10 – A shared meal and some laughs, and your soul will start to mend

The tears slowly dried up on Jacob’s face, the lines on his skin getting sharper and his eyes more alive. He adjusted on his seat, feeling the hard bark of the branch as it dug in his flesh.

“Are you alright?” Lumia asked.

“I’m fine. In fact, I see now that I’m fully healed. I have to thank you for that.”

He kept looking out into the night forest, but with a renewed light in his eyes.

“I didn’t mean your body. How are you feeling?”

He turned towards her, looking into her eyes that were so bright amidst the dark of night. She had a beautiful face, he had to admit. The low light concealed most of her features, but still she was among the finest women he ever met.

“Better now. This cry was long overdue.”

Lumia got up. She extended a hand, pulling Jacob up and towards the winding stairs.

“Good. Come now, you haven’t eaten yet.”

He didn’t feel hungry at all, one of the effects of his gaming integration ability. And yet, the proposal sounded nice.

They went down the steps, carefully in the low light, but perfectly fine in the darkness. It was this veil of black that gave the place its cozy atmosphere, along with the people in it. At the end of the stairs, Jacob saw the room he was in when he woke up.

“How long was I in there?”

“A whole day.”

He nodded. Lumia dragged him into the kitchen, where Tyla was stirring some soup over the fire.

“Now I’m hungry.” Jacob joked, smiling with both his eyes and his mouth.

“See?” Lumia too smiled at him, puffing out her chest slightly. “My mother’s cooking is no joke!”

“You bet it’s not!” Interjected her mother. The three shared a laugh.

Only now did Jacob have the chance to look at the two women under the light. They both had lightly tanned skin and toned bodies that were visible in places where their clothes didn’t cover them. One had emerald hair and eyes, with the hair of a pale green that seemed to almost fade to silver. The other, visibly younger, had silver hair with only faint accents of green. Her eyes were golden.

And both of them had long, pointy ears at the sides of their heads. Jacob almost gasped at the sight. Seeing him stare with his mouth agape, Tyla chuckled and covered her mouth with her hand, muttering to herself.

Jacob saw her, and returned to the real world with a start.

“I—I’m Jacob.”

Tyla chuckled again. “I was wondering how long it would take before we got to introductions!” She smiled. “I’m Tyla, and she’s Lumia, my daughter.”

“It’s really a pleasure to meet you,” Jacob said. “And thanks again for saving my life back there.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“Well,” Tyla added, “You could tell us what sort of magic you used just before.”

“Magic?”

“Yes, the one you used to play that magical tune.”

“Oh, it’s not magic. It’s an item.” He took out the jukebox, and placed it next to the dining table where they were all sitting. “You just put a music disc in here—”

He stopped mid-sentence, the stares of the two girls almost boring holes in him.

“How did you do that?” they asked in unison.

“Do… Ah, well, that. This means that it’s not normal, is it?”

“Definitely not.” Lumia said.

“Then,” Jacob continued, his mother’s scientific mindset for a moment taking a hold of him. “I suppose none of you see your health as little hearts in your vision? Nor can you craft items on this thing here?” He placed a workbench.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Lumia said immediately.

Tyla, instead, was silent. She pinched her nose lightly, staring at the empty wall behind the table.

“A special ability user…” She muttered.

“Is it common?”

“No, it’s not. I mean, abilities are quite common, almost as common as magic users but—”

“But your ability is too odd. Too unspecific. Too undefined.” Lumia joined her mother.

“It’s based off of a game I played before arriving here.”

“A game? Arriving here? Well, that explains some things.”

Jacob scratched his chin. “I’m not the first to come from Earth.”

“Earth… no, never heard of it. But I know of stories about people coming from other places, getting abilities far stranger than normal. You said you were playing a game?”

“Sort of, yes.”

“A Player, then?”

He stared. “What does it mean?”

She smiled. “Nothing—just the name of your ability.”

“You made this up!”

“I saved your life. I get to name your ability!”

“Well, I suppose it’s fine.”

“Good. Now let me get back to cooking. Chat with Lumia.” She said, a sing-song voice he never heard before.

Lumia smiled at him.

“Is there a joke I’m not getting?”

“Nah,” Lumia replied, “just my mother being my mother.”

The three of them laughed together again. The meal they shared that night was among the best Jacob ever had, and for a while he felt like he was back where he belonged.