James

James was a 70 years old man yet still lived the life of a hunter. He had no kids, his wife had died leaving him to live alone in the woods. That's when it happened... A white mist appeared in front of him, but being old he expected it to be a hallucination so he simply ignored it and kept walking.

Then the world became fuzzy as if he entered a large space that was only filled with fog, James soon felt both shock and horror when he ended up someplace else. He no longer found himself deep in the woods where he lived, instead he found himself face to face with a young man staring him down. Around the young man were several books piled high, and that is when he realized he was in some type of library with books spreading out as far as the eye can see.

Having experienced a lot he could clearly see the craziness in the young man's eyes and how excited he was. The young man was most likely insane and probably a very powerful being to make him come to a library when he had been in the woods.

There were always myths about powerful beings that could give you hallucinations all just to take your soul. James before this thought his soul was worthless, after all, he was now an old man with the vicissitudes of time showing the toll they left on him.

Now staring at this insane young man's eye James felt that perhaps he was simply chosen at random to experience the hallucination that felt so real. Yet the myths always some type of meaning so everything around here should mean something. James thought of what a library should signify.

A library is a place of knowledge where only important Scholars were allowed in, or the very rich. Clearly this young man was simply delusion making him feel as if he was the center of attention, especially with how the young man's eyes look directly at him ignoring everything around him as if James was the only important thing here.

"Hello, might I know where I am?"

James asked quietly and cautiously wondering what could happen if he angers this mysterious mystical being in front of him.

The young man seemed to wake from his stupor and nearly yelled as he spoke back, "Yes! Hello there! Finally, after all this time I finally get someone to talk to!"

The young man quickly grabbed James by the shoulder and held him firmly with the excitement in his eyes growing.

Not caring anymore and giving in to his happiness, the young man began to ramble at high speeds, "You have no idea how long it's been since the last time I spoke to someone you have to understand! I was going insane with only these books to keep me company! Sure as distracting it is to read, but when you only read it becomes a nuisance! A pain.

And when you are trapped here for so long and can't even leave and makes one go insane, but now you are here I don't care who you are or what happened I just know that you are a person like me so please tell me something, everything! I want to know everything about the world you come from I'm only able to get glimpses of it maybe recreated myself but I have no idea what it is or how it is. I want to know how you live and how you enjoy yourself! I want to talk with you.

Yes! I feel as if I don't know how to talk I don't know what to talk about all I know is that I should hear from you first because that's the only thing that could come to my mind right now, it is to hear what you say for now!"

James was very taken aback by this young man's temperament as a Young Man seem to only want to communicate. The young man claimed that he simply wanted to talk since he had spent so long in this Library with only the books to keep him company. Still that explanation is very strange leaving James very unsure of what was going to happen to him. With no other choice, James could only speak softly and with cautiousness.

"Well, my name is James I am 70 years old turning 71 in about a month. I am unsure of what I should talk to you about for someone who has been trapped in the library for a long time I am unsure of what you want to hear from me after all I'm only a simple old man who has spent most of his time in a forest as a hunter, nothing special.

I am almost certain that there are hundreds like me who have spent their entire lives in one place. I myself have only moved slightly when I got married, but that was only a day's walk away from where I am now making the only time I moved away from home was simply to find the church to get married. Unfortunately, like many others, my wife fell to disease. It is not a special story it is something that has always happened to others and it's simply happened to me. Unlike others, I was not good enough and did not feel the desire to get remarried after my first wife died so now I simply live alone in the forest.

"Yes yes yes yes YES! Please tell me more I need to know more about this your world what year is it what calendar system do you use what type of magic do you use do you have any magic or are you just a normal world with some myths, oh there's so many questions so many things that I wish to know please tell me more!"

"Calendar system? Year? Those are some pretty strange questions... For you, I shall tell you everything I know. It is the year 573 solace, month En, day is the 56th. If you wish to know more about the history you must find a scholar to teach you about all those things after all I am simply an old Hunter and I know more about traps than I do about the history of anything besides my own life."

