"...what day is it?"
A young man with long, messy black hair covering his eyes, a mustache and beard covering his face, and a body that consists of nothing but skin and bones. His plain white shirt is torn, covered with dirt, sand, and blood. His brown pants aren't looking much better either. His entire body is covered with scars. Next to him are a handmade wooden spear and bow, both look like they had gone through a war.
This young man's name is Lin ZhiJiang. He was an exchange student from China, and saying he had a misfortune is a complete understatement.
He was an average college student in Beijing who managed to secure the student exchange program to Cambridge University after months of sleepless nights studying. On his way to the university, the plane he's on somehow got caught in a thunderstorm, causing the plane to crash into the sea.
When he woke up, he somehow found himself on a deserted island with no way to return to the mainland. He had zero idea how to survive in the wild, being a student who was too comfortable living in a city, and every day was a living hell for him. With how many close calls he had during his first year, he wondered if he should do a lottery once he got rescued.
A year turns to two. Two years turn to three, and three years turn to 6. As time went on, his hope slowly diminished, and he had stopped counting, focusing on survival, but he was slowly wondering what's the point of survival, as he's going to die sooner or later.
To make things even worse, food had become harder to find for him. He hadn't eaten enough food for several weeks, and he was slowly losing strength, feeling his life losing its grasp in the mortal world.
"..." ZhiJiang glances at the sun slowly descending into the sea with a blank stare; his vision becomes blurry. He simply sits on the sand, waves crashing into his feet, losing the strength and will to even continue.
He hates his current situation. He hates that the world is messing with him. He hates how futile his attempt to survive and cling to hope that he might get rescued. He hates that he can't go back and give his parents a warm embrace. He hates that he can't apologize to them for making them worry. He hates that he can't meet them to show he's still alive.
"...mom, dad...are you...guys still...looking for me...?" ZhiJiang mutters weakly, tears escaping his eyes. "I'm...sorry..."
With that final word, he closed his eyes before his body went limp.
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???
"...is he?"
"...cargo?"
"...here?"
"Who...?"
"...he...?"
ZhiJiang can't help but groan at the constant noise as he opens his eyes before covering them, hissing at how bright everything is. He pauses a bit before looking at his hands, covered in white long sleeves.
He panics a bit before glancing down and seeing his upper body is covered with a white long-sleeved shirt, while his lower body is covered with a blanket. ZhiJiang feels his brain short-circuit as he tries to process what is going on. He was pretty sure he was dead, dying on a deserted island with no hope of getting rescued by anyone. He was sure Death had claimed his soul. He was very sure he didn't get himself into a...messy room?
ZhiJiang immediately tries to get up, but his entire body feels very weak, and he ends up crashing his chin first into the ground with a loud thud. ZhiJiang can't help but yelp in pain, clutching his possibly bruised chin before hearing a commotion from outside the room.
"Hey, he's awake!" A cheery girl's voice can be heard from the other side, causing ZhiJiang to stiffen. Wait, did he get rescued? Or did he get kidnapped?
"Let's check on him," A mature woman's voice replies to said voice as ZhiJiang can't help but feel his heart beating like a drum. He had zero idea what was going on, and he unconsciously crawled backward while staring at the door.
As the door opened, he was greeted by a beautiful red-haired woman in a white dress and a black leather jacket hanging on her shoulder. Behind her, there's a pink-haired girl with a cheery smile wearing a blue and white long-sleeved shirt and a black skirt.
"Hello," The red-haired woman greets, making ZhiJiang nervous.
"H-hi..." ZhiJiang greets back and yelps when the pink-haired girl suddenly gets closer.
"Hi there! I'm March 7th!" The girl greets. "Who are you? Why are you in the Astral Express? Where are you from? And-?!"
"March," The red-haired woman interrupts her. "I understand you're curious, especially when this young man suddenly appeared at the train cargo. But, let's leave the interrogation later after we check if he's fine."
"...train cargo?" ZhiJiang mutters in confusion and disbelief. He somehow got into a train cargo? Since when did a train run on water?
"Sorry," March 7th says sheepishly before looking at ZhiJiang and flashing a bright smile, which ZhiJiang had to cover his eyes.
"Are you okay?" The woman asks him with a concerned tone, which caught Zhi Jiang off guard.
"...I am very confused..." ZhiJiang says honestly.
"Do you remember what happened?" The woman asks.
"...I remember I died," ZhiJiang says, causing March to gasp in horror and the woman to widen her eyes. "...stranded on a deserted island, lose count on days....giving up on hope...I...I..."
