Character Interview. Aviela Menchu.

We meet at a cozy corner cafe. Aviela sits across the circular table, her hands around a hot cup of cocoa.

“I can’t get used to the cold,” she says, taking a sip. “It’s so much colder here. I can’t believe I used to live here.”

”How come you decided to meet here, on Earth?”

“It’s where it all started for me,” she says, looking out the window where several people hurry to get away from the downpour. “I was born here. I actually used to work a few summers in this very cafe.”

“Really? It must feel strange to be back here now.”

“It is, and somehow it isn’t. My two lives never really met, so these old memories aren’t affected by what happened on Gebeth.”

“Tell me about Gebeth. How did you feel when you first realized you were on another planet?”

She laughs and shakes her head. “I was absolutely terrified. Because, you know, it was an alien world. And yet, it was so similar to my own Realm. I felt so comfortable there. I had never been more at home. This is what shocked me most of all.”

“Now that you have gotten used to living there, what do you enjoy the most?”

“Gebeth is a world like ours, with various cultures and ways of life. But they have something that unites them all – their powerful gods. Only one religion brings people together in a unique way, especially since in this case, their faith stands on reality. Yet, I can’t help but feel happy to have grown up on Earth, where diversity plays such a big role. I am in love with the idea of multiple philosophies working together to make the world a better place.”

“What about Deshmet, the leading country of Gebeth? What do you like about

your new home?”

“Oh, Deshmet is a place like none other.” Aviela’s whole face lights up.

“It is exquisite! The people, the food, the culture! It’s hard to pick a favorite.”

“What if you had to choose one?”

She ponders for a moment, then laughs. “The food! It has to be the food! I can

never get enough of their fruit.”

For a minute, we are both quiet, sipping our drinks and looking out at the dull gray weather. It is a comfortable silence. We are both just enjoying the moment in the warm cafe.

“You accepted your new world fairly quickly,” I say after a while. “How about the people there? What did they think about you?”

“Oh, well...It depends on who you ask. Most didn’t even know I existed at first. They must have thought I was just some weirdo who didn’t know how stuff worked. Algar though...” She laughs again. “He was so sure he was going to meet some powerful warrior. But then I showed up and didn’t even know how to open a simple door...”

We are both laughing now. She has a happy, musical laughter. It is hard not to feel uplifted by it.

“I am glad it all worked out in the end. It must have been a huge relief.”

“Oh, yeah. Honestly, I didn’t quite believe we would succeed until it was actually done...” Her smile fades. A painful shadow darkens her eyes. “Our enemies weren’t exactly fluffy bunnies. Even though one of them really liked fluffy clouds...”

She grimaces a little and runs her fingers through her hair, as if testing that she is still herself.

“It must have been terrifying. How did you recover from it all?”

“One day at a time. Lots of nightmares. Flinching at flashes of light. Paranoia when anyone looked remotely familiar.” She runs the tip of her spoon along the edge of her cup. “Algar has helped me a lot. It gets easier every day.”

“Your story will be out soon. Doesn’t it feel strange to make the hardest moments of your life available for everybody to read?”

“I thought so at first. I started writing it just for myself, as a form of therapy. But the more I wrote, the more I wanted to share it with people. Maybe it can help someone to see that however hopeless a situation seems, there is always a way out. Stay true to yourself, be kind and loyal. Good things will come. And if all else fails, at least it is a fun adventure to take part in.”

“That it is. Is there anything else you wish to add to this interview?”

“Love your family. Don’t take each other for granted. And if one of you ever stumbles into another dimension, give it a go. You can find happiness in the unlikeliest of ways.”

With that, we pay our bill and leave. I look after her as she strolls down the street, glancing up at the rain as it continues to pour down.

I smile. What amazing adventures she has been through, what pain she has endured. And yet, she stops to enjoy raindrops on her face. This is a lesson to be learned by us all.