Zack felt something warm enveloping him as he rested. He didn’t want to get up, but thoughts of what had just occurred came back to him, along with the full weight of his apparent responsibilities. He sleepily opened his eyes and looked up only to find Lea looking down at him, watching him sleep.
“Lea, thanks for being here for me.” He said as he lifted his head from her lap and got up into a sitting position.
“It’s okay. You don’t need to worry about that.” She responded softly.
Zack was taken aback and shifted to face her. “Wait a minute! You’re speaking English now? But how?”
“Every time we connect, it’s a bit stronger. The truth is, that bond I was proposing. We’ve already been working on it since the first day.” She said hesitantly, waiting for his reaction. “Don’t be alarmed though. It’s still not final, and there is absolutely no way it can occur without your consent.” She quickly added.
Zack wrapped himself tightly in the soft teal cloak enveloping him. He recognized it as the one she was wearing when they left home. He suspected it was also what he was using as a blanket while he was sleeping in the tree home.
“That’s… I’d almost say that is too much. But, no, I guess I kind of suspected it already. And, well, this is what I need to communicate with your people, right? I guess from the way that message was worded, I’ll need to rely on you quite a bit. If you’re okay with someone like me, that is.”
Lea stood up and offered Zack her hand. “I told you I’m here for you. We’ll get through this together.” She smiled down at him and helped pull him to his feet.
“There’s a lake near here. That will be where we can finalize our bond. From there, my soul will be linked with yours. You will be able to hear through my ears, and I will be able to speak through your mouth. We will not have any difficulty convincing my people to help, I’m sure of it.” Lea led Zack away from the landing site and further into the woods.
“You know, you actually already are. Did you realize? Hearing through my ears, I mean. I’m not sure if you can tell, but I’m not actually speaking your English right now.” Lea informed Zack as they strode deeper into the woods. He paused and looked carefully at her lips as they were moving. It was nearly imperceptible, but there was a slight difference between what he was seeing and hearing, as if he were watching a dubbed movie.
“Of course, it won’t be like that for others, until we finalize our bond. You are very close to me right now, so we can converse like this. However, we will need to be closer if you wish to pick up the meaning behind other people’s words, especially when I am gone.” She added.
“Gone?” Zack questioned hesitantly.
Lea just laughed awkwardly. “Well, once we form the bond, any distance between us will be irrelevant. There will be a time when I am no longer nearby, but we will still be able to share our thoughts and our connection with each other.”
“Of course, I understand.” Zack responded. “I know you will have your own things to do when you get back home. You’ve been gone for four years, after all.”
Lea just laughed again as they continued into the forest.
“So, this ritual you mentioned. What exactly do we have to do? Do we confess our intentions to each other while praying to some god or something?” Zack asked, curious about the upcoming event.
Lea walked a few paces ahead, stopped abruptly, turned to face Zack, and frowned. “Zack. You don’t want to attract the attention of the gods. Please, promise me, you won’t pray to them. They arrived after Terin. Terin is the source of our bond. They will be jealous of you.”
Zack seemed rather startled. He couldn’t remember if he’d seen such a stern look on Lea’s face before. “Uh, Terin predates the gods? How does that work? Who created Terin then?”
Lea continued with a line he had heard before. “Terin is Terin. The
“Okay, I don’t really understand everything, but I think I get what you’re saying. So, what exactly do we do then?” He asked nervously, scratching his beard.
“Oh, it’s not actually that complicated. Like I said, we’ve already been working at it. We just need to do more of that. But, at the lake, and in the light of the silver moon when the connection to Terin is the strongest.” Lea said as she turned around and continued walking onward. “Oh, and we can go for a swim until then.”
A short while later, Zack and Lea had arrived at another clearing in the forest. A pristine lake in the middle of a grassy clearing was the centerpiece of this beautiful exhibit of nature. For some reason, though this was in the middle of the forest, the grass was well kept and not overgrown. No weeds or overgrowth protruded into the lake. Its crystal-clear waters reflected the blue sky above.
“Wow, I don’t think I can ever stop being amazed at the beauty of this forest. This place is absolutely stunning.” He commented while staring at the water.
“I knew you would understand. Go ahead, it’s okay if you want to go in.” Lea encouraged.
Zack looked around, slightly embarrassed. After some internal debate, he stripped down, set his clothes on the grass some distance from the lake, and waded in. The cool water was refreshing from the warm day. He slowly walked out until the water was about up to his chest. Fortunately, the sloped surface of the lake seemed to have a smooth, even, decline with no abrupt drops or sinkholes. He closed his eyes and let out a long sigh as the fatigue of all the walking he had just done was washed away by the calming water.
