Beer

My eyes flew open.

My body was... snug in a bed.

"Ah, you are awake?"

My vision was blurry, but when my head turned over, an outline of Mildred reached my eyes.

"Mildred?"

Mildred tilted her head.

"Eh, so you were awake at that time, why did you pretend you were asleep?"

My mind couldn't fully process what Mildred was saying.

"Hmm?"

Mildred was silent for a few moments.

"Ah, I suppose you might have been flickering between states of consciousness. My bad for assuming things."

...Huh?

"What is happening?"

Mildred sighed.

"You have been summoned from your world into ours. This world differs from yours as there is magic. You have a couple of companions you were summoned with. But anyway, what is your name?"

My eyelids fluttered.

"Jay..."

Mildred smiled and picked up a plate of food with a fork.

"Well Jay, would you like some food?"

...I was really hungry.

After nodding, I finished a simple meal that was a little cold.

"Where is everyone else?"

Mildred twiddled with her fingers.

"They are currently at magic school, learning some new spells and such."

Spells? Having more spells memorized would be nice.

"Ah, can I go too?"

Mildred was smiling but the corner of her lip twitched.

"Well, you would need a specific registration to attend. Sorry, there were no arrangements made for you yet, I will get to work on them."

...Well, I guess a day was wasted.

"Could I still practice spells? Do you have any spells for me to look at?"

Mildred chuckled.

"You are so eager to learn new spells, there is no rush is there?"

Rush? What else was I supposed to do?

"Can I not learn any spells? There doesn't seem to be much else to do."

The corner of Mildred's lip turned up.

"How about I show you? Can you walk?"

Instinctively I wanted to say no, but before the words left my lips, I forced them back.

"Yeah."

Slowly my body rose from the bed. Mildred grabbed my hand and pulled me up.

"Let me show you around the town."

Mildred took me to the palace entrance and my eyes laid upon the town once more.

For a moment, I was reminded of how curious I was upon encountering the bustling village.

There was still a lingering fear in the back of my mind, but Mildred was next to me, which more or less expelled it.

Mildred and I walked down a cobblestone path.

The light of the sun was weak and the weather was comfortably warm.

People were going to and fro, making the roads were crowded and lively.

Mildred turned to look at me.

"Where you were just in the palace you will be living in. Surrounding the palace are various places that contain different amenities. These include things such as schools, taverns, and shops."

I nodded absentmindedly.

There was a man at a small stand. He was trying his best to sell pieces of parchment that had various ink designs on them. Though it wasn't the best of art, it was commendable and a few people were inspecting them or deciding on a price.

"It seems people are pretty lively huh?"

Mildred had a soft smile.

"That is to be expected. This place has ten years of winter and ten years of summer, and right now it is the last year before winter. As such, people are trying their best to enjoy the last bits of summer before it disappears."

Mildred sighed.

"This is especially so for the people that have gone through a winter. During the winter, everyone tries their best to tide through it. If possible, people do not leave their houses and have to be very conservative about what they eat. In the end, days simply pass as one fights their hunger to reduce how much they eat."

Mildred perked up.

"Oh, that's right. We will have a celebration within the last month. This celebration is quite the magnificent one and is how most have their last bit of fun before the relentless winter comes back."

For a second, this celebration became something I anticipated, but then I remembered it would never happen.

...If only winter did not come early.

"Winter sounds like quite the miserable experience people must face."

Mildred nodded but kept a smile on her face.

"Indeed, but perhaps such a harsh time reminds us to enjoy things while they last. Sometimes it is simply too hard to notice we have something that matters to us until it is lost."

A small sigh escaped my lips.

"I guess..."

Mildred stopped and pulled my arm back.

"Let's check out the tavern."

Mildred held my hand and dragged me through the crowds of people both entering and exiting the tavern.

The place was quite big and the place was boisterous. People were laughing and talking up a storm. There were no available seats, but we went up to the bartender.

The bartender was a middle-aged man who was happily chatting with another man while pouring a drink for him.

We took a seat that was right where the bartender manned a table.

He soon came around to us.

"Hey, came for a beer?"

Mildred nodded and pressed a silver down on the table with her finger, sliding it over to him.

"Two small ones."

The man took it and looked through some cabinets before taking two small mugs out and pouring some beer into it from a pitcher. After rummaging around some more, he took out a few ice cubes and put them into our mugs. He had a wide smile on his face.

"Enjoy lads."

Mildred took a sip, so I followed.

It was cold and didn't really taste like anything. Why were so many people drinking this stuff?

Mildred suddenly tilted the mug all the way back and slammed the mug on the table.

"One more!"

The corner of Mildred's lip twitched and then she shook her head.

"Sorry, sorry I meant no more."

The bartender raised an eyebrow.

"Not feeling it today huh?"

The bartender was quick to serve someone else after. My hand tilted back and forced the uncomfortable liquid down my mouth.

Mildred then held my hand and pushed through the crowd to get back outside.

We continued to walk down the streets. Mildred laughed to herself.

"I always get some beer when I can. I make sure to only drink a little throughout the day so that people can't tell. My lips do get a little loose because of that though."

Mildred started to swing my arm around.

"Beer is how I enjoy myself. It is pretty much how everyone does. Once it kicks in you'll understand why I showed you this instead of spells."

There were large patches of land that looked like it was worked on. Houses were less frequent here and were relatively large. Mildred looked out into the fields where a few people were hoeing the fields.

"This is where the food is produced, because of the long winters we have large amounts of farmland to stock up on food."

My vision started to spin a little... and my steps... were not that straight.

Mildred was more or less... holding me up as my feet stumbled about.

My hand... was clutching my head.

Mildred stopped, pulling me back. She nearly made me trip.

Mildred... crouched down.

"Up ahead is where people who were not part of the village live... it's best not to go there if possible."

My eyelids started to open and close out of sync.

The ground... was close... I was on my knees.

Like a tide... it overwhelmed me.

Sadness... I was sad.

"It's so hard... so hard..."

There were a few tear stains on the ground.

"It hurts... so bad..."

I started to sniffle uncontrollably. There was a... warm feeling on my head.

My head turned over to see Mildred. Mildred had a sad smile.

"At least there is beer to comfort us."

A thought... that was pushed so far down... bubbled up.

"Why... do I have to exist..."

Tears were streaming... down my face.

"Why can't... this world go on without me."

I... was rocking back and forth.

"It has gone for so long without me... why does it need me now..."

Mildred was also crying.

"There is no reason we exist... it just happens... and we have to deal with it."

Memories flashed in my mind.

The time I climbed out of the canyon flashed into my mind. It was so challenging... such a great achievement.

But... I didn't want to do it anymore.

I was tired.

It was hard.

And it hurt.

"Why do I have to go through this? I... don't want to keep going."

Mildred hugged me... tightly.

"I don't know... I don't know... like a cruel trick of fate... cursing us with misery."

My eyes met with Mildred's. She was smiling... but her lips were violently trembling.

"I suppose... what makes us keep going... is hope."

Mildred's features became clear to me. She had short and light brown hair that was pushed aside by the winds, powerless to stop them. Her eyes were a bright blue, it felt like her worries were held behind by them. But right now, nothing was hidden. Her body was trembling like a leaf that could be blown away.

A bitter smile appeared on my lips.

"Hope is such a cruel thing."