The Otherworld

Chapter 3: Through the Veil

"This is our home," Rayen announced proudly, gesturing to the giant mushroom standing before us.
It stood eight metres high. Its top was bright red, and the stem a chocolate brown. Around its base were beautiful flowers, glowing and neon, exactly like the ones in the garden. All around the umbrella top of the mushroom were little glass windows looking out over the well-kept grass that surrounded the mushroom house. It looked warm and cozy - a place anyone could call home.

*****

Inside the mushroom home was beautiful. It was like a warm and inviting cottage. There was wooden paneling along the walls, and a small fireplace in the centre of the living room. On either side of the fireplace were two grand bookcases filled with old books. All that was visible were the worn and torn bindings of these books crammed together to fit in the bookcase. Under their feet was fluffy brown carpet. There were two cream coloured couches which faced each other next to the fireplace. Strewn across the couches were crocheted blankets in all different colours. Close by, near the kitchen, was the small, round, wooden dining table where Alfie and Xayleah sat.

"S-s-so...who are you? I don't want to be rude but...w-w-what are you?" Alfie asked inquisitively.

Xayleah sipped on her hot tea and snuggled into the warm blanket that Rayen had given to her. Everything was so small - dwarf-sized. The doorways, the chairs, the low ceilings, even the dining table she was sitting at were all tiny. Normal-sized to a dwarf of course, but not for a normal-sized human like Xayleah.

"My name is Xayleah," she paused, unsure of what to say. She gave herself a moment to think of her next words, "I'm 17 years old and I'm just a girl who's lost," she whispered, sipping her drink once more, her eyes never leaving her hot tea.

The room fell silent at the sound of the word "girl." All eyes were on Xayleah. Out of the corner of her eye, Xayleah could see Rayen and Zarreth whispering to one another, their faces shocked.

No one spoke for what seemed like an eternity of silence. After a while, it was Rayen who finally spoke.

"Girl you say? You're not a de-winged fairy? Or a shape-shifter? Or a witch?"
"De-winged fairy? Shape-shifter? Witch? What are you talking about? Those are creatures of legend and fairytales!" Xayleah retorted. She was alarmed and scared again.

Where am I? What is this place?

"You're human..." Zarreth whispered.
"This isn't p-p-possible," Alfie added.
"What do you mean "isn't possible"? Of course I'm human, just like you," Xayleah claimed, pointing at Alfie.

The dwarves traded looks with each other. Xayleah knew there was something that she didn't know - something the dwarves hadn't told her.

Rayen cleared his throat.

"This is the Otherworld, Xayleah. It's Earth, but it's a different reality of it. Our dimensions are separated by veil. It keeps the humans in their human domain and the us Otherworlders in ours. Powerful Otherworld beings cannot cross the veil - not even our Grand Ruler, Queen Serena," Rayen explained.
"If the Queen Serena can't cross the veil without the help of an ethereal event, how did a powerless human like you just accidentally wonder through the veil, into our world?" Zarreth was suspicious, his eyes narrowing at Xayleah
"Like I said, it's i-i-impossible," Alfie repeated.
"What's the Otherworld?" Xayleah asked embarrassed at her lack of knowledge.
Rayen stared at the dark shadows in the hallway. "It's another reality of Earth that is home to creatures like Fairies, Mermaids, Giants, Witches, Elves and so much more," he answered. He looked distracted, as if he were thinking of something else - something that troubled him.
"If creatures can't pass through this so called "veil" between our realities, how come we have these creatures in our storybooks back at home?"
"For tens of thousands of years, Otherworlders lived in the human realm amongst you humans. Perhaps while we lived in your world, people wrote stories of us that have been passed down through generations. Leading to these "fairytales" and "legends" you speak of."
"Why would they want to leave here? The Otherworld is beautiful so much more beautiful than my world."
"We weren't running to paradise when we entered your world. We were running from hell," Rayen's voice was now barely a whisper, his expression dark.
"Hell? What do you mean? What were you all running from?" Xayleah pressed on, desperate for answers.

All three dwarves looked down. Refusing to answer, they all retired to their rooms for the night without another word, leaving Xayleah alone in the dark with her hot tea and more questions than ever.