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After Myne finally recovered from her deathbed, Lutz was up and carrying around more and more equipment to and from the workshop. He was honestly enjoying the break from lugging things to and from the forest, but there was no time to sit around now that paper production was kicking off for real. Myne kept talking more and more about things they could do to strengthen their paper process. It was all going over Lutz’s head, but as long as Myne kept having ideas, he’d make sure they’d happen.
Well, that’s how he felt, kinda anyway. There was something nagging in the back of his head recently.
Not too long ago he got Myne to confess that… she wasn’t Myne. She wasn’t the kid Lutz had grown up beside, but someone with a different memory and experience. But that’s all he got from her at the time. And immediately after that, she fell into a horrible fever. Lutz felt like he was responsible somehow, like exposing her brought her so low.
But… it couldn’t end there, right? Myne admitted she was someone totally else, and he didn’t know a thing about the new Myne.
They got to the river, set out the equipment, and got to work peeling and cooking the wood they had left there last time.
Lutz pondered, but finally had the courage to ask. “Hey, Myne. What was it like?”
Myne nonchalantly cocked her head. “Hm? Like for what?”
“B- back where you did this stuff before. I’m just, yanno, curious… and… yeah.” Lutz muttered, trying to gague her reaction.
Myne pursed her lips, but kept working. “You mean back in my old world, right?”
“Yeah. I mean, it’s ok if you don’t wanna but I’d sure like to know.”
Myne smiled warmly. “Yeah, yeah, I just kinda...” She took a deep, long breath. “I mean it’s a lot different than this whole place, that’s for sure.”
“Did you have any books there?’
“Tons!” Myne chirped. “My library was full to the brim with books. Wall to wall. It was heaven. And that was just my library! I went to bookstores, public libraries, my college library. I was even sometimes let into the reserve sections and… and. I really really want that kinda thing here.”
“Hehe, no wonder, then.” Lutz smiled to see Myne perk up so much. She was amazing when she got on a topic she liked. “What sorta thing did your family do for work?”
“I was a student uh a trainee to be a librarian uhhh someone who studies old books and protects them. My mom held a lot of odd jobs to support us.”
“And what about your dad? Siblings?”
“I...” Myne faltered a bit. “I didn’t have any siblings, and my dad passed away when I was a little baby.”
“Oh...” Lutz frowned. “I’m sorry.”
“No no, don’t be. I didn’t know him but he’s the one who gave me my book collection.”
“It’s still hard, losing a dad that early. Your mom must have had family supporting her.”
“No, we didn’t have anything like that.”
Lutz was shocked. “Were you a rich family?”
“No! No, I mean we weren’t bad off and we’d be like kings compared to here.” Myne kept stirring the pot with her stirring sticks. “It’s just that we weren’t like significantly rich compared to anyone else.”
Lutz couldn’t really understand being able to survive with one parent and an apprentice. “So you weren’t much older there than now...”
“Huh?”
“You were an apprentice?”
“Oh, uh. No, it’s a lot more...” Myne scratched her neck. “We start jobs late. I was actually 22 when I became Myne.”
“TWE- TWENTY TWO?” Lutz screamed. “You mean to tell me that I have been teaching and babying an adult who’s barely younger than my mom and dad?”
Myne’s face was red. “Y- yes?”
Lutz stared at Myne. At the girl he had to teach basically everything. The girl who was several times his age.
“Stoooop looking at me like that! Geez!”
“Were you pretending to be that ignorant!”
“I promise I’m not! I never had to do any of this stuff before coming here! We were in a different world! I had to teach you about paruecakes and paper making and all this stuff! It’d be like you coming to my world and not knowing how to drive a car.”
“What a what?”
“See? Thats something everyone my age could do!”
Lutz’s jaw was on the floor. “22… you should have been married had a career, had kids. Did you do nothing but sit around and read?”
“N- no! Yes, really. But no! My mom and I did a ton of things together and yeah sure I may not have ever dated but I didn’t need to, I just needed books!” Myne puffed out her cheeks, but Lutz saw a hint of a break in there.
Lutz realized something. “Then, if you liked it so much, why did you come here?”
Myne twitched, then lowered her eyes. “I… died.”
“I...” Lutz tensed. “I’m sorry.”
Myne smiled. “Hey, it’s fine. Look, I’m still here.” She sat down by the pot. “I’m talking to you, right? I kinda miss my old world. I miss my mom. I miss… I miss the things I took for granted.” As she spoke her voice got quieter. Lutz wanted to stop her. “The comfortable way things were before… I miss it a lot.”
Myne shook her head. “But I love mom and dad and Tuuli. I love you and Mr. Benno. I never got a choice, but I think I’d choose this again.” She looked over to Lutz. “I… wanna thank you for everything you did for me, then.”
Lutz blushed and scratched his neck. “I mean, you’re my Myne. I didn’t know about all this til you said so and so like… you’re the one who did all this to help me too.”
Myne stood up and hugged him. “T— thanks, Lutz.” And lingered there. A little too long for Lutz’s comfort…
Then Myne said, “Then… can I ask a favor?”
“Uh, sure.”
“I know you’re curious, and I thought I was fine with it but… I don’t know if I really want to talk about my old world. I’m Myne now. And when I think of before it’s just… not something comfortable. So… I’m sorry.”
Lutz felt the worry in her voice, like something got disturbed that had been buried. “Yeah.” And he finally hugged her back. “You’re just Myne to me, always.”