Thursdays are always ordinary. They happen every week, after a Wednesday and before a Friday. And a Thursday night? Even more ordinary. No one remembers what they did on the Thursdays last week or the week before.
For those hardworking nerds and geeks who labor all day, getting home at night means rest and by "rest," they mean playing some games, watching a movie, or checking out the next episode of that long-awaited TV series.
Bob Nilig or Bob "Twig" to his close friends ("the real friends call him that," he says) was one of those hardworking nerds. He love his Thursday nights of rest.
"Love" would be an exaggeration; "enjoy" would be more precise. He just liked doing nothing binge-watching series, movies, playing video games… always accompanied by sweet treats or greasy fast food.
The nickname "Twig" was ironic: contrary to what the name suggested, he was fat, lazy, and unconcerned with his health living a peaceful life of blissful ignorance.
But tonight's Thursday would be different. At least by the end.
While coming back from work, scrolling through Instagram, when he saw the trailer for the new series in the Game of Thrones franchise, Twig felt like rewatching the show.
"I guess I'll start watching again… it's been a while. I don't even remember most of the story, especially the first seasons. Heh."
After watching a few episodes of the first season, he felt hungry and ordered a hot dog through the app.
"Awesome, a coupon! Two for the price of one!"
Luck day… or maybe not.
While watching, he muttered to himself:
"Man, I didn't remember so much details… crazy! How can a guy throw a child off a tower?"
"That Lannister is such a bastard, my God".
Suddenly, he heard the familiar sound:
Honk! Honk!
"Hmm… I guess the food's here".
Back inside with his snack in hand, Twig opened the package and started eating. The first hot dog was devoured quickly then came the second. As everyone already knew, his health had never been a priority.
Completely immersed in the series, he didn't notice when something suddenly changed. Strange lights began flickering before his eyes too fast and random to focus on. A numbness spread across half of his face. Before he could react, everything went dark.
The comfort of the living room vanished. A silent, absolute void took its place.
"Wake up, kid!!"
Twig felt a dull impact on his head. He gasped in pain.
"Ow! My head!"
"Get up, you useless boy!" the voice was firm, almost a shout. "I don't have time for your nonsense! Get up and do your work!!"
It didn't take long for Twig to realize that the environment around him was unfamiliar. This wasn't his living room. A few straw beds covered with old rags lay nearby, and the air carried the awful smell of aged wood. There was no comfort at all. Bob didn't recognize where he was.
"Where… where am I?" he murmured, trying to get up. Everything felt strange smaller, lighter, yet weaker.
"Quick brat! Get up now!" the voice sounded closer, authoritative, impatient.
Struggling, he leaned up. His head still throbbed. And then he saw: a man standing in front of him. He wasn't tall, but he radiated an almost threatening energy.
"I… I don't know what's happening" he said, voice failing.
"Are you still dreaming, boy!?" the figure snapped impatiently. "You have a ton of work to do! I have no time for your nonsense!"
A chill ran down his spine. Thursday night, the hot dogs, the TV series… it all felt so close, yet so distant almost like a dream.
And a question emerged in his mind, firm and frightening: "who is this person? What does he want from me?"
"Sir… I'm confused. Who are you? Where am I? Where's my home?" Each movement his body made was a struggle every muscle felt strangely weak and far too light.
The man tilted his head, impatient.
"Crazy boy, this is your home!"
Bob got up. Something about him was different. His body was thin, fragile, almost like a twig. The nickname finally made sense.
Before he could absorb the reflected image, a sharp pain hit him. As if thousands of memories of a life he had never lived were dumped into his mind.
Unknown faces, strange places, skills he had never practiced… everything flooded his consciousness at once, spinning, throbbing, confusing.
"Ow… what… what's happening to me?" he murmured, holding his head.
The figure watched silently. Bob knew, somehow, that something had changed forever. He was no longer the Bob he had been. Memories of a life that wasn't his emerged, mixed with his own identity.
Gradually, he managed to focus again on the man in front of him. He recognized who it was.
"Saul…" he murmured, still feeling the weight of the shock.
Saul, the owner of the inn where the boy worked. What was told is that his mother, a vagrant prostitute, had abandoned him at a very young age, leaving him under the care of Saul's wife, who had already passed away.
As a small… servant, Bob lived under Saul's orders. Surviving on simple tasks: cleaning, inn chores, cooking, chopping wood… everything to avoid going hungry and, in a way, to survive.
Saul snorted, cast an impatient glance at the skinny young man, and said, in a dry voice:
"Get to work brat! Stop bothering me!"
Without waiting for a response, he turned and resumed his activities.
The boy, driven by impulse or perhaps by fear of another scolding dashed out of the room and all the way outside the inn. The fresh air hit his face, and for a few fleeting seconds, he felt a sense of relief, simply from being away from the strict innkeeper.
But as he moved through the courtyard, something strange began to happen. Fragments of memories started emerging, quick and confusing, like flashes of a life that wasn't his. Afeter the assimilation some fragments become more acentuated
But as he moved through the courtyard, something strange began to happen. Fragments of memories started emerging in his mid, quick, confusing, flashes of a life that wasn't his. Yet among them, a few fragments stood out.
Iron Throne.
Kings.
Dragons.
Wars.
His eyes widened, his heart raced. The next step forward froze mid-motion. This dream world he was living right now wasn't his at all and yet, somehow, for reasons he couldn't explain, it was now.
"Holy shit…"
"Fuck…"
"I'm screwed…" he thought, staggering slightly, unable to take it all in at once. "I… I am in Westeros!"