Sandra coughed wetly and groaned in pain.

  She heard the murmured voices of one of the doctors and her mother. Her father was likely too busy to be present or was silent. She was unsure which as she had difficulty turning her head.

  "The infection has spread- the palpatations are becoming more frequent, it's a miracle she's lived so long... Our projections were never optimistic, but I believe... It would be most humane to end her suffering." the doctor said, not without emotion.

  "Don't say that. Doctor, please. She's only just a child... She deserves a regular life." her mother said in between sobs.

  With great effort- Sandra turned her head towards the observation window. The doctor and her mother noticed this and looked at her.

  And that's all it took. The look in Sandras eyes told her mother everything she needed to know.

  Her mother collapsed to her knees sobbing. The doctor gave Sandra a knowing and sympathetic look. "I'll have you sign the consent forms- I'm sorry." he told her mother, carrying her up from the floor. "Let me hold her, at least one last time." she pleaded.

  "We'll see what we can do."

  He guided her from the observation window. And Sandra closed her eyes, causing a tear to slide down her cheek. She had long accepted her fate, she only fought so long and hard for her mothers sake. Seeing her like this hurt more than anything.

  She just wanted to be free.

  She was unsure if she had fallen asleep or not, because when she opened her eyes again the rooms lighting had dimmed. It must've been night. It was quiet besides the beeping of machines and the sound of air pumps.

  Sandra looked towards the observation window, an act that took some time. To her horror as she slowly brought the figure into few. Standing in the dark behind the window a man stood. Green lights emitting from night vision goggles. Wearing black fatigues.

  He looked towards the door and walked to it. He punched a few numbers on the security lock outside it and a hissing sound erupted as air was cycled from the room.

  "Sandra Wilson." they said as they entered.

  The sound of their boots on the linoleum flooring sounded careful. Gentle.

  He leaned down next to her and removed his black mask and goggles. Her eyes widened in shock- surely he knew-

  He brushed his light green hair back and smiled. "I work for your grandfather."

  The beeping on the machine had increased. He glanced at it and sighed; "There's no need to worry. I won't contract your illness."

  At that, the beeping gradually slowed.

  "I'm here to help. I can give you a chance to hug your mother again. Would you like that? Blink once for yes, twice for no."

  She blinked.

  "Very well." he said and he pressed a button on the walkie-talkie on his chest. "Send it in."

  Two more figures dressed in all black stepped into the room. Pushing a wheeled cart with some sort of machine. They also made each step with absolute care. As if out of reverence.

  "I'm going to have to tell you exactly what is going to happen so you can give your full consent. Do you understand?"

  Sandra blinked.

  "Good. Your grandfather cares a great deal for his family, Sandra. It's why I respect him so much. The lengths a man would go to protect his family... You can leave us, I'll send for you when it's time." the two shadowy figures nodded and left wordlessly. Stepping as lightly as possible as they left.

  The handsome man let out an exasperated sigh. He wheeled over a chair and sat down in it. He wiped his face. "Life is strange."

  Sandra blinked. And he chuckled bitterly. "So you agree huh?" he asked rhetorically, removing the black gloves he wore.

  He wheeled over to her and brushed some of the hair away from her face.

  "I'll keep it brief Sandra. Your body is dying. But we can save you... The parts that matter. I didn't really understand it at first when I came here, but it's like there's this tiny seed in us. A little pinprick sized hole that we look out into the world from. It's the closest thing to a soul we have. And our grandfather- the revolutionary man he is- has devised a way to transmute that soul to something more... Permanent."

  He looked over to the machine. "Ha. Sometimes I wonder if I didn't die and this is all some strange sort of hell. But my perception is still here, I'm still me. A look out into the world from my tiny limited mind, and I still feel like that child dreaming of being some adventurer. Somethings never change..." Sandra believed it was him he was trying to convince.

