Alex had been bawling for three hours. He had calmed down enough to let the woman lead him to a bedroom. She had been singing a comforting song about honey and its relation to a mystical force. Alex didn’t know exactly what the lyrics were, only a vague idea of the message they conveyed, as the words he heard were not English. Instead, they were in a language that sounded much different than the one the woman had spoken in when he was not wearing the lahipok’es. This language was softer. Alex thought it sounded close to Scottish Gaelic, (a language he was fairly competent in and used as a reference while developing alien dialects for the second season of Explorers). It was a beautiful song that made Alex want to cry even more.

The woman retrieved a blanket, placed it around Alex, and left the bedroom. Alex sat down on the bed in the center of the room. It was large and had clean, white bedding. A large pillow lay at the head of it and looked to be made out of a fluffy, almost cotton-like material.

Alex was a mess. His face was covered in his own snot and saliva. His eyes were red and his cheeks had long streaks running down them. He was still shuddering, but less so than before.

Alex swallowed hard and looked around the room. It was almost completely empty, save for a wooden desk and chair by the doorway. On the desk was a stack of papers. Nex to the stack was a glass bottle of blue liquid. The liquid was clear, like water but gave off a small amount of light.

More magic? Alex made the assumption that it had to be related to magic in some way. He wondered how much of this new world was similar to the works of fiction he had read. Were there dragons? Goblins? Elves?

The woman came back to the room with a pitcher of water, a glass cup, and a wet rag. She gave Alex the rag and poured water from the pitcher into the cup.

“Wipe your face,” she said to him.

“Thank you,” he replied. He wiped his face and blew his nose. He sniffled and then coughed.

The woman handed him the glass.

“Drink,” she told him.

Alex gulped down the water. He was mildly surprised by how thirsty he was. The woman had noticed it too because when Alex handed her the glass, she poured more water and put the glass back in his hand.

“More,” she commanded him.

Alex gladly accepted the water and quickly emptied it. The woman took the glass and the rag from Alex and left the room again. She returned with the shirt that she had given him with the enchanted pants. Alex put it on and braced himself for another light show. He was relieved (and slightly disappointed) when it didn’t perform any magic spectacle.

“What’s in that bottle over there?” Alex asked, pointing to the mysterious blue liquid on the desk.

“You do not know?” the woman asked, sounding genuinely surprised by the question. “That is magic source.”

“What is ‘magic source’?”

The woman gave Alex a soft smile, “You are not from this world, are you?”