Fell down a rabbit hole
Holy shit.
I'm falling.
HOLY SHIT, I'M FALLING!
With those thoughts coming to my mind, I immediately start panicking. This can’t possibly be happening to me right now, right this second. What are the odds of me falling in a dark empty space? Well, now that I think about it, I guess I’m falling inside a portal? If I am indeed falling inside a portal, shouldn’t I be on the other side by now? The duration of this is starting to concern me.
Wait.
I’m falling inside a portal.
Wow, this is such a cliché. Like something out of a fanfiction. In all honesty, I've been waiting for something like this to happen for some time now. So despite how cheesy or unoriginal my situation may sound, I am partially grateful for it.
Key word: partially. Partially, because I have no idea where the portal might lead to. If this is gonna lead to someplace like The Upside Down, then fucking hell I am most definitely falling down to my immediate death. Yeah, not happening.
Getting to that line of thinking, I immediately start thinking about the MCU. 'Cause if this portal has the power to drop me off to any fictional realities, it better be the MCU. Well, I guess the only logical course of action is to manifest it.
I quickly put my hands together and I begin to pray. "Please be the MCU."
I repeat it over and over again like a chant. I think about the characters. I list off their names in my head. Anything that would make what I'm wishing for come true.
A few seconds pass by and I see an opening. Or ending?? Anyway, the floor looks like a sidewalk so that would mean my landing will hurt like a bitch—and possibly kill me before I even had the chance to find out where the portal led me to—if I didn't do anything to soften the impact.
I quickly turn my body to the side, curl it into a fetal position, and cover the side of my head and face with my hands and arms. I can hear sounds of vehicles passing by, people talking while walking, and car horns on the other side but it is faint over the loud thoughts that are whirling in my mind. I close my eyes as I brace for impact.
"Ow."
Tangina, ang sakit.
《Son of a bitch, that hurt.》
I open my eyes and everything is a bit brighter now. It’s nighttime and the air was cold. There’s a light to my right, probably from a streetlight. I slowly sit up and check if any of my bones are broken from the fall.
My body feels sore from the fall, but other than that, nothing seems to be broken. I should probably still go to a nearby hospital, just in case. Assuming that where I am has a hospital nearby. Sana meron.
《My body feels sore from the fall, but other than that, nothing seems to be broken. I should probably still go to a nearby hospital, just in case. Assuming that where I am has a hospital nearby. Hopefully, there is.》
I look around and judging by my surroundings, I’m in an alleyway. Far to my right, the end of the alleyway leads to a sidewalk. It doesn’t look busy since only a few people are passing by every few seconds.
I do a quick double-check on my belongings. Good thing I’m wearing a hoodie, pants, socks and shoes, otherwise I would've been freezing to death by the sudden cold air. And I also have my hair tie and brown shoulder bag with me so that’s a plus.
I lift the bag and check its contents.
Phone. Wallet. Keys. Earphones. Tissue. Wet wipes. Gum. Lip serum. Jelly lip tint. And my alcohol is hanging on the strap of my bag. Yep. All here.
I quickly check my wallet.
Money—Philippine peso. C-Type USB cord for charging but I don’t have a powerbank with me. Cards. ATM card. Two cards for two different arcades. Fully Booked card. SpyxFamily Anya Card. Movie tickets from two years ago. Four BLACKPINK photocards, one for each member. A photo booth picture of me and my friends. Three small anime pins that I forgot to take out after purchasing them from a cosplay convention two years ago.
My gosh, I’m such a hoarder.
Noticing that I’m still on the ground, I start to stand up so that I can get help as soon as possible.
Sana nasa Pilipinas pa rin ako. Mas maganda kung nasa NCR* pa rin ako. But that seems unlikely.
《I hope I'm still in the Philippines. Even better if I'm still in the NCR*. But that seems unlikely.》
After quickly dusting off my clothes, I head off to the sidewalk at the end of the alleyway. Upon arriving, I notice that most of the people walking by are Caucasian. Others look African-American and East Asian. On the other side of the road, I see a Latin American family walking together. Sirens start ringing in my head.
Gagi**, andaming foreigner. Bat andaming foreigner?! Shet. Wala akong nakikitang Filipino. Nasa Pilipinas pa ba talaga ako? Bitchin' hell. I must be dreaming.
《Fuck, there's a lot of foreigners. Why are there a lot of foreigners?! Shit. I don't see any Filipinos. Am I really still in the Philippines?! Bitchin' hell. I must be dreaming.》
I frantically look for nearby street signs. I find one to my left, on the other side of the road where there’s an intersection.
I can't read it.
Fuck.
It looks like it’s in German.
Double fuck.
"Shit." I say under my breath
Listening closely to people passing by, I realize I can't understand a single word that they’re saying.
Shit. Shit. Fuck. No. Shit. Fuck. Fuck shit. Bitchin' hell no, this can't be real. I'm on the other side of the world?! Shit! I don't have my passport with me. Or a visa! I didn't even bring my ID with me!
My heart is racing and my thoughts are running wild. I need to calm down.
Looking straight ahead, I see that across the street there’s a small area that seems to look like some sort of park. Tables with umbrellas on them and chairs. There’s also a water fountain and small building that looks like some sort of food stall or maybe a bar. I can't tell but I think I see some benches in the area too.
Benches. Perfect! I can sit there and clear my head so that I can think properly.
With newfound determination, I stride all the way across the street and sit down at the nearest empty bench that I can find at the small park. There’s a table in front of it and a bench on the opposite side. I lean back against the table and exhale. My thoughts are still running wild. I need to calm down, fast.
