(12) A New World

“John!!” I called out, but it was no use. He was gone. I looked longingly into the pool, tears rolling down my face and sobs wracking my body until I was reminded of the ancient earth tale of Narcissus who stared into a pool so long he was turned into a flower. Granted, he was in love with his own reflection, but I realized that I was no use to John just staring at what I had lost. I had to move on. I stood up straight and pulled away from the glassy surface of that cursed pool, the moment I did it vanished. I fell to my knees and buried my face in my hands as I cried. No. I had to get a hold of myself. For John. That was enough. My determination enabled me to dry my eyes and calm my hysteria.

I really looked around my new environment for the first time. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. The colors were so lush and bright that they didn’t seem real. The sky was a bright robin’s egg blue, the grass a lush, bright green. There were two suns in the sky, so I must be in a different solar system from my home world of Terrafima. It was the second colony earth made, but the planet had been invaded by the beasts and the war had ruined a lot of the planet’s beauty. This place, was so different. The trees snaked up in spiraling pink curves and had plump, colorful fruits hanging off them. Crystal clear water rushed over a riverbed made entirely of clear quarts stones ranging in size from pebbles to boulders. Large clear bubbles rose from the river instead of foam wherever the liquid hit a large rock. There was a path near the grassy patch I was standing on that was cobblestoned with rose quartz. Butterflies flitted to and fro and small birds with colorful plumage darted around overhead. I was on a plain and saw that the stone path stretched far into the distance where a building rose up against the blue sky. It’s tall, orange spires stretched high, and I felt, perhaps instinctively, that I should go there. In a way, I felt it calling me there. I inhaled deeply of the sweet smell of this strange place, it smelled of peppermint, fresh peaches, sugar crystals, and sunshine. Then, simply placing one foot in front of the other I started down the rose quartz path my eyes trained on the orange palace before me.

After walking for several hours I grew hungry. The succulent-looking fruits hanging heavy on the trees I passed called out to me and soon I could think of nothing else. I stopped and plucked a large, ripe purple fruit that hung in an upside down pear shape. I studied it closely, sniffing it. The sweet smell was so inviting and the smooth skin was so think, but a veneer—the only think separating me and it’s juices. My teeth broke the skin and the sweet juice flooded my mouth and dripped down my chin. It was delicious. The taste awakening a ravenous hunger I gulped it down in a second. In a frenzy I snatched and devoured a dozen of the fruits before I stopped. I could not find the words to describe the flavors of these fruits. Their colors were so bright and their tastes so unique. The blue ones were tart, the purple were quite sweet, there was an unusual tanginess in the yellow one and the red one, it was the best: a mixture of sweetness and tartness that balanced perfectly. 

I looked down at my hands and saw that they were dripping with a rainbow of colorful juices. My tunic was splattered and stained with the same nectar. I felt the stickiness dried on my face all around my chin. Laughing a bit I made my way to the river and found a small puddle near it which proved a fine mirror for me to see my comical appearance. Giggled bubbled out of my mouth uncontrollably. I managed to clean a good bit of my arms with the clear water, but I was so sticky and hot from the twin suns I decided to take a bath. 

I looked for a good spot and saw that a small waterfall was nearby surrounded with bright blue bushes bearing yellow berries and small white flowers. Looking around I saw no sign of any life form for as far as my eyes could see. I began to undress by the bank of the waterfall. I stepped into the water and felt a chill run up my spine. The water was quite cold, but it felt so good, so I plunged under the surface. Part of me hoped I would appear back in my world, but I knew that what had transported me here was more magical than this simple waterfall. My red curls swirled around me and the fruit juices, after much scrubbing, left my skin and ran off my body in little colored rivlettes. 

As I swam about, enjoying the water, I forgot to keep an eye out for anything approaching my pool. I looked up after I had burst upward through the water, flinging my hair behind me in a long, wet mass, and I saw him. He was standing there watching me with an amused expression on his face.

John!