Chapter 16:
A walk in the new world
Daniel:
“Oh, those trees are so tall,” I crane my neck, and try to see the top of the red leaved trees. I can’t. “What sort of animals live on them?”
“Birds, squirrels,” Constantine says, as he slithers next to me. He has a baby carrier bag on his back, and the little acorn, Beth, is tightly wrapped up in it. A leaf falls within grabbing reach of the little lady, and she catches it with her right hand. Then, she presses the leaf to her nose.
“What does it smell like?” Constantine asks, and she giggles.
“Waloria,” she says.
“Again? You know, just because you want more waloria tea, it doesn’t mean that everything smells like waloria,” Constantine tells her, and she huffs.
“Waloria,” she repeats, and I blink.
“What is waloria?” I ask, and Constantine turns to me.
“It is a very rare herb, used for tea. Its scent can calm your nerves,” Constantine tells me. I look at the baby then.
“She needs her nerves calmed?” I ask, disbelieving.
“Waloria smells good to children,” Constantine says, and then yelps, as she tugs at his hair.
“Left,” she commands, and he turns to the left. There is an arch up ahead. One made by the branches of two Caltea trees, which are close together.
“Do you want to pass below the princess arch?” Constantine asks. Then, he turns to me. “Caltea is considered a royal tree, here on Ursula 590. When its branches make an arch, we call it the princess arch.”
“Yes. Little acorn princess,” Beth waves her hands around with each word.
“Does it bring luck?” I ask, just as we go below the arch.
“Well, there is this neat little trick that happens when you are below it. Listen,” he tells me, and I strain my ears. A gust of wind blows through the branches, and a plethora of leaves fall from the upper branches. A leaf lands in my hair. I look to Constantine.
“Was that...” I don’t finish because I see a small red light. Beth giggles, and I can see her playing with a similar light.
I touch the light, and then get this warm and fluffy feeling in me. As if I am before a fireplace, with the Christmas lights blinking on a tree next to me.
“Caltea leads the way to your best memories,” Constantine murmurs, a wistful smile on his face.
“Is there a legend behind that?” I ask. What sort of planet is this one, to have tree spirits in it?
“Well, sort of. It has been proven that Naga have a soul. After death, the body becomes lighter, you see? And so, once the spirits of the Naga pass to the afterlife, a trace of them picks a Caltea tree, to latch on to,” he tells me, and I smile.
“Sounds nice. Do the lights speak?” I ask. He sighs.
“No. It is just a legend,” Constantine tells me, and then we are back on our way to the market. Beth is playing with her Caltea leaf. At some point, she decides to hide it in Constantine’s red hair. The leaf blends perfectly in the locks. I giggle at that, and Constantine turns to look at me.
“Hey, did she hide the leaf in my hair?” He asks, and I nod. He sighs, and begins to feel up the back of his head, to get at the leaf. I go to him, and get the leaf out of his hair.
“It suited you,” I say, when I return the leaf to Beth.
“Caltea leaves can suck out your mana,” Constantine tells me, and takes the leaf from Beth. “They don’t work on children, and the among that is being taken from the adults is small, but it is still an unpleasant experience.”
“So, Beth wanted to tell us that we needed to take a break from going to the market?” I suggest, and look to a nearby bench. “You know, with how advanced this planet is, I am surprised that your streets are one big park.”
“Mirstone is small. You should see Wendel. There are barely any trees growing by the sidewalk,” Constantine says.
“Can I? See Wendel, I mean?” I ask, and he bites his lip.
“You don’t have the permission to travel, yet,” my Naga friend says, and I nod. “But, as soon as you do, I’ll take you there. It won’t take long. Just a couple of more days.”
“Everything is done so quickly in here,” I say.
“Well, yes, we have automated the processes behind administration,” he tells me.
“Picture tax?” Beth interrupts us. Constantine looks around, and sees a Naga holding his phone.
“He wasn’t taking a picture of you,” Constantine says, but Beth puffs up her cheeks.
“Picture tax!” She yells.
“Don’t make me turn back, and put you in your play pen,” Constantine threatens, and I chuckle.
“Come now, there must be a better way to deal with this...uhm...picture tax, than a play pen time out,” I say, and then go, and tickle Beth. “Come now. If you are good, and let the photographer get away with it, just this once, we will make you a flower crown out of Caltea leaves.”
“Really?” She asks. I see that Constantine is frowning.
“We can’t just tear down leaves and branches,” he chastises, but I point to the ground.
“We can simply take those that already fell,” I say. His face softens at that.
I steal a glance at the Naga, who is still taking photos of us. I wave at him, and he finally gets the phone out of his face. He waves energetically, and then the phone is back before his eyes.
“I am sorry. You will be getting that a lot,” Constantine says. I shrug.
“I don’t mind. I know that I am an oddity in here. Tine, are there any more humans on Ursula 590?” I ask. Something tells me there might not be, but I still want to hope.
“I can look it up when we get back home,” he promises, and we are back on our way.
I know that nothing tied me to Earth...
I still miss it.
