Day 13
Something very peculiar happened today. I may need to rethink my route plans. Well, not as a necessity, but this surely throws everything under a new light... I should start from the beginning though.
After a full week of travelling, we have finally reached the Vision Plains. Morphologically, the landscape looks perfectly ordinary, but my equipment has confirmed what I had guessed from the locals' tales. The time-space matrix is particularly unstable and volatile within a two miles radius from the center of the area, causing the spontaneous appearance and disappearance of interdimensional windows with astounding speed and frequency. Unlike most of the rifts I've examined, these windows blend seamlessly with the surroundings, making them completely invisible until you've literally walked into them. Size varies from few inches to 7-8 feet on average, life span between few minutes and an hour. This place is a true hotspot of interdimensional gateways, a collection of peepholes to different worlds - hence the name given by the locals, I presume. I usually toss a small probe into the first rift I run into, and if the readings show that the environment is suitable for human life, I simply walk in without too much thought. Rifts aren't exactly common, after all, and passing up any of them might cost me weeks of further exploration to find the next. There is no such risk in this place, however. Windows are so plentiful and varied that it would be wasteful not to snoop around a little bit.
So I spent most of the day following signals and peeking into any hole I could find, then quickly retreating to the Plains before the window could close. The Warrior Piglets seem to find my behavior partly reckless and partly entertaining, but they've been too busy with their seasonal gathering of Vision Crystals to pay much attention to me. I have not yet examined them properly, but the peculiar molecular structure of these stones seems to be the result of prolonged exposure to the gravity fluctuations caused by the windows. A fascinating phenomenon worth of further investigation, but I digress.
The pivotal event of the day was related to a specific window, roughly shaped as a 20 inch sided square. A literal window I inadvertently stuck my head into, finding myself gazing at an unexpectedly familiar landscape.
In twenty years of dimensional hopping, I have found myself roaming through more environments than I thought could possibly exist. Some of them were so alien from what I was used to that I could barely make sense of what I saw; others were surprisingly similar to my home world. There would always be some telltale sign of the difference though, something I would notice more on a subconscious level than rationally: the sun would be a different shade or size than I remembered, the subtle smell of the atmosphere would hint at a slightly different gas composition, the flora would have developed an alternative structural simmetry somewhere along its evolutionary path.
There was no such oddity in the small patch of woods I found myself gazing into. Everything I could sense resonated deeply with my memories of my home world, with a clarity I have only experienced in dreams in the last decades. The warmth of the sunlight, the tone of the sky, the speed of the breeze, and the scent! The scent of so many species of trees, flowers and bushes I couldn't quite name out of sheer forgetfulness, tinged with a mouth-watering smell of roasting ribs coming from somewhere on my right. A few yards away in that direction, I could spot some tents and camping equipment, haphazardly arranged in a nearby clearing.
None of these observations were at the forefront of my mind in that moment, though. The five-or-so-year-old girl sitting on a trunk and staring at me in awe was. She was just there, mouth agape, blonde ponytail, bright orange dress and unmistakably human. If it was understandable for her to freeze in shock at the appearance of a rugged-looking, floating disembodied head, I must confess that my usual quick thinking abandoned me as well, and we both spent a good twenty seconds mutely gaping at each other. Then she suddenly came back to her senses with a loud shriek and threw whatever object she was holding straight at my forehead with a sniper's precision. I backed off instictively, finding myself in the Plains again, and when I stepped forward to take another look... it was gone. The window was gone, just like that.
I... I must admit this incident has left me rather... confused. I have spent the rest of the day examining window after window, but none seems to be in any way connected to any other. I was planning to move out of this dimension by the end of the day, but I think the Piglets won't mind me staying a little longer with them.
Day 14
Today's search has been rather uneventful, but it has given me some time to think about the implications of yesterday's discovery.
