That first night was a sleepless one.

Simply standing was extremely tiring, so Jack dragged the stool from the corner of the room to the window so he could sit instead, watching the bizarre scenes through the window. As the evening dragged on, he noticed that the light from the lamp lizard was waning, and as it did so the number of people out and about was also decreasing.

What he could only assume were shops and businesses shut their doors as the street emptied out, here and there light appearing and disappearing from windows on the floors higher up. Some people must have just been workers heading home for the night, others seemed to live at the back or above the businesses they ran. Eventually - after what felt like days - Jack pried himself of the stool and back to the bed, still unmade.

There he lay, contemplating his situation.

How had he gone from a high school kid on a weekend hike to, well, whatever this was? He idly reached out and picked up a handful of fruit pieces, but hurriedly dropped them and took just one, remembering what had happened last time he ate too much of the strange fruit. He rolled the little cube in his mouth. It seemed to radiate warmth, even though it was cold in his hand.

After swallowing it cautiously, he noticed a strange sensation from his stomach, as if he'd just just had a shot of vodka. Not that a 16 year old like him would know what that felt like no sir!. After eating the fruit piece with no funny side effects, his mind drifted back to his circumstances.

He dragged himself out of bed and to the window again, seeing that the lamp lizards were now completely dark and only a few lights were coming from the odd window. He couldn't see anything in the dark beyond the buildings, but he could look up and see the stars.

The stars! He'd looked up at the night sky often enough while out hiking and camping to know what the Milky Way looked like without light pollution, but this was something else. If a clear night sky back home looked like a see of stars, this was a raging torrent! "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore..." he thought.

The next morning, Jun knocked to let the imbecile know that someone was coming in - and almost dropped the clothing she was carrying when she heard a reply! She had no idea what strange language the savage spoke, but there had been an unmistakable hint of affirmative intent behind the sound.

Just a hint, but it was there! Was he regaining the mental faculties that her Uncle had told him the boy may be missing?

She entered the room and found the boy just sitting up, obviously aware of his near nakedness but keeping himself at least partially covered with the sheets. She entered the room and placed the small bundle of plain peasant clothes on the stool in the corner and then approached him.

Again, he spoke a few foreign words but she could feel that he intended gratitude. He actually had a few manners! "You're welcome", she responded.

She checked on the bowl of Mìngmài and saw that he'd only had two pieces. She took the empty water jug and left the room, locking it again behind her.

Jack shook his head as she departed. When he'd thanked her and she'd responded, he'd felt an odd tingle in the back of his head accompanied by a vague sense of politeness. Or maybe it was just what he'd expect after saying "Thank you".

He shrugged and headed over to the clothes she'd left on the stool, sighing with some relief that it appeared to be a simple top and a pair of rough pants. No underclothes though? Some of the outfits he'd seen through the window were quite ornate, with layers of fabric that he'd have had no idea where to start with.

After dressing, he headed over to the window to get a daytime look at the town he'd only seen by lizard lamp light. After being shocked all over again by the abundance of lizards being used for all ends - there were even dog sized lizards with a strange basket of spikes on their backs, that looked like they were being used as shopping carts - he started noticing other details that just reinforced the strangeness of it all.

Everything seemed to be wood, with no signs of modern technology in sight. No electric lights, or electric anything. Very little that appeared to be metallic. Not even carriages or carts. Through gaps in the buildings, he could just about make out a deeper blueish green in the distance. Vegetation?

It all seemed quite idyllic, everyone nodding politely to each other, laughter quite evident as people stopped to talk.

His observation was cut short by the arrival of the elder, the young lady in tow with a refilled water jug that she placed on the bedside table. The elder put on a smile - "Does he realise how sinister that makes him look?", mused Jack - and sprouted an unintelligible mix of consonants and vowels.

There! Again, the funny tickle at the back of his mind. Concern was the impression he got. Was he being asked how he felt? "I'm feeling much better, thank you very much for taking me in and treating my wound." he replied, actively trying to sound as sincere as possible. If these people could send feelings into him, perhaps they could also pick them up from him? No harm in trying!

Whether it worked or not, the smile on the elder's face shifted slightly and just looked more genuine. "Hao Hao'' the elder responded. It felt like affirmation.

The elder made a "come hither" gesture before turning around and walking out the door. Was the old man asking him to follow? His guess was reinforced when the young lady waited for him for a moment before making the same gesture, beckoning him to follow. So he did.

It was somewhat awkward as the old man was walking in the center of the narrow passage, but the girl was walking to the side so he ended up next to her.