I woke up to someone shaking me lightly; I opened my eyes to see a woman looking at me. She smiled and muttered:
"Morning, dear" her voice was sweet, almost melodic.
The moment she noticed my eyes fully open, she spoke again: "I will be your teacher for today."
I stood, trying to look less of a mess, but yeah, as if I could. She sat on the bed beside mine and handed me a wooden plate. I looked at it carefully before eating some of it.
"Well, I know it looks different from what we have on Earth, but it tastes good and it's not poisoned, so it's edible. It's actually a fruit named Lopala,"she explained.
"I will get used to it soon,"I said in a calm voice, trying to tell her that it's not that easy to get used to this new life. And that it will take some time; it's way better than Earth.
She smiled at me before starting her lesson, not giving me much time to prepare myself—neither physically nor mentally. We mainly spoke about common words like hello, sorry, thanks, etc... She was nice and kind. Being patient with a dumb person like me is the highest level of kindness, as I only figured it's Chinese because my desk mate at school loved Chinese drama and would always be talking about them, watching them during breaks. I'm really thankful for that now, though the high volume of her phone used to get on my nerves back then. And for a fact, I was not the best in languages too, so the poor woman had too much patience with me.
Time went by fast and the evening came; she stood, leaving, and I was left alone again. Not that I hate it, but company would be nice in this kind of situation, as it will help stop my mind from overthinking. I laid in my bed wishing for things to stay this calm and quiet. Wishing for this peaceful life to never end.
&&&&&&&&&&&&
It's been a week since I arrived here, and so far, I can understand some Chinese—nothing far from salutes, but I feel proud. For the past week, every day, I would have someone by the cottage door; they always bring me some food to eat. And they teach me as much as they could before leaving the moment the sun sets. Somehow, this week was the most peaceful one I have ever had in my whole life. And believe me, if I ever had a chance to go back to Earth, I would never do it. The thought of it alone brings a shiver down my spine.
The sun rays penetrated the place, waking me up. I drank some water before sitting in my bed, waiting for my teacher of today to come. Half an hour passed before someone with a hoodie came in. I wasn't able to see most of his face; he stopped near the door. I wasn't able to see his eyes, but somehow, I felt his gaze upon me.
"You're the fool she needs, less waste of her energy,"he said in a husky voice. His voice was low but sharp at the same time. After a few seconds, he took his leave—not even leaving me a chance to ask what he meant or to defend myself for not being a fool. But at least I got to meet the jerk who knocked me down, my beloved savior. His voice was deeper than last time somehow, and the phrases he said kept repeating in my mind, making me fall in a cycle of thoughts. Because thanks to that gentleman, I have more questions to answer now with no way to get any answers. I was snitched from my thoughts when I heard someone talk:
"What's wrong, Yona?" said Yohan as he took a place on my bed. I shook off the thoughts and looked at him before saying: "Nothing; you're my teacher today, right?"
"Right, let's start."
By the evening, the lesson ended and he was leaving, but I didn't have the will to stop myself from asking about what happened in the morning. My mind kept spinning around, not allowing me to focus on anything else. And I needed to ask, so I simply did:
"Yohan, I want to ask you something."
"What is it?" he turned to face me now.
"This morning, a hooded boy came here and said something weird..."I mumbled that. His face was one of realization, then slight anger—maybe annoyance. He sighed before looking at me and muttering: "Ignore him. He just has a habit of scaring newcomers, nothing to worry about."
Though he seemed to be lying, I chose to trust him for my mental peace. He took his leave immediately after that.
&&&&&&&&&&
For the last two weeks, life has been dual and full of routine. Every day, I wake up early, stare at the ceiling for a few minutes before I pick myself up, drink some water, and go wander around the camp. Sometimes I get that feeling of déjà vu and that my feet are marching on their own, leading me to places my mind can't recall. But I know very well that it's just my mind playing tricks on me, and every time, my final point was the hill at the edge of the camp. I would sit there watching the sunrise peacefully, and today was no different. I sat there, trying to breathe some of my thoughts out, but it didn't last long, as I heard footsteps—
—and a presence beside me soon after. It was him, the hooded boy. My so-called savior. We stayed in silence as the sun rose up slowly, taking a place in the middle of the sky. Until I spoke: "What's with the riddles, Mr. Savior?"
He chose to ignore me just like last time in the woods. That asshole really gets on my nerves. But regardless, he saved my life. I glared at him before turning my eyes back to the sky. The sun cast her golden rays at the lands, giving it a golden shade. It was breathtaking.
My mind got lost in it and was brought to reality only after he spoke: "Sometimes riddle is the only language we should speak. And it's Theadus."He gave a last glance at me before he left. At least I felt it. Well, to say the least, he's so generous to give me his name, isn't he?
I didn't stay long after he left and went back to the rescue cottage where I found the girl named Jolia there. She seemed to be the nurse of this camp. She didn't come often, but two to three times a week she came to take care of some wounded people or sick elderly. She was the American girl I saw on my first day here. She was sweet and caring. Jolia would often greet me the moment she entered, and when she finished, she would sit beside me and we would have a short conversation. It wasn't much since my Chinese was weak, but it was enough. And today was one of her busy days, I guess. She and the elderly she was treating smiled at me. I sat in my bed. The moment she was done with the treatment, they left. A busy day as I guessed. I stayed there for a few minutes before I saw Yohan entering the cottage, and my lesson for the day began.
&&&&&&&&&&&
It's been two months since I came to Dilmun, and it is my final day in learning Chinese, to be honest. I never thought learning a language was possible in such a short while, but here I am. Sitting on the bed as usual, waiting. Yohan said I will be going through some kind of exam. I didn't exactly know what it is, but he said it was to make sure I really know how to speak the language. The moment I heard someone come in, I lifted my head only to see Theadus coming in. Wow, what a lucky day. He sat down on the bed next to mine and started talking—but in Chinese this time:
"What an idiot."I glared at him. That man was rude for sure.
"Not as much as you are," I replied in the calmest tone I could manage.
I heard a snort come from him before he answered:
"Well, that's impressive; I didn't think you would get that. Sorry."
"Well, you don't seem to think much, do you?" I replied.
"Still, my mind works more than yours does, even if it didn't work at all."
My blood boiled in my veins. That asshole. I snapped at him, not able to hold myself:
"What's wrong with you, you jerk?"
And he started laughing—literally—before he said "Good" in Korean and left. That jerk really needed a beating, and I will gladly give him one if I had the chance. I sat there, kind of grateful to Yohan for teaching me how to swear. Until the question hit me: did I pass the so-called exam?