Chapter 1: Past and Present
Somewhere in the past
"Rabin, the time has come for you to stand on your own and make a living out there. Your mother and I can no longer take care of you," the father said in a deep voice, his eyes full of reluctance.
"It's all right, Father. Please take care of your health. I will visit whenever I can. I'm leaving now," Rabin replied. His eyes showed clear sadness at having to leave the parents he had lived with for so many years.
Sometimes those tax collectors grew violent and beat both the parents and Rabin. Anger rose in the father's heart; he fought back with whatever object was nearest. Before the collector could react, the man had already ruined his own clothes and forced the family to pay compensation for dirtying them.
Rabin walked until he reached the large market outside the court. He truly did not know what to do next. His mind was still on his parents and what would happen when the tax collector returned. Lost in thought, he failed to watch where he was going and collided with a man who was running in great haste. Both of them fell.
"Ow! Don't you know how to look where you're going? Be careful on the road!" the man shouted in anger.
(This stupid little brat must have done it on purpose to stop me from escaping this cursed place. Damn it!)
"Ah... ha... ha... I'm sorry! I was lost in thought and wasn't paying attention. Please forgive me," Rabin said with a forced smile.
Something the man had dropped lay right beside Rabin. Rabin quickly picked it up and he want to return it and leave: "Ah... ha... ha... I'm truly sorry! I didn't mean to, but you dropped this." but the moment he touched the object, the man cried out in panic: "Wait! don't touc-."
"What-" Rabin had not finished speaking, nor had he heard the rest of the man's words, when a strange power surged from the object, wrapped around him and then made him vanish. He drifted into an unknown place, floating and floating as if being pulled toward somewhere.
Present
In an instant Rabin opened his eyes and found himself in a place he could not recognize. "What just happened? Where is this?" He looked forward. Many people walked past him, dressed in strange clothes he had never seen before.
Still confused and full of questions, he stood up and took a few steps forward to look around. The scene before him made his eyes widen in shock and surprise. Crowds moved busily in every direction. Strange things rushed back and forth right in front of him. Round lamp-posts glowed by themselves. No one paid him any attention, yet that did nothing to stop his curiosity.
He stepped out of the narrow space and walked a few more paces, glancing left and right. There were shops and stalls that looked far more elegant than the market he had known at the court. A little farther away stood tall buildings whose materials and construction he could not even begin to understand.
Everything was new and strange, and it delighted him so much that he smiled without thinking about how he had arrived or why he was there.
"Mom, why is that man dressed so strangely?" a little boy's voice asked.
"I don't know, sweetheart. Maybe he's an actor. Come on, let's keep walking," the mother answered, taking the child's hand and leading him away.
(Strange clothes...? Does that mean the way I'm dressed is wrong? Or do I need to dress like everyone else?) Rabin rubbed his chin, wondering what to do next.
After standing in the middle of the street for a while and pushing aside the recent events, he concluded that he must have been brought to a city. He looked around once more to confirm it: glass-fronted shops and-
"Hey! I've been watching you stand in the middle of the sidewalk for a while now. People keep turning to stare and talk about you," a voice cut through Rabin thoughts.
Rabin turned and looked the speaker up and down-a man who appeared to be about thirty years old or older.
"H-huh? I've been standing here the whole time? In the middle of the road? A... umm...s-sorry.." He was too embarrassed to know what to say.
The man smiled lightly and continued, "Just kidding. Looking at the way you're dressed and your hair, I'm guessing you come from the old times, right? Because there are no one dressing like this in the city and in public, fashion too in these times."
Hearing the words "old times" from a complete stranger, Rabin asked in a rush, "What do you mean by 'old times'? Where is this place? Who are you? Why does everything look so different?"
The man raised a finger to his lips with a soft "Shhh," then put an arm around Rabin's shoulder with playful smile:"Forgive me, my name is Asher Ceasemind. This is a public place, so it's not convenient to talk here. Come with me. Don't worry-I won't do anything to you." He winked.
Asher led him to something larger than either of their bodies, with four wheels. He opened a door. Inside were seats, a wheel-like object in front, many windows of glass, and another turning device.
Once both were seated, Asher fastened a safety belt around Rabin: "You fasten the belt like this when you sit in a car so it can protect you if something unexpected happens. These things are called cars-vehicles that let us travel from place to place much faster than what you used to see before. That's all."
"Thank you for that information."
The car began to move. The two of them talked a great deal. Asher answered every Rabin's questions and explained many things he had never known. By the end of the ride Rabin understood at least the basic and common facts about this city.