Zack heard a splash just before he had opened his eyes. When he looked at the source, he caught sight of Lea’s platinum blond hair just below the water. It moved around wildly before Lea surfaced, wet hair sticking to her slender frame.
Zack rapidly averted his eyes and turned his back, only to hear laughter and splashes getting closer and closer to him. His heart was nearly pounding out of his chest as a giant splash of water hit his back followed by the soft touch of skin.
“Uh, Lea? Too close. That’s a bit much, don’t you think?” Zack hurriedly let out before trying to move away. Lea’s arms wrapped around him in an embrace and his feet seemed to be caught in something. He slipped and fell slightly, taking in a big gulp of water. Only to quickly emerge coughing and spluttering.
Lea continued to laugh but let go and backed away. “Sorry! Sorry! I’m not trying to drown you, I promise!”
The two enjoyed the cool lake for a while longer before getting out and drying in the sun. Zack’s face was quite red, though not from sunburn. He made it very clear that he was looking off into the forest or at the lake. Or at the ground at his feet. Anywhere, but the person in front of him.
Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!
“Zack, you do realize when this bond is complete. It’s going to be much deeper and more intimate than some mere physical contact, right?” Lea inquired.
“I know, it’s just… well, don’t make me say it.” He laughed nervously and attempted to change the subject. “So, all we need to wait is for the moon, huh?” He looked up at the evening sky. The pale blue moon setting in the distance. “Wait a minute. You said, the light of the silver moon? That’s pretty blue, isn’t it? Also, it looks like it’s setting.”
“Oh, Terin has two of what you would call moons. The silver moon only shows up a few times a cycle, actually. It’s one of the reasons why I waited until today to bring you out here.” Lea informed Zack, who was still staring up at the sky and pointedly not at Lea’s nude form in front of him.
There was a rustling sound of clothing and Zack felt something soft being wrapped around himself. He finally looked down to see Lea’s teal cloak wrapped around him.
“You shouldn’t be as concerned about that stuff out here in the wilderness, you know. But I guess with where we’re going after this, we should be a bit more careful.” Lea said vaguely.
Zack hurriedly got dressed and lay down at the grass staring up at the sky before him. “This really is another world. I mean, of course it is. I shouldn’t be too surprised. There are so many similarities with Earth though.”
“Would you tell me more about Earth?” Lea inquired, laying down next to him and holding his hand.
“It was amazing. Huge cities. Massive population centers. Billions of people. Tell me, do you have electricity here? Computers? What do you do for mass transit? Living in a tree for the past however many weeks has kind of made it hard to tell how technologically advanced your people are. Does everyone live in trees where we’re going too? Is it another forest?” Zack unloaded a barrage of questions to Lea.
Lea paused for a long time before responding carefully. “No, I don’t think we have things like that. And also, that tree was not quite normal. I don’t think you should expect too much comparing Earth with Terin. It sounds like we truly do come from two different worlds.”
Zack was silent in contemplation as the evening sun set. Terin was a completely different world from Earth. Would humanity really be able to co-exist with Lea’s people? What would happen when human culture and technology clashed against the normal way of life for the people of Terin? Would they even accept him?
Zack must have fallen asleep at some point. He was woken gently by Lea prodding him on the cheek. Zack’s eyes slowly opened and took in the starry sky before him. A large crescent moon shone with sparkling silver in the night sky.
“So that’s the silver moon, huh? There’s something nice about a crescent moon, but I wish I could see the whole thing.” Zack commented idly as he shifted to a sitting position next to Lea.
“The whole thing?” Lea asked. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. When we leave Terin, that is where we go.” She pointed up at the moon and continued, “The silver light you see. Those are the souls of our ancestors waiting to return. For the entire moon to be illuminated… no, that is too terrible. The crescent silver moon appears in the night sky three times a cycle to return souls back to Terin. If it were fully illuminated, that would mean the souls are not being returned. I do not want to think about such a fate.”
Zack strained to get a closer look at the moon but couldn’t make anything out. It looked like a regular crescent moon to him. However, he didn’t want to trample on Lea’s beliefs and instead chose to just apologize. “Sorry, I didn’t realize. On Earth, the moon just reflects the light of our sun. Depending on the positioning of the planets, it may not always be fully visible.”
Lea hopped up, pulling Zack with her to his feet. “Are you ready?” She asked, holding both of his hands and facing him.
“Sure. What exactly do I need to do?” he asked nervously.
“Just feel.” Lea responded pulling him close, touching her forehead to his.
