Elani swiftly approached the girl from behind. My eyes widened as she grabbed the girl’s shoulder, forcefully trying to turn her around.

Suddenly, there was a shattering sound as the girl’s phone hit Elani in the face and fell to the ground, its screen cracking as it hit the cobblestone. The girl had shrieked at the unexpected contact and swiftly resorted to an effective, albeit bizarre, form of self defense. 

Upon seeing Elani and me, her expression softened slightly, though I could tell she was still trying to gauge the situation.

She picked her phone off the ground, carefully inspecting the cracked display. Sighing, she redirected her gaze at Elani.

“◾◾◾◾◾?” she asked firmly. “◾◾◾◾◾◾,” she corrected herself, shaking her head. “◾◾◾◾◾◾?!!”

The girl was visibly angry and I was tempted to apologize for Elani’s rudeness but more importantly what was she even saying?! I had never heard this language before. Indeed we were in a different world.

“Where are we?” Elani asked, uninterested in the girl’s anger.

A perplexed expression spread across the girl’s face. Her mouth struggled to form some sort of smile and her right eye twitched.

“Please let me not start a fight right here right now,” is what she was probably thinking, but I obviously could not be certain.

“◾◾◾◾◾◾?”

“Ria, can you understand her?”

“Ummm, most definitely not!” I frowned.

The girl seemed to be listening to our conversation intently, as if trying to understand us.

Finally, she said, “⬢⬢⬢⬢⬢⬢⬢? ⬢⬢⬢⬢⬢⬢.”

She had definitely switched to a new language. Was she trying to communicate with us?

Elani must have thought the same because she slowly and clearly spoke to the girl, “Do you know where we are? Where? Which country? World?”

The girl listened closely, then her eyes lit up, as if she had come up with something groundbreaking.

“You ⬥⬥ where? Don’t know? ⬥⬥⬥!” she said.

Her accent sounded weird and some of the words she said were unknown to me, but I could roughly understand her. Of course Elani was quicker to adapt.

“⬥⬥⬥⬥⬥⬥⬥⬥⬥⬥,” she said, nodding knowingly. And the two began having a conversation. At times the girl seemed incredibly surprised by Elani’s questions, at times she seemed fearful, but they spoke for a long time.

Finally Elani turned to me and said, “As expected, we are on Earth.”
“In the country of Germania to be exact,” she muttered. “Never heard of that before.”

I knew Elani was smart, but I hadn’t known she was an interdimensional polyglot. 

“Earth, huh…” I said. “What’s tha-”

“Don’t you dare finish that question,” Elani threatened me. “When we get home, you really have some serious studying to do.”

The girl burst out laughing. She seemed to have understood some of our conversation.

She offered me her hand and I shook it nervously. 

“I’m Dihana,” she started. “From a different world. I really don’t know if I believe you,” she looked at our worn out clothes and the many scratches on our bodies. “But you two definitely need some form of help.” She smiled warmly.

“Follow me,” she said, adjusting the cloth that was hanging loosely over her shoulder. “Who knew there’d be a day I actually use Latin in conversation,” she mumbled.

We followed her obediently as she led us away from the avenue. We struggled against the wind, as we crossed an old stone bridge. It was bustling with activity, many people gathering to have a glass of wine after a long day at work. At least, that’s what I assumed. The bridge was lined with statues of old men in robes, carrying swords, thick books and a miscellany of medieval looking objects. 

“St. Kilian,” I read the name at the foot of one of the statues, “never heard of him.”

“Ria, stop trailing behind!” Elani warned me like a mother hen and I jogged to catch up with her.

Dihana led us through narrow alleys. The surrounding houses looked ancient, rich in history, and clashed with the pedestrians walking by, holding a number of electronic gadgets. 

Our steps echoed through the alleys as we walked. I occasionally tripped over the cobblestones and eyed Elani furiously whenever she giggled.

“Welcome to my humble abode,” Dihana finally announced gesturing to a three storey building. Its exterior was beautifully adorned with wooden framing and the window sills painted in an inviting blue hue. 

“I live on the top floor,” she added quickly.

I couldn’t help but be amazed at Dihana’s fearlessness. Would I be willing to let two complete strangers enter my home purely because they needed help?

“You’re lucky we’re nice people,” I thought to myself.

Dihana’s home was beautifully decorated. The warm colours gave it a cozy feeling and the abundance of greenery left the air smelling fresh and floral. I stared in awe at the numerous flower pots that were scattered in every nook and cranny of the twenty square meter apartment. What was even more astounding was the number of books Dihana owned. Thin ones, thick ones, new ones, old ones, that looked like she had stolen them from an excavation site. Bookshelves were attached to every free space on the walls. I feared they might break under the weight.

