Sunflower - Chapter 22 (Patreon)

The spider has eight eyes.

- Something skitters and Burch turns to look at the strange creature, at the spider that follows us.

Burch has two eyes.

The spider is, by all accounts, a perfectly normal spider.

It isn’t very large, being about the size that one would expect a spider to be.

It isn’t very threatening, always holding a reasonable distance from us.

But, this spider differs from all the other spiders that we have seen before, in that it follows us.

Burch turns to keep walking and the skittering from behind us continues.

- I like spiders.

They eat the little insects and creatures who would nibble on my roots and who would nibble on my petals.

Spiders are the protectors of flowers.

I have no eyes.

Curious.

Despite the spider having eight eyes, it clearly sees us.

And despite Burch only having two, she clearly sees it, as well as myself.

And I?

I, with no eyes, see the both of them just fine.

One might question what the purpose of eyes even is, in such a case?

Can the spider with its eight eyes see better than Burch?

And can she, with her two, see better than myself?

- A conundrum.

We walk and I am lost in thought.

________________________________________________________

The two of us sit by the fire, which we have made with wood, dragged into the cavern from the outside.

The spider has followed us into it and now, it has made itself a web, hanging between the rocks.

- What a curious thing.

Hello, little spider.

Why are you here?

Why are you following us?

I can not say, it is not for a sunflower to know.

From the looks of things, Burch can not say either.

- She had tried to squish it before, with her magic.

But the spider simply skittered away, only to return a little while later, always skittering and scampering a good, safe distance from her.

But never far enough that we can’t be aware of it.

It sits there on its web, disturbed by the gentle breeze of the rising heat of our fire, which escapes the cavern.

Its emerald carapace, dotted with ruby marks, glimmers in the light of the flames.

The spider is a most captivating creature.

Burch is wary of sleeping.

I do not quite understand what her issue is.

Rest, friend.

The spider and I will watch over you for the night.

I am not sure if she hears me or not, but, sparing a glance my way, Burch lays down and rests.

As for me, well, I do not care much for being inside of a cave, let alone a cave at night.

- Right now, for myself, the sun is further away than ever before.

________________________________________________________

[Sunflower]

You bask in the light of the sun

+ 1 EXP

EXP: 228/310

EXP (Burch): 47/240

One might ask, what is the purpose of a spider?

To this, I have no answer.

But, one might ask, what is the purpose of a Burch?

To this too, I have no answer.

However, if one were to ask, what is the purpose of a sunflower?

- Well, that is very simple.

My purpose as a sunflower is, quite simply, to be a sunflower.

My purpose is to bask in the love of the kind sun and to spread my petals and then, in a later stage of life, my seeds.

And that’s it.

That’s all there is.

The simplicity of life is so beautiful, is it not?

The answers then, to my other questions, are obvious as well.

The purpose of the spider is to do what spiders do.

It eats insects.

It makes webs.

It lays many thousands of eggs and then guards its clutch, before then dying.

The purpose of Burch in life is for Burch to do what Burch does.

She walks.

She eats.

She feels things, both good and terrible.

She does things, both good and terrible.

- And that is all there is for any of us.

I find this most beautiful.

The greatest question of all, why are we here, can be answered with the world’s most simple answer.

- To do what we are here to do.

That’s it.

There’s nothing else and that is the greatest gift of life.

The fact that we are free.

I am a philosophical sunflower.

The spider skitters and Burch lets out a surprised yelp as it comes closer. She runs.

___________________________________________________

The fat bee buzzes, as it tries to escape the spider’s web.

The strings of it are thick and silky and hold a deep beauty to their artisanal making.

Burch and I sit and watch, night having fallen, as the bee fights a most beautiful fight.

It buzzes and twists and hums and pulls in all manner of directions, shaking the web violently.

Our spider friend however, is quiet.

It sits on the edge of the web, bouncing around only a little and waits.

Just like Burch and I wait for the sun to rise, the spider waits for the bee to stop.

The bee waits, in action, for its energy to come to depletion.

After a minute more, the chubby, golden creature runs out of strength.

- The spider makes its move.

(Burch) used: [Minor Pulse]

A ripple moves through the air. The web rips, the spider dangling on by a thread. The bee tumbles towards the ground, thudding loudly as it strikes the floor.

It buzzes and fights and somehow manages to remove the strands of loose webbing from itself, as it rises into the air and then flies away.

- Curious.

I look at my friend, using the eyes, which I don’t have.

I stare into her two eyes.

Her two eyes, in turn, stare into the eight eyes of the spider.

- This is the summation of the encounter.

Nothing else happens.

The spider hangs there and Burch and I sit here.

I console the spider. Sorry, friend.

Burch has issues with aggression, you know?

I think she needs a little more sunlight.

Maybe tomorrow?

Yes.

I lift myself back upright, confident that the sunlight of tomorrow will bring life back to my friend’s face.

___________________________________________________

Two days have passed.

The spider is dead.

Burch and I stand there, looking back at the body of the spider, curling up and twitching as it succumbs to its hunger.

It has not had a successful hunt since that night.

- Such is life.

[Sunflower]

You bask in the light of the sun

+ 1 EXP

EXP: 287/310

EXP (Burch): 76/240

We stand there and watch it for a time as the light leaves the eight eyes of the spider.

Burch does not know, but the spider looks at me and I look at it.

Do not worry, friend.

I will take care of the rest.

It is the least I can do, since you saved me from being pollinated by that bee.

___________________________________________________

One more day comes to pass.

Then, one more.

Then, one more.

[Sunflower]

You bask in the light of the sun

+ 1 EXP

EXP: 310/310

EXP (Burch): 99/240

[LEVEL UP!]

Congratulations! You are now level {8}!

HP: 19/19 ↗

SOUL: 15/15 ↗

- [Stats] -

• STR: 03 ↗
• DEX: 03 ↗
• WIS: 09 
• INT: 08 
• LUK: 08 ↗↗
• LOV: 06

NEW - [Floral Resonance]{Toggle}

Spell cost: MAX SOUL -50% while toggled

• While active: Draws in territorial arachnids to your location, from a distance of your (LOV/2)km.

Hello, word-wood.

It has been a long time, hasn’t it?

Burch seemed happy at first to see you, but her smile seems to have vanished again.

I do not quite understand her emotional fluctuations.

Perhaps it simply is not for a sunflower to know.

“Please don’t use that,” says Burch, speaking to me for the first time in many, many days.

Ah.

Life has given me a gift, but she is not appreciative of it.

- Perhaps she simply does not like spiders?

Hmm.

This could be a problem.

I had not considered this, while indulging in my past actions.

Friend.

You see.

The thing is, that, well -

- Something moves on my stem.

Oh.

Talk about timing.

I lift my leaves to display the clutch of spider’s eggs, laid there for safe-keeping by the mother spider, who we lost along the way.

Burch’s eyes go open in a horror that I have seldom seen from them, as the eggs, a thousand and then some, begin to hatch.

She screams, dropping me and running away, flailing and shaking herself off.

It reminds me of the dance she did when the bee chased her once.

Haha.

I enjoyed that.

Looking down at myself, I watch as the clutch of spider’s eggs hatch on my body.

I feel this most rare gift of life.

- The sensation of ten-thousand, small, pinprick legs crawling all over myself, from top to bottom.

Truly I am blessed.

After all, who else can say that they have been present and part of this most beautiful event?

- A hundred spiders crawl over my face.

This is the best.

I only wish that I had eyes too, so that I could know what it would be like for them to walk over them with their tiny, sharp, skittering feet.

Burch fusses and swears, but I quite enjoy myself.