30Aaaand another late chapter. Sorry for that. My life's been a little full of empty recently...
This chapter probably answers a couple of questions. It's its purpose, really. Hopefully it does just that ^^;
Thanks again to my awesome proof-reader GrowingAHead. She's awesome ^^
Theme: "Rêverie" by Debussy
The uncomfortable pressure at her arm must have been what woke Lydia up. Hanatarō looked past the dark brown strands of her hair to see her eyelids twitch.
"So-Sorry!..." he apologized sheepishly. "I had no intention of waking you up. I was merely checking your blood pressure. Just a routine checkup... "
She didn't seem fully awake yet, if her green eyes' puzzled blinking was any indication. So, he continued slowly.
"I'm... not sure I am the proper person to judge so, but maybe you shouldn't worry too much about... whatever Captain Hirako said. From what little I've seen of him, he can be an... expressive man, and may possibly have been over-dramatizing. He's like that, sometimes. But he probably doesn't mean any harm."
Lydia's eyes finally focused and she threw him a smile.
"Portals are like doorways - if you can go through them one way, then you can come back the other way. And if you're missing the key, then you just need to pick the lock."
Hanatarō smiled back. She... seemed to know what she was doing.
He honestly hoped she was right.
As for Lydia, she highly doubted the "Captain" had been kidding, and thus deduced he was probably the type to blurt out anything he knew - whatever that was. She knew she shouldn't be classifying him into a category just yet, but one couldn't help first impressions, right?
"In any case, you should forget all that for now - at least until you have fully recovered." The black-clad boy flattened a palm to his chest in self-designation. "I am Yamada Hanatarō - a healer. I am in charge of you until you're well and can safely leave this room."
"Healer"? Was that the same as a doctor? He looked very self-conscious for a professional...
As Lydia's thoughts drifted off again, she suddenly felt light-hearted. There was no hurry, she could spend as much time as she wanted here before going home - there wasn't anyone to tell her what to do, not even that annoying colleague who always acted like he was her boss (even though he wasn't). Her parents - scratch that. Her father might get worried a bit, but that was it.
Hanatarō threw her a quizzical look as she sat straighter, her smile widening.
It was here and now that her adventure began.
She was free.
EXTRACT FROM LYDIA'S DIARY
Days 1 & 2 - No account
Day 3 - April 19th
April 19th: As expected, the date isn't lined up with my own world's - it feels odd nonetheless, especially since when I asked around people seemed unsure of what year it is (How?) which makes me a little uncomfortable.
But.
Here's my situation: My name is Makitova Lydia, and I'm 19. I recently graduated from my school's PS (Portal Studies) course and am now working at APLCOR (the Active Portal Linking Center of Research).
And here I am, in another world.
I can still hardly believe it, but the traditional-looking room and clothes - the nurses have a fairly normal pale pink uniform; but the healers' black one seems from another time - that I have been seeing around here keep reminding me of how real it all is. I haven't yet seen much of the place I've arrived in, though. I guess the portal must've been too unstable, since I still haven't recovered enough from the journey to walk - I feel dizzy every time I stand and headaches come easily. Thankfully the place is usually very quiet. Even considering I've drifted in out of sleep all day - I can't help thinking it has to be the effect of some medicine, though I don't recall being given anything - I have now been awake for over 30 minutes straight.
Each time I wake up, there's been a constant presence - either a nurse in a pink kimono or a 'healer'. When I asked my caretaker, Yamada Hanatarō, he told me they had lots of staff to spare, and seemed sad suddenly - which puzzles me a bit. Wouldn't that be a good thing?
I arrived Day 1, let's say, and slept through Days 1 and 2. Today is Day 3.
Today's Data
I arrived on April 17th and today is the 19th
Oddly enough, no-one (including Hanatarou) seems really sure of the year... He said he'd ask around though
Day/night cycle with similar hours
It's getting dark outside. Must be around 7:30 p.m.
Similar spring temperatures
About 19.5°C in this room and pretty much the same outside (Hanatarō opened the window for a while this afternoon)
People
If they aren't the same as humans from home, then I don't know what they are - they look similar enough to me (unlike those keyhole-handed people who I heard about once)
Fauna
Similar, at least. I heard a robin a moment ago, as well as some other bird song I didn't recognize
Time period?
This place reminds a lot of medieval Japan, yet they have modern medical equipment... Also, people seem to speak an odd mix of old and modern Japanese. Not a single trace of a Russian accent. History definitely didn't happen the same way here (I'll have to tell Sis about this when I get back. She loves History so much, maybe I'll finally be able to strike a proper conversation with her...)
Gravity
I am confused. I would have sworn I had arrived on a smaller planet than my own (I feel so light I sometimes wonder if I'm not ever-so-slightly floating...), but my portable gravimeter indicates the same values as it did back home... Either I've hit my head, or been drugged, or the gravimeter is broken (these are so delicate, but the box does not appear damaged). Either that, or matter is lighter here. Which would have me baffled (I'll have to look into that sometime)
Mental powers
Yeah, no. That's probably not the right term - but it's the only one I found for this. Even now, I'm not sure I know what it did to me...
I guess you never know what you may find in another world. But if anything, I'd have expected to meet flying fish rather than be confronted with mental powers.
Or whatever it was.
Anything omitted from these notes is due to its lack of confirmed information or of relevance to the mission.
I'll be away on summer vacations for roughly a month, so the next update may be quite late as well. But I can't do much about it for once. I'll make sure to write a lot more when I'm out of Internet though, so I'll hopefully stop being behind like this (I started out writing one chapter out of two, thus my problem)
The cover is a photo by Ana Tavares, from Unsplash.