Chapter 3
You woke up on some sort of pillow. No, not a pillow. It was too soft to be a pillow. What were they? You slowly opened your eyes, realizing you were laying on what seemed to be lavender clouds…
You turned over to your back, facing the gradient light blue and red sky. You closed your eyes, you wanted to sleep forever, on this fluffy cloud…
'Wait, what?'
You forced your eyes open and sat up.
“So I see you’re finally awake!” A voice said. A voice that made your heart flutter, but also had you start growing hatred.
“WhahappenwheramI?” You gasped as you sat up.
“No reason to worry, you’re safe.”
You turned around to find the man you were hoping to never see again...though another small part of you denied that.
His piercing emerald green eyes glistened as he stared at the light pink fire, sitting on a blue log, roasting marshmallows.
You looked around, the place was massive. It looked as if there was no end to it, but there wasn’t anything special around. It was just a blank area, with a man roasting marshmallows on a log...and you.
“Oh! Are you curious? This is what the humans call, ‘roasting marshmallows.” He said, as he turned his head to you.
He was wearing one of those robes that men wore in the ancient times in China, and tied the upper part of his hair in a ponytail, and left the rest of his hair down—almost exactly like one of those people from ancient China.
You looked down, afraid that your words would come out stuttering when looking at him. You wanted to sound mad. But with those eyes gleaming at you , it was impossible to make out a word.
“Yes, I know what a marshmallow is. I’m not dumb.” You replied, trying to sound annoyed.
He frowned, and turned back to his marshmallows.
“I guess it didn’t work on you.” He said, barely whispering, but somehow you were able to hear it.
“What didn’t work on me?” You asked.
“Oh, nothing you should be concerned about.” He answered.
“Uh, you said that 2 times already….wait...what am I doing here in the first place? I need to go back to my family! They’re probably worried about me!...No...they don’t think I’m dead, do they? Wait, am I de-” You said, waving your hands to support what you were saying, but a hand cupped your mouth, silencing you, and another hand grabbed one of your wrists to stop you from moving.
You glanced up. The man wasn’t sitting on the log anymore.
You became fully aware that he was squatting behind you, with his mouth so close to your ear you could feel his breath on your cheek.
You hoped your face wasn’t as red as you thought it was.
“Now there, no need to be upset, or worry about anything. You can have way much more fun here than on Earth.” He whispered.
He released you and stood up.
“Wha-what do you mean by that? Th-there’s literally nothing here! It’s just a blank area with noth-”
“Nuh-uh, this place IS boring, but it is special in many ways. But, the fun isn’t here. It’s elsewhere.” he said.
“Where?” You blurted, forgetting you had more bigger, and important matters yet to deal with.
“So now you’re curious?” He asked, his lips sliding into a smirk.
“No...” You mumbled.
“Hmm, well, like I said, you have nothing to worry about.” He said for the third time.
“Well, no. You are a hundred percent WRONG. THAT was the THIRD TIME you had said that. I NEED to get back to my FAMILY. LIKE I SAID, THEY are WORRIED about me. By the way, how did I end up HERE?!” You started shouting, highlighting the words that sounded important. Anger burned your body, fueling the courage to look him into the eyes.
Nah, it didn’t work. It wasn’t enough anger. Your face turned hot and bright red, while your heart fluttered crazily it started a stomach ache.
“Oh? Looks like I’ve found a weak spot! Is it because of my eyes? Yea? Are you sure you want to go back to that trashy world, instead of staying here and living with me?” He asked, squatting down again to grip your chin, forcing you to look into his eyes.
You looked behind him, trying to ignore the beautiful, glowing, green eyes.
You tried to twist your head away, but his firm grip made that impossible.
“Hey now, don’t be like that. Look into my eyes, and tell me,” He said.
You continued to look behind him.
“Do you want to go back to that trashy world, or…” He paused, releasing his grip from your chin, but then raised his hands to each side of your cheek, and sandwiched your head, causing you to purse your lips, and look at him.
You blushed. Something you couldn’t control.
“...Or, live in “The Anime World?” He finished.
You could’ve sworn your heart skipped a beat. Your face turned pale, and the blush faded, and you stared into space.
‘Anime World?’ you repeated in thought.
You thought about all the anime you’ve watched. But they were all on television. You were almost sure he was just joking...Almost. Anything was possible at this point. With the lavender clouds, and the gradient light blue and red sky, and the way the man “teleported” in front of you the first time you met him...it was way more proof than you liked to tell if he was telling the truth.
You weren’t sure. You did want to check it out, but then you thought of how dangerous this man could be, and how your parents and friends must be so worried about you.
You shoved him, and he purposefully released you, and let himself fall onto the soft clouds. You stood up.
“I want to go back to my world. I have a family, and I have friends, they need me.” You said, gathering courage to look into his eyes. For the first time when you looked into his eyes, you didn’t feel your heart flutter, or your face burning.
He laid on the cloud for a couple seconds before standing up. You watched as he tilted his head towards his right, and his eyes looking at you intensely, looking up and down, scrutinizing you. The silence was loud. The only sound was the crackling from the pink fire.
Then he closed his eyes, sighed, and shook his head. He opened his eyes to look at you, and you somehow managed to hold back the thing your heart had been doing every time you looked into his eyes. His lips formed into a playful smile.
“Sorry, but you’re staying here.”