The first thing I hear is silence. I cough hard, breaking that silence. I push myself off the ground, and I look around at the foreign room I am in. There are strange items in this room, of different shapes and colors. I see things I can somewhat identify, like a table, chair, and bed, but they are all made with odd materials. I reach instinctively for my sword, but it is not there. Feeling around in my boots, I find my knife.
I slowly rise and begin searching the room, tearing open pillows and opening the drawers. Most of the things I'm finding here do not make sense to me, or are made of weird things that I'm afraid of touching.
In one of the drawers, I find a flat box with pictures of flowers on it. I pick it up, as if drawn to it. Suddenly, it begins moving in my hand, lighting up, and starts singing on its own. I throw it to the ground, and stab it with my knife. What looks like lightning flashes come from it, and then it goes black and quiet again.
I quickly move away from it, and then I hear loud banging from a different room. "Eli! Open up, you locked me out again. What did I do this time huh? Answer your phone!" I somehow know that voice, but I still open up a door away from the banging. I find myself in a room with even more strange items.
How does the yelling man know my name? The only people who know my name are… I quickly jump into, what looks like to me, a weird horse trough with a curtain in front of it. I hunker down in a fighting stance facing the door, the curtain hiding me from view. The banging and yelling that had still been going on, suddenly stops. Then a loud crashing noise interrupts that brief silence, and I grip my knife tighter. I hear stomping footsteps in the room I'd just been in, and they are getting closer, the man yelling my name.
The door flies open and I leap out at him. The man quickly grabs my wrist with the knife in it, twisting it, making me drop it. I scream a war cry, and I come at him with my fist instead. He catches it, and holding me tight, he stares down at me with disbelief on his face. "Eli?" the white haired man whispers.
I look at this adult albino man, right into his red eyes that were so familiar yet so different. "Gil?" I say quietly, looking up at my friend- who was no longer a boy but now fully grown, wearing strange clothes, and looking like he was about to cry. Gil never cried no matter how much I hit him. He kneels down, holding both of my hands in his enormous ones.
"Elizaveta? What happened to you?"
I jerk at the name, trying to pull away but he holds me fast. How does he know that name? Only Apa knows that name! I realize I said this out loud when he replies, "It is okay, Eli. I know. I found out your name a long time ago." I look into his strangely kind eyes again and quickly blink. I refuse cry in front of Gil, no matter how big he's gotten.
Slowly he lets go of my hands, and puts his arms around me. I keep stiff and clench my fists.
"We will figure this out Eli. Don't you worry. We will fix you right up, or I'm not my awesome self."
I let out a laugh- that was almost a sob- and hug him back tightly. It's good to know that no matter what strange place I am in, that Gil never changes.
After a minute and my shaking stops, Gil lets go and stands up, putting his hands on his hips. "Well you aren't going to like this but I am going to have to call Romania."
I blink up at him. "Who is Romania?" I ask.
I don't understand why he won't stop laughing.