I would be lying if I said that I didn't spend the entire day hoping to run into another window to the Earth-like woods. I am perfectly aware that, despite the appearance, the dimension I visited yesterday may not be my own. In fact, in terms of mathematical probability, the chances are practically nonexistent. I have long since accepted the fact that I'm not likely to ever find a gateway to my own dimension, especially not to that tiny blip in space that is planet Earth, especially not to that ridiculously short span of time that is the last quarter of the twentieth century. And I am fine with this notion. This life of constant exploration has proved to be infinitely stimulating and rewarding, both in terms of scientific discoveries and of personal growth. I haven't even been looking for a way home for God knows how long, and yet... yet, walking into another human being, literally staring at me in the face, completely out of the blue... has left me shaken. I guess I had just given up on the possibility without really contemplating it, but now that the improbable has happened... I can't help but wonder if the lightning could actually strike twice.
On a side note, the object the girl hurled at me slipped past the window, falling at my feet. It is a thin, cylindical device made of metal and plastic, containing a holed, shiny, round disk. After a quick inspection, I have come to the conclusion that its only apparent purpose is to reproduce music through wired earbuds. There seems to be only one recorded song, which, surprisingly, is in English. The tune isn't quite to my taste, but I must say that hearing my own language without the usual filter of the translating device makes it more than pleasant anyway.
Day 15
I think it is time to put an end to this wishful goose chase. It is almost evening, I have lost count of how many windows I have tracked and scoured over the last few days, with no results. If there is a pattern to the formation, timing and direction of these windows, it eludes me completely. The Piglets have completed their task and are preparing to leave the area and, even though I am more than capable of surviving on my own, I see myself forced to interrupt my stay as well. Just a couple of hours ago, I began to show some early symptoms of dimensional sickness - extremely mild and way later than I was expecting, thanks to the preventive concoction the Piglets have kindly shared with me since we arrived. However, it would be unwise to jeopardise my health by prolonging my exposure to the windows without any realistic chance of success.
The Chief of the tribe has invited me to the usual feast that celebrates the end of the gathering. I suppose I can join tonight to thank them for the hospitality and help I've received in the past fortnight. They are very welcoming and whole-hearted people, after all.
These Piglets are amazing. Truly an astounding example of civilization, a shining beacon of hope for intercultural dialogue and understanding. These little schemers are basically throwing me a farewell party, disguised as some long-honoured tradition about star alignments, but I can see through their well-meaning lies despite the copious amount of denatured alcohol - or whatever similar substance this is - they keep pouring in my mug. It can't be a coincidence, after all. Not when I had just started mourning the untimely loss of functionality of my music player. I've been using it nearly non-stop all day, after all, I should have known the batteries would need something more primitive than solar energy to recharge. No matter, I've memorized the song by now. Such an engaging tune, such inspiring themes barely hidden under a whimsical tone. Almost a message from my home world, very fitting with my current situation, an encouragement to aim high, to the stars - Ad astra! Ad astra! - no matter the struggle, no matter how many detours life might force you into. It is truly beautiful, a small but powerful token of mankind's creativity and temper. The Pigs must have heard it and understood its charm. They have been so lively, so understanding tonight. I have told them about my predicament and they have answered with the most insightful grunts and cheers. I am now certain of my destination. There is no point in dilly-dallying here any longer. I've had my Vision of my world, a world I'm not even sure I belong to any more, a world where I couldn't feel at home knowing that the goddamn demon is still at large. I wouldn't go back, even if I could. It is not my destiny nor my will. I will keep on travelling, gathering information and building my strenght until I'll finally be able to carry out the feat Jheselbraum has foretold. Only then I will rest. I will leave tomorrow at dawn. But for the rest of the night, I will celebrate my renewed purpose with my admirable hosts. Actually, I will share my token with them. I will sing the stars song to the crowd, I'm sure they will enjoy and understand it: such beauty and poetry go beyond the boundaries of language. Wait, not only, not only that. This is a moment of rare clarity and camaraderie that I want to remember. I will take up on the offer they made last week, I will get a commemorative tattoo, and it will be of this song, so that I will always remember it even if I don't manage to fix the player. I will take this intangible proof of human hope and creativity and I will engrave it on my skin, a visible mark of my culture and heritage, made real by the kindness of my friends. I will carry this memento on my own body for the rest of my life, so that a single glance will be enough to remind me of the empowering sense of bravery and union that I feel right now, and I will
Day 16
I have made a mistake.