Zack closed his eyes and felt Lea’s presence enter his mind. By now, after doing this many times at a lower level, he no longer had any fear or reservations about it. His mind was open to Lea, and he accepted her presence without any barrier.
His mind began to wander as he had flashbacks of memories that weren’t his. He remembered himself as a young girl growing up in a rural village. She was a bit of a tomboy and played more with the boys in the village than the other girls. She’d come home from a day of playing out in the wilds, dirty and scraped. Her mother would clean her up and prepare a warm meal for her while her father always looked after her with a worried expression.
The memories seemed more and more like his own. He clearly remembered the day when a traveler entered the village battered and bruised. Their clothes were bloodied and torn. The next day, her father offered to teach her how to use a sword.
“This is a man’s tool, but you need to be able to protect yourself in the future.” The words stuck in Zack’s memory.
He recalled the different fighting forms and exercises she went through for years. His body twitched and ached while remembering them. He could almost feel his neglected muscles groaning in pain at the thought of the movements.
He then thought back to the first time she formed a connection to Terin. It was indescribable. His head felt like it was going to explode. He jerked back violently and fell over.
Zack lay there on the grass, in the subtle moonlight of the crescent moon overhead. He opened his eyes, vision blurred by the experience. He looked up at Lea standing before him. Her entire body was haloed in a bright blue light. The light seemed to dim inwardly as if being absorbed into her body before fading entirely as his vision began to focus.
He felt like he finally understood the young woman before him. He knew why she was so kind to him. He just stared up at her with a broad smile on his face before bursting into laughter.
“Are you sure this is okay?” He asked after his laughter had finally died down.
“Yes, it is the will of Terin.” She smiled down at him before joining him on the ground. Zack fell asleep in Lea’s embrace.
The next morning, Zack woke to the smell of food. Some fresh cooked vegetables were on a plate beside him, though there was no sign of a campfire nearby. Lea smiled at him and pushed the plate closer before getting up and stretching.
“That was a pretty good night’s rest. I’m glad you were able to sleep without any unpleasant dreams for a change. I’m not sure if you realize how much you were tossing and turning every night before.” She grinned down at him. “Go ahead and eat up, the walk out of here is less than half a day. We’re almost there.”
After the meal, Lea did something to make the plate disappear again. He didn’t think that ability worked outside of her tree, but apparently it did. And this time, thanks to their bond, he felt like he almost understood how it worked. She had just asked the nearby tree for a plate, and it had listened to her. Strange.
“Wait, so all that magic you did with the tree before. You were just asking it to take on certain shapes, and it listened?” Zack said, surprised.
“Well, yes. Why wouldn’t they listen to me, silly?” She seemed rather more cheerful than usual this morning.
Zack had no problem pointing it out. “You seem to be in a good mood this morning.”
Lea laughed softly. “Of course, I am! You feel it too, don’t you? We’re together now. I’ll be able to help you wherever you are. And… you’ll be able to help me too.”
Zack stood up and walked over to Lea, hugging her closely. “I’ll be glad to help you with anything. You’ve pretty much saved me already. I don’t think I’d have been able to survive out here without your aid.”
Zack left the embrace to pick up the teal cloak he was still in possession of and offered it back to Lea. “Oh, you should probably have this back. Thanks for letting me borrow it.”
Lea pushed it back into Zack’s hands. “No, you keep it. I’m fine without it, and I want you to have it.”
Lea’s youthful and cheerful attitude energized Zack in turn. The two departed the lake and headed out of the forest with a spring in their steps.
“Zack, thank you for believing in me. I am looking forward to our time together.” Lea said abruptly as they exited the tree line and located an extremely worn and faint trail leading across a sprawling grassy plain.
“Me too. This whole colonization thing. It’s crazy. But I feel like I can do it with you by my side.” Zack responded as they continued walking. There was a short stone wall on the horizon. The road led right up to a small gap in the wall. Zack could see the shape of two people flanking either side of the road at the entrance. “Oh, it looks like we’re finally back to civilization.” He said as he picked up his pace excitedly.
When he was about 50 meters away from the two apparent guards, a soft breeze swept across the plains. The tall grass on either side of the unkempt road whipped this way and that. The breeze seemed to swirl up around him and he felt Lea’s hand on his neck briefly as she leaned forward and whispered into his ear. “Zack. I mean it. Thank you for believing in me. I’m sorry, Zack. I’m sorry that I couldn’t explain more. Please remember that I am here with you, always. It may be hard to reach me at first, but I will always be here with you, and I know you will be able to find a way.”
Zack stopped, confused. When he looked behind him, he was alone. He frantically looked around in all directions but saw no other person besides the two guards ahead, who now had their full attention on him, and their spears drawn.