"Shh," The woman says as she wipes off the tears escaping ZhiJiang's face, something he didn't even realize. "Easy...you don't have to continue..."
"...s-sorry..." ZhiJiang says as he wipes his tears off himself.
"Don't apologize..." The woman says calmly. "I'll go get some food for you. You must be starving. March, can you stay here with him for a moment?"
"Don't worry," March 7th says with a thumb up. "I'll take care of him!" The woman chuckled softly before leaving the room.
"...I'm Lin ZhiJiang," ZhiJiang mutters, surprising March. "...you introduced yourself earlier, right?"
"Oh, right! Hehe..." March says as she rubs the back of her head. "Your name...why does it remind me of Dan Heng?"
"...who?" ZhiJiang can't help but ask, confused.
"Ah...he's a fellow Nameless like me!" March explains, saying it was an obvious thing.
"Nameless...?" ZhiJiang mutters in confusion. "But...didn't you say your name is March 7th?"
"...you have no idea, huh?" March sweatdrops and ZhiJiang shake his head. "... Alright, so what do you know?"
"...I honestly thought this was a dream, but I remember I died not long ago....and I somehow feel pain," ZhiJiang says as March feels a bit uneasy hearing all of it. "Also, train? Sorry, but how does a train run on water?"
"...what kind of backwater planet did you come from?" March can't help but blurt out, causing ZhiJiang to splutter. Why did March ask such a thing!? She sounds like an alien who never visits Earth, when she's a human herself!
Before he could reply, his attention was caught by the window, and he froze in shock upon seeing what was on the other side. A beautiful scene of stars moving. He unconsciously gets up and tries to walk towards the window, but he stumbles before getting caught by March.
"Whoa, whoa. Easy there. You almost fall again." March says in concern.
"...that's a space..." ZhiJiang stammers as he points at the window.
"...well, duh," March says with confusion. "Why do you sound like you've never seen it?"
"...I've only seen it in sci-fi movies...how long since I have watched one...?" ZhiJiang mutters the last part quietly, but given that March is right beside him, she hears him.
"...I am so confused right now..." March says.
"You're confused!?" ZhiJiang exclaims, albeit a bit too loud, causing March to flinch. "...s-sorry, it's just...I have zero idea what is going on?"
"...you can start asking one by one, I'll try my best to answer," March says kindly. "But, before that, how about some introduction with each other, telling each other about ourselves?"
"...yeah, sure..."
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Later
"Sorry to keep you waiting," The woman says as she enters the room, and behind her, a humanoid bunny wearing a conductor's uniform with a pair of very long ears, acting as arms, holding a huge tray of food, enters as well. "Pom-Pom had insisted they wanted to bring the food to the patient themselves."
"I'm doing this because Himeko tried to put her coffee into the tray," The bunny named Pom-Pom mutters quietly.
"Hi Pom-Pom!" March, who sits beside ZhiJiang, greets the bunny while the young man stares at the bunny in disbelief. "Oh, right, Himeko! You won't believe this! ZhiJiang is from a planet that never had a record before called Earth! How cool is that!?"
"I'm still processing that I'm actually in space, specifically a train moving in space from one planet to another..." ZhiJiang mutters in disbelief. "...also, a cute alien bunny who I assumed is this train's conductor?"
"Hello," Pom-Pom greets. "I'm Pom-Pom, the conductor of the Astral Express. I hope you are okay."
"I...feel slightly weak..." ZhiJiang says with a small smile before a loud growl comes from his stomach, causing him to blush. "...and very hungry."
"Here!" Pom-Pom immediately gives him the food tray. "I specifically made it to help with your malnutrition! Once you eat this, get some rest!"
"...t-thanks..." ZhiJiang says as he shakily takes the tray. The food on the tray looks like something that should've been served in a restaurant. ZhiJiang should've questioned if these foods should be served for a malnourished human, but he simply didn't care. He grabs the spoon and takes a bite, before he starts devouring the food like there's no tomorrow.
"W-wah! S-slow down, or you-!" Pom-Pom froze as they saw ZhiJiang eat with tears falling from his eyes. "E-eh!?! P-passenger, why are you crying!?! Did Pom-Pom's foods taste bad!?"
"Pom-Pom," The woman calls, getting Pom-Pom's attention. "I don't think that's the reason..." She says as she watches March beside him, rubbing his back soothingly with a sympathetic expression, while ZhiJiang keeps eating his food.
To Be Continued