Sunflower - Chapter 15 (Patreon)

Negative energies move through the soil, they move through the air, they move through the vibrations, spreading out from each and every step that a creature, infected by them, takes.

When something releases negative energies from themselves, it is easy to see.

These things, these creatures, are best avoided.

- Misery does love company, after all.

Perhaps that might be a cruel way to see the world. But, negativity is a parasite.

It will latch onto a host and then infect it and that entity will then move on to infect another, spreading the disease further.

The cure is sunlight.

[Sunflower]

You bask in the light of the sun

+ 1 EXP

EXP: 23/310

EXP (Burch): 32/160

- For a sunflower, at least.

I hold my petals spread open wide, my stem tall and straight.

It’s so simple, really. That’s all it took, some sunlight, some water and a few days of rest and already my friend is recovered.

So perhaps it works for monsters too?

I did not allow her negativity to spread to me.

That would have been most unbecoming of a sunflower.

Could you imagine? A sad sunflower?

- What a strange world that would be.

The big stone path, the ‘road’ that we have followed for a day and a half, has led us to an oddity.

A split.

[Sunflower]

You bask in the light of the sun

+ 1 EXP

EXP: 24/310

EXP (Burch): 33/160

The road breaks off into two directions, one heading towards the left and one heading towards the right, like two branches leaving the thick trunk of a tree.

How interesting.

I was unaware that roads were able to do this.

Can all roads become two roads?

…Can those two roads become two more?

Are there an infinite, uncountable number of roads, just like there are branches in the forest and stars in the sky?

- Amazing.

I never knew that paths and roads could be so interesting.

Perhaps they are too interesting, as my friend Burch is unable to make a choice.

Both lead towards the west, roughly speaking. But one leads towards the lower west and one towards the higher west.

I myself am indifferent to which one we take.

Life will be good either way.

Burch, overwhelmed by her two choices, stands there in uncertainty.

___________________________________________________________

Tell me, friend.

What is it that a monster fears?

I notice from the tension in the muscles of her back, that my roots slide through, that she is uncertain.

An hour has passed. We are still at the break in the road.

Burch takes a step towards the lower path.

- And then she stops, turning her head towards the right, towards the other.

Ah.

Life is confusing.

You wonder, what lies at the end of that road?

Is it preferable to what lies at the end of this one?

Am I choosing correctly? Will this bring me closer towards my goal, or further from it?

- A conundrum.

But, at the same time, I suppose that this is the thrill, the indecisiveness of it all.

What if we choose wrong? What if this road leads to death and that one to paradise?

Fantastic.

The bounty of life, choices, individuality, it’s absolutely fantastic. Sad are the dead who are unable to feel the kiss of the sun, who are unable to choose a path, left or right.

The living are truly blessed.

Burch steps away from the lower-path, having changed her mind again and heads along the upper road.

As for myself, I am indifferent.

As long as I can see the world, as long as I can feel the sun, as long as I can spend days more with my monster-friend, then I suppose it does not really matter which road we take, no?

I am a content sunflower.

___________________________________________________________

It is night.

Voices ring out aloud in the distance, an unusual oddity.

Fire and life make themselves apparent in the forest grove not far ahead of us, just over the meadow yonder.

- What a nice word, ‘yonder’.

I wonder where I learned it from? I don’t quite recall.

In fact, I suppose that I still don’t exactly know what I am alive and aware.

But perhaps this does not matter, really.

- What good would knowing the answers to that be?

Would knowing make me any less or more alive and aware than before?

I think not.

Burch creeps towards the grove, lowering herself down to the ground. We crawl, sneaking through the bushes.

I would complain about this, but there is no sunlight right now anyways. So why not live a little?

Burch has tried to learn the ways of the sunflower.

Perhaps it is time that I learn the ways of the monster?

It is only fair.

Reaching the edge of the undergrowth, my curious, horribly beautiful monster-friend and I stare out at the collection of carts, pulled into a ring.

