"Creator? What creator? Can you tell me where I am ?
Garima asked the beautiful women. Spooked a little. Was she in heaven? Did she die? But why?
"You don't look shocked"
The woman asked, smiling gently.
"Oh, I am shocked. I am very shocked"
Garima replied a little breathless.
And her eyes moved across the room once more.
"This isn't my house"
"Yes, it's not," the woman replied.
"So I am dead? Are you an Angel? I thought Hindu souls were harvested by Yamraj?"
The women blinked and laughed.
"I am not, I don't know who you speak of, but I assure you. You are not dead."
"Oh, cool, I am not. Because that would have been inconvenient.
Garima let out a long breath she didn't know she had been holding.
"My family would have been sad. So what am I doing here? You said something about 'creator'"
"You are the creator of this world"
The woman said with a smile
Garima blinked
"Aren't you mistaken? I don't even know how to cook food.
The woman smiled again. Indulgent, with patience.
"Do you remember writing about a world?"
"Yes," Garima answered, her eyes wide.
"This the world. And you are one who let it be born"
Garima stared at her. Then her eyes moved across the shrine one more time.
"WAIT..wait!!!! Are you saying I actually got isekaid?"
Garima gasped dramatically.
The women looked confused.
"Iseka? Do you mean summoning?"
Garima ignored the other women's confusion. It didn't matter if she didn't know the term Isekai. He kept looking intently at the women. Silently. Her eyes unblinking. After a long stretch of silence.
She flung her hands above her head.
"Yes!!!!!" then she froze mid-shout "Wait"
"This isn't like those stories right, where the extra's dies in three chapters"
The women looked more confused.
"Extra? You are the creator"
"So I won't die?"
"If you are careful."
"Wait, is there a possibility? You mean I will die?"
A hush fell on the Shrine. The women studied Garima.
"I can't say that for sure. It's your destiny, you were summo….."
"Okay, okay so nothing like predestined death? Well enough" Garima spoke without even letting her speak.
"Okay, important question" The women stood still watching the time pass without hurry.
Garima leaned forward.
"If this world was born because of my writing, does that mean there are other worlds?"
A small nod came from her.
"That means those books are worlds somewhere?"
"It's possible!"
The woman smiled again.
"OHMYGOD!!!, So there could be a magical world somewhere or pirates? The fantasy worlds in the adventure stories.?"
The woman gave another nod."I don't know the books you speak of! But yes maybe"
"Oh my God!"
Her eyes watered.
"You seem very attached to these books" The woman blinked.
"I am! They raised me emotionally"
Garima sniffed.
Garima looked around and moved in circles. Skipping. Bouncing. Giddy with excitement. Tapping rhythms on the stone floor.
"This is unbelievable, so writers have the power to create worlds?"
A slow nod came from the women
"Stories are powerful"
Garima gasped, then she laughed.
"So that means there might be a world where a guy turned into a vending machine?"
The women frowned confused.
"I am not sure what are you talking about but that sounds unfortunate"
"Yes very unfortunate" Garima grinned
She skipped again. Then she froze.
"Then the world I wrote is real now"
"Yes"
"I actually created a world"
"Yes it's your world"
" All the heroes are real now?"
"Yes"
She stopped skipping and turned around.
"Then who are you ? I don't remember writing you"
"I am the caretaker" the woman spoke, her voice still calm and gentle.
"I didn't write about any caretaker"
Garima still looked at her with suspicion.
"Yes the creator didn't create me, I am the world's medium"
"Medium?"
"The world is an unconscious being. So I came to be"
Garima frowned deeply.
"So the world made you"
The women laughed
"It was necessary. Like a protective mechanism"
Glittering wisps came out of the woman's hand. Floating scenes appeared as brightness filled the space.
Those were scenes from Garima's Story. Heroes, Devil lords. Adventures, and magic.
Garima gasped happily. "That's my story"
"Yes"
Then a hand pointed at the bright moving pictures
" When a world is born from imagination it is fragile"
"Fragile?"
"Yes, like a newborn"
Garima nodded, still confused.
"If the story collapses too early" The woman continued "the world disappears"
"That sounds sad"
"It is sad"
Light patterns began to change and Garima saw strange cracks spreading across parts of the world.
"What is that?" Garima asked. Her voice is low. She stared unblinking at the cracks. Appearing rapidly in this beautiful world.
"Instability" the woman spoke in a solemn tone.
"Why?" Garima asked, her voice breaking a little.
The woman gazed at her, her expression conflicted.
" You wrote too quickly," Garima blinked. So it was her fault. This beautiful world was suffering because she wrote too quickly. She remained silent. She didn't know what she should say.
"You left many gaps"
Garima exhaled.
"Yes, Plotholes"
"If the gaps aren't filled, the world collapses"
The bright moving pictures turned faint. And began to vanish bit by bit.
The shrine returned to its previous calm.
The woman's gaze settled on Garima. Still with a conflicted expression. But her gaze was steady.
"This World needs your help"
"My help?" Garima asked, she knew when this was going. But it felt overwhelming at the moment. She had always wanted a fantasy. But when it happened. She was hesitant.
" But you are the caretaker"
"I am not the creator, I can protect the world. But I cannot rewrite it"
"So you mean only I can repair it"
"I don't want to burden you but, yes"
"So you summoned me"
" Yes, the world needed your help"
"So I get to live inside my own fantasy story. Go on adventures. And reach the top of the world"
Garima's voice dropped low.
She thought about her mother. Her father. And her annoying brother. Her friends. Her life.
"My brother will cry, he won't show it but he will cry"
The woman still looked at her with a steady gaze.
Garima looked down.
"My family will panic, they will think I got kidnapped or worse I eloped? Wait I don't have a boyfriend to run away." Garima eyes watered. "I…can't just .. disappear" The words were shaky but they came out louder than she intended.
The woman watched camly in a way that felt comforting.
"You will not"
Garima stopped "what"
The woman's gaze softened in understanding.
"When you are done with saving this world, you will return to the exact moment you left"
"Exact moment?" Garima whispered.
"Yes" the woman smiled with a certain nod. "Time will not pass in your world, They will not feel your absence"
That should have been comforting. It was comforting but just a little.
"I made a mess of everything. I… The world…and here I was criticising other authors"
"That's what makes you worthy"
"Worthy? Of what ?"
"You are kind. You are loud. But you are like organised chaos. You won't leave behind people in need. And you will help save this world. You are worthy…..of returning home.
The words felt right. Perfectly placed.
Garima choked.
"So you are telling me, I can save this world and have my adventure and return home"
"Yes that's exactly what I am saying"
"That's an illegal level of convenience" Garima smiled, her eyes still watery. But she was confident. She would return home
"So let's promise"
"Promise?"
Garima laughed "Yes a Promise, I promise to save this world and return home"
The Goddess smiled.
"I Promise to help you return home after 100 battles"
"What? Hundred battles?That's not fair" Garima jumped, frustrated.
"You wrote of hundreds of battles. Without the battles. You just wrote the numbers, so 100 battles. Yes"
"Miss caretaker, Your tone shifted a little."
"I am a very strict when it comes to saving the world"
"I understand, I thought a century of battles sounded majestic, now it came to bite me in the ass."
"So you are up for it" the woman asked, one last time.
"I am," Garima replied.
No Hesitation. No doubt. And that was enough.