Ezekiel opened the book. This story drew him in. It was a legend of old. His fingers grazed the torn pages. The story of his people was told in this book. He didn’t need to read the book. He’s heard and read it thousands of times before. It was a source of comfort when things felt off about the world, when things were wrong in the house, when awful things were coming. Through it all, the book brought Ezekiel to a different time. It was like a different world than the one he lived in.

He flipped the pages to his favourite scene. His blue fingers brushed over the faded images. His tail wagged. Ezekiel couldn’t read most of the words anymore. They too were faded out. Time hadn’t been kind to the book. The images were still there. They depicted the story.

For aeons, those like Ezekiel lived forever. He knew that much. And then one day, they started dying. They grew old and died. Ezekiel watched his grandfather grow old and die. He listened to his grandfather reminisce about a time where people looked young, even when they were well past eighty years of age.

Ezekiel asked him why. Only for his grandfather to say he didn’t know. So Ezekiel turned to stories, myths, legends, and rumours. He turned to the comfort of the images of this book for his answers. They, too, said they didn’t know. Everything he found led to more questions than answers.

He slammed the book shut. Dust flew everywhere. He set it in the dark, dry corner where he retrieved it from. Ezekiel turned to the window. The light of the sun was fading. He would just have to come back tomorrow to skim the book again. Perhaps, something different would appear in it. Perhaps, he’d finally get the answer he was looking for. Maybe he could make everyone immortal again. They could go back to singing and dancing and drinking their nights away. They could stop hiding behind doors and walls and magic. They’d be powerful again.

Ezekiel smiled at the thought, his large canines showing themselves. But first, he’d head home.

He walked through the broken library. Large parts of the once beautiful stone walls were blown inward, opening the sanctuary to the elements. Birds sang their last song overhead on the edges of the roof. He leapt over a pile of rubble that blocked his path with ease. His feet ached as they touched the ground. He mentally took note of making new shoes. Even though they were torn and didn’t do much anymore, they protected his feet from the plants that seeked to stab him. He did not want to spend hours picking the thorns out of his foot ever again. And he definitely didn’t want to walk around with the bandages again.

The grand entrance to the library was nothing but a pile of rubble. Ezekiel stopped in front of it. He imagined that its doors were made from a rare wood that were carved with fantastical images. That when this library stood in its full glory, people sought it out for the knowledge it housed within its grand walls. His hand brushed the smooth white stone. The marble walls may have fallen. People may no longer flock to the library as they once had. Its knowledge remained. And knowledge was power. Without knowledge, Ezekiel would have never found this library.

He climbed over the rubble. He raised his arm to his forehead, wiping the sweat off. The forest stood before him. Its golden leaves shimmering in the sunset. Ezekiel wished he could capture this moment in time. It was stunning every time he saw it. The red and orange of the sky made the gold of the leaves even more tempting to pick.

They were a test. A test of greed. One he would not fail, even if they tempted him. He walked towards the forest. Its bark was smooth. There were no ridges or cracks in the trees. Ezekiel watched as an ant climbed the trunk. Its goal was the silver sap that occasionally the tree leaked. The ant had no clue what the sap would do to it. Ezekiel pitied the creature. It reached the nectar. All it took was one simple touch. The ant turned black to silver in an instant. It was a part of the tree now. Soon, it would be forgotten. Its little life crushed by these trees that lived forever.

Ezekiel continued down the path after the brief show. He looked at the large tree that blocked the path. How peculiar. Its golden leaves were withered. Black spots lined the leaves. A pool of silver sap laid at the remaining trunk of the tree. There were a few small animals that drank from it, and tasted its alluring nature. Not even the death of the other animals could scare away the rodents. A rabbit hopped up to the pool. Its nose twitched. So did its ears. Its eyes looked at Ezekiel. He cocked his head to the side. Would this rabbit be different from the other animals? Would it leave the sap, leave the forest, and live its mortal life far from the dangers of these woods?

It would not. It drank the sap. Like the ant and the other rodents, it turned into silver. Ezekiel had hoped it would be different for this rabbit. Now it would become the start of another tree, another danger of this forest.