  "Listen, Sandra. What I'm going to say next is important, so engrave it into your mind. This world is not what it seems. It may seem complacent to our pain, and it may seem that bad things happen for no reason. But try to understand. And do it while you can. It matters. There aren't words to describe what I'm trying to say here... That's why so few people understand. Why there's so much strife and conflict in the world. It's..." he made a grasping motion with his hand. "Just out of reach."

  Sandra blinked twice. "I suppose not for you." he said, looking around at all the machinery that surrounded her. "Experience makes the man, and I wonder what your experience has made you. Say, if you had all the money in the world and a little girl like you felt this pain. Would you trade it for her?"

  She blinked once.

  "You're a better person than your father already."

  Her father. She didn't know him well enough to have an opinion one way or the other.

  "This is so very dangerous, you know? To turn something like you loose, I wonder what would happen. When the meek inherit the earth." he smirked. "I sure wouldn't want to stand in your way. I only wish I'd be there to see it." he looked off to the corner of the room as if imagining some far off future.

  "Well, no need to procrastinate any further. We have a schedule to keep after all, and you'd likely desire to be free from this pain. But I wanted to create a core memory for you of this. It's what I would've wanted. Remember this. This feeling. It may not feel like it now, but you'll look back on this pain as a blessing."

  She blinked twice. He chuckled; "Perhaps I'm wrong, my pain was a entirely different sort after all. I can only speak from my experience." he said as he placed his gloves back on his hands.

  This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

  "Well, we're going to transmit your mind into a virtual matrix that will mimic your brain waves until synchronicity is achieved. And like a fading memory, your biological self will die. But I assure you, the part that is most relevant will remain. You will still feel like you, in other words. Do you consent?"

  She hesitated- as she did not fully understand. But, after considering the ladder part of what he said, she blinked.

  "Give 'em hell kid. Tell the old man I send my regards, and everything is going about as we expected." he stood up and pulled his mask down. He pressed his walkie-talkie again; "Let's get this over with."

  The two figures from before walked back into the room and moved her away from her machines- and towards theirs. It hurt like hell, but pain was nothing new to Sandra.

  They slotted her into the machine and her vision was flooded with light.

  And as it faded, she sat at a table.

  She wore blue jeans and a MTV hoodie. She forgot how bad her fashion sense was before she had gotten sick. She looked around the room.

  It was strange, so unlike what she had grown accustomed to in her time at the hospital. Wooden, rustic flooring. Unlaminated but sanded smooth. It was like a medieval house or something.

  How could this be real?

  She got up slowly and instantly stumbled. She had not walked in so long. Somehow she made her way to the window, balancing herself uneasily. The town outside matched the buildings interior. Medieval. This house seemed to be one of many in the neighborhood. And in the distance a castle could be seen.

  She heard a drip and looked down at the windowsill to see a wet spot. Then another landed next to it. She reached a hand up to her face and felt tears streaming. Suddenly she took a breath as if she had forgotten to breath and it came out as a sob.

  She looked down at her hands in disbelief, they started to shake so she hugged herself instead, trying to keep this new reality from unravelling as quickly as it appeared.

  And she sat like that for a time.

  Waiting for it to end like a fever dream.

  But it didn't. Minutes turned to an hour, and her tears dried. She sniffled. There were no words to describe her gratitude. Her relief. At the end of the road, when her pain was too great to endure- to be suddenly gifted with a new life like this- it felt fresh. Love for everything around her was practically leaking out of her ears. It sure was her eyes.

  Then she heard someone fidgeting with the front doors handle.

  A familiar elderly man stepped into the cozy home- he had not noticed her yet. His vision was mostly on the bag of groceries he carried.

  Sandra crashed into him giving him the fiercest hug of her life. The bag of groceries when tumbling, carrots and various other vegetables went rolling across the floor.

  The man laughed and held her close; "I wondered when I'd come home and find you here! How are you feeling?"