Chapter 16:
A walk in the new world
Daniel:
“Oh, those trees are so tall,” I crane my neck, and try to see the top of the red leaved trees. I can’t. “What sort of animals live on them?”
“Birds, squirrels,” Constantine says, as he slithers next to me. He has a baby carrier bag on his back, and the little acorn, Beth, is tightly wrapped up in it. A leaf falls within grabbing reach of the little lady, and she catches it with her right hand. Then, she presses the leaf to her nose.
“What does it smell like?” Constantine asks, and she giggles.
“Waloria,” she says.
“Again? You know, just because you want more waloria tea, it doesn’t mean that everything smells like waloria,” Constantine tells her, and she huffs.
“Waloria,” she repeats, and I blink.
“What is waloria?” I ask, and Constantine turns to me.
“It is a very rare herb, used for tea. Its scent can calm your nerves,” Constantine tells me. I look at the baby then.
“She needs her nerves calmed?” I ask, disbelieving.
“Waloria smells good to children,” Constantine says, and then yelps, as she tugs at his hair.
“Left,” she commands, and he turns to the left. There is an arch up ahead. One made by the branches of two Caltea trees, which are close together.
“Do you want to pass below the princess arch?” Constantine asks. Then, he turns to me. “Caltea is considered a royal tree, here on Ursula 590. When its branches make an arch, we call it the princess arch.”
“Yes. Little acorn princess,” Beth waves her hands around with each word.
“Does it bring luck?” I ask, just as we go below the arch.
“Well, there is this neat little trick that happens when you are below it. Listen,” he tells me, and I strain my ears. A gust of wind blows through the branches, and a plethora of leaves fall from the upper branches. A leaf lands in my hair. I look to Constantine.
“Was that...” I don’t finish because I see a small red light. Beth giggles, and I can see her playing with a similar light.
I touch the light, and then get this warm and fluffy feeling in me. As if I am before a fireplace, with the Christmas lights blinking on a tree next to me.
“Caltea leads the way to your best memories,” Constantine murmurs, a wistful smile on his face.
“Is there a legend behind that?” I ask. What sort of planet is this one, to have tree spirits in it?
“Well, sort of. It has been proven that Naga have a soul. After death, the body becomes lighter, you see? And so, once the spirits of the Naga pass to the afterlife, a trace of them picks a Caltea tree, to latch on to,” he tells me, and I smile.
“Sounds nice. Do the lights speak?” I ask. He sighs.
“No. It is just a legend,” Constantine tells me, and then we are back on our way to the market. Beth is playing with her Caltea leaf. At some point, she decides to hide it in Constantine’s red hair. The leaf blends perfectly in the locks. I giggle at that, and Constantine turns to look at me.
“Hey, did she hide the leaf in my hair?” He asks, and I nod. He sighs, and begins to feel up the back of his head, to get at the leaf. I go to him, and get the leaf out of his hair.
“It suited you,” I say, when I return the leaf to Beth.
“Caltea leaves can suck out your mana,” Constantine tells me, and takes the leaf from Beth. “They don’t work on children, and the among that is being taken from the adults is small, but it is still an unpleasant experience.”
“So, Beth wanted to tell us that we needed to take a break from going to the market?” I suggest, and look to a nearby bench. “You know, with how advanced this planet is, I am surprised that your streets are one big park.”
“Mirstone is small. You should see Wendel. There are barely any trees growing by the sidewalk,” Constantine says.
“Can I? See Wendel, I mean?” I ask, and he bites his lip.
“You don’t have the permission to travel, yet,” my Naga friend says, and I nod. “But, as soon as you do, I’ll take you there. It won’t take long. Just a couple of more days.”
“Everything is done so quickly in here,” I say.
“Well, yes, we have automated the processes behind administration,” he tells me.
“Picture tax?” Beth interrupts us. Constantine looks around, and sees a Naga holding his phone.
“He wasn’t taking a picture of you,” Constantine says, but Beth puffs up her cheeks.
“Picture tax!” She yells.
“Don’t make me turn back, and put you in your play pen,” Constantine threatens, and I chuckle.
“Come now, there must be a better way to deal with this...uhm...picture tax, than a play pen time out,” I say, and then go, and tickle Beth. “Come now. If you are good, and let the photographer get away with it, just this once, we will make you a flower crown out of Caltea leaves.”
“Really?” She asks. I see that Constantine is frowning.
“We can’t just tear down leaves and branches,” he chastises, but I point to the ground.
“We can simply take those that already fell,” I say. His face softens at that.
I steal a glance at the Naga, who is still taking photos of us. I wave at him, and he finally gets the phone out of his face. He waves energetically, and then the phone is back before his eyes.
“I am sorry. You will be getting that a lot,” Constantine says. I shrug.
“I don’t mind. I know that I am an oddity in here. Tine, are there any more humans on Ursula 590?” I ask. Something tells me there might not be, but I still want to hope.
“I can look it up when we get back home,” he promises, and we are back on our way.
I know that nothing tied me to Earth...
I still miss it.
