Decemberland

Chapter 18: Welcome Once Again

Nico and Trust walked out of the dorm room and into the exterior corridor of the building. Her heart pumped faster and faster. Anxiety grabbed hold of her throat. Memories flashed through her head of walking through streets, past households and into public places while receiving  doggy glances and judgemental looks. Sufficeth to say, her past experience with humans was what molded her hatred for them.

Her whole life she had been pigeon-holed into a negative stereotype by a race she didn’t belong to, yet could not escape from. All thanks to an age-old war she was never a part of. If only her own People had survived all the harsh years in between then and now instead of these rotten humans...

Trust kept directing reassuring nods her way, but it wouldn’t get rid of her worry. Would they shun her? Call her names? Give her dark looks? Acknowledge her at all? If Phillip was any example of how far elivannian discrimination spread amongst humans, then there was no possible way it would work.

Still, she told Trust she would do it. She didn’t know what it was about that one particular human, but he made her feel secure. Happy. Not like the others.

They finally made their way down to the bottom of the building. There was only small clumps of snow left on the ground, and grass sprouted around the ground everywhere, as green as she’s ever seen it. Locally planted trees began to grow small buds in preparation of the warm weather. It wouldn’t be too long before leaves would sprout out of their branches.

The streets filled with hustle and bustle, people running around everywhere carrying wood and stone and pushing wheelbarrows full of material.

“Looks like the funeral service is already over,” Trust grunted, “How long did we sleep in?” He pulled an old-fashion pocket watch from his coat and flipped it open. “Black hell, it’s already three hours into noon? We’ve slept half the damn day in!”

Nico looked at his watch in surprise. While the valley was mostly old-fashioned in itself, the bronze color and style of the watch suggested it was cycles old. She knew how hard it was to obtain vintage objects of that quality based on all the vintage she discretely snatched away in the past.

“Nice watch,” she commented.

“Oh, this old thing?” he replied, “It’s nothing, just one of many gifts. Twenty seconds slow, too. Nothing worth writing home about. No, not like this town.” He nodded off ahead of her and she turned around, taking a second glance at the hard working citizens of the valley, all working together to rebuild what was destroyed.

“How can they be so productive so soon after such a terrifying event happened?” Nico wondered.

“Don’t underestimate this town’s vigilance,” said Trust, “Each and every member of this community is made of tougher things. Don’t get me wrong, they’re all mourning inside, but the size of their heart is unmatchable.”

For the first time in over six months, she looked at the people of this town with new eyes. Was every human so durable and headstrong? To think that she was a part of this kind of colony all along...

Then she caught one staring at her as he walked on by. And then another. She second guessed that thought immediately-she knew she could never really be ‘a part’ of a human community. And she was once again about to see why.

She slowly backed away, just now realizing how long she had been standing there for the populace to notice her. “T-Trust...” she murmured. She backed into his hand and he immediately pushed her forward.

“Go buy us some food from that food bar over there,” he said, “It looks finished.”

She shot him a playful look to spare her, but he waved her away with the flick of his wrist, completely unconcerned for her comfort.