The sound of a police siren was in the air. Miro's eyes slowly opened, and he found himself in a back alley, covered in old newspapers.
He was about to grab one, but it was blown away by the wind. He felt something warm and turned around, seeing Elvo warming themselves by a fire.
"You're finally awake," they sighed.
"What… where am I?" Miro slowly got up.
"In the future. You asked for this, remember?"
Miro's eyes grew wide, remembering what had happened to him. He stood up, panicked.
"Oh no… how many days have I been in this dingy alley?"
"Like six days," Elvo smirked.
"WHAT?!"
"Also… all women disappeared from Lexem five minutes ago. Such a shame for you." Elvo let out a little laugh.
Miro slapped his hand on his forehead.
"Remember when I told you to work on your terrible jokes? Forget about that, just stop with them."
Elvo flew up to him.
"My joke might not have been funny, but it's half true."
Miro looked at them, confused.
"Okay, so yes… the last joke was a lie, but the first one, not…"
Miro started to panic again.
"What? No, how would that be possible? What was I doing for six days?!"
"Ooooh no, haha, not six days, but three. You see, it was half a joke." Elvo had a teasing smirk on their face.
Miro grabbed Elvo, holding them tightly.
"Don't play with me right now! My life is at stake. Tell me everything that happened, no riddles."
Elvo smiled uncomfortably.
"Of course, of course. Well, therefore, I prepared a song."
Miro groaned loudly.
"Not this again."
They cleared their throat.
"On dayyyyy one, Miro wouldn't wake upppp
On dayyyyy two, Miro would still not wake uppp
And day three has finally arrived
And it turns out Miro has survived"
They panted, clearly out of breath.
"Oh boy, I think your stamina has gotten worse."
Elvo glared at him.
"That is… not… true."
Miro laughed at them.
Elvo started to get annoyed.
"Well, at least I want Sleeping Beauty for three days straight."
Miro's expression grew serious again. He looked around, up to the dark sky, the stars and moon giving a soft light. He saw cars passing by and people walking down the street, chit-chatting with each other.
"So, if I understand that song correctly, this is now my third day?"
"Yes, and almost your fourth, there are only a few hours left."
Miro's dark hair shone in the moonlight, the soft wind blowing through it.
"We'll need to find shelter for a few days and then make a plan. Let's go."
He put out the fire and started walking out of the alley. His eyes stumbled upon a chic five-star hotel. Intrigued, he walked inside. Miro had never seen anything like it before. He lived in a small house in a village where people traveled by horses and carriages. Here, there were cars and hotels, he had no idea how everything worked.
He wandered around the hotel, unsure what to do, when a man in a fancy suit walked up to him.
"Hello there, good evening, sir." He shook Miro's hand.
"Hello, sir." Miro bowed to him.
"Well, I don't see that every day," the man chuckled.
"I learned it from home: to always bow to my elders." Miro touched his arm awkwardly.
"Where are you from, young man?"
"Oh, I'm from very far away. But where I'm from, we don't have all of this." He spun around, showing the place. "But I need somewhere to stay for a few nights. Would you know where I could stay?"
"You're in a hotel, son! You can stay here," the man said, looking at Miro again. "If you have the money for it, of course."
Miro laughed awkwardly.
"Money, you say? Hahah… aaah yes, money."
"If you want, I can give you a job for a few days. In return, I'll let you stay in this hotel and eat whatever you want for the rest of the week." The man gave off a suspicious vibe, but Miro was lost in dreams about the offer.
"I accept the job," he said happily.
"Good. Follow me."
He followed the man to his hotel room. It had a dark, fancy vibe, with a mini pool inside, a big chandelier, and a king-sized bed.
"Wow, this is fantastic." Miro walked in, astonished. "What do I have to do, by the way?"
The man handed him a phone.
"I'll send you a message with instructions. You'll start tonight, you'll go to a private party, and there you'll receive further explanation."
"Oh, thank you." Miro bowed to him again as the mysterious, suspicious man walked out. As soon as he was gone, Elvo appeared.