Johann woke up to an empty bed. Not unusual for a soldier that spent the last four years of his life away from home, but this time was different. He could still smell Kiri’s fragrance linger in the air and taste her sweet kisses on his lips. Rain trickled through the branches above, dripping onto his forehead. The bud was left open and he couldn’t find Kiri nearby. He climbed down the tree and was surprised to find dozens of Alseid still in Pilamo. Hushed voices take to each other from the small groups standing together. They were type to get up early and leave to tend to their lots but today it seemed like all of them stayed home.

“What’s going on?” Johann asked the Elder, Renili he believed her name was. They only spoke a few times during the evening hours after coming back from the Grove.

“Nothing you should concern yourself with. Are you ready to head back home?”

“Guess so. It’s not like I have any luggage,” Johann said, glancing around. “Have you seen Kiri? She wanted to take me today.”

Renili pressed her lips together in thought. “I saw her earlier this morning talking with Lefaljac. She might be out taking a walk.”

Johann thanked her and set out through the thick underbrush in search of Kiri. There were only two places he knew of where she would go. One was her lot located almost an hour away and the Grove he could reach within twenty minutes. He skimmed the Grove first in case he heard her. Despite going inside with her the day before, he knew that the site was holy amongst the dryads and him going in there alone might be seen as disrespectful.

His clothes were soaked by the time he reached the outskirts of the Grove. The white shirts went transparent and clung to his chest. What he wouldn’t do for an umbrella and a pair of fresh socks.

Kiri paced back and forth outside the Grove, her fingers pinched in at her chin. She didn’t even notice him approach until he stood directly beside her. Kiri stopped, taking a small jump back as she looked up and realized it was him.

“What are you doing here?” Kiri demanded, putting a careful distance between them.

“I was looking for you,” he said trying to keep the worry out of his voice. Something seemed off about Kiri and the way she was acting. Was it him and what happened between them last night? She could even be a little disappointed. “Renili said I need to get ready to go. I was hoping we could still spend some time together before I had to leave. I feel like we need to talk.”

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Kiri’s expression hardened, her lips pressed into a thin line. “Why didn’t you tell me about Katarina?”

“What — how do you know about her?” He took a step closer. It didn’t matter how she knew. The tone of her voice already let him know there was some kind of misunderstanding going on between them.

“I saw the letter. You don’t need to keep putting up the act.” Kiri balled her hands. Johann padded his pockets, searching for the letter he pried from Hans’ grip. A final wish from a school friend. “You’re not a student either, are you? You’re a soldier, a killer.”

Johann froze at her words, slowly raising his eyes. “I’m not proud of what I did, but that was before I met you.”

“Spare me the stories. Go back to your world. To your woman and war and never come back.” Tears welled up in her eyes. She tried to hide them by quickly turning around. “I’ve promised to help Zafira restore the planet to its original state.”

“You don’t understand, you’re making a mistake.” Johann came around and cupped her face in his hands. His heart pounded against his chest as if his life were at stake by mere words alone. “Zafira’s only using you. Like she used me.”

“Everyone wants to use me,” she whispered and stepped away from him.

“The letter wasn’t from me but from a friend of mine. I promised to deliver it for him. I care about you Kiri. Being with you gave me a new perspective.” He sighed, slumping his shoulders. “There’s a lot we don’t know about each other, yet. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to change that.”

Kiri’s eyes were fixed on some distant point, caught in her own thoughts. Hopefully in his favor. He wasn’t sure he could handle another heartbreak. In that moment a scream sounded from the Grove and Johann spun around.

“Sounds like somebody needs our help,” he said and brushed passed her. They rushed into the Grove.

A blanket of silence laid over the Grove. Only the soft rustling of leaves let him know his hearing still functioned. Everywhere on Amazon he went, there were animals and insects battling each other for audio supremacy. The only times when things got quiet were when his life was in danger. Johann slowed his pace down and scanned the Grove for the source of the scream, but also for any predators that might want to make him their lunch.

It wasn’t just the lack of sound that gave him pause but also the feeling that laid in the air. The vibrant colors and light that fascinated Johann the other day were gone. Replaced by a dull gray and black slab. Hardly any light penetrated the branches above. It all felt normal. Leaves wilted and fell from the branches by the dozens.

“What the…” Johann caught a leaf mid air, and it crumbled in the palm of his hand.

Kiri ran to the Mother Tree. She swiped her hand along the bark and inspected the gash in the side of the tree. “Mother’s dead. I don’t—how could this happen? She was just going to take an Amber Heart in order to restore the world.”

Johann looked up into the branches. The fruit that hung there yesterday were all gone. “She’s taken all of them.”

Kiri’s face went pale and her body began to tremble. Johann came up beside her and wrapped his arms around her.

“It’s okay, we will find her and bring the Hearts back.” He noticed the body laying on the other side between the roots of the Mother Tree. He tightened his embrace around Kiri, fearing how she might react at the sight of Lefaljac’s body.