I awoke to the sound of my smartphone ringing. I discovered that I had fallen asleep at my desk. With half-opened eyes, I fumbled around with my hands for my device. When I found it, I belatedly opened my eyes and connected the call. "Hello?"


    "Hi, Lawrence. It''s Cindy, your book editor," the voice said on the line.


    I immediately jolted awake at her name. I looked at the computer screen and checked the date and time. I was amazed to learn that I had returned to the same day that the Gamemaster brought me to Earth 2. I immediately clicked on my word processor; my latest chapter was on display. The word count indicated that I was already at 80% toward completion of my weekly assignment. "Hi! I was going to call you," I replied.


    "Oh," she sounded hesitant. "I need to take a sabbatical because I broke my foot and I''m at the emergency room right now. A colleague has graciously agreed to take over as your new editor temporarily. She will meet you on my behalf today at the usual time and place. Now is almost 8 o''clock. She''ll meet you in two hours. Please bring a printed copy of your manuscript, along with another copy of your latest chapter, with you," Cindy requested. "Now, what did you want to call me about?"


    "Oh, I was going to ask for a delay in emailing you the latest chapter. I''m still working on it right now. But I should be finished within two hours," I replied.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "Well, how about this instead? Let''s turn your meeting with my colleague into a working lunch. Meet her at noon. You get two more hours to finish your work, but you''ll pay for her lunch. Sounds good?" she asked.


    "Yes!" I accepted her proposal immediately. We usually meet at a cheap, local diner, and I wasn''t worried about the bill.


    "I know we haven''t gotten along very well. I hope you will have a better relationship with your new editor. Good luck!" Cindy hung up the call.


    I slapped my cheeks with my hands and waited. However, no in-game message appeared. I was indeed back on Earth 1! I took a deep breath to calm myself. Since my former editor gave me extra time, I wrote like a madman to finish my weekly chapter.


    ***


    I stared at my half-eaten roast beef sandwich. It was on a cheap, old plate on the table in front of me. I checked the time on my smartphone and saw that it was already a quarter past noon. What happened to my new editor?


    Suddenly, a woman with long blonde hair joined my table and sat directly across from me.


    When I looked up, I saw an angelic face! My heart froze, and I couldn''t breathe!


    "Hi! I''m Amelica Kingsbury, your new editor!" the lovely woman gave me a knowing look and offered her usual, dazzling smile.


    I jumped out of my seat and hugged her. "How is this possible?" I asked in bewilderment.


    "The Gods answered my prayers, my darling, and brought me to your world."


    "But why?"


    "I''m here to rescue you." And then she kissed me.


    THE END