It seems that some of her ilk have gathered here to shelter for the night. It would appear that they have pulled their carts into a circle to make a barrier of sorts, a nest, in the center of which they rest by a roaring fire.

If I had to wager, I would suspect that Burch is hungry.

After all, food is always scarce on our journey and she only ever eats during moments of gorging, after having found a source of plenty.

The last large meal that she had eaten was the fish from the river. That was days ago and since then, she has eaten, little save for the odd berries, which we had found here and there along the way.

- Are we hunting?

No.

Given her demeanor and low posture, it seems that we are here to simply steal from the unsuspecting creatures.

Hmm…

Or maybe ‘harvest’ is a more applicable word?

After all, how is this different from taking the berries from a bush or the seeds from a flower? It seems the same to me.

Burch sneaks forward, moving over the grass towards the cart, walking in the shadows where the light of the fire does not stretch towards.

They speak to one another, the males and females of the inner circle, but they speak in tones and words that I do not understand, like the girl from the village.

Given their low tone now, it seems that the conversation is dying out as they all slowly fade into the depths of sleep, their energy suppressed by the heavy blanket of the spirit dampening night.

We wait in the shadows and then, after minutes of silence, save for the wind, rustling the trees, save for the fire, crackling joyfully across from us, Burch slowly peaks around and I peek with her.

A bounty.

The carts are full of objects that I do not recognize. Some are small and obscure in their shape and forms and shine in the firelight. Others are odd wooden trinkets and baubles and others are long stingers and claws, made out of hard metals. There are mounds of what appear to be dried leaves and plants and mushrooms.

Burch seems to have eyed one box in particular, that is laden with dry meat.

I can feel the growl of her stomach all the way up in her shoulders.

We crawl towards it and she grabs a handful and then a handful more, already biting into a piece of it, unable to stop herself.

I can not taste it. But I suspect that, given the glow I feel in her blood, the leaning in of her posture, that it is most delectable.

My friend harvests much meat from the carts, stuffing it and many baubles into the bag, where they rest on my soil.

My roots could, perhaps, have a small nibble of the meat. But there is no blood in it, so I care little for it and besides -

This belongs to my friend.

“Kaschib!” yells an angry voice, most unbefitting of the quiet night. I do not know what it means.

Burch looks at the man who has spotted us. The others rouse. Burch runs and I watch in curiosity as they, the original harvesters of the meat, are hindered in their pursuit by their very own barricade of carts that they first have to climb over.

Ah.

Irony.

We escape into the night, making away like bandit raccoons.

______________________________________________________

[Sunflower]

You bask in the light of the sun

+ 1 EXP

EXP: 27/310

EXP (Burch): 37/160

I sometimes ponder about why my friend took me with her on this journey.

It does seem unusual, does it not?

Burch sits by the big rocks and I sit next to her, on the big grass and we look, staring at the big water, which cascades down a cliffside. A waterfall, most beautiful, glistens as it displays the prismatic beauty of sunlight.

She leans against the rocks, having gorged herself full on the meat of the cart-monsters and there is a look of contentment and peace on her face that I find most pleasing.

The waterfall, mighty, roars with a dampening, overpowering hum that is sweeter and more harmonious than any voice of bird or monster I have ever heard.

Burch sleeps, leaning against the big, sun-warmed rocks by the pool of the waterfall and I hold watch.

The harvesting of food, of things has been a common theme of my life until now. It started with the bird, taking my seeds and then with Burch taking me. So many things have been taken during these most exciting days. It is the rule of nature.

- But what if someone comes along and tries to take Burch with them, like she had taken me from my meadow?

Then I would be alone.

That would be most unpleasant. I have grown accustomed to having a friend. I suppose that I can not allow this to happen. After all, this is so much fun. I would like to drink blood again and I would like to see a big fish and I would like to see so many other things.

I calmly gaze towards the sun, thinking about my thoughts.

A sunflower and a monster, friends on a journey.

- What a beautiful world.