A Different Earth

Their visions were filled with bright white light. And after a fraction of a second, the light scattered, rapidly revealing the area around them, then disappeared.

"Stay close to me." Said Rein, reaching out his hand to help her walk through the darkness.

Alice took it and held his hand. The stayed close as they try to navigate their way amongst the woods. Rustling sounds of leaves and bushes were the only thing that was filling the air that night. And not long after, the group slowed down. She could see a cabin just out of the forest, on the slope of a hill.

"We will be staying here for tonight. This area is still an unconfirmed territory, so things might still be hostile for us. Refrain from going out, okay Alice?" He put down his large backpack and started looking for the keys in his jacket's pockets.

Alice was still lost in her thoughts. She just blankly stared at the floor since she arrived there. She began to think back about her home. She couldn't believe how all of that was only a false memory.

Like the majority of dreams, in which a recollection will slowly cease to exist, the original memories of Alice behaved almost the same, just backwards, and much slower. She slowly remembered, moment by moment.

"Your room will be on the south side," Rein said, pointing to a door on their right-hand side, further into the hall, near the large living room, open in front of them. "It's closer to the fireplace, has direct access to the living room, and it's secure enough to provide safety, just in case. I will store our belongings and supplies in the room next to it. I and snow can sleep anywhere. We can also sleep in the living room to guard the house as well. Or we can just sleep in the storage room. There's also a bed there."

"Isn't there any other room?" She casually asked.

"This isn't that big of a house, Lis, there is one other room, but the heat isn't good, and we mostly used it to store wood last month."

"When things are still peaceful." Added Snow.

"Yes, when things are still peaceful. Now I've heard another insurgency has started, and they apparently also has a demon beast, if not a high-level spirit with them. Chaos are bound to happen, and it's best if we avoid conflict and solve things without a shed of blood."

"Are we safe here? How long are we staying?" Asked Alice.

"We are mostly safe here. This location is quite hard to find. We will check on the local station if there's any urgent issue with crime lately. There would usually be posters on the notice board. And after things are relatively good, we can go to another world, and maybe spend some quality time. Good opportunity to answer some questions too, I'm sure you have a lot." Rein explained as he quickly rummaged through his backpack. "Here it is. I thought I've forgotten it. Luckily I kept a spare key in my bag. This room's original key got snapped off yesterday and I didn't even notice it. There, Alice, you may check the room and go to bed early if you want. I and Snow will be just outside of this door."

"Thanks, Rein." Alice smiled lightly. She could see the room was rather old with minimal ornaments, but well organised and relatively clean. She saw books on the desk and thought that Rein must have slept here before.

She turned on the lamp, and also the desk lamp, put down her bag, and sat on a chair behind the desk. She was curious about the things she found here since she arrived. Then she opened the brown leather-covered book next to the pen rest, and saw the name 'Rein Enfield.' with an ink scribble of a flower.

"I'm starting to remember it." She softly giggled. She recalled having thoughts about a past meeting with him. How she felt like she knew him long before they even met. She was starting to remember that her intuition was correct.

She carefully flipped open each page, mostly reports about the situation, supply, and even doodles and diaries. And then she saw the word again. He missed me? That much? And he called me darling again. I think those memories I just remembered means I and Rein was already together. How sweet. She thought.

She kept reading those pages, until one point she just flipped the pages quickly, and then she saw another page of his diary. She couldn't take her eyes off that particular page at the moment. She re-read the sentence written on it.

"Engagement? We're engaged?"

Suddenly the door behind her opened. She quickly closed the book, and turned to Rein, on the threshold, looking at her.

"Oh, you found that. Anyway, I think we need to talk, Alice. Privately."

"R-right now?" She stuttered.

He nodded while quietly closing the door. The night was still young, the rustling subsided, and he turned off the light.

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