Economy

The next morning, Ezra was woken up by a light tap on the shoulder. He shuffled softly in his bed, rubbing his eyes before looking up to see Aria.

"Good morning. How'd you sleep?" She asked cheerfully with a soft smile. Ezra immediately thought of the night before, and the long bout of crying her endured. He still couldn't fully understand why it had happened, which was the most confusing part to him, but he did know that due to that, he got a bad sleep.

"Bad. It's kind of hard to sleep my first night in an entire new world." He said, covering up the real reason and chuckling along with it. Aria's smile faded a small amount upon hearing his words.

"Sorry. We'll prepare today, and then set out tomorrow, alright? See if you can get a good sleep tonight. If I can help in any way, let me know." Aria responded.

"Since when were you so nice?" Ezra asked.

"Shut up. I'm just being nice because I know it sucks to get no sleep. If you want me to be rude, I'll gladly oblige."

"I think I prefer you this way."

"Then don't be a little annoying pain in the ass and I'll stay this way." Aria said, flicking his nose and chuckling.

"I don't know if I can do that. It's my second nature, after all." Ezra replied.

"Don't make me ditch you in a world you don't know."

"Oh, please. You wouldn't do such a thing. You're too nice."

"Oh, you wanna abuse my niceness now? Say your goodbyes, cause I'm leaving by noon." Aria said, putting her hands on her hips and making a fake stern expression, eventually breaking into giggles. "You're so goofy." She added on.

"You're the fuel to my fire." Ezra replied.

"Hey, I'm just being myself. It's not my fault that you're already so infatuated with me."

"Infatuated with you? That's funny." Ezra said, laughing out loud after realizing how stupid the conversation was. They really did get along. It was something Ezra never had back on Earth. An issue he was keeping hidden, at least for now.

I don't want to lose her. I don't want to lose this. I don't want to lose what we have. This is my chance. I don't want to lose this. I don't. Just be a fucking man and don't act like a child. It's that simple.

"Get out of bed already, you big doofus. We need to prepare for our little journey." She said, tugging in his arm.

Should I not be too attached yet? Should I be cautious? Am I gullible? Am I naive? Is this something I shouldn't already treasure? I just want this, I want this forever. Should I be cold at this stage? Am I getting too attached?

Thoughts flooded Ezra's mind, but he pushed them back so he could properly live in and enjoy the moment.

I don't want to lose what I have. I want to cherish this opportunity. This is a new life. I don't want to drown in problems from my past one. But they crawl back constantly and consistently.

Ezra got ready, putting on the same clothes he wore the day before.

"Aria, can we get me some new clothes as well? I don't want to wear the same crap every day." Ezra asked, straightening his clothes out.

"Yeah. We just need money. We need money for basically everything we need for the journey, but we have none. It's been 10 years since the sacrifice incident with the church. I have no money, and neither do you." Aria said, pondering.

"Wait, how were you even able to get this inn?!" Ezra questioned in a confused tone.

"I had a bit in my pocket. Just enough for one night. We gotta get out soon though." Aria said.

"I guess our main issue is money. How are we gonna get it?"

"I never thought I'd be a beggar." Ezra said, putting his hand on his forehead to block out the sun. Aria was leaned against him, feeling overheated. The two sat on the side of the street, begging for any sort of money. The summer sun beat down like a hammer, and they were the nail. Aria was still wearing her church clothes which were an amalgamation of elegant and thick robes (not the ideal summer wear). Due to this, she overheated easily, and was currently leaned against Ezra's right side, her head buried into his neck.

"An entire city - no, an entire world to explore, and we're begging on the streets. Not my ideal adventure." He added on, eliciting a very weak laugh from Aria.

"Y - yeah… I just want shade…" She muttered, barely able to speak.

"I promise we'll get some. I'll find a way, for both of us." Ezra promised, giving her a warm smile.

"I - I trust you… just do it quick, p - please…" She replied weakly, exhaling onto Ezra's neck, causing him to shiver slightly.

The two sat on the side of the street for around an hour longer. Ezra and beginning to suffer from overheating as well, and he leaned back onto Aria as they both struggled to stay conscious. It was unbelievably hot, hotter than Ezra had ever experienced back on Earth. Eventually, a man approached the duo just as they were slipping out of consciousness.

"Do you two need to stay at the inn again? I'll make it free, just… stop looking so pathetic out here. Its painful to see." He proposed. Ezra looked up, almost in disbelief.

"S - seriously?" He asked.

"Yes. Just get up and I'll get you two a room." He said. Ezra nodded gratefully, then turned around only to see that Aria had passed out. He couldn't even react at this point, as he was about to himself. He groaned and managed to stand up, picking Aria up in a princess carry in his arms. The man showed them inside the inn, where he booked them a room. Ezra entered the room on the 2nd floor, and gently laid Aria down on one of the beds. He then flopped down on the other one, groaning loudly.

It was my decision to do that. I let her pass out. I caused it. I don't want her to be mad at me. I don't want her to hate me. I don't want her to leave me. I know she probably won't. She's too nice. I just don't want to ruin this. I don't want to lose it. I don't want to be alone.

A single tear fell down Ezra's cheek, and he wiped it off with his finger. No, don't cry now. I need to be strong for Aria once she wakes up. I can't be a crying mess. I need to be strong for her.

20 minutes or so passed, and suddenly, Aria woke up in her bed. Ezra immediately turned around, and walked over to her to see if he could help with anything.

"W - where…" She muttered, looking around.

"You passed out, Aria. While we were outside. The innkeeper gave us a room for free, luckily. I brought you in and laid you down in bed." Ezra explained.

"Oh. Thanks." She replied, smiling at him as she got back up.

"No problem. You okay?" Ezra asked.

