ALFÁFÓLK

Ch.1 Welcome to Alfáfólk

Winde awoke in a strange bed and looked around the room. A person with leaf-shaped ears, silver-colored hair, and grey eyes entered the room. The person introduced himself, "Hello, I'm A-Rőd. A-Rőd Wíkęy." Winde wanted to introduce himself, but he couldn't; A-Rőd noticed Winde's lack of confidence and left a tray of food on the desk. "I'll leave the food here so you can eat. I'll be back in a bit when you finish," A-Rőd said before leaving the room.

The tray contained a loaf of bread, four pieces of carrots, two strange-looking ribs, and a cup of milk. Winde found the food surprisingly good and finished eating by the time A-Rőd returned to the room. A-Rőd then asked Winde if they would like to go outside, to which Winde agreed.

When they went outside, Winde was amazed to see a world with mythical creatures, magical potions, and elves with leaf-shaped ears. Winde asked A-Rőd where they were, and A-Rőd explained, "You are in another dimension called Alfáfólk, where mythical beings like us exist. You are the first Human to step foot into our realm."

As A-Rőd guided Winde around, he saw a chef taking in a unicorn. Winde was shocked and wanted to ask A-Rőd why a chef was buying a unicorn from a dealer. A-Rőd took notice of Winde's expression and explained to him. "Unicorns are the most dangerous predators around Alfáfólk, so we hunt them to protect ourselves, and we use them for food for they have good calories in them." Despite feeling uneasy about eating Unicorns, Winde felt like puking but had to realize that he was in another dimension where everything was completely different from his world; Winde followed A-Rőd to his sister's restaurant called MACÆROMBŮ.

As they both entered the restaurant, A-Rőd's sister, Adaą, was surprised to see her brother and greet each other. Adaą was surprised to see a human. "Is that a human? Where did you find one?" A-Rőd explained "I found him at the river while I was fishing. He fell out of a portal, and I rescued him. OH, he feels anxious about his appearance, so please don't mention anything related to it and help him feel comfortable." Winde was surprised that A-Rőd knew about his appearance and wanted to ask how he knew about his appearance. A-Rőd replied to Winde that he knew just by looking at him, which made Winde happy that he didn't have to explain his transgender identity. Adaą then asked how Winde ended up in their dimension, and Winde wanted to explain that he had found a strange book with a ruby-shaped arrowhead on the cover at his father's bookstore. But because of his anxiety, he stutters some words trying to explain it.

Adaą recognized the book as The Ôřb-Þomə and explained "The Ôřb-Þomə is a book that transports people to alternate realities where myths and legends come to life." A-Rőd mentioned, "There are two of those in each dimension. One takes you to a different dimension, and the other takes you back home." Winde was relieved to hear, but A-Rőd continued. "Finding those books won't be easy; it could take months or even years to find the other one." Winde felt dejected, knowing that it would be difficult to get back home.

Adaą tried to cheer Winde up and offered them food from the restaurant. A-Rőd ordered, "I'll have the ģuřiffėņ sťåīķ with räīnbìuøw ŕivēř wàįňe," and Winde, feeling both shocked and confused by the menu filled with food from mythical creatures and a language different from his home, but A-Rőd helped Winde with his order, "That says Yűnïkuørn řibş with wăeåü. That means Unicorn Ribs with water." Winde understood now and ordered four unicorn ribs and one glass of water. As Adaą left for the kitchen, she said, "Okay, coming right up." Winde looked at A-Rőd and gave his name. "W-Winde, my name is Winde Harvey" A-Rőd was surprised that Winde gave out his name and understood that it'll take some time for Winde to fully trust him and everyone else. Winde Realized that returning home would take a long time.

(To Be Continued)