Earth Heart
Minutes later I found myself clinging to
his warm angular hand as we descended into the fog. He was an expert explorer
while all I knew was how to race a cybertrack. He guided us past unusual
looking plant life, if they could even be called plants, their branches
reaching to the oddly coloured sky while dripping with moisture. I daren’t even
track on my own, let alone let go of his hand while zooming through the
Wilderness. Moisture clung to my feedskin, making me glow with a funny looking
blue light. His was a brilliant orange, like the artificial sunsets back at the
city. It seemed like ages before we finally slowed to a stop beneath the canopy
of weird Wilderness-life. The ground was soft and springy beneath my feet. I
cautiously untangled myself from him and took a tentative step forward. Blue
green branches reached for the sun, starved looking as they were, the scene was
still majestic, reminiscent of the forests that were destroyed. “Beautiful isn’t
it?” Leo whispered. I looked up at him, his eyes were lost in memories like
mine. He noticed me watching and gave a small laugh. “Come. I have something
better to show you.” We stepped deeper beneath the cover of the trees and I
almost bumped into his back as he stopped suddenly. Just as I was about to open
my mouth to protest, he took my hand and placed a very small something on my
palm. A tiny royal purple flower, a true flower, rested in my hand, its heart a
deep blood red fading into black at the centre. I hardly dared to breathe in
case I blew it away by accident. I gazed into his eyes wonderingly, feeling the
texture of the petals between my fingers. “Where’d you find this?” I queried.
He shrugged, making his feedskin ripple. His hands were brown and angular where
mine were pale and slim in comparison. He touched the flower gently and a smile
came to his face. He pointed his chin towards a rock pile and right at the top
of it, I saw the most beautiful and natural thing I had ever seen since I was
shipped here as a child. A small bush, no higher than my knee, full of purple
blossoms. “There is life here after all…” he merely smiled.~Rei Shiori
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