A life of the convenience store worker
Quiet and peaceful customer
Challenging the borders of life and death
The unknown words breath
Change on the horizon
It was a cloudy dreary day in the hometown where Ryan worked as a convenience store worker. His shift was nearing it’s end and he could return home. He had been excited to try the new Knights of Idettica online video game. When his shift ended he made the long trek along the lit up houses that lined the sidewalk. His mind wondering what he would do in the video game first. He stepped up the stairs to his apartment and got to the front door where he stayed. Ryan rushed in and ran to the computer where the video game was already installed from his planning this morning. Little did Ryan expect that when he clicked the “Start Game” button his vision turned to black.
“It’s time”
“huh?”
“It’s time”
“What?”
“It’s time”
Ryans eyes opened to the sight of a sky full of stars and large colorful planets that he had never seen before. His eyes flickered back and forth as he watched the streams of light from above blink at him. “Where am I?” his thoughts slowly coming in. Ryan sat up and looked around, he was in a field of grass on a hill. In the distance he saw a city filled with lights that dotted the coast line of a vast ocean that continued on into the horizon. Tiny fishing boats also were on the waters.
Ryan stood up and brushed himself off of grass stems. He decided to head towards the city since there was a road nearby that he could see. As he was walking he heard a wagon behind him approach slowly.
“Hey! Fellow traveler!”
Ryan looked back and saw a stout woman with blonde hair waving at him. Her dress blue floral with an apron and wearing lace gloves. The wagon was stopped beside Ryan and the woman said “going to the city? Hop in.” Ryan got into the front wagon seat and the woman started asking him questions “What’re you doing out here this late?” “I’m not sure where I am, but I was just logging into a video game and I ened up here…” Ryan replied. “Video game? What’s that? No matter, we’ve seen your kind come to our city many times and become adventurers of the labyrinth!”
The wagon went through the front gates while she said that and stopped at the front of a large building. “Adventurer’s Guild” on a wooden sign in ornate golden letters could be read. “Go inside and tell them about this video game you were telling me about, they will help you.” The woman whipped the reigns and headed off into the quiet lamp lit streets.
Ryan thought to himself where even I? Is this a dream or something? He became pensive while walking up the stairs to the adventurer’s guild. “No matter” Ryan thought “I’m pretty sure this is a dream of some sort”. Ryan pushed open the doors of the guild and entered. Inside he saw a large receptionists desk with stacks of papers. The accents were all wooden with some metal bars here and there. Some fern like plants were placed with a purpose in mind. To his left he saw a large waiting room filled with long benches, chairs and tables. To his right he saw the sign that said “Adventurer’s Hostel” and it led into a hallway with many entrances. Before he could explore further a woman’s voice called out:
“Hello!”
Ryan turned to see a black-haired woman, about average height with a short pixie cut and a scar on her nose, she was wearing a cobalt blue uniform skirt with a matching beret. Gold and colorful badges with chains decorated the front of her uniform.
“Uh… hello, my name is Ryan and I was told to come here”
The woman clapped her hands together and put on a smile that could light up a room with eyes closed.
“Ryan it’s very nice to meet you. This is the adventurer’s guild and we’ve had many of you, what we call off world people, show up to this city fairly often. Right now everyone is asleep and I’m just here to watch the night shift incase people like you show up, among other things…” she motioned at the large stack of papers on the desk. “Let me show you to a room and when you wake up in the morning we can begin orientation. Let’s see… there is about 3 newbies tonight…” she put her index finger to her pursed mouth. “Follow me.” She pushed pass Ryan towards the adventurer’s hostel hallway. Ryan followed closely behind her.
“So what is your name?” Ryan questioned.
“Oh right, sorry.” The woman turned around and made a fist towards her head while looking at Ryan. “My name is Eri.” She smiled warmly before turning back around and looking into each room which was filled with people sleeping. Ryan followed closely on her heels while looking at the small incandescent lights on sticks that lit the blue stone hallway up, they finally got to an empty room way at the end of the hallway.
“Here we go…” Eri stopped and gestured towards the room with her arm. “This is where you can sleep, mind you we prefer you sign into the room with the clipboard on the side.” She pointed at the desk where a small orb on a stick glowed. “The bathing area is that way to the left.” She gestured to the end of the hall. “There is an eating area down the opposite hall.” She gestured in the other direction. Ryan could barely make out a sign that said “Canteen”. “Anyway have a good nights rest and come to the front desk in the morning for orientation.” With that Eri walked back the way they had come.
Ryan did feel weirdly tired as he sat down on the straw bed. His eyelids heavy from accepting the idea this might not be a dream. “Maybe I’ll wake up in the real world if I go to sleep. On the other hand, I know of those stories where this happens.” Ryan stretched his body out on the bed and let the warm glow of the desk light lull him to sleep.