When I finally make it to the purple daisies, the clouds have turned pink with for the evening. I stop in the field and almost hit myself for being so stupid. I never asked the old man where the portal might be. I keep walking forward and then I’m sucked in. It feels as though I’m walking through fog. Light water dances across my skin as I fall. Suddenly everything goes faster and all I can see is the pink clouds from the previous world. They’re so bright, almost neon. I’m falling even faster now. The fog turns to rain. The rains feels like tiny icicles hitting my skin. This time instead of landing hard on my back, I land softly on asphalt. It’s still raining. A heavy rain that covers the ground. I’m completely soaked. My hair plasters to my forhead, covering my eyes. I stand up and look around, taking in this new dimension. A bright light suddenly comes into view. I realize too late that the bright light is headlights on a car. I try to jump out of the way, but the front bumper rams into my thigh and fly across the pavement. The pain feels like fire. I moan in agony. The driver comes running up to me. “Oh my gosh!! Are you okay?”
“No!” I moan. “You hit me with your car!” I put my hand on my thigh as if will help sooth the pain. It doesn’t. “Well of course I hit you with my car. Your standing in middle of the street wearing dark clothing! Plus it’s raining outside! How stupid can you be?” She says. I look up at her in disbelief. She’s the one who hit me yet I get the lecture?
“Well can you at least give me a hand?” I ask.
“Oh yeah sorry.” She grabs my hand and helps pull me up. My thigh protests. I scream out in pain.
“Here I’ll take you to the hospital.”
I drape my arm around her neck while she helps me walk to her car.
“Stay right there. If you can, lean up against the hood.” She opens the passenger door and helps me in. I wince again in pain. Not only am I pain, but now the cold starts to set in and I begin shivering. She shuts the passenger door and runs around to the driver’s side.
“Okay I’ll crank up the heater. I have a spare jacket in the back.” She turns the heater on and then hands me the jacket.
“We’re going. Don’t worry we’ll be there soon.” She begins driving. The windshield wipers flap back and forth.
“So uh, what’s your name?” She asks.
“Z-zz-aythan.” I stutter. My teeth are chattering from the cold.
“Zaythan huh? That’s a really weird name.” She comments.
Zaythan is one of the most popular names where I come from. How can it be weird? Then I remember, this isn’t my world.
I want to talk to her more, but my teeth are chattering so fast. I can’t even get a sentence out.
The heat begins to warm my body, but I’m still dressed in wet clothes.
“H-how l-l-long before w-we make it to the h-hospital?” I ask.
She turns to look at me for a second. “Uh not long. I just need to take Jefferson street all the way down to third street and we’ll be there.” She says it like I know where I am. I still have no clue how long it will take. “Oo-kay.” I say.
“So what’s your name?” I ask. “You can call me Ellie.” She replies. I look at her. Ellie is a young girl, probably around the same age is me. Her wet copper hair is cut short and curls around her face. It’s too dark in the car to see her eye color, but from what I see she is very beautiful. For a moment I’m almost glad she hit me with her car, then I remember my thigh and it begins to throb with the pain.