Stick to the script

Reading a new language

"Where are you from?"

"...I can't say."

"..."

Silence. Neither of us spoke. I didn't say anything for fear of saying the wrong thing. I tightly gripped the covers of the bed underneath me and my knuckles grew white then sucked in a deep breath and did my best to answer without looking at them directly. I looked away and sighed apologetically. "I'm sorry. I just- I don't know," I ran a hand through my tangled hair. "I'm so confused..." I muttered under my breath.

I heard shuffling in front of me and looked back just in time to see her pick up and hand me the cup of water I didn't finish. I hesitantly reached out and took it from her then looked up at her in question.

"Wait here." She signed before turning around and walking out of the room, with the other man trailing behind her. He offered me a smile, to which I tiredly returned before the door closed with a soft thud. I stared at the door for a couple of seconds before releasing the breath I didn't know I had held in. I looked into the cup in my hands, my eyes trailed up from my fingers to my wrapped up wrist, it hurt but was bearable. I unfolded my legs and swung them over the edge of the bed, I winced when I felt my wrapped ankle shoot up in pain. "Ouch."

I redirected my focus to the cup and saw a transparent version of myself staring back. Finally breaking the eye contact I had with the image in the water, I brought up my uninjured arm to hover in front of my face to inspect the several pink scratches that marked both arms before looking back down at the water to use my reflection as a mirror to examine my face. I felt my fingers lightly brush the fabric that covered my cheek, It had a faint red line that faded as it spread. As if on cue, an itching sensation swiftly struck the same area. I winced before directly going to scratch my cheek.

I nearly fell off the bed when a voice by the door took me by surprise and ceased my scratching immediately. "Please try not to irritate your injury." I blinked, the shock began to wear down. The unnamed woman walked towards my direction, suitcase in hand.

~ • ~

"Thanks again!" I called after the doctor that had just walked out of the room. She inspected my injuries and told me-with the other two in the room next to the door- that my wrist would take 2 to 7 weeks to heal and my ankle should take about 2 weeks.

We watched the door shut behind her, I looked between the two adults when they turned to face me. "So, uh," I started. "what happens now?" My finger played with the edge of the shirt I had worn prior waking up in the forest. "Right now, you heal."

I nodded silently. "Sorry for the trouble."

"It's no trouble, don't worry about it. Just focus on getting better."

I smiled at the friendly ginger and nodded, more firmly this time. "Got it." They both returned the smile and Amaya nodded towards the door. I was left in a quiet room with my own thoughts being the only voice that kept me from hearing their footsteps growing fainter and fainter.

I leaned to the side, allowing my hand to fully reach for the wooden crutches that leaned on the wall next to the nightstand. The doctor suggested I use them-only if necessary-to help myself get around easier. Other than that, I'm practically bed bound. Back in my world, my older sister is studying to become a doctor, so I did know some Do's and Don'ts- I know I can't walk with a sprained ankle because it could affect the healing process or cause some permanent damage.

If I want to get out, I can't do that with a hurt foot and wrist. So I might as well make myself comfortable with the room and explore it a little. Who knows how long I'll be here.

I sighed as I prepared myself to stand up, crutches at the ready. Relying on my good foot to catch myself when I slipped off the bed, I rushed to put my arms over the crutches as I felt myself prepare for a fall. Congratulating my accomplishment, I smiled as I began properly settling the crutches under my arms. I sighed then went to look around the room. Once my sprained areas heal, I'd like to get home as soon as possible. I don't want to still be stuck in this world before or during the plot.

This is the first time I let myself get a good look around the room, my eyes jumped from object to object. They finally landed on the desk, I caught sight of a few sheets of paper and writing equipment. My curiosity motivated me to hobble my way over to the other side of the room.

I didn't know how much pain I was in until I started walking, my body was sore, I had a headache, and I felt my sprained joints thump at the same rhythm of my heartbeat. Finally beside the wooden desk, I practically collapsed in the conveniently pulled out chair and took a few breaths. My eyes trailed the sides of the books that lay on top of each other on the desk, I looked over the one of the top and scanned the title. I did a double take when I realized that this was the book that was seen in the second episode, when Callum was in the library.

I grabbed the dark red book and brought it closer to me. I brought my good hand to trace the first letter of the golden coloured title and I felt a small, smooth, dent where the letters were. My eyes trailed up and down, following the lines of design surrounding the rectangle shape where the title was. I tore my eyes away from the thin lined design to read the hardcover.

"Lost secrets of Xadia

By: D. Giehl."

Curiously, I lifted the book so that the spine was against the desk and the edges of the paper were facing me. I used my thumbs to help separate the pages in the randomly chosen chapter in the book, and pulled them apart. My eyes scanned the page, the first few things that caught my interest were the simple drawings on the sides of the pages, the second thing that caught my eye was the writing.

Confused, I grabbed the other half of the book and flipped it back to the front. I didn't remove my hand from the page so as to not lose my place. I read the title then looked back at the page, my brows furrowed further the more I flipped through the pages. I read the title of each chapter and scanned the information underneath.

I was very confused, but also felt frustrated at myself for not noticing it sooner. I let myself fall back into the chair. Why would the titles be in English while the contents of the book isn't? I crossed my arms and glared down at the book, half hoping I'd get answers if I'd stare at it long enough. It looked like someone had just randomly picked letters from the alphabet and jumbled them all together, threw in some spaces and called it a day. What kind of language is this? Why not write it like the titles?

My head began to hurt the more I tried to make sense of it. As my eyes rescanned the text, my eyes caught a few words; we, jk, hi etc.

I feel like I'm playing one of those word search puzzle games.

I let out a groan in frustration and bonked my head with the open book. I laid there, with that old book smell flowing around my nose. I closed my eyes tightly, naively hoping it would help ease my now pounding head. I took a deep breath and let out a yawn and I felt my eyes water. I must've used up a lot more energy than I thought.

Once I realized that hobbling back to the bed would take some effort, I shifted in my seat and got comfortable. Flipping to autopilot, I lift my head enough for my hand to shut the book and slide it next to the short stack of books it came from. I folded my arms on top of the desk to act as a pillow.

After a final yawn, I closed my eyes.