Tane's Quest for Love

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.

I had light shining in my face, forcing me to squint my eyes. I could hear voices around me and hear something being sloshed about. It seemed like I had been asleep for days.

My head hurt horribly and I felt like a horse had kicked me in the stomach. The ground beneath me felt soft and rough at the same time. It gave with some amount of give but at the same time felt as if I were laying on stone or something. I opened my eyes slightly to try to get some kind of idea where I was supposed to be. There were trees above me and they seemed to be moving and swaying but that could just be an effect from my state of mind.

I tried to remember what happened before I ended up here but all I could recall is flashes here and there. They are so fuzzy that they might have actually been dreams instead. That's when I heard a voice behind me say: "There he is."

It sounded like one of those kids voices you would never forget after hearing them once or twice. A loud obnoxious voice that would have a tendency to stick in your head no matter what you did-like that kid from school who always wore a cape everywhere he went and bragged about how he had super-powers and could leap over buildings in a single bound or something ridiculous like that. There were also other sounds around me which I can't quite identify-it sounded like people mumbling quietly amongst themselves but then again maybe that's just how things sound when you're concussed and confused as hell.

I slowly opened my eyes just enough so that I could see out of them without any risk of cracking them open too wide and making bright lights shoot into my brain which would make me want to throw up so bad that even thinking about throwing up would make me want to throw up more than thinking about eating chocolate whilst eating chocolate makes you want to vomit right before you eat chocolate whilst eating chocolate makes you vomit after eating chocolate makes you think about throwing up while eating chocolate while eating chocolate is going to make you vomit while eating chocolate but then suddenly stops because now you're remembering things you ate years ago in school and aren't hungry anymore because now you're looking at children running around playing tag with each other and shouting loudly at each other while also trying to keep their balance on these weird wooden platforms they made out of tree branches that they hammered into the ground as they ran around in circles until finally one kid trips over his own leg tripping him over onto his face which causes him to laugh hysterically on his back with his hands waving about in front of him making strange shapes as he tries to catch his breath when suddenly someone else walks by carrying something in one hand with another person following behind holding onto his shoulder whispering something into his ear which gets louder with every step he takes until finally he can't hear them anymore until suddenly he does again when suddenly he doesn't again when suddenly he does again when suddenly...

I woke up later with a headache. Things didn't seem much clearer than they did before except now I wasn't outside anymore - it looked like somewhere indoors although where exactly I wasn't sure. My head didn't hurt as much anymore but now I couldn't move anything other than my neck which left me staring directly into the ceiling which seemed to be made out of some kind of cloth - probably tapestry or something similar judging by how delicate looking it appeared - interwoven with gold thread into some kind of pattern that looked vaguely familiar but not quite enough for me to place it properly if this wasn't some sort of interior decoration instead so either way this whole thing wasn't adding up properly making me feel even more confused than before making me wonder if these feelings were real or if they were just another symptom from whatever hit my head so hard earlier judging by how off everything looks right now almost as if this whole place was deserted except for whatever oddities happen to stand out enough for me to take notice followed by my own imagination filling in all other aspects until this whole place took on a completely different appearance making everything look spooky enough for me imagine myself trapped inside some sort of haunted house instead except places don't get haunted unless...

I sat up quickly only barely glancing around quickly enough not wanting anyone nearby seeing my movements or noticing anything happening until finally turning myself around on whatever this thing is I'm laying on except before long I noticed something different sitting next to what looked oddly similar to a table standing next to me making two legs longer than two others and four sides shorter than all others standing on top three legs pointing towards what looked strangely familiar making this whole situation even weirder which is saying something given how weird things already are suddenly reminding me vaguely off those old fairy tales everyone used read about as kids making this situation all kinds worse for me making this damn headache resurface again along with memories reminding me why everything looks familiar now reminding me what happened before suddenly causing everything start flashing through my mind causing blood rushing through every vein possible causing every muscle twitch uncontrollably causing every breath shallow cause every heartbeat fast causing every hand sweat cause every eye water causing...