  Her wet face was pressed into his chest. "I feel great..." she said with a sob.

  "I'm glad." he smiled.

  "W-where are we?" she asked. "Honey, your face is a mess. Here, let me." he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and began to wipe her face gently with it. "This is Soma. The capital city of the kingdom of the same name."

  "Is this heaven? Are we dead?"

  "No. It's one of my companies devices, it tricks your brain into seeing a world that isn't there. Pretty nifty trick isn't it?"

  "This isn't real?" she said with a hint of fear to her voice, as if her creeping suspicion was about to come true.

  He hugged her closely again; "I'm real. You're real. That's all that matters hun. Everything else is just a house. It was never a home until you showed up."

  She sniffed again, stealing his handkerchief away from him. She suddenly remembered. "The man, from before. He said he worked for you, that you sent him to help me."

  He nodded as he guided her back to the table she woke up at. "Yes, yes. Sit, please. I'll get us some tea. We have so much to talk about."

  "He said everything was going about as you expected?", "Of course, was he kind to you?", he put a kettle unto some kind of ancient oven. "Yes?"

  "Good. Then he succeeded his mission."

  "What is all this grandpa?"

  "Enough. I hope it's enough, Sandra. After everything our family has been through, that's all I've wanted for some time now. To leave behind an opportunity for people to live the same life I had the privilege of living. A life of purpose, of meaning." the kettle starting to steam so he began to make the cups of tea. "But that's talk for another time."

  He handed her a cup. It was hot in her hands. "Careful, it's hot. Actually, nevermind." he said as if suddenly remembering something.

  "What?" she asked sipping it. It was so good.

  "You shouldn't have to worry about burning yourself here."

  "What do you mean?" she asked. Then he smiled. "It'd be easier just to show you."

  He took her out into the street. "It's beautiful grandpa..." She said looking at the city around her. He breathed contentedly; "I only wish the entire city looked like this, but I didn't want to force people to live in a way that would make it so."

  "So there's poor here? Are their sick people, like me?" She asked. "Yes. And worse."

  "Then why did you cure me?",

  "The others can learn from their mistakes, you have me. There's a way to achieve anything here, even returning from the dead is possible. So long as you have the heart and will to do it. And besides, it's old folks duty to spoil their grandchildren."

  She was enamored. Just feeling the sunlight on her face was a fresh experience for her now. She's wasted so much time in a hospital bed, she had no idea what to do next.

  "You can fly, if you'd like.", he suggested. Likely reading her expression. He was always very intuitive that way. "What?"

  "Fly. Like superman. Well, you don't need to put your arms in front of you or anything like that. Just have the intent, visualize it, and the 'magic' will do the rest." he winked.

  She looked at him, then at her feet. Slowly her feet left the ground. It was that easy. "No. Way."

  The old man cackled as he saw her fly higher and higher. "Fly! See the world if you'd like!"

  "What if I fall?" she asked, now raising above the roofline of her grandfathers cottage. "You'll be fine! Nothing in this world is capable of hurting you!"

  She laughed and shot forward- a shockwave emitted as she rocketed across the sky. The wind flapped against her hoodie and stung her eyes- but she felt as if she could do this forever.

  She looked at all the different buildings below- the streets became surprisingly narrow and cramped in places, and oddly enough this is where most the people were. She flew down and spoke to the first person she saw. A woman about ten years her senior was standing at a stall of potatoes.

  "Hey." she said. "Hello." the woman said complacently. "You some fancy mage, flying about like that? You sure are dressed strangely."

  "You could say that. I'm Sandra." she went to shake the womans hand but she only looked at Sandras extended hand. "Charmed. Are you going to buy something?"

  She looked to the potatoes. They seemed appetizing enough. Though she hadn't eaten solid food in awhile now. "How much?"

  The woman gave her an appraising look for a moment. "10 silver."