“Is this a library?” Elani joked.

“I study anthropology,” Dihana replied. “This much is necessary.”

“You should have a seat,” she said, pulling out a wooden chair from the dining table.

I took a seat on the soft honey coloured cushion and Elani did the same.

A soft chirp from the corner next to the dining table alerted me. As I turned my head, I noticed a small bluish bird in a cage. It watched me attentively and ruffled its feathers.

“That’s Lulu,” Dihana explained, returning from the next room with a large bowl and several plates. “Do you want to pet her?”

Of course we couldn’t resist. I stroked her soft plumage and Lulu chirped feistily. Elani grabbed her firmly, yet gently and placed her on her left palm. She stroked Lulu’s head with her right index finger. At first the bird seemed peaceful but then pecked Elani’s finger angrily. She ruffled her feathers and chirped menacingly as Dihana quickly grabbed her and returned her to her cage.

“She’s got quite the attitude,” Elani complained, rubbing her finger.

That’s when I noticed a large burn mark on Elani’s right palm.

“You’re hurt!” I exclaimed. “Let me see!” I reached out to grab her hand but Elani pulled it back instantly.

“Worry about your own wounds,” she said dismissively. 

She was right. The more I looked, the more scratches I could find. They practically covered my body. I also spotted a small burn mark on my palm and winced slightly as I poked it with my finger.

“See! You’ve got one too!” Elani scowled. “Teleporting without preparation is dangerous,” she reminded me.

After seeing Elani’s burn mark, Dihana had gone off to get bandages and ointments. And after making sure everyone’s wounds were treated, Dihana gestured towards the bowl on the table. As she lifted the lid, a fragrant aroma spread in the room.

“I hope you like hummus.”

After a filling meal, it was time to actually come up with a game plan.

Our objective was clear: Find a way to get home.

Dihana agreed to serve as our translator, stating that she was on her semester break and thus had more free time. 

“Besides, I’m very curious about how far you two are willing to take this,” she added. 

Elani scoffed. “We’re not lying, you know.”

“Look, I respect everyone’s right to a creative imagination. And if I can help you solve your problems in some way, I’ll go along with it. I won’t say I believe in magic though.”

“It’s not magic!” Elani and I yelled in unison.

How absurd. Of course, magic wasn’t real, but natural energy was a phenomenon that had been extensively researched by the scientists of our world. It very much did exist. Just not here apparently. I wanted to show her my powers right there and then, but I remembered what Elani had told me in the woods. It wasn’t completely necessary to use our powers yet. Perhaps we could still convince her with our words.

“Ok, magical girls,” Dihana teased. “Unfortunately, nothing I’ve learnt during my studies will be of much help to you.”

She sighed as she unlocked her phone, the cracked screen making it difficult to view the display. 

“But I do know of a museum, that should be right up your alley,” she chuckled. 

She showed us her phone. I guess we were supposed to be seeing an advertisement for an exhibition.

“I don’t know what that says,” Elani finally said.

“Oh right…”

Embarrassed, Dihana quickly took back her phone. 

“The Museum of Esotericism and Occultism,” she translated. Elani scoffed at the mention of those words.

 “Grand reopening,” Dihana continued. “The exhibition is now bigger than ever!”

“I feel like this is a bit of a joke to you,” I carefully said.

Dihana nodded, grinning. “But this is the best shot you’ve got.”

She was right. I couldn’t be certain, but I felt that our chances of finding another person who could understand us and was willing to help us were incredibly low. And perhaps Dihana’s suggestion would be able to give us more clues. 

As night had fallen and the roofs around us were bathed in moonlight, there was nothing more to do for the day. Elani and I retired to the living room. Actually, I couldn’t really call it that, since it was a two room apartment. So, we moved to the other end of the room we had been sitting in, where a sofa was located. It looked old but it was remarkably spotless. It was the type of sofa you could pull out into a bed. Though it barely fit in the small room, we somehow managed without toppling over the nearby shelves.

“And there was only one bed,” Elani snarked. I shot her an annoyed glance.

Eventually we flopped onto the sofa, tightly wrapped in the colourful woven blankets Dihana had provided. I looked out the window at the bright full moon and sincerely wished that tomorrow would be a day we found answers. 

This world wasn’t a bad place as far as I could tell, but I didn’t think it could ever feel like home. 

I heard the flapping of wings as a raven took off from a window sill across the street. 

“Isn’t it a bit late for you, buddy,” I thought before dozing off, tired from my long journey.

The raven flew swiftly and elegantly, covering many miles before landing on the outstretched arm of a woman. Her tall figure was illuminated by the moonlight and her black hair cascaded down her back in soft waves. A smile crept across her face as the bird cawed.

“Well, isn’t that interesting?”