I open my bag to take out my earphones and plug them into my phone. Putting them on, I play the song Electric Touch by Taylor Swift and Fall Out Boy. I set the volume high to drown out the noise in the background. Closing my eyes, I focus on the lyrics.
🎶Just breathe, just relax, it'll be okay
Just an hour 'til your car's in the driveway
Just the first time ever hangin' out with you tonight🎶
I sigh as I open my eyes and I turn around with the front of my body facing the table.
🎶I've got my money on things goin' badly
Got a history of stories ending sadly
Still hoping that the fire won't burn me
Just one time, just one time🎶
As I'm looking around, I mouth the lyrics of the chorus.
🎶All I know is this could either break my heart or bring it back to life
Got a feelin' your electric touch could fill this ghost town up with life
And I want you now, wanna need you forever
In the heat of your electric touch, mmm🎶
With my nerves calming down, I start to observe my surroundings while listening to the song. The park has a big open space at the center. There aren't that many people at the park. Most of them are eating, drinking, and having group conversations while the others are either sitting alone or walking by. Now that I’m closer, I can see that the stall is some kind of small restaurant and bar and the tables that are scattered around must belong to them. The stall is elevated with stairs to the side, leading to the open space.
Looking straight ahead, I see a big fancy old building across the street to the park. There are cars parked at the front and spotlights lighting up the exterior of the building. There are two entrances, each with a banner above them and a red carpet.
"Wow." I murmur. "Ang sosyal. Mukhang may event dun, ah. Sana all."
《"How posh. Seems like there's an event happening there. I wish I was at one too."》
I bring my gaze to the table, tapping my fingers on the surface, and start to think about my options.
Okay. This seems to be getting realer by the second. If I really am transported to another country, I need to figure out a way to get back home without getting arrested. No passport. No visa. No ID. I'm pretty sure that the German government won't take pity on my situation, even if I leave out the falling-into-a-portal part.
I can say I was kidnapped by a human trafficker and that I escaped but they'll just ask more questions I won't have answers to. It would be a great excuse as to why I don't have my passport, visa, and ID with me but I don't think I would be able to sell it. As much as I hate to admit it, I'm a bad liar. My body language would give it away and I would get arrested since I'm legally an adult now.
Maybe I would get arrested but the German government could deport me back to the Philippines. But I could also get arrested as soon as I got back. Would I be arrested? I don't know! Shit, Hollywood movies and isekai fanfictions did NOT prepare me for this!
Taking a deep breath, I look up and gaze around the park again. Actually looking at it, the place is beautiful. The only downside is the cold air occasionally slapping my face. Not only that, my hands are starting to get very cold so I tuck them inside the sleeves of my hoodie. I also fix my hair to cover my neck.
The song ends and another one is about to begin. I leave the Taylor Swift songs on shuffle so I have no idea which one’s next.
🎶No, nothin' good starts in a getaway car🎶
I smirk as my mind immediately goes to Tom Hiddleston. Ever since I heard that the song Getaway Car was a break up song about him—although, I’m not sure if it’s true—he's always the first thing that pops into my mind whenever I listen to the song.
🎶It was the best of times, the worst of crimes
I struck a match and blew your mind
But I didn’t mean it and you didn't see it🎶
I smile as I closely pay attention to the people sitting at other tables. Most of them are either couples or friends sitting together while the others just sit alone.
🎶The ties were black, the lies were white
In shades of gray in candlelight
I wanted to leave him, I needed a reason🎶
I watch others eat their food and have their drinks and I can't help but suddenly want that too.
Damn. Mukhang masarap ang kinakain nila. Shet. Nauuhaw na rin tuloy ako. Too bad I can't buy any food or water. Even if I do manage to find a money exchange shop nearby, I still won't be able to convert my money since I have no passport, no visa, or even an ID with me. And even if I do happen to bring a passport, visa, and an ID with me, judging by the amount of money I have and the exchange rates of Philippine peso to Euro, I would probably just end up with a few bucks and that might not be enough for me to buy food and water.
《Damn. What they're eating looks delicious. Shit. I'm suddenly getting thirsty as well. Too bad I can't buy any food or water. Even if I did manage to find a money exchange shop nearby, I still wouldn't be able to convert my money since I have no passport, no visa, or even an ID with me. And even if I did happen to bring a passport, visa, and an ID with me, judging by the amount of money I have and the exchange rates of Philippine peso to Euro, I would probably just end up with a few bucks and that might not be enough for me to buy food and water.》
Deciding that continuously looking at other people's food and drinks will make it worse, I shake those thoughts out of my head and resume gazing around the park again.
One person catches my eye. It’s an old man, maybe in his 60's, standing while using his phone. It’s not his phone—which is one of those small Nokia cellphones with the small screen and twelve buttons that was popular in the early 2000's—that made me stop and look at him. No, that can easily be explained. It’s the man, himself, that made me shift my focus onto him. The man looks exactly like the old German man in The Avengers. The man who stood up and said to Loki, "Not to men like you... There are always men like you."
Oh my gosh. He really does look like that old German man from The Avengers. I think he's even wearing the same clothes. This is so crazy! Should I go up to him? I mean, I kinda wanna tell him that I liked his performance in The Avengers. Though, he might not remember being in it. There's also the possibility that he isn't really the actor, he could be a look-alike and going up to congratulate him would be embarrassing.
Continuing that line of thought, I contemplate on which is the best course of action to take on handling my discovery.
And all of a sudden, I hear screams.