Chapter 1

I didn't really understand how I got there, but I certainly preferred my new surroundings. One minute, I was just a high school principal, counseling and correcting the students. Suddenly, however, I found myself in a clearing of an unknown forest, breathing in the pollen of the flowers. To my relief, my allergies didn't trouble me at all.

My clothes were still the same, and I felt rather sweaty, so I took a chance and disrobed to enjoy Nature in all of its pure grandeur. I hadn't skinny-dipped in ages, but this didn't feel wrong or out of place. In fact, it seemed like almost a compulsion for me, to discard my modern clothing in what my instincts told me was a world of magic and not so much of machinery.

I felt perfectly relaxed and soothed by the cool stream until I heard some giggling that obviously didn't come from a man. I turned and faced a woman clad in nothing but a tunic, which she promptly cast aside to join me without asking if I minded her company. Perhaps she knew that I wouldn't object, given her golden beauty and playful eyes. She certainly didn't make me want to flee my place, nor did I feel embarrassed at my state of undress in the presence of a stranger, despite any knee-jerk reactions instilled by my upbringing.