I moved just about as fast as the " snap " sound that came from behind me. I had spun around and held both my blades to a stranger’s neck in a flash. How did I move so fast and with such precision? I shook off the thought and made a demand:

“Who are you?”

The newcomer… was odd, to say the least. The first thing my eyes fixed on was not of his pale-looking face but rather a large ball of green hair on his head. As my eyes moved down his form what grabbed my attention was green eyes, a green shirt, green pants, and green shoes. It all brightly contrasted with the grey backdrop. He was shorter than me, though his curly and poofy hair added enough to make us appear around the same height.

“Hey, easy there,” the green stranger said while putting his hands up and showing me empty palms. “Are you new?” he added.

I squinted my eyes but said nothing and didn’t move by blades.

“Okay, not much of a talker… Do you understand what I’m saying, at least?” The stranger seemed to have little regard for my blades next to his neck. He spoke in a light and friendly tone, not in one of someone being threatened. I gripped the hilts tighter as I prepared for him to make some sort of move.

“I understand you,” I said to him.

“Good, that makes things easier!” he seemed to say with a sigh of relief. “Well, you seemed confused, to say the least. Let’s see; I guess to start, welcome to what we like to call the World Between Worlds!”

“Excuse me?” I asked.

“Catchy name, right? I came up with it on my own. Basically, this is like a video game hub wor– oh wait, what is the technology level on your world like?”

“I’m asking the questions,” I said. I did not want to let on that I had no memories of my world.

“Okay, well, maybe it would be better to describe it as a house with many doors to other worlds!”

“A house?” I repeated.

“Exactly! Sometimes people fall in here, and sometimes you see streams transfer from one world to another!” the stranger happily explained. “So, I can understand your confusion, but it’s a simple matter to get you home if you calm down.”

I sensed no malice in his words, though I was unsure how much I could trust my assessment. Either way, I lowered my blades from his neck and tucked them back to my side. He seemed to wipe his forehead like it was sweaty. I suppose I was somewhat threatening, but his motions were more dramatic than they ought to be if he were serious.

“Are you some sort of caretaker?” I asked the stranger.

“Oh, me? No. I think that’s more of Cherry’s job!”

“Cherry?”

The green man pointed behind me to the staircase. I turned and once again laid eyes on the person-shaped fiery creature. It had not moved from its position up on the stone stairs but looked at the two of us with apparent great interest. I shuddered as I turned back to the green man.

“That’s Cherry; came up with the name myself!”

“You named the monster?” I asked in an almost disappointed tone. The green guy put his hands on his hips as if to show off.

“I know he’s a little scary at first, but he's really friendly once you get to know him! That is, as long as you don’t try to go past him on the steps. Isn’t that right, Cherry!”

I turned to the fiery creature to see it nod and affirm what the stranger said.

“You can ask him anything you want, provided it’s a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question, and he will answer!”

“I think I’ll pass,” I said as I shook my head. This place was all too strange. “How do I leave?” I added.

“Have you seen any of the lakes? Just dive right in!” the stranger happily replied.

I recalled the two bodies of water. Does that mean when I dipped my hand in, it showed me a vision of the world it led to?

I sighed and walked away from the stairs and strange green man. He chased after while shouting ‘wait’ over and over. I ignored him as I thought.

I simply had to jump into the faux-water to get to a world, but could his words be trusted? He didn’t seem like the type to lie, but couldn’t that be an elaborate multilevel deception?

In our short exchange, I had begun to feel odd. It was as if I knew him, or maybe someone like him before I lost my memory. I would have to be careful not to confuse my trust with the stranger that continued to pursue me through the grey trees.

After a moment of my aimless wandering, I turned around and faced the green guy.

“Oh, good, you stopped. Were you listening at all?” he asked me while looking up at my face. He had been shouting something to me while I was lost in thought.

“I was not,” I admitted. There was no hint of apology in my tone. He rubbed the back of his bushy green hair.

“Well, I was saying that if you tell me where you came from, I could get you home. My friends and I are pretty familiar with this world!”

His offer was nice, and his tone was sincere. Had I remembered where I came from, I might have given in and told him. Unfortunately, I had to admit something unpleasant instead.

“I don’t recall my world.” It felt like I had been stabbed as I spoke the words aloud. It hurt but saying it might make him back off.

The green guy’s face broke into an unexpected wide smile.

“Amnesia! So, I’m not the only one! Oh, that’s great… not for you, I mean… I can finally tell the others it’s not so random. So, how much did you forget? I ended up losing how to speak even… it was nasty. I had to be retaught everything from scratch!”

He was very chatty. I didn’t know how to react to his sudden words.

“I, um.”

“Oh, I suppose you can’t remember how much you forgot!” He motioned like he was smacking his head, “Silly me, well do you at least recall your name?”

I racked my head for the information, but no name came to mind.

“I do not,” I answered slowly.

“Hmm, well, you’re dressed in pink… so how about Pinky!” The guy dressed in green said.

I swiftly put a blade next to his neck.

“No,” was all I said.

“Okay, not Pinky, got it,” he replied in a calm tone a person wouldn’t usually make with a blade pointed at them. I lowered my dagger and put it back in its sheath. I’m not sure why I had such an intense reaction. It had happened before I was even consciously aware of it. Still, I couldn’t let him come up with a name, or I’d end up like Cherry.

“What’s your name,” I asked him.

He pointed to himself with his thumbs. A smirk was painted across his face.

“Me, I’m Mr. Green!”

I turned away and waved.

“Goodbye,” I said as I began to walk away into the grey woods.

“Wait, that was just a joke!” he said as he chased after me.