Endosymbiosis

18. Evolutionary Convergence

"What's in this atmosphere?" I growled.

"Do not worry. The substance was made only for the beings of this world. You will not be affected." Something in her sincerity reassured me more than it should... And I was taken by a new feeling: that I could trust without fear of being wrong, at least once in my life. "It makes creatures docile and encourages them to adapt to a world where destruction is not tolerated." What happened to those who didn't adapt? Perhaps the same thing that happened when they failed on other worlds; only now in the name of peace. What sacrifices could be forgiven for a better universe? "Is your world brutal like the others or does it strive for peace like ours?"

Kadi and I stared at each other.

"I don't think either of them describes ir well..."

"So you have a lot to learn from us."

After the feast, I nodded to Kadi, asking to speak with him in private, and he followed me away from the creatures. After checking that none of them were paying attention to us, I walked over to whisper:

"I don't think it's right to deceive the columbas..."

Kadi stared at me with a smile, as if my remorse for deceiving those creatures was just innocence. He approached a bush of pale flowers and plucked a small bunch, turning back to me with his fingers stroking the velvety petals as if his hands had never held anything more precious.

"So delicate..." He whispered, snuggling her up. "They don't have to lie like us, who, on Earth, lie on stages, in governments, in the houses of the gods who were venerated before the Empire... However, we don't lie because we need to survive, but because we like to believe in the lies we tell; until the truth is nothing more than the creation of an idealist... Flowers don't have to lie. And these ones, specifically, don't even need thorns..." He plucked some from the bunch. "And, so easy, I can crush them." Then his hand closed around the separated flowers, opening it to reveal the crushed plants. Kadi dropped the remnants onto the grass and handed me the rest of the bunch that remained untouched. "Every time you look at them, don't think about how delicate they are, but how dangerous you are in comparison; and how much more dangerous you need to be in order not to be crushed by worse beings."

I swept my eyes over the flowers and back to Kadi when I felt a smile growing on my face.

"All this to give me flowers?"

The corner of her lips curled up reluctantly.

"I should have given you the crushed ones..."

Which would still be flowers.

At that moment the columbas approached and I let them take me away. With eyes refusing to let go of me, Kadi was also carried away by the columbas. And as we were separated, I realized that I must have been more worried than I really was... But I understood these creatures' quest for peace. How could I fear them?

I was guided to the feet of a weeping willow tree, covered in bluish flowers that hung from the branches and covered the grass in a soft layer. The creatures wrapped vines in my hair and braided it like I was an ancient princess, worthy of that treatment. I wondered what they could want from me in exchange for so much kindness... But maybe, in a world like that, designed to be a refuge, they would give without expecting anything in return.

"Are my daughters treating you well?" Plumala paid me off, greeting the other creatures by touching her forehead with theirs.

"Why do you do this?" I asked, curious.

"That's how we confess our connection to each other." She revealed. "There is no greater trust than that which one needs to have to give your mind to another being, your most fragile and precious possession, to be touched without being destroyed... And that is what we always want to pass on to each other."