Chapter 3: Awakening

'-cker!'

Eric Xing awoke with a start. Causing him to sit up abruptly.

The scenery and the given sensations around him where impossibly different from the ones he experienced less than a breath ago.

His eyes adjusted to the warm light of an early sunrise, filtered through the horizontal slats in the eastern wall above his head that served as a window. The sunlight illuminated the western wall and revealed his surroundings. The faint clucking of chickens and the smell of fertile land and forest accompanied the morning.

He took a deep breath. The air was more pure than any he had experienced in his life before. It was crisp, like mountain air, yet heavy with something similar to humidity that he couldn't quite understand. It was a miracle to him that he wasn't starting to hallucinate from the shear difference in oxygen.

Eric was in a simple bed in a simple room. The layout reminding him of art pieces of ancient Chinese housing, with off-white walls and dark visible hardwood studs and beams.

The bed was small and pushed in the corner. The slight numbness in his feet intuitively informing him that they had been hanging over the edge of the frame.

'Slight feeling?'

Eric ripped the thick, yet soft blanket and sheets off his body and stood up. Stumbling slightly due the surprising force created by the action.

Eric Xing started inspecting his body in an almost frantic manner.

Looking at his hands, there were no burns, no broken fingers and no cuts or old familiar scars. The same could be said for the rest of his body.

Although he couldn't see his face, neck or back, the rest of his body was as smooth as the day he was born. With not a single blemish in sight.

His hard earned muscles seemed even more perfect than before, less showy and more refined and subtle. Moving his body and bouncing on his toes proved to him that the power and flexibility of his joints was better than ever.

The action also caused him to notice the surprisingly excessive amount of hair on his head.

Feeling his face showed him that the short beard he previously maintained was now gone. The sensation on his scalp showed him that the head he normally kept razor shaved was now weighed down with, what seemed to be, a lifetime's worth of hair.

It was curly, yet smooth, strong yet silky to the touch. It fell down to his calves in an odd mixture of an afro and cascading hair.

Looking around the room helped distract him from the sudden inexplicable changes he was experiencing.

The room obviously belonged to a woman. It was simple, clean and nearly Spartan in its minimalism. Yet it found subtle ways to express a certain feminine charm. A simple vase filled with flowers here. An unfinished needlework by the fireplace there. The clean towel and cup of drinking water on the nightstand were accompanied by a basin of warm scented water. A scent he now noticed on his body.

The length of the bed was also quite the tell. Eric was considered tall basically no matter where he went. Not excessively so, but his one hundred ninety centimeters in height made him very noticeable in a crowd. It also made him acutely aware of things such as doorways. The one in this room was obviously made for a more general height and led him to believe that the average height in this area may actually be slightly taller than the world of his previous life.

A soft bed made for someone much smaller than him basically cemented his thoughts.

Thoughts that were almost immediately confirmed by light, delicate footsteps that could be heard approaching the door along the path outside.

Eric considered rushing to the bed and trying to glean more information while pretending to be asleep, but found the notion somewhat childish. He was in a new world. One that may require caution in most cases, but not one that he would approach with dishonesty in regards to people that helped him.

The footsteps slowed as they approached the door. It opened outwardly and the change in pace was obviously a habitual one, leading Eric to believe the hands of whoever was approaching where full.

He gently opened the door. Causing the young woman to be lightly startled, but not enough to spill the fresh bucket of water in her right hand or drop the simple breakfast in the other.

"You're awake!" she said in unchecked surprise.

Eric smiled in amusement and said in a tongue that was somewhat unfamiliar to him, "It appears so."

...

'I can't even pretend to be surprised at this point.'

It seemed that whatever changes his body went through were accompanied by even greater changes in his mind.

'New life comes with auto translate. Got it.'

He glanced at the bucket in her hand, saw the steam rising from its surface, smelled the slight fragrance and realized that she was intending to wash him yet again. Reaching for the bucket he said, "Allow me."

The young woman handed it to him without fuss, an almost dazed look in her eyes. The bucket was surprisingly heavy. Not heavy enough for him to suddenly drop it, but enough to cause him to raise his eyebrows and question the petite build of the woman before him.

Holding the bucket in one hand and the door open in the other, he allowed the woman to cautiously slide by him into the small lodging. She set the food on the table in the corner diagonally across from the bed without looking directly at him while he set the bucket on the floor by the bedside.

An awkward silence followed.

The woman moved the loose strands of hair from her face, revealing delicate, if not somewhat plain, features and asked quietly, yet not fearfully, "Um... could you possibly step outside?"

"Of course."

Years of being a somewhat socially adept person caused him to grasp the situation instantly.

He had apparently been found, either by this woman or someone else, and had been diligently taken care of by her. So much so, that it had become a routine of sorts for her.

Her simple clothing made her out to be someone of humble origins. Not poor, on account of the over all cleanliness of her clothing and home, but not well off enough to not have a job. Possibly agriculture of some sort, given the outside smells and sounds. Not to mention her startling strength and somewhat rough hands.

Yet she also took care of a man she had never formally met before. That same man had not only remained asleep, or even awoken and stayed in bed, waiting to be welcomed to the world of the living... no, he was walking around and even opening the door for her!

Of course a reset was in order. The scenario was too strange for any sort of traditional greeting to accompany it.