He made his way around the pool, careful to not touch it. The walk through the forest continued. As he neared his home, he could hear music. His nose twitched. The smell of spices wafted through the air. He stood at the edge of the forest and the start of the village. Drums, guitars, and fiddles filled the air with their joyous tunes, unaware of the death that filled the forest.

He covered his head with his black hood. His eyes lowered to the ground. People gathered outside the restaurant in his village. They were travellers. They sought the secret of the forest, but they would never enter. They feared it. They feared people like him that walked through it. Fear was dangerous. It took control of people. It made them do reckless things. How simple it would be if people didn’t have such irrational emotions.

He looked through the window. A girl, no, a woman as she was far too old to be a girl, smiled. Her eyes glinted with adoration as the food approached her table. She said something to the waitress. He’s never seen the waitress smile like that before. She was the strictest as she was at the top of the command chain. Her tail wagged back and forth. She left the girl to eat.

Ezekiel approached the window closer. His nose was inches away from the glass. His breath caused it to fog up. She was clearly human. Her ears were rounded. She didn’t have any fur on them. She donned strange clothes. So how could she make that waitress laugh? What did she say? She was the first human female Ezekiel had ever seen in this village. Males were common.

A human’s life was fleeting. Yet they lived it as if they never died. So perhaps she decided it was her turn to find the secret of the forest. Ezekiel nodded. That would make the most sense. It wasn’t rational but it made sense. Humans longed for adventure. Tralech longed for their immortality to return, so they read, they listened, they watched. Everything was to get power back. Something humans couldn’t understand.

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Ezekiel moved away from the window. The brunette human was standing after she paid for her meal. He weaved his way through the crowd.

“Ezekiel!” a familiar feminine voice called. She stood in the doorway. Her blue fur tipped ears rose. Her tail wagged back and forth, hitting the customers. “Come in and enjoy a meal.”

He looked at her. His mouth hung agape. He wasn’t sure what to do. Azuriel would leave him alone for the night if he didn’t enter the building, but she’d be at his house, bright and early, bothering him. He weighed the decision in his head. He did miss drinking and eating with Azuriel. If he went in, he could talk to the brunette. He could find out why she adventured. It was dangerous for women. So what was she doing out here by herself?

Ezekiel forced his way through the crowd. Azuriel wrapped her arms around him. He returned the embrace. Their tails weaved together. It was a sign of their closeness. Ezekiel enjoyed the friendship he shared with Azuriel greatly. It was simple. They didn’t talk to each other, looking for knowledge. They talked to each other because they enjoyed it. Ezekiel would never open up about his findings at the library though.

“It’s been awhile. I’m so glad you chose to come in.” Azuriel pulled him into the restaurant. She sat down at an empty table. It was her special privilege. Ezekiel appreciated it at times like this. When it was so busy that the act of waiting and finding a table would take more time than it did to wait and eat the food.

“I’m glad to be here,” he said finally. He looked into the violet eyes of Azuriel. Her face was round unlike his squarelike face. Her bangs covered her eyebrows now. Last he saw her, they were only down to the middle of her forehead. Had time really passed that quickly? Was his nose stuck in books too often that he missed out on the little things that happened around him?

Azuriel pressed her index finger against the space between Ezekiel’s brows. “You’ve got that look on your face. What’s on your mind?”

“Nothing.” Ezekiel grabbed her wrist and moved her hand off of him. “It really has been so long.”

The waitress approached with Ezekiel’s and Azuriel’s food. It was the same one that served the brunette. Up close, the Tralech woman’s age showed. She must have been close to sixty. Her hair was greying. The skin on her face was already beginning to form wrinkles. She set the food down.

Ezekiel turned his attention to the aromatic food. The bright orange chicken was plated on top of mixed greens. His usual meal. It was so common that even this strict Tralech knew it by heart. It was pleasant to look at that he almost felt bad that he was going to destroy the chef’s creation. Azuriel had a salad with walnuts and cranberries in front of her. Her smile was bright but not like the human’s.

“Enjoy your meal,” she said with a forced smile. She turned to leave.

“What did she tell you that made you laugh?” Ezekiel asked suddenly.

“Who?” Annoyance lined her voice.

