《Another Time, Another Universe》Looking For Answers
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After a couple hours of sprinting across the seemingly endless stretches of lush light-green grass, I soon find myself lost.
What am I doing? Am I really in the right place?
Along with my current situation of being completely lost, I am . I had been running for a few hours, and I clearly don't have the stamina to run anymore. Fortunately, however, the weather here is warm but slightly on the cooler side; the perfect temperature. Feels a little too perfect, but I soon dispel the thought for the sake of something stranger.
I wasn't hungry at all.
For a few minutes, I hadn't any idea of why or how I wasn't hungry after all that time I'd spent running, but then it hit me: I was a food item. But of course! How couldn't I have realized it sooner? Though I still am not sure exactly what I am, at least I now have a clue. I quickly focus back on my task of finding any other objects. I hurriedly continue on my way down the direction I was originally traveling in. Closing my eyes, I sprint on faster, faster, faster...
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"OW! Be more careful, Pin- ...huh? Who are ?"
Having been knocked down from the impact of hitting the unknown object in my path, I stumble to my feet, and I lock eyes with them for what seems like hours. She seems to sound female though she has a relatively deep voice, and she appears to somewhat resemble an almond shape, as well as being a bright green, with a very thin lighter green midrib positioned vertically down the middle of her body. A leaf, that's for sure.
"You aren't from here... what's your name? Mine's Leafy. Just so you know, you're in Goiky, a peaceful sunny island plain."
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"W-what? I don't understand..."
"Don't worry, I'll explain everything. Just yesterday was the last challenge of this game show I and several others were competing in called BFDI, but our host Announcer just mysteriously left this place afterward. But worst of all, this girl named Flower destroyed all of the devices known as Recovery Centers, which revive us when we die," she eagerly explained.
I have lots of questions now, but I nervously hesitate to ask, staying silent.
There I had been earlier, doubting that I would find anyone here on this island field, and yet here I am now, standing right in front of this 'Leafy' girl who's bombarding me with confusing information, and to make matters worse, dying at any point in time will mean I won't be able to come back.
Finally, I speak for the first time:
"...I actually don't know what I am, or how and why I got here..."
Firstly, she seems astonished by my voice.
"Say, you sound almost exactly like this guy name Tennis Ball, but your voice seems mildly higher and a bit less nasal than his."
"Who is 'Tennis Ball?'", I wonder to myself. Regardless, I don't ask Leafy that question and instead focus on Leafy's own observation.
"Well, no. Speaking to you was the first time I'd ever spoken since I first got here in Goiky, actually."
Then she dotes on my response.
"I see... well, now you know that, but what do you mean by 'you don't know how or why you got here'?", Leafy suspiciously questions.
Unfortunately, I actually don't know the answer to that myself.
"I'm not sure, either, but I'll probably be living here in this world for a really long time, so I'm hoping that I can get to know everyone, make some friends, and find out those answers."
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"Well, that's a pretty mysterious situation, but I'll try to help you out the best I can! But I have another big problem I'm dealing with... you see, nobody really likes me anymore. They started hating me because I did something terrible; I stole the grand first-place prize, Dream Island, from this other contestant named Firey on the last day of BFDI, because I was upset that he had built this giant flaming lava Ferris wheel for me and didn't realize how deadly it was for me. I bought it from Announcer through the phone after he left Goiky. Even though I was only upset for a little while, it was too late for me to give the island back, because the island just vanished into nothing, I think, 2 hours after I bought it. Now, everyone despises me for what I did. I don't know about Firey, though, because later that day he saved me from getting crushed by the others when they tried to kill me in the Announcer crusher that that girl Flower built at the beginning of the show. So maybe he still likes me, at least?... And all of this happened just yesterday! You're lucky you didn't have to deal with all that drama."
Despite acknowledging Leafy's situation and realizing that Leafy is right about all this, I don't know my name myself regardless, so I have to think of a reply for a few moments.
"I'm really sorry about your situation, Leafy. But also... I don't know what I am."
Leafy is dumbfounded by my statement.
"But how can't you know? Everyone knows what they are."
Wow... This is a lot of info to take in. And to think I already have my own problem to deal with! So much stress in the first few hours of this life...
"Um... are you OK?" Leafy sounds really concerned. I had been distracted in my thoughts yet again.
"Oh?- I'm OK, Leafy. Just taking in the sights," I lie. I don't want to potentially get poor Leafy dragged into a vast ocean of extremely complex, never-ending waves of uncertain theories and questions as to why and how I am here in this place, especially not because of something as simple as me accidentally bumping into her. Not only don't I know the answers to my own problem, putting me in a stressful struggle, but Leafy is in one of her own, what with her stealing Dream Island from this 'Firey' character and accidentally getting it permanently deleted from existence in the process.
Gathering my courage, I proceed to ask Leafy about the main task at hand: finding out my identity.
"...Will you help me find out what I am, Leafy?" A sincere smile stretches out across her face.
"Of course, I'd be happy to help you! Say... do you want to be friends? I'd really like to have one, after everything that happened..."
"O-of course. I would love to be your friend, Leafy. And... thank you for agreeing to help me."
She smiles even wider and pulls me into a strong hug.
"You're welcome," she whispers in our embrace, and lets me go soon after.
"Now follow me!"
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