Riberhaw: Gambit Mission

7. The Moongate

The cat meowed softly, as if welcoming my presence. Without hesitation, I approached this cute cat and picked it up, feeling the warmth of its fur in the cold of this old room.

"Hiii why are you so cute, do you have a master? hehe," I said to the cat.

I heard footsteps approaching me. The figure of an old man is approximately 90 years old or even older than that. I was startled by him. My heart was beating fast asking who he was. He had thin white hair and wore a brim hat and white clothes. And he was carrying an umbrella that looked similar to the one I was carrying. I wondered if he was a teacher from this club.

"It's not just Zayn they sent, who else is there?" the grandfather reprimanded me as he looked at the umbrella I was carrying.

"Do you know Zayn?" I asked. I was a little relieved that he knew Zayn, so I didn't come here by mistake.

"Ha... Zayn... yes, Zayn...," he replied like he was confused. He turned around, like he was going to do something else and left me alone.

"Ehh... Grandpa," I stopped him in his tracks. "Do you know where Zayn is?"

It turned out that his hearing had diminished so much that he couldn't hear me very well. The few times I mentioned Zayn's name he understood.

"Yes, last month he passed by here. It's been a long time since he passed this way," he replied. "You were just about to pass through here too?"

"Yes, I was just passing by...," I nodded but my words were stopped by him.

"Drink this tea first, so you don't get a headache when you pass by," he led me to sit down, and he handed me a cup of warm green tea.

I didn't understand what he meant. But the smell of the green tea was so good, I wanted to drink it, especially in the cold air. I drank the tea while holding and petting his cat.

"Is this your cat? So cute," I asked.

"Yes of course you can take Mao, as long as you take care of him, because I'm very old," he replied as he looked for something in his closet. "You're meeting Zayn, right? I'll leave the tea and chocolates for him. You can take them if you want, too."

"Ehh but I don't know where Zayn is," I replied.

He didn't listen to my voice, "This way," as he pointed to a moongate that was almost a full circle with faded blue frames. Through the moongate, all that could be seen was the back garden of the old building.

I confirmed it again. "Zayn's house is over there?"

He just nodded and directed me to the moongate. "Thank you for the tea and the cat", I said to the grandfather, holding and petting the cat.

I walked past the moongate. I thought maybe his house was next to the garden in sight.

But... suddenly, as soon as I stepped foot... I was in a cool courtyard with a twilight sky that gave off a golden-orange glow. The green expanse was surrounded by mountains, and opposite was a small but majestic traditional station-like building, exuding a classical aura. This was not the park I had seen through the moongate earlier.

I looked back, but the moongate gate I had just passed through had already disappeared. My head felt dizzy and my heart beat faster. That's why Grandpa had told me to drink tea first so I wouldn't get dizzy. Now my head feels very heavy. I feel like I've entered a different world. When I opened my cell phone to find out where I was, my screen only displayed the message "no signal".

On one of the walls, I saw a map. The locations on the map were just like what I usually saw. But there was something strange, the usually Macao city, became a mountain range. And Mount Huangshan was the lowland here. I was still confused, trying to understand whether I was back in the past or somewhere else. I didn't see any signs of a vatuma school around here either. I saw everyone carrying umbrellas that were almost similar to the one I was carrying. With slow steps, I approached a station attendant standing not far away.

"Is there someone named Zayn here? Maybe he lives around here," I asked in a trembling voice while holding the white cat that was now mine.

"I don't know, I'm just an officer, my home is not here," he replied.

"Do you know where Vatuma School is?" The officer looked at me in surprise. "Yes... this train is going towards Macau, get off when you get to Vatuma station," he replied.

I swallowed, feeling even more confused when I saw the fast train passing in front of me. I also saw an aeromobile passing through the air. "Doesn't that look like Zayn's car. Maybe he really lives here. But where is this?" I muttered to myself.

My head was getting heavier and my chest was getting tight. I felt the view around me start to fade, along with the sounds getting fainter.

Then when I opened my eyes, I was already on the train. In front of me was already a woman my age looking at me. Holding my head, she greeted me.

"Are you okay?" she asked, handing me a drink.

"Thank you," I accepted the drink because I was weak and dizzy. "I don't know what happened," I added.

"Oh I saw you faint in front of the train attendant, he said you asked where Vatuma school was. Then I told him that there was an admission ceremony today, which I was going to attend as well. So we got you on the train right away, lest you be late," she explained to me.

"Can I borrow your phone?", I asked.

She lent me her cell phone. I opened the map on her phone. Planet Erde. I couldn't believe what I was experiencing. It was impossible.

"Thank you," I answered while returning her cell phone.

"So we're both new students there, huh?" she replied. "My name is Jing Yi," she extended her hand.

I just smiled slightly hiding the fact that I wasn't a new student, I wasn't from here, "I'm Rui Zhu," I accepted her handshake.

Not long after, I heard the sound from the speakers telling me that I had arrived at Vatuma Station. I quickly got off the train. With a sigh, I felt a deep sense of astonishment. Who would have thought that, just because of trivial matters such as an umbrella and car keys, I could be stranded on a planet in the middle of nowhere.