Chapter 1: Afternoon Twilight
I'm not a native Japanese writer, this one is my work in english as proof of originality. I have also uploaded the Japanese version on this site translated using Gemini LLM and edited with ChatGPT. Feel free to read/comments in both of my works. I ensured that there are no misinterpretation in both version other than localized prose difference and stylistic choice which I have been monitoring closely.
The pale autumn sunlight cut through the dusty blinds, casting rigid bars across Otto’s small living room. It was 2:14 PM on a Sunday.
This was supposed to be his sanctuary—the few golden hours of the week where the corporate machinery couldn't touch him. Instead, his skin burned. A sudden, violent fever had spiked out of nowhere.
Otto stared at his half-empty mug of coffee, the steam rising lazily in the quiet apartment. He didn't hate his life; he was just entirely hollowed out by it, yet he lived for these safe, predictable boundaries. The hum of his refrigerator, the precise grid of his Excel sheets, the comforting monotony of his routine.
Dragging his heavy limbs to the futon, he collapsed into the sheets. Glow of mid-day sun blazed against his closed eyelids. He prayed for a brief, deep nap to sweat out the sickness before Monday arrived. He closed his eyes, longing for a peaceful, finite sleep.
Soon is sunset, and beyond that was twilight. Embraced by the fluffiness of slumber, Otto didn't realize that the sun had slowly set to the far west. The street lamps were lit up one by one, as those spending their weekend were preparing for the Monday morrow.
Alas,
For Otto. The finite sleep didn't come as expected; instead, as if distorted by great power, the scenery outside the dusty blinds was turned opaque. Unbeknownst to him, the usual city lights faded away from the vision of his bedroom, replaced with the dim atmospheric moonlight seeped through the patches of the paper screen, as the sound of critters faintly echoed beyond it.
As if still dreaming, Otto opened his eyes. The half-empty-discomforting feeling arose within his heart. He couldn't put it into words, but somehow something felt missing.
A certain fear arose as his skin was grazed by the chilly wind leaking from the patches of the perforated paper screen which jolted him away from his daze. He carefully inspected his surroundings only to find himself lying on top of a cold tatami mat, inside a room with a cathode-ray television sat on the corner. A faded calendar on the wall was pinned to the date he was born. Everything was perfectly still, as if untouched by hands for an unknown period of time.
The chilly wind grazed his skin once again, sending a shiver to his spine. He turned to look at the small gap on the sliding door only to find that on the outside, stretched a horizon of vast grasslands swaying along with the wind. The storm shutters (Amado) of the building seemed to have been breached by plant roots.
All in all, it seems that he had somehow awakened inside a retro-showa-style building in the middle of a vast grassland.
“Right.. this must be a dream.”
Otto stretched lazily as he laid back down trying to relax himself before waking up on Monday morning.
Alas, with the thought came the query.
How long has he been asleep exactly?
Otto wondered as his mind started turning its gear, slowly becoming more active.
As a result, the sleepiness slowly blurred, replaced with the somehow surreal yet extremely tangible sense of reality.
“Wait a minute.. I, I’m dreaming right?”
Otto said out loud trying to convince himself somehow.
“Ha.. Haha ha, is this some kind of a ridiculous fever dream everyone seems to be having? It must be like that right?”
He laughed nervously, yet the sense of surrealism only went away instead.
Cold sweat on his forehead, Otto clenched his fist tightly. His gaze turned to his clenched fist.
“Should I punch myself?”
He said, uncertain. Though, after a thorough deliberation he decided not to.
“Nah, that won't do, what if somehow I hurt myself? It will be a foolish act to hurt yourself when the condition is uncertain. Especially so, when said condition might be dangerous.” “Come on, please calm down dear old me!”
Otto monologued as he patted his cheeks with both palms, clearly trying his best to keep calm and control the panic that began to rise.
“R, right, I need a plan…”
“I wonder if I should check the outside…”
That was when the thought struck him.
‘Right, I forgot that outside might potentially be dangerous… I need to keep my voice down here, it’s decided then, I’ll explore the inside of this building first. It should be a pretty small area around here.’
However, just as he began to move, the old-cathode-ray TV flickered on, showing a moving static.
Otto, shocked, felt like his heart was about to stop for a brief moment. Dread filled up his entire being, his body trembled, as adrenaline reached the top of his head.
Unbeknownst to him, faint footsteps could be heard approaching the lodge he was in.
Thank you for your support to this humble author, and I hope you enjoy the narrative.