  Sandra looked around and saw someone handing off some money. Then she looked back at the woman. "Like this?" she asked as silver coins apparated in her hand.

  "...Yes." Sandra handed her the handful of coins. "You can keep the change.", "A pleasure. Would you like a sack to carry those in?"

  Sandra had no idea how many she just bought, but she nodded.

  And then she was flying through the sky with a sack of potatoes. 'Great. Now what do I do with these?' she thought.

  She saw a group of children splashing about in the mud and flew down to meet them.

  "Hey." she said. The children stopped wrestling with each other and looked towards her. Their faces smeared with mud, she didn't envy their mothers. "What? We're allowed to play here!"

  "I'm not stopping you. Just was checking if you wanted some potatoes." she hefted the sack on her shoulders.

  They looked between each other with skepticism. "We haven't any money..." one of the girls said.

  "I bought more than I needed, you can have them if you want."

  Very quickly there was a line of children taking potatoes from her. Some going to the back of the line to get more.

  A guard took notice as grimaced; "What's this then?" he asked and followed the line. "You there, boy. Where did you get that? You aren't stealing are you?"

  "No sir! I swear! I got it from the potato lady!" he smiled toothily without shame. He wasn't lying.

  He followed the line until he saw a girl with black hair and dark eyes in strange clothing handing out vegetables to the pauper children.

  "Hey." she said as he approached. "What are you doing?" he asked. She shrugged. "Giving these kids potatoes. They seemed hungry."

  The man in basic 'one size fits all' armor pinched the ridge of his nose.

  "You have a kind heart miss, but if you feed them they'll just keep coming back for more."

  "...Good?" she said confused.

  "And what happens when you aren't here then? If you feed street rats, they just multiply and it makes the problem worse."

  She made a face at that, as if she tasted something sour. She put a finger into a ear and tried to clear it out. "I'm sorry, what was that? Did you just call these children rats?"

  "You must not be from around here miss, you're clearly very wealthy but in this town, we get many beggars and panhandlers. They might seem innocent now, but by night they're a bunch of lowlife criminals. Tourists like you make life harder on the locals by taking pity on them."

  "Could I speak to your mayor, or king or whatever?" she asked sternly.

  The soldier cocked his head to the side- "You could request an audience at the castle, but that privileged is usually reserved for nobility."

  "I think I count then." she said and started floating away, leaving the sack of potatoes behind. Which the kids jumped on and began passing out themselves.

  The guard watched in awe as the girl casually flew away.

  Sandras grandfather was watching her on a palantir as well. A glass orb that hovered near him. He almost felt sorry for the king, but he was so disconnected from the world of the NPCs. Or the players for that matter. He had more important things to think about.

  His granddaughter was safe, and she was content. That was a massive relief to him, but the moment the feeling hit him, he remembered another grandparent. One that he shared a good degree of comradery with. He wondered if she had any luck finding that grandson she lost track of.

  Most likely. She was a competent woman. He went back into his house and began making dinner.

  ---

  Across an ocean, a red mercantile vessel drifted towards an island.

  Samantha stood at the helm, she squinted at the island.

  "I don't see him."

  Claire rolled her eyes; "..It's a big island."

  "Are you close enough to use your ability?" she asked.

  Claire nodded.

  "What do you want me to tell him? And where do you want to meet? It seems like we shouldn't land the ship, you see that other one?"

  Samantha did see it. It had a large hole blown into the side of it as if it was raided from the shore. "That's a development. Goblins did that?"

  "I don't know what else could've. Maybe there's a king kong on this island or something."

  Samantha considered for a moment.

  "Tell him to meet me on the opposite side of the island, far away from that ship. I might not be able to convince the captain to go ashore, so it'll probably just be me."

  "Sounds good. See you in a bit." she said, saluting.

  [Fae Scry], [Fae Walk] the little fairy activated her skills.

  A portal opened up behind her and she fell into it.

  "Hang in there Theo, helps on the way."