The World With Two Moons

Why suddenly the pretty woman ran to her room once she tested her voice? With plain white robe, no jewellery, hairs loose on her body, the pretty woman almost threw herself at her. Her big lustre green eyes look at Hypatia with clear anxiety and hope.

Hmm.. It seems without knowing the language, humans are forced to skilfully deduct meaning from other's gestures and facial expressions alone.

The pretty woman talks to her again, holding her hand tight. When the pretty woman doesn't seem to get the reaction she hoped for, she turns her head and yells at the corner.

Hypatia tries to turn her head. She saw some young girls kneeling in the corner of her room. One of them starts crying. Her gesture seems like pointing at Hypatia, then the other girls nod and raise her hand frantically.

It seems.. They reported that they heard her speaking just now?

Due to her survival instinct, Hypatia decides not to reveal she could speak a language they don't know. But looking at the middle aged woman who came to them and slapped them hard, it surprised Hypatia.

This is the first time she saw violence in this world.

Wait, even in her original world she never saw this kind of violence again since she grew up. The only violence she experienced was when she was still a little girl, punished by her parents if she didn't study well.

The last violent thing she saw was when she was 15 years old. She saw people hit a motorcycle's thief with sticks and stones until the thief was bleeding hard. Later she heard they hit the thief until he died.

People were tired of getting their hard earned motorcycle stolen, and the thief hurt their victims too. Hypatia's neighbour died from a knife stabbed to his stomach when he defended himself, fighting with the thief who wanted to take his motorcycle. So.. Can't really blame people for punishing the thief they caught with death sentences.

She often saw bleeding people who came to the ER when she still took her internship many many years ago. She cleaned them, she cut them, she stitched them. But, seeing bleeding people as a doctor is different from seeing bleeding people on the street.

As a doctor in the hospital, your brain automatically switches the mode. How to save the patient? That is what they will think first.

People might think doctors lack empathy. While the family around the patient is crying like the world is going to end soon, the doctors have stoic faces and even ask the family to leave the room for them to focus on treating their patient.

When you have too many emotional thoughts, you can't treat the patient well.

That's why sometimes Hypatia laughs so hard when she watches medical dramas on TV. No doctors will cry and hit their head to the ER walls like their world will end soon once they lose the patient.

We'll cry.

Later.

When we go home, lying in our bed, stare at our empty walls. Not in the ER room.

If you cry in the ER room, you don't have time to professionally face your next patient. Sometimes, one doctor has to face 5 or 10 patients at the same time. Do you still have time to cry?

And now, Hypatia really couldn't handle seeing the woman slapped the girls again. She instinctively raise her hand to and shout, "Don't"

She is supposed to shout, but in reality, her voice is so weak and hoarse. All the people in the room froze and turned their heads to look at her.

The pretty woman suddenly burst into tears, she hugged Hypatia tight. Her small rosy lips saying many words in the middle of her cries.

Hypatia wants to curse herself. She just resolutely decided she won't reveal that she could speak an alien language and now she already broke it.

But to see the joy appear on everyone's face when they heard her voice, she was relieved. Maybe because it was an alien language these people don't understand, they assume she talks gibberish?

Hypatia sighed, at least she saved those girls from punishment.

The pretty woman kept crying and rubbing her hair softly. At last, Hypatia was tired and fell asleep.

The next morning when she woke up, she was cleaned again. The clothes they dress her body are so soft and cool on her skin. The weather outside seems to be around summer. They all dress thinly.

The old man, as usual, came to check on her again. Different from other days, at the end of their session the man looks at her closely and then opens his mouth.

"Aaaa.."

Hypatia frowned. What does he mean? The man kept repeating his act. His old hoarse voice was soft, as if encouraging the baby to talk.

Hypatia opened her mouth and imitated the man.

"Aaaa.." Her voice sounds like fragile dried leaves.

At this moment, Hypatia already knows that her gender is still the same as her original world. A girl. A young girl. She once moved her hand secretly to touch her private area. Mmm.. Yes, definitely a young girl.

The man almost jumped in joy when he heard Hypatia's voice. His eyes brightened, and say another word.

"Eeeeee.."

"Iiiii…"

"Oooo…"

"Uuuu.."

Hypatia diligently satisfies the old man's request. After repeating, the man asked her slowly.

"xxxx xx xxx xx xxxx?"

Hypatia blinked. Is she supposed to repeat those long words or answer? Listening to the speech, it seems the man is throwing questions at her.

The man repeated three times. Hypatia tries to imitate his speech with her limitation. She was really not talented in language. Her poor imitation instantly turns the joy into despair on the man's face.

This time the man asked her again, but with different words. Hypatia listens carefully and tries to imitate him. She sighed inwardly. Even a parrot could do a better job than her.

The man frowned, then said "Aaa.." until "Uuuu.." again.

Hypatia imitates him. Even though the accent is different from english or her native language, Hypatia is glad. If she was not mistaken, this should be a basic vowel for this world's language. It was the same with earth's major language. She should learn the language easier than she thought.

Starting from that day, the people around her seem to train her not only to move, but also to speak. Hypatia imitates their words diligently when they speak even though she doesn't understand the meaning.

Slowly, her body got stronger and could roll at ease, raising her hands and feet. She could also struggle to sit. Every time she manages to sit by herself, she sweats all over.

Learning language is hard if she tries to imitate their words and speech. She strives to learn the alphabet first, learn how to read and then learn their language.

The ability to read is very important. With reading, she could understand the meaning clearly, and also train her motor function at the same time.

Hypatia still couldn't walk or stand, so maybe she had to delay her first mission to go to the toilet by herself and strive to learn the alphabet while trying to achieve her first mission successfully!

But no matter where she looked, she didn't see any writing tools around her. Don't tell her this civilization didn't have an alphabet! Or maybe they still chisel on stone to write?

