Waves crash against faintly orange rocks. A gust of cool wind blows past my face. I shiver. The warmth of the dying sun’s light touches me.

I smile.

I lean forwards on the rock I was sitting on, and fold my arms. The faint smell of salt and seawater lies in the air. I take in a deep breath.

My shirt flutters against my back. A purple fabric, made of the beautiful leaves of the Dracurya tree. A tree that grew nowhere else but in the depths of the sea.

Ah yes. The depths of the sea. It held so many mysteries.

And tomorrow, I was going to delve in. Find what our ancestors had left behind for us.

“What are you thinking about?” A sweet voice rings out, bringing me out of my thoughts.

I turn and see her. My wife. She is thin, but one should never underestimate the strength that lay in her tiny frame.

I almost chuckle at the thought. It does bring a grin to my face, though.

She frowns in annoyance.

My grin fades away.

“Now, now, nothing to worry about, honey. Just had a funny thought,” I say.

She narrows her eyes.

“I’m sure you did.”

I nod innocently.

“So, anyway, are we ready for tomorrow?” I ask.

She nods.

“Everything’s set. You don’t have to worry about anything. Not one thing, hon,” She says, and smile.

I smile back.

“Nice to know. But tell me, is your mind set?”

“It is. We’ve had months to prepare, you know that.”

“Months or not, all of that can change tomorrow. Remember that.”

“I know. But I think you’re worry too much, hon. Relax, and remember that we can handle this. We’re stronger than most.”

I grin.

“That we be.”

“That we are, darling, that we are.”

I curse, and she laughs. Melodiously, of course. It might have knocked my feet from under me if I’m not annoyed. And I am.

***

I put on my coat. A soft fur coat. Warmth spread into my chest. I exhaled, and smiled.

It helped with the doubts flying around in my head. Just a little, but that made the difference. I stood a little straighter, and placed my hand on the soft moss on my door. The moss tickled my fingers.

The door opened, a vine retracting. I spot the usual children- Maurice and Junie, Farehn, and Loran, playing just outside my door, in the street with some fluffy animals. Maurice was the naughty one, Junie the witty one, and Farehn and Loran were the dorks.

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

I smile. Nostalgia lurked in my heart, despite the fact I had yet to even leave.

Yes. I was leaving. It felt strange, and unreal, because no matter how much I’ve dreamed about it…

I never expected I would ever do it. Could ever do it. And yet here I am. Out to face the things that lurk outside of this… this…

I sigh. I can never insult this place, for the life of me. It simply contains too many happy memories…

All of them, actually. Oh well. Time to make some more.

***

The streets are bustling. It always is, here in Drinzil. Whether it’s the day, or night. Everyone has a place to be, a thing to do. It’s always so full of life. But it’s also tiring. Every now and then, you have to stop, and just… enjoy life.

Yes. It’s another reason why I can look forward to the days ahead. I have no doubt I will be seeing a lot less activity in the ocean.

Maybe I would miss it. Perhaps yearn for these days out there. Actually, I probably would. There was no doubt about it. So why must I worry?

Because I’m a normal person, of course. I wasn’t fearless, brave, passionate, kind, or any of those things. I was just… me. A normal person. With a dream.

But ah, yes. How could I forget about Lyvia? My wife of course, shared my dream. We both wanted to go out there, see the world. Discover every single mystery that lurks. Well, not all. What would remain for others that came after us?

I shake my head and smile.

We would probably never even discover a hundredth of what’s out there. Not even with a thousand years on our lifespan.

I turn my palm over, and look at it. Cupped within is a Lyriss, a flower connected to a small bud that receives pollen in the air. The pollen itself contains modified genetic code, and can float for miles together. The modified genetic code contains information, and the Lyriss translated this into images via luminescent buds on the petals. The result is a news delivery system, that had its flaws.

But I won’t worry about that, since it does not matter in the least to me. I just want to know the news.

I gently graze the underside of the flower. It spreads wide, and displays an excellent display of lights. Then a woman appears..

