do those people look a bit like their caretakers? Is that going to happen with me?”

Anthesus stopped to observe what she was talking about, “Oh, indeed caretakers pass down a trait to those they care for. You will most likely inherit something from me as well however it may take an indeterminate amount of time.” He looked down at her with a curious expression to him.

AA looked up for a mere moment and looked down again, “I don’t really know how to feel about that,” saying so while nudging Anthesus to keep walking, “would I be a caretaker one day as well? Or would I be able to rather.”

Anthesus expressed a face of visible confusion in response, “I’m not sure, perhaps you could if you wished but that may take a very long time.” He pondered this a moment, “I don’t believe any being from another dimension has ever become a caretaker.”

AA looked about, “what was with that building earlier and how I couldn’t touch it, are all buildings like that?” She looked up at Anthesus with a clear quest for knowledge of Other Realm.

“No, infrastructure in Other Realm is awkward to say the least. The buildings which are intangible are those of other dimensions in which we have overlapped.” Anthesus looked around as well, “the ability to know the difference between what is tangible and what is not will come with time living here.”

AA began to wonder again about her life before; family, friends, career, all to be discarded by committing to a life here. She wanted to believe Anthesus could provide her a delightful life as promised but she was not sure whether it was worth sacrificing the life she had prior. Missing at only twenty would make for a tragic outcome, AA had an entire life ahead of her there, but here she was not sure what she had. The more AA thought the more she procured a lack of recollection upon how she arrived here. It did not make sense still, perhaps she would ask when seen fit.

AA looked around again and noted the changes in architecture, perhaps this was what Anthesus meant about what was tangible and what is not. The buildings were not anything like she has seen, they appeared to be made of a stone she was unfamiliar with, the walls were more angular rather than vertical. The buildings did not seem odd besides that but AA assumed that the interior must be bewildering in its own right. The streets were devoted to the people as it seemed there were no vehicles of any kind, the children played in the streets as well which told there was no danger. She marveled at the games which were foreign to her, but then again everything seemed alien to AA at this time. However it all painted itself as delightful as Anthesus implied, perhaps she would enjoy herself in Other Realm.

“There is my abode,” Anthesus directed AA’s attention to his residence, “it is where I have myriads of faith in you procuring delight from residency.” He looked down at AA again, “Apologies, I’m known for picking cacophonous and polysyllabic vocabulary- I use big words to make me seem more photosynthesis.” He smirked and so did AA, she appreciated his attempts to assist her understanding even though he technically did not have to and, to be honest, held no expectation for him to do so. “I hope you enjoy your stay.”

AA looked at his house, it was larger than the rest by a significant margin; a mansion is the most accurate word to describe it in a swift fashion. It had an appearance very similar to the buildings back on Earth, the color was a dark blue but the lights inside shined out like the sun itself shining through clouds. The brightness was even further noticeable given that it was night.

Being reminded of the time of day confused AA about the conventions of society in Other Realm as there were many people out even though it was rather late for most. The thought of so many people at night was much less disturbing than it was perplexing and eye opening as AA noticed the amount knowledge she truly lacked.

“So you are willing to stay?” Anthesus wondered aloud, “I hope my promise was not broken.”

“I’ll stay. After all,” AA looked at the moon, gazing at it as though it was another’s own returning gaze. The moon was always beautiful to AA but somehow it was gorgeous beyond comprehension at that moment and AA smiled at its radiance as if the stare had conversed to her. “Not everything is different, nor does it need to be.” She shrugged as she glanced back at Anthesus, “plus it’s not like I have any other choice when I’m apparently stuck here.”

Author's Note

Just as with the whole book, ignore grammar mistakes please. Just the stuff like tone, theme, and pacing is what I'm mainly focused on