The Hidden World

I didn't know where I was going. I just thought I'd just wander around until I discovered something interesting. I walked through my small town of only six thousand people. A normal town with the usuals. Mayor, bank, school, park, and etcetera. I disappeared into the trees and grass and animals. The sun felt wonderful. I continued to wander until I wandered out of the trees and noticed that I wasn't in my town. Or anywhere else I knew of.

The air smelled wonderful. No smoke, no car emissions, no sounds of machinery hammering away, no stores, and etc. Just wonderful beautiful air and land. The trees were not of brown bark and green leaves, but of strange colors I have never seen before. None in any way of what my world considered normal. There is no way I can describe the colors. I continued to wander until I mounted a hill and below was a strange town. I hesitated for a moment because the town appeared to be nothing like mine.

There were towers of strange contortions, odd houses of twisted walls, lands of, again, strange indescribable colors. I walked down a small hill, and entered the town. At first I saw no one. Only the contorted shops and stupidly constructed what looked like cars.

Then, a... person? A creature about my hight, but with a head covered in green fuzz, as were the hair on his(?) arms and legs. I noticed he walked barefoot, his feet of three toes, hands of three fingers. Eyes set far back in his head, a nose so odd- no nostrils but holes in the top of the fleshy knob.

He wore what seemed to be a vest, short- pants, though pants is not the correct term, but that is the only term I could think of, and cannot even describe what he(?) wore.

The stores(?) were odd as well. Built on a slant on both sides, a large door, and something that was not glass but of an odd construct I have never felt nor been able to feel. Nothing like the glass of our world.

I continued to walk, the small creature acting as if he didn't see me. As I walked, others of his ilk also walked around, moving in and out of the stores, bringing out baskets of- food?

Nothing I have ever seen, nothing to even be a causal sensation to our own food.

I finally stood still, with my arms and legs spread as wide as I could get them to hopefully impede the people(?) from going on their way.

Finally, one of the males(?) stopped and looked up at me with that one eye.

"Whate des sim?" I asked him.

"I don't understand you."

He seemed to clear his throat.

"I see. You speak a strange tongue we have heard only once before. A tongue taught to us by another visitor very similar to you. His name was, uh, let me think a moment."

A long silence ensued, and I wondered if he even realized I was still there. Suddenly he looked up at me.

"His name was Stanford Riley. Do you know of him?"

I stared at him in shock.

"Yes, I know of him. I know of him because he is one of the greatest physicists in my world. Do you know what a physicist is?"

"Yes of course I do. We have physicists."

"Did he explain what happened?"

"Yes. Very simply so I could understand."

"Did he explain what happened? How he came to be here?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"And what?"

"What else happened?"

"He left."

"Just like that? No more questions? No more of anything?"

"Well, no."

"When did he leave?"

"Just before you came."

"But how..."

"Allow me to take you to our physicist. He will explain."

He left and I did indeed follow him to another house not far from his own.

When he knocked on the door, a man that looked almost like the man I have been talking to answered.

"Ah! A new one! Please come in. I never thought I would see another one of you. Are you in the same theory as the other?"

"If you mean am I a physicist, I am."

"Good! Good. Please come with me. I have some theories I need you to read. I want to know if they are viable."

I could do nothing but do as he asked. He gave me the papers, and as I read, I became totally enthralled with his theories and mathematical results.

"Why, I have never seen such fantastic equations." I turned to him. "Are they real? I mean, do they actually fit in with what I wrote down?"

"Yes, they fit very nicely. You have no idea what your equations matched with mine have discovered."

"May I ask, what kind of discoveries?"

"Oh, my friend, such strange discoveries you have never dreamed of. But you must go now. If you don't, you will no longer exist. You have only so long that you may stay. We must say goodbye now. It is very important that you leave, as we explained to your friend. You must leave. Immediately."

"But I don't know how. And why must I leave?"

"If you don't, we will all be destroyed."

"But I..."

"No! No more talking. Follow me. I know where you came from, that is the spot in this land you appeared to. Come quickly."

The small creature tugged on my sleeve and with a strength I didn't know he possessed he pulled me along as if I were a balloon.

We soon stood where I had entered, and apparently where my friend entered.

"Now, you must leave, or we will all die."

"But why? How will I kill you?"

"By your very existence. You are not of us, so you are not of this land. And you are a blight on our self-worth. In only a moment, you will disappear and you will be returned to your own lands.

We don't know how this works, but it does. There have been other creatures who have visited us, and have sent them on their way in the same way I will be sending you. Please. Go."

"Very well. I don't want any of you to suffer. But may I return to visit you?"

"No. You will not be able to. Once you go through, the portal will be forever closed to your kind. Please take your place."

I did, and in only a quick moment I found myself back where I started. I sat down and you have just read what I have written about my experiences.

Believe or not, I don't care. I know it happened...