"Well, I should expect that if you don't have high-level technology like I had in my world or even the medium-level technology that I heard about in my history class with a simple phone. That said, I do remember that one bookshelf that had all this knowledge about communication, and that one book called, '50 Ways To Communicate Through Electricity'

There were others like the, '3000 Ways To Communicate Through Chemicals Part 1' right next to the book talking about every single protein in the world, I do remember it was only an introductory level book where it says every single protein in the world part 1 I was unable to find part two perhaps isn't that second section of the library that the voice spoke about...

Yeah, I might have to check later perhaps there's even more things I simply don't know about it in this world after all I've only read every single book in the first level nearly now that there's the second level perhaps I'd go insane sooner. Oh yes, you're here I forgot about that, I am sorry, I've been alone for so long I forget that I brought someone here for the first time in forever.

I'm unsure that you can even go back, but I do hope I didn't ruin your day, but considering you're simply an old man and don't consider yourself much, it should be fine if even if you stay a little bit longer or even to the end of your life... I don't even have food... I've never eaten anything since arriving here, and I'm not sure how things work...

Maybe you will do better considering that book about how some fruits work... I remember that entire book about apples I've had my mouth watering for days or who knows how long really I don't really know it's always very hard to tell start now stuck in this Library... Either way, if you are able to leave I will give you anything that I have knowledge about in the first floor of this Library you may choose high-level technology power, but considering you don't even have some basic Communications I'll assume you will not be able to use most of that so going to give you some beginner entry-level books. Yes, beginner, entry-level books that will give you enough knowledge so you can start out.

All I hope is that it really works out, but for now can you please tell me more I need to hear more about your world that I just don't know anything about. Please I would do anything for it just talking and hearing someone else's voice besides my own it would mean the world to me."

"...Are you sure my voice is worth it? I'm simply an old man with nothing to give to this world. I have lived my life and I have nothing left to give. I have very little information about the world you want to know about. You even speak as if there are more worlds than my own, or some places in my world that I simply cannot fathom because I am too simple-minded. Still, if you would like I could give you information about my hunting. The ways a hunter in the Emerald Flower Forest."

"Yes! You said your wife died to disease too? I will give you this book." A thick book flew from a far-off bookshelf and entered the young man's hand. James could only see squiggles on the cover, but when he focused he felt like he could actually read it. The words, 'Medicine and Cures For Beginners' seemed to come into his mind

"This will help everyone in your world! Just learn about it and you will be able to heal any basic sickness and disease!" Just as the young man stretched out his arm to hand James the book, he stopped, "Huh? So I can't give others books? What if..." Just then a strange wind seemed to come from the young man's hand as a new book that looked almost the same as the book from before appeared.

"Alright, here you go?" This time the young man stretched out his arm and James was able to fully grab the book.

"Medicine and Cures For Beginners" James read the title aloud before shaking his head and looking back at the young man, "I am simply an old man that is at the end of his life. You should give this book to a young scholar. There it could help more people. I don't expect to live more than a few years."

James simply pushed the book back to the young man only to have it shoved back to him. "If you are only worried about the time you have left, then I will just rejuvenate you. After all your soul is still robust, so I just need to make your body match your soul's age."

Suddenly a warm light shot into James' head and a warm current flowed through his veins as his wrinkles rapidly disappeared making him regain the look of a 30-year-old. "W-what?"

"If you are so worried about time then you can live at least 50 more years minimum unless you are physically killed. So don't worry and just tell me everything you know about your world!"

"Ugh- Alrigh-" James could hear himself, but his raspy old voice now came out clean and deep, as if he was a young man that had entered adulthood for a while now. "Is this really me?"

Suddenly a mirror appeared in front of him allowing James to admire his clear green eyes, smooth tanned skin, and clean black hair. After a while James turned back to the young man and although still felt like he was just a monster that would take his soul, for the small chance that this was all real, he began to tell everything he knew about the world he lived in for so long.