The thought of going home stayed with him until he drifted off. He allowed himself to drift, and somewhere between thinking about going home and taking another breath, the smell of damp earth wafted into his nostrils.
It wasn’t the same earth of the mud hut he lived in. This was cleaner somehow. He inhaled deeply; cool air brushed his face.
He opened his eyes and found himself standing on a stretch of land.
Where is this? Did I transmigrate again? His confusion was palpable.
He glanced around the area, then down at himself. He definitely hadn’t transmigrated. It was still the same small body. He was a little disappointed. He wanted to go back to his own bed, feel the coolness of the pillow under his palm.
He didn’t want to be wherever this was. But he couldn’t help wondering. He fell asleep, then woke up in this place. No matter where he turned, it was just land. He clicked his tongue, slightly annoyed.
If he had to guess, it was half an acre of land. He wasn’t a farmer or anything, but sometimes people get bored, and the internet is a treasure trove of information.
There were no buildings, tools, pathways, not even a single weed. Just rich, dark soil at his feet and an endless blue above. There wasn’t a single cloud in the sky. His conclusion to all this was that he was dreaming.
"So, now I’m dreaming about dirt? Couldn’t I dream about something entertaining at least?" He muttered to himself.
He walked around the expanse of land. He couldn’t leave no matter which way he turned. He was walled in on all sides. He stretched out a hand, and it was firm, like a wall, but misty.
He nodded, touching the wall, and started talking to himself. "So, psychologically, I’ve closed myself off from others, yet I’m hoping for clear skies in the rest of my life. I am blessed with vibrancy, but I need to begin sowing the seeds myself."
He punched the mist and yawned. Narrowing his eyes, he smacked his lips and looked around casually.
"That’s enough introspection for today. I blame my undiagnosed ADHD. Otherwise, why would I be talking to myself in my own dream about what it might, psychologically, mean?"
He closed his eyes and willed himself some ice cream. If he was going to have this leisurely dream, he needed to enjoy it thoroughly. He thought for a minute, but no ice cream appeared.
"Whatever, shitty dream. Next time I have a lucid dream, I need it to be with a hot guy who will rock my world ten ways from Sunday. Dream sex, fine; real sex, not yet."
He slid down the misty wall and dug his toes into the soil.
At the thought of real sex, he remembered that his body could now get pregnant; he shivered involuntarily.
Knowing there was a possibility he might get pregnant, he wanted to stay away. Not only to heal his heart, but to prevent pregnancy. No pregnancy x3. Important things must be repeated three times.
He closed his eyes. The air here was even better than the beast world. He decided that since he was having a lazy dream, he may as well enjoy it. He had a feeling the coming days wouldn’t be so lazy.
As he lay there, against the mist wall, his mind drifted again. This time, he went into a blissfully unaware sleep.
Enzo woke up the next morning before the sun was out. With no source of entertainment, he had fallen asleep early. It was better than staring at the empty walls.
An exasperated groan left his lips when he saw the plain walls again. He really did hope he would have gone home and that this whole beast experience was a one-time thing.
He rolled off the bed. Today, he would be joining the gathering team.
He learned from Zeli that a portion of the warriors had gone hunting. That’s why Enzo hadn’t met his beast father yet. They were preparing for winter. They needed a large amount of meat to feed the tribe, so the strongest warriors were sent out.
They would be returning soon.
As for the gathering team, they were expanding the search. The discovery of yam and sweet potatoes was recent. They wanted to expand the search and find more such foods. It was imperative for the coming winter.
Rin, the person who discovered the new foods, would be joining them. Enzo wanted to see who this Rin person was to prove to himself that it was all a coincidence. He didn’t believe he was in a novel, and he wanted to completely rule it out.
As long as the description of Rin in the novel and this Rin were different, he could feel at ease.
Shaking his head, he didn’t continue to dwell on it.
As he walked towards the water vat, he took notice of his feet. He was certain he had washed them off before going to bed, so why were they covered in dirt?
Twiddling his toes, he watched the dirt fall off. His mind flashed to the dream he had before. He had pushed his toes into the dirt, and now the very same toes were covered in the soil he had seen.
Wasn’t it a dream? He wondered. Testing his hypothesis, he lifted his foot, hopping around before steadying himself. He examined the dirt, dusted it off his foot, and even held some in his hand.
With each observation, his eyes widened.
IT WASN’T A DREAM!
Did he have a space? A space full of dirt is still a space.
The excitement filled him before he could stop it. He knew he needed a lot of food for winter. He didn’t have much hope, but if he had space, he could grow his own food.
He still needed to exercise. He would be burning a lot of calories. Without enough food, he couldn’t even dream about it. Now, with space, he could eat as much as he wanted.
Enze decided he needed to check it out. Just as he was about to think about entering, he heard his name.
"Enzo!" Zeli walked in. "Let’s go."
Enzo’s smile dropped. He grumbled to himself. He really needed to get a door soon. Anyone could just walk in. What if they caught him in the act of entering his precious space?
This was the same space Enzo wasn’t sure existed. As long as it existed to him, it didn’t matter; it was precious.
Now, he couldn’t test the theory. He got ready quickly. Grabbing the largest piece of coarse fur in the hut, he and Zeli left.