"Yeah, I think I'm fine. I could definitely go for some ear scratches though." Aria replied, shooting Ezra a smirk as she spoke.

"You don't have to tell me twice." Ezra said, putting his hand on her large ears and scratching them heavily. Aria softly moaned as he began, pushing her head into his hand.

"Why are you so eager to scratch my ears?" She asked through moans.

"It's comforting for me as well. Almost therapeutical." Ezra answered.

"I'm still so hot though. I think I'm just gonna go take off all my clothes in the bathroom and cool down. I'll be back out soon, alright?" She said, getting up and trudging slowly to the bathroom. She entered, and shut the door behind her. The sound of rustling clothes and those clothes falling on the floor could be heard through the door. Ezra sat in his bed, facing the other wall. Aria sat down on the toilet, not to use it, but just as a seat once she was fully naked.

"Uh… I've actually - I think I'm gonna change my name." Ezra said loudly so it could be heard through the bathroom door on the other side of the room.

"Huh? Why?" Aria asked back, speaking up from the bathroom.

"I want to leave everything about my last life behind. I want to start completely new. That includes my name." Ezra explained. Aria wasn't stupid. She figured there was a reason why, but she didn't ask about it, as it was probably sensitive. After all, he wanted to completely forget about it.

"What about your parents that gave you that name and raised you? You want to forget them too? Is it their fault?" She asked, hoping she hadn't asked something too personal. 

"No. It's my own dumb fault. I'm just being pretentious." Ezra said, hanging his head down in shame. He felt horrible about doing it, but he felt it was the best option. 

"No you're not. It's not weird to want to change something about your past."

"I guess. Anyway, what are some guy names in Vythanar?"

"I always liked the name Galior."

"I'll just use that then."

"Really? That simple?"

"I like how it sounds. I guess it's fine." 

"Galior Aloda, huh? Sounds good."

"Yeah. Sounds good."

Silence ensued afterwards.

"Hey, did I ever tell you what the internet is?" Galior asked.

"No, I don't think so. What is it? Something from your world, right?" 

"Right. It's really hard to explain, but I'll try my best." Galior said, taking a deep breath. "Imagine an interconnected web of communication. One that spans across the entire world. You can instantly communicate with anyone across the entire world, visit interactive pages and creations by anyone across the world whenever you want, and all from your chair, as long as you have a device connected to the internet. You can buy stuff on it using an entirely virtual form of money, and have it delivered to your house. You can also write things on it and save them for later, not having to keep up with real pages, since it's all on the internet and you can access it if you have a device connected to it. You can basically do almost anything from your home. That's the internet."

"Are you being dead serious?" Aria asked.

"Yes. That exists in my world."

"That's fucking insane. I mean, what?! Your world might really be the realm of the gods!" Aria exclaimed, causing both of them to laugh out loud.

"Nah. We aren't gods. Far from it. Our world might have cool stuff like the internet, but it also sucks. Why do you think I wanted to come here so bad?" Galior replied.

"You don't have to talk about that, Galior. Don't force yourself."

"I'm not. It just sucked, that's all." Galior said. Say it, you idiot! Tell her! What's stopping you?! There's just… there's no reason to not tell her, and yet I'm so scared… why? Why am I like this?

"Sounds like it. I'm sorry that this is your first experience in this word. It really sucks." Aria said.

"It's okay, Aria. It's not your fault, so there's no need to apologize." Galior stated.

"I guess I just feel bad for you."

"Don't. This is just a rough patch. I'm sure we can get through it. And I feel even worse for you, if anything. 10 years passed by for you in a flash, and now you don't know anything about the current world, or your family."

"Yeah."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to dump all that on you again. That wasn't my intention, I mean."

"You're fine. My family was great. Loving and kind as well. I never told you how old I am, did I? I'm 18. It's just… all I want to see is how they're doing after a decade. They're probably worried sick about me as well. It's gonna be so strange, seeing them all 10 years older and I'm still just my 18 year old self."

"I bet. I want to be there with you, every step of the way, though. Will you let me?"

"Of course."

Another silence insued before tears began to stream down Aria's face, alerting Galior immediately.

"Aria, are you okay?!" He blurted out in an alarmed tone.

"Y - yeah, I'm fine… I - I'm just so… so w - worried… everything is so w - worrying…" She said through immense tears. 

"Let me… let me shelter you from the worry." Galior spoke, his own voice hitching while speaking.

"Please…" Aria muttered on the other side of the bathroom door. Galior then got up and walked over to the door, where he sat with his back against it.

"I'm here. Don't worry anymore."

It was approaching 4 in the afternoon when Aria exited the bathroom. She had put all her clothes back on, and opened the door with a smile on her face. Galior stood on the other side, waiting. And they hugged.

She's almost like me, but… not, at the same time. When I feel like I'm drowning, she is too, but she still makes an effort to bring me to land. It's refreshing. But it's suffocating at the same time.

The two walked out of their room and down to the lobby of the inn where they spoke to the innkeeper. 

"Mr. Innkeeper? How long, uhh… how long are we allowed to stay here for free?" Aria asked.

"As long as you need until you get yourselves a damn house." He replied, leaning on the counter with a sigh.

"Really?!" Galior blurted out.

"Yes, son. Get yourselves some jobs, and get to workin'. You ain't gonna make no money if you sit in that damn room all day." The innkeeper replied.

"I understand! We'll get jobs!" Galior said excitedly. It was at that moment that he saw himself through the mirror on the other side of the counter. Straight brown hair that went down to his ears, blue piercing eyes, and a regular build. His black t-shirt, his grey shorts, and his black shoes all sitting there in front of him.

I really do look out of place in this world.

From that moment on, Galior and Aria began searching for jobs in hopes of raising enough money to afford everything they need for a journey to Aria's family.

And it took a while.