A man dressed up in a ragged cloak pinned another man in a dark alleyway.
"What year is it? And what planet is this?" He said while looking him dead in the eyes.
The man being pinned down was so scared that he stuttered as he replied. "Year? It's... 200CE. I do not know why... why are you asking for the planet we are in but... it's called Enga II."
He suddenly asked the pinned man again right after his reply. "What does CE suppose to stand for?"
"Why... are you asking those questions..."
"Just answer me!" He shouted at the pinned man.
Instead of making it better, the pinned man couldn't give him a straight answer.
"Look here. If you answer me right now, I'll let you go." He said as he was too tired to shout at him for a second time.
"Cevera Era. The great era after the Holy War."
"Holy... War?" He suddenly froze and couldn't believe what he heard.
"You... you said you'd let me go..." The pinned man fearfully said.
*Tsk.* Although he wanted to know more, he couldn't go against his words that he'd let him go after that. And so without hesitation, he let go of his grip and free the pinned man. The unpinned man then quickly got up and ran away from him.
He then sat down still feeling tired. He took out a notebook and a pen from his pouch. He opened the notebook and started writing from where he left off. He wrote.
.
[World 3110
Planet: Enga II
Year: 200CE (Cevere Era)
Agenda: Unchanged
Status: Possibility of Cessation
Time: ......]
.
Aside from that, the earlier writings from the notebook included the same format as what he just wrote.
He then closed his notebook and put it back in his pouch along with his pen. He looked at his watch and saw something that reminded him of what he needs to do. His watch doesn't seem to function like a regular watch yet it can still tell time.
"I need to go. It's almost time." He sighed.
Although tired and looking like a mess, he still got up. He started walking and was headed to a specific place. As if knowing exactly the position of where he needed to be, he dragged his exhausted body toward his destination.
After a while of walking, he finally got out of the city. He then proceed to head toward the forest as he followed a path that was ingrained in his head. While walking, he saw some trees that bear some kind of fruit. In his eyes, it looked like it was edible and familiar so he picked it.
"Apple? It looks like it." He tasted it and it didn't taste anything like an apple would. It was a bit sour but juicy. Its texture was that of the squishier side. It has a sweet aftertaste to it which was good enough to quench his hunger.
As he kept on walking for hours, he finally saw a small house in the distance. It was already late in the afternoon which made it a good timing. His watch beeped as if he has gotten closer to the thing that he was headed for earlier.
"She's here." He said as he smiled in relief.
As if knowing the person inside the house. he knocked.
*knock knock*
Although he was not his best-looking self, he knew that the person inside would welcome him. The door opened and what greeted him was a girl who looked roughly the same age as him.
"Oh my! What happened to you? Where did you come from? Come. Come inside. Don't be shy. I can't possibly let you move on from here like this while the night is creeping close. I'll heat you up with a warm drink." Without hesitation, she welcomed him inside the house.
He looked at her and saw a necklace pendant that was reminiscent of what he was looking for.
[There is no denying it. It's her. I've finally found her. Good thing it only took me less than a week to get here.]
He went inside the house and sat near the table as the girl prepares him a warm drink. While she does that, all he did was stare at her. As if mesmerized by her beauty, he couldn't help but keep his eyes on her. Some time passed as she offered him the drink.
"Drink this for a while. My father will be here later. He usually comes home late after he hunts some animals for us to eat for dinner." She calmly said as if knowing him already as an acquaintance.
"Your father, huh? So you still live with your dad in this world..." He muttered to himself.
"Say, want to hear a good story to pass the time?" He said in a somewhat joking manner.
"Go drink that and just rest. You shouldn't exert much effort. Your body is tired, it needs to rest." She angrily said.
He drank a bit of the drink and moved over to a sofa as he lay down.
"I can still stay awake. I just need to rest this body of mine. Say, want to hear a story?" He happily replied with a smile as he looked at her.
"Are you the type who doesn't give up easily? Fine. I'll hear your story. But before that, tell me your name first." As if already warming up to him, she responded quite positively. She went close to him and sat on a chair.
"My name is Adamir. How about yours?" He replied.
[I already know your name but I want to hear it from you.]
"My name is Evia." She laughed a bit as she moved her chair close to him.
"Your story, let me hear it." Her eyes gleamed in curiosity as they made eye contact.
*Ehem.* Adamir got a bit nervous even though he was quite assertive in telling his story. But with a quick slap on his cheeks, he started.
[I've told this story countless of times and yet every time it still feels nostalgic. This feeling of mine never fades.]
"The story revolves around two people. A boy and a girl. For simplicities sake, I'll just name the two Adam and Eve. It all started when Adam noticed Eve in a simple gathering. A small event that leads to a big impact on his life. His life changed as if he found someone special. A person to whom he wanted to give his everything. From there on, he approached her to which the girl positively responded. He went and asked her out countless times and they went on many dates. To their surprise, they complemented each other pretty well."
"Aren't we getting too fast into the story?" Evia butted in.
"Just listen. The introduction is almost always swift, simple, and average yet elegant. It gets more interesting from here on out." He replied.
Graduating college soon, finally! Took a huge break from my previous novel due to not having much time before and motivation to continue it... so here is a new one.