“Good morning, tribe-folk!” She smiles wide, her teeth on full display. I’m envious. “Today, I believe, is a very special day. The Eucaloris have discovered a new plant, that according to observations, can record the thoughts of those around it. Strange, isn’t it? They are still trying to learn more about the plant, and its wondrous functions, but yes, this may heavily influence our modern lives…”

A new plant, huh? Second one this month. Looks like they’ve been getting lucky. I bet the other factions are suspicious. Ah yes, drama. Politics. Sweet backstabbing.

You could just smell it in the air. The tension. The lack of trust, faith, or really any human empathy. It felt amazing, really. Just, that, I’d have prefered the reason it be amazing was not because I simply couldn’t understand…

Their apathy. Their idiocracy. If they simply knew to put aside their differences. Life isn’t a damn competition.

“...And that’s all today! Good day, folks!”

The petals closes up again. I put the flower in my bag. The vines closes the bag for me.

My feet taps across the ground. Lush green vegetation all around. I sniff and find a slight smell of blueberry in the air. I smile, and turn around expectively.

Rae, a woman in her mid fifties, stands there, a pie in hand. My grin only widens.

Rae is a true angel. Not one person can say different. If they did, then they must be prepared to lose their ability to reproduce.

She cares. Not many can say that. If the child next door is ill, she’s there, cooking sweets, and pastries. Or making little trinkets and singing lullabies. Everyone loves her, and I’m no exception.

She must know. She always does.

“Rae! Didn’t expect to see you here this fine morning.” I say, and smile.

“Now now. We both know where you’re going.” She says, and I see her face looks a little aged. More tired. Yet there is that happiness.

It fills me up with conflicting emotions. If only…

But no.

“We do. Did my wife tell you?”

“Oh no, she didn’t. But I know. I’ve known since two months ago.”

My eyes widen.

“H-how?”

She smiles.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve made you some pie. I hope you enjoy it.” She extends her hand, and I just then notice her hands her shaking.

I frown, and I hurriedly and carefully, relieve her of the pie. A sweet fragrance hits my nose, but I choose to ignore it.

“Are you alright, Rae?” I ask.

She smiles, and waves her hand.

“I’m not. But you needn’t worry about that.” She says.

I open my mouth to protest but then I hear my name being called. I turn, and I see my wife at the end of the street. I turn, and see Rae staring at me with a smile.

“Go. And have your adventure. Live your dream. It’s all I wish of you.” She says.

That broke the final straw. I found myself hugging her tightly, my eyes tearing. I sniffed. I, of course, made sure to not drop the pie. She had made it with love, after all.

“Jett!” My wife called out my name once again. “We don’t have much time!”

I pulled off, and smiled one last time at Rae. Then I turned and ran.

***

Rae wipes at her nose, and sees blood on her sleeve. Yet she smiles nonetheless, with tears in her eyes. She turns, and walks away. No one notices her slow gait. Well, except an impatient pedestrian who pushes her aside. She gives him an earful. The onlookers throws things at him. He walkes away dejected.

***

“Is that it?” I ask, my eyes wide.

We stand in a dark cavern, that’s half filled with water. There’s a large hulking, green and brown monstrosity at the center. A living sub.

One of the oldest, and rarer yet that it’s still functioning. My wife had found it when she had gone for a swim after quitting from her job.

It’s made mostly out of wood, with muscular tissue underneath, that makes it somewhat similar to a large whale. There are strange organs inside, that provide us our food and oxygen. Technology of times long past.

And it’s at our fingertips.

“Yes. This is it.” Lyvia says, a proud smile on her face.

I scoff.

“Wipe that stupid smirk off your face. You only found it, and that was by chance.”

She pouts.

“Aww. But honey, what if I had told my father about it?” She asks, playfully.

Despite that, I still get a shiver up my spine.

“You made it, discovered it, and deserve all the damn credit in the world. All hail this goddess!” I say.

She giggles.

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s get in!” Then she trips me, and jumps on to the top, laughing.