Evan fell asleep on the wooden bench.
The wind, the air, even the sounds of both near and far, everything was calm as always. As if the century passed in Evan.
Slowly, the orange-golden sky shifted into a dark crimson night sky. The clouds thickened, growing heavier and darker gray, as though rain might fall at any moment.
Time passed.
A single drop of water landed on Evan's head. He stirred in his sleep frowning slightly, before a light rain began to fall in the whole village. Evan slowly forced to open his heavy eyelids.
In that moment, he wasn't fully awake yet he is still half asleep, and half unconscious.
Still he immediately stood up, muttering in confusion, "What is happening?"
It took him a second to realize it was raining. A light rain, Evan then quickly scanned his surroundings, searching for cover for herself.
Around him the townsfolk scattered, rushing into their open stalls or homes and closing their stalls as the rain began to fall harder.
Evan spotted a large oak tree near the chapel gate. There he hissed under his breath. He ran across the cobblestone crosswalk, dodging between people who were also rushing for shelter like him.
Moments later, Evan reached the tree. He bent forward gasping for her breath.
His hands went to his new clothes, a linen shirt, and his leather trousers checking if they were soaked. They were only a little damp. He let out a light sigh and closed his eyes briefly.
"Why does it have to rain now?" Evan complained aloud, brushing his wet dark hair back with one hand. "What a problematic situation I'm in."
He slowly sat down and leaned his back against the oak tree staring out at the sky. Slowly, the crimson twilight faded into a deep, dark night.
The breeze grew colder biting through his damp clothes. Evan crossed his arms tightly against his chest to fight off the chill of it.
The rain grew heavier and stronger, pounding the cobblestones.
Through the heavy downpour, the only thing Evan could clearly see were the dozens of lanterns hanging from wooden poles that lined the crosswalk. Their light swayed weakly in the storm, giving off the faint, and trembling light.
Resting his hands lazily in his lap, Evan stared at them, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "Why does this look so familiar? Lanterns on wooden poles… it's almost like the modern streetlights back home, only those were metal, not wood. So close… yet so far." Moments passed.
He chuckled softly, remembering a funny event from his elementary school days. For a moment, he laughed alone under the oak tree even as the heavy rain continued pouring.
Afterward, he dug into his sling bag and pulled out his phone. He pressed the power button once. Twice. Nothing. The screen remained still black.
"…Still useless," he muttered. The memory stung. "It was fully full when I left school… I remember the percentage of the battery is 80% or more."
A bitter laugh escaped him before he slipped the phone back into his bag.
Maybe he could sell it, or maybe it would find some used to the future, but for now it was nothing more than a dead weight for Evan.
The cold breeze continued to gnaw at him. The heavy air pressed down like an invisible weight to him, and with it came a sharp pang of loneliness inside Evan.
Hours passed.
At some point, Evan noticed two silhouettes standing near the church gate. He stared at them for a long moment.
Even through the rain poured heavy, he could tell they were soldiers, guarding the entrance despite the storm.
The rain eased into a drizzle. Evan's eyelids grew heavier with every blink.
Then came the sound. A faint clatter of wooden wheels. Hoofbeats splashing through puddles. Growing louder in louder, more closer now.
"The time must be close to midnight… or is it already past midnight?" Evan whispered to himself.
The sound grew deafening, echoing in his ears.
He turned his head slowly toward the source of the sound.
Two horses appeared from the gray fog pulling the carriage. Its frame was white lined with golden patterns.
At its center gleamed a crest shaped like a blazing sun, radiating a faint golden glow. Along the panels were etched ancient symbols their meanings is unknown yet they pulsed with a quiet, and more a holy light.
Evan straightened, his exhaustion washing away slowly his sleepiness was replaced with something else a strange, unexplainable energy.
"A… carriage?" he muttered. His brows furrowed. "That's… medieval. I thought carriages were invented in the seventeenth or eighteenth century?"
He chuckled quietly at his own thought. "No… this world is different, of course it is. Full of mysteries, dangers… and things far beyond the modern human life could comprehend."
The carriage rolled forward driven by a man in a long black coat. His face was hidden beneath the darkness of the night and the faint fog that clung to the cobblestone streets.
As Evan stood frozen, the white carriage passed close by. The wind it carried brushed against his clothes and skin before it stopped at the church gate.
With a deep creak, the dark gray gates began to open. The two soldiers marched forward to meet the carriage, speaking with the driver in low voices. Evan couldn't make out the words only muffled murmurs carried by the drizzle.
The rain still continued steady, but now it became a light rain.
Then, at last, the main carriage door opened.
A man in white robes stepped out. The same style of robes Evan had seen on the execution platform earlier.
Evan squinted through the fog and raindrops. He couldn't make out the man's face.
"A mysterious robed man…?" Evan whispered. His voice trembled with a mix of caution and excitement. "Could this be the librarian? The one those soldiers mentioned this morning?"
If it was, then this was the chance he had been waiting for.
His pulse quickened.
"This might be it," he whispered, his eyes narrowing with determination.
Gripping his sling bag tightly, Evan stepped forward, inch by inch, toward the carriage and the white-robed man speaking with the guards.
This could be his last opportunity. And he couldn't let it slip away.