Desmond Senior was sitting on his house's porch, looking out over the garden in his chair. His gaze wandered up to the sky. His gaze stayed on the stars.

"I never thought that we would meet again..."

He spoke into the void and remembered his first meeting with her.

 

=== 1970

 

Desmond, who was still young, was with his friends by the stream in the woods that belonged to his mother's family. After a warm spring day, they wanted to catch some frogs.

The day was like any other, but that day everything was to turn out differently. Today he would experience something he would never forget.

"Hey Des, check them out!"

One of his friends pointed to a huge toad that jumped out of the leaves into the stream in front of them.

"Come on, let's get it!"

Another friend tried to catch it, but his hands slipped off the slippery skin. The toad took its chance and disappeared with the flow of the stream.

“...Damn!? And now?"

They had been trying to catch some frogs for some time, but the first failures led to their bad mood.

“I don't feel like it anymore! I should go home. Otherwise, I'll be punished by my parents for being late."

“The same thing applies to me. See you at school on Monday."

Both said goodbye, but instead of going home like his friends, Desmond went to the pond near the stream. He sat on the gravel at the edge of the pond. At irregular intervals, he made some stones jump across the pond.

“An idyllic place.”

A girl, or rather a young woman, came out between trees and approached Desmond. He stared at her and couldn't say anything. Her hair shone in the sun's light as if they were made of light and her eyes shone like the sun itself.

"Wh.. bu.. Wah?"

He stammered to himself. She laughed and gave him a warm smile. He pulled himself together and opened his mouth again to speak.

"W-Who are you?"

He didn't know what to say, but this land belonged to his family.

"I...?"

She pointed at herself.

"Is there anyone else here besides you and me?"

She shook her head.

"Ania."¹She shortened her name... Tyrania to Ania.

"Huh?"

"That's my name. And what is your name?"

"I'm Desmond, but my friends call me Des."

He patted his chest proudly.

"Pleased to meet you, Desmond. Hahaha"

He lowered his head and looked dissatisfied that Ania was addressing him by full name.

"Everything, OK?"

Her voice came right next to him. He raised his head and looked into Ania's face, which wasn't even half a meter away from him.

"Ah! To close!"

He freaked out and took a step back.

"Say how is this place?"

He was irritated by her question.

“What do you mean by this place? This forest? The city? The country?"

She made a slight smile.

"Everything."

"Everything! Well, the city is not that big and mainly famous for its university and the many Nobel Prize winners."

"And the country?"

"Hmmm... well, about 25 years ago, one of the worst wars the world had ever seen ended..."

"A war ... huh?"

"How can it be that you've never heard of it?"

She leaned closer to him and whispered.

“I come from another world. A world with far more enemies than just other humans."

Desmond's eyes initially widened, but a moment later, he turned skeptical.

"Can you prove it?"

He asked for proof, and she nodded. She grabbed his hand.

"You have to hold on tight."

A strange force surrounded him, and together with Ania, he began to float a few meters above the ground.

“Wah!? As if I were in space!"

He was so fascinated that he didn't even notice how Ania was watching him.

"And do you believe me now?"

She asked in a calm tone.

"Yes!"

He answered a little too loudly. Embarrassed, he kept his mouth closed with his free hand.

“You know… I've already visited other countries in this world. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but the people I spoke to were... Well, they were strange. In the suburbs of a huge city, I met this one young man who only talked about his country as if it were special. It felt to me like he was talking about the people in his country being worth more than people from other countries. Disgusting!"²I had a certain guy in mind. If you want to guess, the comment area welcomes you. :D

She spoke frankly and showed her displeasure with the man she met. She went on.

“In other places, I met people who could only talk about how special their food was. It felt at some point as if they would love to marry the food instead of eating it... Well, I've tried a lot, and I have to admit that some dishes were good, but others were bad as well."³Well, that couldn't be more obvious, but if you are not sure which country I mean, let a comment with your guesses. :D

She rolled her eyes but didn't stop.

"Somehow, every country wanted to tell me, We are the coolest and best, but nobody talked about negative events."

She fell silent and gently set Desmond back down on the floor. She let go of his hand and sat down in front of the water.

"How is your world?"

He was curious.

"Gray."

She replied, emotionless.

“...”

“In my world ... maybe it is the same in yours ... living beings are always looking for the easiest answer, the absolute good, and the absolute bad. But the world is not just made up of good and bad...”

"...I have not experienced it, but I believe that there is an absolutely evil..."

"How do you mean?"

"...this country. The people here are not evil... but what the soldiers of this country did in the last war is something that even I could never forgive."

“Humility about your own country's past, huh? I like you!"

"HÄ!"

He stared over at her.

"You are different from all the others I have met so far."

 

=== Back in the present

 

"It's been too long... look at you, you've gotten old."

A young woman sat on the porch's railing in a white dress and looked down at Desmond Sr.

"And you! You haven't gotten one bit older."

He held out his trembling hand to her. She laughed and jumped down and grabbed his hand.

"I have come to keep my promise."

Her tone became more serious. Desmond Sr. remained silent for a moment before answering her.

"When does it end?"

"Before the first light up the sky."

“...”

He was silent again and looked into the distance again. His grip tightened, and she could feel his hands shaking. She also looked into the distance.

They stayed like that for quite a while. His grip loosened, and the tremors slowly faded. She turned her gaze to him. His eyes were glassy and empty.

"I'll take you with me. Let your Journey continue."

A soft blueish white light escaped Desmond Senior's body and laid down on her hand. Her figure, along with it, disappeared into nothing.