“The human.” Ezekiel tapped his fingers against the wood table. It irked him that he expressed his impatience this way. Showing the impatience meant he was less likely to get the answer. Knowledge hungry Tralechs prevented from getting the information they wanted were fun to toy with. He knew this.

“She told me a joke.” She finished her turn and left.

A joke? Ezekiel watched her in disbelief. The waitress laughed over a joke? Was she the one that was joking? She had to be. He huffed. His attention returned to the food. He gripped the knife and fork. The knife sliced through the poultry with ease. Its taste was even better than its smell. The flavours collided in his mouth. It was an experience unlike any other. Except it was. It was like every time he ate this meal. But that’s why he continued to go with it. Each time he ate it, it felt like an experience with food unlike any other.

“How’s your food?” Azuriel asked. Her violet eyes met his. She blinked slowly as her gaze watched him.

“It’s good just like the last time,” Ezekiel responded. He finished the last few pieces of the chicken. He watched Azuriel for a moment before directing his attention to the room around him. The brunette woman didn’t leave yet. Ezekiel was sure of that. He was watching for her since he entered the building.

Finally, he landed eyes on her. She was chatting away with the bartender, Azuriel’s sister, Zahara. Zahara was also nice to spend time with. She barely talked. It made her easy to be around. Ezekiel could count on her not judging him for his peculiar habit of pacing until he collapses. He reasoned with her that it helped him think. Zahara scolded him. In fact, her exact words were, “If you ever collapse around me again, you will never be allowed by yourself.” Ezekiel still paced in front of her, but knew when to take breaks. If the twins were good at one thing, it was making sure they never broke a promise, even if they never promised it.

“Do you like Zahara?” Azuriel’s voice snapped him out of his daze.

“No. You should know that,” Ezekiel said as he turned back towards her.

“You’re right. I should.” She sighed. “What are you looking at then?”

“The brunette human. She’s odd. I want to know her.” Ezekiel tapped his foot against the ground.

“Well… you won’t get to know her only by staring at her,” Azuriel pointed out.

“You’re right. I should talk to her while she’s here.” Ezekiel rose to his feet. The chair scraped against the ground. It was his least favourite sound to exist, metal scraping against wood. He pushed past the other Tralechs and humans that were in his way. He could feel them glare, but he didn’t care. He had to get to her before she left.

Zahara made eye contact with him. He jerked his head left towards the human girl. She nodded. He was glad that they could communicate like this. They could say what they want without words.

“So, what is your name?” Zahara asked the girl.

Ezekiel sat next to her. His forearms rested on the wood.

“Emry,” she said. Her voice was as sweet as the honey the bees made. Her name was the strangest name Ezekiel ever heard. There was no rhyme or reason to how humans named their children. Yet her name was the first that made Ezekiel shocked.

“Emry, I’d like you to meet my good friend, Ezekiel.” Zahara gestured to him. He smiled.

“How nice to meet you.” Emry held her hand out to him. A strange human custom that Ezekiel was still unfamiliar with.

He looked at Zahara. She pointed to his hand and then Emry’s. He nodded. He clasped Emry’s hand. Her skin was a rich honey colour. When she smiled, her cheeks reminded him of the roses that bloom during summer time.

“Oh! I forgot. Tralechs don’t follow the same greeting customs as humans. When humans meet someone new, they shake hands with them. It’s a sign of acknowledgement,” Emry explained.

Ezekiel smiled. “Thank you for the explanation.” He shook her hand firmly and let go. “I wanted to ask you why you’re out here. Surely you’ve heard of the dangers of the forest?” He didn’t want to waste time.

“I have.” She turned towards Zahara. “I heard stories about you. The Tralech that doesn’t fear the dangers of the forest. So why do you enter it?”

“Knowledge.”

She laughed. Her eyes lit up with delight. Her brunette curls fell from the ponytail and around her shoulders. “Oh my, I should have known.” Her laughter came to an end. Ezekiel liked the joyous sound that came from her lips.

“Well, if me entering the forest for knowledge makes you laugh, then I can show you how truly dangerous it is, even for me.” He glared at her.

“I’ll see you at its edge at dawn then.” With that she left the bar and headed towards the door. “See you soon, Ezekiel.”