Restart Again: Volume 1 by Adam Scott (pocket ebook reader TXT) 📕

the back-right corner, flanked by a nightstand with a single candle burning on top. There was a simple wooden chair at the foot of the bed, next to a footlocker. Small wooden shelves adorned the walls of the room, all decorated with tiny clay figurines. In contrast with the rest of the house, the walls in this room were painted a dark green, amplifying the shadows cast by the lone candle.

As we entered the room, a single thought was buzzing through my head. That bed is not big enough to accommodate the two of us comfortably. Based on her reaction to Marten’s suggestion, Lia had been thinking the same thing. I moved to the foot of the bed, pulling the chair into the corner of the room to sit down. Lia fiddled with the contents of a small wooden box on her dresser for a while but eventually sat down on the bed, pulling her legs up in front of her to rest her chin on top of her knees. We sat quietly for a bit, mostly avoiding eye contact with one another.

“So…” I trailed off, speaking to the center of the room. “I suppose you have some questions for me now, right?”

“Questions?” Lia tilted her head, puzzled. It was clear to me that she had been worrying more about our immediate predicament.

“Yeah, questions. I told you that once we were out of the prison, and you were home safe, you could ask me anything you could think of.” I motioned around the room. “We’re both here, I’m finally awake, and we’re alone. I figured now might be a good time to get some of that out of the way.”

Her face brightened. “Right! I almost forgot about that with everything that happened. I’ve been making a list so I can—” I held up a finger to cut her train of thought short.

“I’ve got to ask you something before we go any further.” Ever since I had made the promise to her I had been thinking about how to approach the situation. “Do you want to know the whole truth? Everything, with nothing left out or censored? Even if it might be uncomfortable, confusing, shocking or hurtful?”

It looked like Lia moved to respond, but she caught herself. Her eyebrows furrowed as she pondered for a while, suddenly unsure after the unexpectedly serious question. Once she looked to have settled on an answer, she gave a small nod to the affirmative, her face set with determination. “Yes. No matter what.”

I took a deep breath and nodded back. Honesty it is, then. Turning the chair slightly, I kicked my feet up onto the edge of the bed and leaned back into a comfortable position. “Alright then. Ask away.”

Now it was Lia’s turn to take a deep breath, taking a moment to think about her first question. It seemed as though she might be re-evaluating what she wanted to know after my ominous prerequisite question. She shifted as she settled on one, locking eyes with me. “Where are you really from?”

“Right. I wanted to thank you, by the way, for covering for me with your father. I should probably learn the surrounding geography if I’m going to be lying about it.” I couldn’t help but laugh at the idea. “Now, for where I’m from…” I paused for a moment, trying to think of the best way to explain the situation. “I’m not actually from anywhere in this world. About ten days ago, I just dropped into existence right outside the city walls of Yoria.”

Lia regarded me carefully, processing what I had said but not responding. “Before that, I lived in a place called Hedaat for a long time. It was cold, lonely, and dark for most of the day. Not a very pleasant place.”

“So, this Hedaat place...that’s where you’re really from?” I was surprised that Lia seemed to be accepting something so fantastical.

“No. This world we’re in now, it’s actually my...fourth.” It felt strange to talk so frankly about my past. It had been a long time since I trusted anybody enough to even bring it up. “I’m originally from a place called America. That’s where I was born, and where I grew up. To be honest with you, I don’t remember much about it anymore. I’ve done so many things and met so many people since then, whoever I was back then feels like a stranger to who I am now.”

Lia was sitting cross legged now, leaning her elbows into her knees and resting her head on her hands. Whether she believed what I was telling her, or she was just humoring me with her questions now, I couldn’t tell. I hoped it was the former. “How did you...change worlds? Did you use magic?”

I shook my head. “No, nothing like that. In my original world, magic only existed in stories. I wish I had a more satisfying answer for you, but I really don’t know how it happens. I just...wake up in the dark, in a lot of pain. I don’t know how it is I get there, or why, but I’m stuck there for a while. In the end, everything randomly turns to flashing lights, and I get dumped into a new world.”

She watched me in silence for a while, barely blinking as she stared at me in deep thought. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. It sounds terrible.” The statement cut straight through me down to my core; it was a feeling I had been suppressing, burying deep down inside me, and she had found it and brought it out. I felt a rush of emotions and my vision blurred slightly as small tears formed in my eyes.

Turning away, I coughed loudly to try and disguise a sniffle as I wiped my eyes. “Yeah...yeah, it really is.” The lump forming in my throat strained my speech so I coughed to try and clear it, to no avail. “I’ve left a lot of people behind. People that I cared about.”