Oh God.. Please don't..

Hypatia wants to make gestures of writing or reading to signal them, but what if they really are still using stone to record?

In the end, Hypatia went back to diligently learn how to stand. Her legs and feet are so small, maybe muscles atrophy from bedridden for so long. Hypatia moved her legs in repetitive movements everyday, and gained her strength.

After many weeks, she finally could stand and walk for two steps before her legs gave away. She didn't fall since many people surrounding her carefully prevented her from harming herself.

Hypatia is really glad she seems to have transmigrated into a noble family. Even though the room still counts as crude compared to modern buildings, this could count as a luxurious room in an ancient setting.

Her bed is made from a large stone with four strong pillars around. The headboard is made from the same white stone. The mattress was soft enough, she suspected they filled the mattress with cotton or feathers. Pillows and soft blankets were abundant, clearly to make her laid down as comfortable as she could.

The thin curtain hanging from the hook in the ceiling, right on centre of bed, then flows flawlessly to the four curving pillars. When the girls who clean her room change her bed curtain they will use a tall thin gold metal with a hook to release the curtain.

Some thin pillar supporting her room's ceiling, large windows etch on two sides of her room. When the curtain lifted up, she could see a glimpse of a beautiful garden outside with many bushes and flowers.

Paintings and colourful rugs decorate the room, as well as several tables, big and small, with two couches near the window. Hypatia could see a mixture of ancient greek and egypt culture in this room. Or greek and roman?

Well, she never learned history in detail, this is what she deducts from watching too many historical dramas which she knew she couldn't rely on.

Is this because her grandmother named her Hypatia??? So she was transferred here? Into the body of a girl with the same name as her?

Yes. Slowly Hypatia noticed people called her by that name with a little bit of a different accent which made her didn't recognise it at the first time. This is really a cliche that always appears in every transmigration novel. Transmigrated into a character with the same name.

But she never read any novel with the same name as her! Or maybe.. She was not transmigrated but sent to ancient egypt?? The original Hypatia?

God.. Please don't say this is the truth. Hypatia felt she would ruin the history. In her fear, she already checked her mathematical ability in her brain, and she was still stuck in the same brain as she was.

Her grandmother was so in love with greek cultures, and named her with that name. Her name is really unique in her country. None of her friends named that way.

Hypatia.. A woman born in Alexandria, who was famous for being a genius mathematician. No, she could be counted as a universal genius. She was very very very gifted. The original Hypatia was never married, then murdered at the age around 45 or 65 years old.

Hypatia shuddered to imagine the death of the original Hypatia. It purely had political reasons, and because she was a gifted woman, people murdered her because of religious differences, saying she practiced satanism.

They kidnap her on the street, strip her naked, dig her eyeballs, beat her, tear her bodies to pieces, drag her limbs and broken body around the town, then burn her to death.

Yes.. This is why Hypatia is afraid if people find out she was a different soul living in this body, she will be tortured to death.

She was afraid of pain.

Even though her hands itched to draw a modern walker to help her rehabilitate herself and walk to the toilet, she held her itch and kept silent.

She might not have tools to draw, but she could use her hands to gesture the drawing to them. In the end, after reminding herself of the death of the original Hypatia, she didn't rush to do that.

One day, when the weather starts to turn cold and people start to dress warmly, add mantles to their body, Hypatia successfully walks from her bed to the couch near the window with the help of girls around her. It seems, these girls are her maid.

She wiped her sweat on her forehead and sat down on the couch, enjoying the wind brushing her hair and her cheek. She missed the feeling.

Her servant speaks to her, gestures that she needs to go back to her bed. Hypatia raised her hand, and shook her head. She wants to rest here for a while.

Looking at the green leaves hanging on the trees eases her chaotic mind. The colourful coquettish flowers in the garden, seduce her with their naive soft petals. Some of the foliage is starting to turn golden, it might be early autumn.

Hypatia looks at the strange flowers and trees outside her windows. Is this because she transmigrated into ancient time, so the trees and flowers are different from what she could remember on earth?

She missed the earth. She missed her original body. She missed her family and friends. She missed her mother.

If she really died in her original world, she was sure her mother would be very sad. Luckily she already bought life insurance several years ago. At least, USD 500,000 should be enough for her parents to live leisurely until the rest of their life. She was sure her father wouldn't dare to use the money from her death to play with his mistress.

Hypatia silently blinked hard, preventing tears from rolling on her cheek. If she cries now, her maid will turn into panic mode and call all the people again, filling her room.

Right now, she only wants to enjoy the scenery, calm her mind.

Until the sky turns yellow and golden, with reddish purple in the horizon, Hypatia still stares at the scenery outside. Her maid dragged the tables in front of her to serve the food. Even though she still only eats soft textures food, now her diet also has soft bread, some kind of pudding, and also soft textures fruits.

She slowly chews this green yellowish fruit with taste and textures like avocado. She sometimes gestures to her maid to eat with her. It was strange to eat alone and let people watch you closely. But they always refused to do that. Hypatia wants to laugh to remember how frightened they are when Hypatia offers the food to them.

She hoped it was because they were not supposed to eat the same food with her, not because this food is poisoned.

Until the sky turns dark blue, she decides to ease her maid's worries and wants to go back to her bed. She turned her head once again to the window, and she froze.

She blinked, and blinked again. She rubs her eyes and stares wide at the sky.

There's two moons hanging in the sky. One is a big grey bluish moon, around fifty times larger to the original moon in her world. The other's size similar to Earth's moon, with warm light yellow colours.

What the fuck???

This definitely is not earth! She's not reborn into the original Hypatia!

But.. Where does she transmigrate into? None of the comics, games or novels she ever read have two moons in their world!!!