Empress of Otherverse

Bina’s eyes blurred.

She could barely see the priestess’ beautiful face.

Bina felt her hands on her own. When she looked into the priestess’ eyes, everything turned black again. Just like a moment ago, Bina started to see her past as if she was watching a movie.

The morning of SAT.

The day I somehow arrived at this world.

My family was happy.

It had already been a year and a half since I got here. I wondered what was happening on earth. Was I assumed dead by now?

My friend Mihyun must have seen me fall into the subway track, so it was very possible everyone thought I was dead.

However, I was very much alive and living in this strange world. They wouldn’t have found my body, so perhaps I was considered “missing.”

It didn’t matter, however. All I could think of was how my family must be feeling. It killed me to think of how much distress I must have caused them.

“[Mom…]”

I wondered what happened to the lunch box my mom prepared for me. She got up so early to make it. Did it get destroyed by the train?

“[Dad…]”

Now that I thought about it, I also didn’t know what happened to my backpack. My dad bought it for me for my birthday last year. Where did it go?

“[Sis…]”

When I first woke up in the forest, I was still wearing my old coat, but the items I should have had in my pockets were gone. My cellphone was there. I had all of my family photos in it.

When I woke up in Aeal castle, I searched for days to find these items without success. All I had left were the clothes I was wearing at the time.

I was afraid I was starting to forget my family’s faces. Even in my dreams, they looked blurry.

One positive thing from today was how the priestess’ technique enabled me to see my family’s faces clearly. I missed them so much that I had been trying hard not to think about them.

However, at this moment, seeing their faces, I gave in to my sorrow.

“[Mommmm…!]”

Tears rolled down my eyes uncontrollably. The sadness I felt was painful. I hung on to the priestess and wept. She hugged me as if she was my long-lost mother.

“[I… I want to go back…!]”

***

“Are you feeling a little better?”

The priestess’ voice sounded motherly, and it helped me a lot to calm down.

I nodded weakly.

“Yes…”

My voice sounded horrible. It sounded that of a seventy-year-old woman.

When I could think again, I realized how I had behaved. This was only the second time I had met this important woman, and I cried like a child in front of her. I couldn’t be any more embarrassed.

When I glanced at her, what I have done to her lovely white dress horrified me. My tears had stained it in various areas, ruining it.

The priestess sighed and said to me, “To be honest, I didn’t believe you at first, but now… I have no choice but to admit that you are telling the truth.” I raised my face as she continued. “You… you really are from a different world.”

So she finally believed me. “Yes…”

“It’s true… What I saw was nothing I have ever seen in this world. Strange people and strange places…” She sounded excited. “It’s very interesting.”

I couldn’t hide how upset I was at her reaction. The priestess must have seen it because she smiled apologetically.

“I’m sorry but studying and analyzing new findings are part of our job, so I got carried away.”

“…”

Even so, I felt distraught. She continued to apologize.

“It was not sensitive of me to show excitement when it concerns your homeland and your family. I know how much you miss them. I apologize again.”

Even if I still felt angry, I couldn’t show it to her. She was the only one who could help me.

I had no choice.

“It’s… alright.”

I must have still looked upset because the priestess patted the back of my hand and whispered, “Don’t worry. I will help you as best as I can.”

I raised my head quickly. “Really?!”

She smiled kindly. Just then, the priestess looked like the statue of Virgin Mary I often saw at a church near my house.

I said to her happily, “Thank you!”

I really meant it.

The priestess and I worked hard together to find an answer while Lucretius watched quietly. I didn’t know what he was thinking or feeling, but I was thankful he remained silent.

“What was the huge structure that came towards you right before you fell into the dark valley?”

Dark valley? Oh, she meant the subway track, and the huge structure was the subway train.

I contemplated how I could explain what it was. After a few seconds, I decided to give her the actual word.

“It’s a [subway train.]”

“[S… subway train?] What is that? What is its purpose? Is it a building? But it was moving…”

She tried to mimic the pronunciation. The priestess seemed very curious; she asked many questions. I tried to explain as best as I can.

“Hmm, it’s like a big carriage that can carry many people at a time.”

“I see.”

She seemed satisfied.

We started the process again. She took my hands and opened her eyes. The darkness took over me, and I went through my past again. It was like watching the same movie over and over again.

We did this for over an hour. By the end, I couldn’t remember how many times I had to experience the fall into the track.

***

Because I didn’t get a night of good sleep, I felt horrible. I was anxious and I decided to leave earlier than I planned. I thought if I could get to the exam office early, I should have a little more time to cram.

Many of the train stations in Korea had installed a safety door, which closed off the track until the train arrived. Unfortunately, the station nearby my house didn’t have this yet.

I could see the train light approaching. The announcement stated the arrival of the next train and warned people to step back and stay behind the yellow safety line.

I ignored the safety caution. I was anxious to get there as soon as possible. I stood too close to the track.

As the train arrived, a strong wind blew.

A loud noise was heard, and the bright light of the train blinded me. Suddenly, I felt dizzy and fell forward. I could hear Mihyun’s scream from behind.

“No! Bina!”

I wondered what happened to Mihyun.

She witnessed her friend getting hit by a subway train. Was she able to write her SAT alright afterward? I wasn’t sure. I felt sorry that I might have caused her to do poorly on her exam.

This was the first time I thought of so many things about that day. I had forgotten about a lot of it, and this was my chance to analyze the incident. Thanks to the priestess, I had the opportunity to re-live the moment over and over again.

This was truly magic. Even in the 21st-century earth, this was not possible.

It was the priestess’ miracle.

This was the first time I had seen something magical in this world. There were times when I thought perhaps I was still on earth somewhere, but it was unlikely. Strange language, culture, and now this.

We were able to narrow down to the exact moment. I was falling into the track and just about to lose my consciousness. As if pushing a pause button, the priestess froze the scene in my mind.

She said to me, “This is it.”

“Pardon?”

When I asked, the priestess did something to zoom into the scene and I was able to finally see “it.”

The strange phenomenon that transported me to this world.

It was a large opening in the middle of the track.

“What… is that?!”