Evan wandered to the massive central market, weaving through narrow alleys crammed with shops and stalls walking with dozens of people.
He had been walking for nearly half an hour now, yet he still hadn't found what he was searching for.
Time passed.
The heat of the place was very oppressive now, pressing down on him like an invisible weight. The air itself seemed to suffocating Evan, as though it might kill a man by sheer heat and exhaustion of it.
"I still can't find a single clothing store with a low prices label…" Evan muttered to hearself releasing a heavy sigh of frustration. Sweat trickled down his forehead as he added under his breath, "And this damned weather it's hot enough to roast me alive here."
And his steps carried him with past stalls of goods until at last he found what he needed a stall, and a seller offering a waterskin.
Evan see's the labels of it. Two copper and two bronze. Evan thought, weighing the small pouch of money he carried in his sling bag. Not a bad deal, considering I'm dying of thirst here.
The waterskin itself reminded him of a tumbler from his school that he always used and drink it, and the kind he carried every day without a thought or consequences of it. The memory pulled a faint chuckle from his lips and mind.
With a sign of relief, he slowly opened it and drank deeply, savoring the cool liquid as it eased the dryness of his throat and lips
Evan continue to find a clothing store.
Seeking a quieter corner, Evan slipped into a narrow side alley lined with only a few scattered stalls and a few people. There he sat down, back against the wall, and reached into his sling bag. From it he pulled the last of his bread he buy earlier.
Evan then eating it slowly, and taking a comfort in each bite as he alternated with gulps from his new waterskin.
Even after all that had happened to him, it was hard for him to believe he was in another world. It still felt more like a dream than reality for him.
Everything around him was alien, the pointed arches of the houses and also curve arches, the thick walls, the old cobblestone streets. Even the very air seemed different for Evan.
This world had Empires or maybe even kingdom too, it also has a god. Evan said. 'The Divine Goddess' and powers beyond his imagination or even normal human could comprehend.
Evan recalled the white-robed man with the angelic face, wielding what looked like a holy light ability, it was divine, and holy, more terrifying, and nothing like the Earth he knew or remembered.
"It's so different here," Evan whispered to himself. "Everything…is very, very different."
He sat in that alley for nearly two hours, resting and gathering his thoughts and strength before resuming his search.
Time passed.
At last, he stumbled upon a modest little clothing shop nothing is extravagant, just plain wooden walls, floor, design and a humble appearance of it. Relief washed over him as he stepped forward to it, the creak of the wooden door became more louder in his ears.
Inside, an old man sat behind a counter, reading from a thick worn brown book. Its cracked leather cover looked as though it had survived in centuries.
The man glanced up at Evan, who was drenched in sweat and breathing heavily.
"Hm… what brings you here, young man?" the old man asked, setting his book aside. His eyes narrowed with concern. "You look exhausted as well. Are you okay?"
"Yes, yes sir. I'm fine, Still alive, at least," Evan said with a strained chuckle.
The old man leaned back in his chair. "If you say so. Then tell me are you here to buy clothes, or simply to rest?"
"Oh, I need a clothes," Evan admitted. "Maybe something cheap sir. My white shirt and black Slack are old and filthy now… and well, I can't keep going around like this, right sir?."
The shopkeeper nodded slowly. "I've got a linen shirts, and a long-sleeves, also a leather trousers. A simple set of it will run you twelve a copper."
Evan hesitated, weighing the coins in his mind. Twelve copper… that's almost half of what I've saved. But it's still cheaper than the other place. I suppose it's reasonable.
He nodded. "I'll take them."
Fishing through his sling bag, Evan pulled out the coins. His fingers brushed against his useless phone and paper pad, relics from a world that no longer mattered to this world. He handed the coins over, and the old man smiled.
"A fine choice. You've made a wise purchase," he said, motioning toward a curtained corner. "You can change over there."
Evan thank again the shopkeeper. And then resumed walking to the direction of changing room.
Evan stepped behind the curtain and began to change, peeling off his soaked white shirt and worn black slack before slipping into the linen shirt and dark trouser he had bought. He then hid the long white sleeve in his sling bag, just in case if his new linen shirt would be worn out, damage or dirtied. That long sleeve would be his back up clothes.
When he caught sight of himself in the mirror, he paused. The reflection staring back at him looked like a young man who belonged here, in this medieval world. The sensation was strange for Evan, it was familiar and foreign all at once.
He emerged from the changing space, offering a polite nod and thanks to the shopkeeper before stepping back out in the store and into the street again.
The sky had shifted by then. Clouds gathered overhead, blotting out the sun until the world seemed pale and gray.
It might rain soon, Evan thought, pulling his sling bag higher on his shoulder.
Now dressed like one of the townsfolk, he walked the central cobblestone path once more, weaving through bustling crowds of merchants and villagers.
His steps carried him toward a wooden bench near the crossroads leading to the church were he followed the sixteen people.
There he sat, crossing his leg, resting his bag on the table before him. His hand rose to his chin in a thoughtful pose, though in truth his mind was far from calm.
I have to survive in this world, Evan thought, his heart tightening. I have to find out why I was brought here… and how to return. I need to see my family again, and then eventually return to my home, my friends, my life again. If that's even possible.
For a brief moment, he imagined his mother's voice calling him for a breakfast, then afternoon, and dinner, and also the sound of the laughter in his old schoolyard, the glow of his phone screen.
All of it was fading now, like a dream upon waking to it.
The orange and golden light of the setting sun broke through the clouds at that moment, striking his face as though in answer.
Slowly the tiredness claimed Evan, his eyelid grow heavier, his exhausted body.
Evan closed his eyes briefly, feeling the warmth of the sunset, and waited for the right opportunity to begin.