Sunflower - Chapter 24 (Patreon)

Since the day with the very big fish, we have walked for many, many, more days.

And then we walked for many days yet more.

Today, we walk no longer.

- An oddity.

We sit in silence, nested on a corner, up on a high hill, up on some high rocks.

There, high above the world, higher than I think any sunflower has been before, we sit.

Burch sits with crossed legs.

I sit with my roots spread out through the rocky sediment of the hill, a little ways behind her.

It is not ideal.

But I prefer it to being in the rucksack, as I have been for so long now.

And together, we simply sit in quiet, enjoying the view, enjoying being this close to the sun.

I never knew that one could get so high up in the world.

This is even higher than that time we went up a tree.

- And that was very high.

I am not sure what has brought this episode of silence to my friend, who has been traveling and hunting these last few days, as if possessed.

Ever since that day in the city, Burch has had only eyes for escape, only eyes for the west, only eyes for the dream of paradise, which haunts us both.

But I am not entirely ungrateful for this shift in her demeanor.

Life sure has been an adventure and it has been very exciting. Perhaps, however, it has been too exciting.

It is good to just sit and relax for a time. This is a far more natural thing for a sunflower to be doing. Resting and basking is far more natural than traveling.

One can defy nature for a time, but doing so for at length will catch up to you eventually.

My leaves, spread out wide and my head, held high and tall, stretch out as far as they can go, to absorb more of the sun’s calm radiance. My roots dig and burrow, drinking greedily of the underground rainwater.

[Sunflower]

You bask in the light of the sun

+ 1 EXP

EXP: 94/450

Ah.

Refreshing.

A breeze blows across the empty wild-land. From up on our high hill, from up on our high rock, there is nothing to see for as far as the eye might wander in every direction, all the way from here to god.

It is just empty.

But it is not empty.

There are trees. There are bushes. There are birds and grazing animals and crawly, creepy things. There are grasses and there are rocks. There are clouds in the sky of many shapes and movements in the winds of many rhythms.

- It is too much to bear.

There is just too much to see in the world.

All of the trees are different in their sizes and shapes and contortions. All of the animals are different in their makeups and their behaviors and their patterns. All of the clouds and winds and sensations of life in the air, differ in the anomaly of their existences.

Haha.

I am rather talkative today, I suppose.

Perhaps I am just thrilled about taking a break?

I am a sunflower in need of a good day’s rest.

_________________________________________________________

It is a new day.

I have rested.

I find Burch an odd sight.

Her hair has grown very long.

Or perhaps it has always been long, but I never really noticed because of how matted and knotted and dirty it was.

[Sunflower]

You bask in the light of the sun

+ 1 EXP

EXP: 101/450

She seems to have pulled some twigs and debris out of it and now, through some miracle of nature, it has come loose and blows in the wind atop the hill in a fashion that is as mesmerizing as the billowing of the leaves of the great forests of the world.

Fascinating.

I turn back towards the sky, taking in more sunlight.

Burch seems to have found an unusual peace here, up on this high hill and I am unsure as to why, but I do not mind.

My friend sits with crossed legs on the rock, as she has done for the day before and she gazes out over the world.

I am not sure what she is looking at, or looking for from her eagle’s perch, but it must be very exciting.

_________________________________________________________

The rains have come, as has a new day.

Burch still sits on the rock.

Is this our most exciting adventure yet?

I think so.

Why is she sitting on the rock?

What is she looking at?

Is she thinking about something?

I never knew that Burch could sit still for so long.

- Absolutely fascinating.

The sun has left us and droplets of warm summer water fall from the graying sky.

Ah.

I lean back, finding some shelter beneath an overhang.

Burch however, continues to sit on her rock, mesmerized by the world, undisturbed by the rain.

Are we going to live here now?

I look around myself.

I suppose it is better than the meadow that she found me in. The view is much nicer.

And if she is with me, then it won’t be so bad either, as soon as the rain goes away and the sun returns.

_________________________________________________________

I worry for Burch’s health.

(Sunflower) activated: [Photosynthebiosis]

This is a most unusual thing for a sunflower to do.

My roots find their way into her body, having slowly crawled up the rock towards her.

I have not seen her eat or drink for a time now.

This is most unhealthy.

So, instead, I will share my sugars and the waters of the rain with you, Burch.

- In the hopes that you will reveal your secret to me.

The secret of what you have and are witnessing there.

My friend sits in silence as my roots burrow in through the soft flesh, just beneath the hard nails of her feet.

_________________________________________________________

I tire of this place.

How unusual.

I stare out at the world around myself, a magnificent place, full of splendors and wonders, both fantastic and terrible.

- And here I sit, atop a high rock.

Perhaps I have gotten greedy?

Were there not days of my life in which I would have treasured such a view, thanking life for its many bounties?

But now, I find myself wanting more.

I have seen much. I have seen and felt and experienced so many odd and unique things and I crave more of them still.

I crave these feelings, like my body craves sunlight, like my inner workings crave sugar and water. I find now that there is no difference between my wants of things tangible and intangible.

But Burch still refuses to move. She still sits up on her big rock and still has not shared her secret with me.

Enough.

(Sunflower) has started channeling: [Hard Water]

Channeling Time: {6} Seconds

SOUL: 12/15

My roots gorge themselves full of water, drinking deeply of the rain-nourished soil.

(Sunflower) has used: [Hard Water]

A pulse shoots out over the ground around myself, shaking the many rocks and stones atop the hill with a violent quake, which feels stronger than it did once.

The large rock that Burch is sitting on shakes.

My friend slides off of it like a snake, crawling down a tree backwards.

- It is most graceless.

She flops to the ground down next to me and does not move.

But something else does.

Crawling beneath the back of her new bark is a lump.

My root presses through, gliding along her body as I see what has come to bother my friend.

- A scorpion emerges, scuttling away.

Wow.

What a beautiful creature.

I look back towards my friend. Froth and drool leak out of her mouth, pressed against the stones.

It seems that I was mistaken.

What a foolish thing I am.

I had wrongly assumed that my friend was resting and pondering life’s great mysteries.

But it seems that she was stung by a scorpion and has been fighting its possession and venom for days now. It is a good thing that she is resistant to such creatures.

- To an extent.

Haha.

Oh Burch.

You’re such a silly thing.

I do adore you so.

Using my roots, I push her rucksack, full of soil, beneath her head to allow her to rest there, free of the scorpion and its reinjections of venom.

I wonder.

What is it like to be stung by a scorpion?

I suppose that I am a little jealous now, actually.

Burch once again gets to experience something that I may never know.

No.

No. It is wrong of me to be jealous.

I should be happy for my friend.

I am happy for my friend.

I turn to look at Burch’s element’s exposed face, which displays an indiscernible expression of questionable wakefulness.

I’m glad that you are living life to its fullest, Burch. I want to wiggle my roots around beneath the nails of her feet, to display my content and understanding.

But it seems that I have failed to realize something critical.

By using my ability to fill my roots with water, so have I filled the roots beneath the nails of her feet.

- All of them have been ripped off.

Despite not being awake, she seems to be crying.

What a blessed life she lives.

Imagine being able to feel things, even while asleep.

- Amazing.

I want to be more like my best friend, Burch.