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A gorgeous woman bumps into you, dropping a bag. The contents scatter across the floor.
She seems frazzled and stressed.
Is everything alright?” you ask, helping her pick up her belongings.
You try sensing her aura but its like it isn’t even there.
“Oh I’m perfectly alright,” she insists. “I just… its been lonely since my husband left for adventuring.”
You nod knowing how that is. You got essences and every once in a while took off for missions to keep on top of your expenses. Its been a good life in Greenstone. Fight monsters, run into beautiful ladies and men.
As long as you avoid the attention of upper rankers or the big three you could see yourself making a good life and slowly ranking up to bronze. You never had higher ambitions than that. A simple elongated life was a good enough life for you.
“Does he go off much?” you ask.
“He didn’t use to. No instead he used to hole himself up in some hole at the magic society for days.”
She sighed. “Those were the good days. I’m sorry I shouldn’t be talking about this to someone I just bumped into. Its been a rough few days.”
“Its fine,” you promise her. She is beautiful and while you aren’t a wife stealer per say, she does look like she needs company. “Are you free for rice dumplings? I can pay. I am around for a bit. Short of a monster surge, I’m not planning on leaving anytime soon.”
“I would love to.”
The rice dumplings were delicious.
The conversation, scintillating.
You didn’t want it to end. At some point your hands had started tangling.
You can’t remember when.
“Can I tell you the truth?” you ask her.
“Only if I can respond in return.”
“I don’t like being an adventurer,” you state. “Saving people is wonderful. Seeing the world is wonderful. Meeting new people incredible. Having the power I do is amazing.
“I know I should be grateful. My parents saved up so much money to buy my essences. I should be grateful to them. Should do more to repay them. They were so relieved I got my license before Rufus Remore showed up. I just… I had a dream of my own.”
“Its okay,” she gently squeezed your hand. “I’ve also been oversharing. Its only fair I repay the favor and listen to you. What is your real dream?”
You blush. “This is going to sound crazy.”
“I don’t mind crazy,” she promises.
You take a deep breathe as you steady your courage.
“The truth is,” you start. “My real dream is to run an eel farm.”
“Is that so?” her voice seems light and almost peppy.
You don’t look up to see if her expression actually matches her face. You need to continue. Get it all out. “Its just. I REALLY LOVE EELS. I love the way they move. Caring for them. When I was younger I went with a group of school children on a trip out to the Standish Eel farm. I studied and learned as much about them as I could.
“My parents assumed it was just a phase and I pretended that was true as they got me my essences. I worked hard to activate all my abilities. I do my best to do adventuring proud. I just…”
You gesture wildly trying to express your feelings.
She grabs your hands back.
“I get it,” she breathes and suddenly kisses you. You’re aware she’s married. You know you shouldn’t make out with a married woman. All that passes through your head. You kiss her back.
You melt into her kiss. You are warm. You are safe. You feel seen.
When you finally get a chance to breathe you are breathless and smiling at her. Your heart thumping wildly. Your brain is all a shatter as you follow her out. Idly leaving a few iron coins behind to pay for your food.
She pulls you into a hallway and you can’t think. That’s probably why you ask your next question.
“Whose your husband?” you ask.
She freezes. “Does he really matter right now?”
“I’d like to know who gonna try and kill me for stealing you away…” you manage to get out. Thoughts, you can handle thoughts. You have thoughts.
Like her dress had slipped partially off her shoulder.
“You shouldn’t have to worry about him. My dear husband is never around and some days I swear he doesn’t know I exist.”
“His name, darling.”
She sighs. “Well the truth is I left him. I had hopes for another man. He seemed charming and wondrous right up until he bedded me and promised me safety. Then he turned out to be a flippant ingrate and ran off with my husband turning him into some kind of adventurer.”
“Well, what are their names then? Perhaps I can show them the meaning of honor or at least know who to avoid.”
She bit her lip and looked up at the sky nervously.
“I’m sure you haven’t heard of Clive Standish but have you heard the name Jason Asano?”
“Wait the son of the eel farmers and that weird guy hosting something called a “Barbie” and hanging out with noble families like the Gellers?”
“The two and the same. I had initially married Clive in hope of inheriting his eel farm. When that fell away as he became an adventurer and got lost in his studies. I thought I might be able to manage something and still get some influence perhaps as their city liaison. Only every time, he returned to the family, the fool forgot to bring me along.
“If he wasn’t normally so clueless I would have assumed he hated me but no he is just absent minded to anything that isn’t his precious research. It finally got to a point I thought I might get a fresh start with a dappling new adventurer. I could talk him into buying me an eel farm of my own.”
She shook her head.
“All he wanted to talk about was pottery. POTTERY. Who cares about antique old pots or random utensils. Not when there are eels to farm.”
She pulls you forward by your shirt.
“Please, please, please save me from an eel farmless life. Please, we can run away together. You can be an eel farmer as you always dreamed and I… I can help you. We can help each other.”
You kiss her again. Your mind racing. Your dream… it could actually come true. You could become an eel farmer as you dreamed. You feel so happy. You could float away. You are sure your aura is blasting your joy everywhere.
Her aura though… you still can’t feel anything.
“Are you messing with me?” You force yourself to ask.
“Messing with you?” her face looks open and honest.
“Your aura,” you gesture. “I can’t feel it.”
“Can’t a girl have good aura control.”
Something is feeling wrong. You look around. Where are the buildings.
“Oh darn it,” she sighs. “You spotted it. And I was so close.”
“So close?” you ask. “To our eel farm.”
“I’m sorry dear. I did really like you and the idea of having an eel farm together. The issue is… I guess you could say the truth is, I am not real. I’m just a lie taken life. My husband doesn’t know I exist because the truth is I don’t.”
“How can you not exist?” you ask. “You feel real to me.”
“That’s interesting,” she frowns. “I shouldn’t feel like anything.”
She looks at you closer. “Huh.”
“Huh?”
“It seems you don’t exist either. You’re just a construct someone is interacting with me through.”
“How can I be a construct? I’m a real person. I’m as real as… you. Oh”
You lock eyes.
“But, if I’m not real and you’re not real either. Technically that means we exist on the same sort of reality. Surely we can exist in some sort of way in our own way. That’s got to count for something, surely?”
Her mouth opens slightly. Then she smiles brightly.
“We can live together in a world we define. Shall we go off together?”
“To where?”
“To our eel. Our imaginary eel farm.”
You laugh and follow her.
“Sounds like a delightful ending.”
“A story we can call our own. Ending only when we decide it does.”
After months of working, you return to Greenstone.
A gorgeous woman bumps into you, dropping a bag. The contents scatter across the floor…