Positive Mana

Chapter 3: Green Eyes

After the incident with Maho, you had returned home and collapsed on your bed, more tired than you ever had been.  You groggily rubbed your eyes and read the note on your desk. 

Dear y/n,
It was your first time travelling between spaces, so it was not surprising that you were tired.  Don't worry, just relax for today and I'll talk through what we learnt in class today with you when you feel better.
         - love, Maho

You smiled sleepily at the gesture.  You looked at the clock on the wall, which read 10:47 am, and stood up, stretching.  Every muscle in your body seemed sore, the type of sore you had after attempting ice skating for the first time.  You had woken up the next morning covered in bruises and barely able to stand upright, but without regret.

You went to the bathroom, your vision still hazy, and you washed your face.  Your vision was still foggy, and when you looked in the mirror you could just about make out why. A shout left your mouth, and your green eyes opened widely.  No, Maho's green eyes.

Blindfold... plant...

Did that plant do something to you? In that case, Maho may have saved your life, but you couldn't recall the details.  You made a mental note to thank her for that, and you spent the rest of your day watching stuff on your laptop.

Maho knocked three times quickly on your door, excited to see you, but doing a decent job at concealing it.  She hurried inside when you called that it was open.

"Maho, what did you do with my-" your words caught in your throat. Maho looked... see through? It was hard to tell. Upon closer inspection, you could see. Were those atoms? You swore you could see every particle of Maho, and you could see her body, that it was warm. Heck, you could even see the way the light bounced off her, but you couldn't see her eyes.

They looked hollowed out, but that wouldn't be the right word to describe it. "Ah..." Maho was looking you in the eye. You couldn't see it, but you could tell. "Yours are gone too," you started to panic, and hyperventilate.

When you were as calm as anyone could be in the situation, Maho said she would explain. "You have the same eyes as me now, it's to protect you, just trust me."

It was a crappy explanation, but it was the best one you had, so you took it without complaining.  "How will people react? And-"

Maho pressed a small, thin box into your hand. "Put these in."  You opened the green box to reveal contacts, e/c contacts.  You struggled but managed, and your vision went back to what it was before.

You could see your own eyes in the mirror, something seemed weird about them, but Maho reassured you that no one would even notice.   Maho started to reopen her space-time portal, but you stopped her. "Woah wait a second! Isn't it dangerous in there? What are you trying to do?"

"There's something that might interest you.  You're a smart girl aren't you? Maybe not always, but you'd like to know more about the creator. Who wouldn't after all, since that's the only reason you're all here."

"Why can't we discuss it here?" You felt panicky, and you didn't want to repeat the plant incident. "Complications."

She did the routine again, "you'll want to take the contacts out, or you might see something else that isn't there."

You did as you were told, and you could now see the jagged tear in your room. You allowed Maho to lead, and you seemed to be in the same place as last time. Except the colours were dull and reddish brownish. What was once healthy grass was slimy red substance, and vibrant flowers had teeth and eyes. Green eyes.

You clung to Maho, reasonably scared because who wouldn't be.  The dirt path turned into a stone path, which you favoured, though without its texture the colour would deem them identical.

Less and less vegetation grabbed at you as you and Maho progressed on the winding cobblestones. Instead, you seemed to be heading towards a tall gate.

Upon coming closer, looming walls could be observed, and soon the gray light that shone down was engulfed by their shadows. Maho didn't seem phased.

She started a chant, and then took your hand, leading you both through the gate. You walked more, and admired what seemed to be a cute village right out of a fairy tale, save for the colour scheme and the lack of people.

It took a while, but a girl soon came into frame. "Ah! I've been looking for you, m'lady," she said in a frustrated tone.

It wouldn't be much of an exaggeration to say she might be prettier than Maho. Her hair was longer, and was vibrant red, but similar to seeing Maho earlier, not to mention your whole journey here, you could see all the pieces of matter that made her up, and you couldn't see her eyes.

However, there seemed to be the slightest orange light radiating from the gaps, so in your mind, her eyes were an orange as vivid as her red hair. Her clothing also seemed to compliment orange and red medieval fashions.

She was lugging a wooden trolly behind her, which seemed dangerously close to collapse due to all the mould and splintering, which seemed to be transporting some gooey, lumpy substance.

"Yes, just throw them down, they're useless to me now." Maho dismissed the girl immediately, not even looking at her, as though she already knew what the issue was. And honestly, she probably did.

"I think they would serve as good specimens of study though, Cr-" Maho cut her off by lifting her hand. The girl nodded silently, and carted the trolley past you.

Not before she could get past, a lump of the thing seemed to turn into a person, which lunged at you with a gaping mouth and melting body. It didn't get there, however, it seemed to be attached too much to the goo, and couldn't free itself.

Nevertheless, you jumped away, almost tripping over your feet. Maho led you down the path as though nothing had happened.

"Um, Maho, uh," you felt nervous sweat break out from your hands and forehead.

You swallowed, and asked: "you're... not going to turn me into..."

Maho looked at you, perplexed. "Don't be ridiculous. Just follow me, you'll be safe."

You had not much choice other than trusting her, so even though it scared you to enter the building ahead, you sucked it up and just thought about how when you got home, you could chill on the sofa and watch your show.