Book I: Garnet

7

A ceiling of leaves captivated Solan as they walked along Path A. This was the furthest he had ever been from The Root. An experience he was very much looking forward to.

For so long.

Thanks to Sky, they seemed to find a solid collection of things they could eat. She has explored Path A plenty of times with her uncle and brother, and was spot on when navigating them to food sources.

However, her bantering was kind of ruining the scene's entrancement for Solan. Since they began, she had been asking and answering her own questions persistently.

Solan gave her a look as she began peeling a banana. She then smacked audibly on it as she muttered through her teeth an idea about climbing trees to check nests for eggs.

So much for waiting for the okay, Solan thought. Though he knew everything they caught was edible. He wished she would have waited for the okay from their instructor.

As if she could hear his silent protest, Sky swallowed the last bit of her morning snack. "It's just a banana," she retorted in defense.

Silence.

"TALK TO ME!" the playful girl shouted, flinging her banana peel in the air.

Her plea would go unanswered still.

And not because Solan didn't want to respond. As his inability to speak also mystified him. All of his attempts have remained incomprehensible. And at a certain point, he accepted his impairment and embraced the challenge of communicating in other ways.

Selfishly, he didn't mind that it also granted him access to a collection of literature very few outside of Wise Ones are privy to.

It's a precedent before taking his opportunity to grow up with his peers, he always thought. All this knowledge, no one to share it with.

Just then, the thought occurred to him. There might be other foods I'm missing. I should check. Solan reached backwards for the something he shared his thoughts with regularly; a medium-sized booklet.

While rummaging through The Root's library, he discovered a journal and Wise Ones granted him permission to rent it indefinitely.

Its pages were written on a fourth of the way by Unity, their eldest member. And said to be the person who brought Garnet to the island. It was a collection of pictures, insights, excerpts from other writings in the library, and comments about its relevance.

The moment Solan received permission to keep it, he committed to completing it. The only stipulation was that only he would read it or add to it.

"What do you have there?" Sky became distracted by the new motion her mute mate made. "Ah. A diary?"

Solan held a thick, dark brown booklet. On the cover there was a circle drawn in ink, with a single white dot at its center.

"Did someone make that for you?"

He turned the book around, tilting it so words were visible.

"For Unity." Sky announced; to study it further, she reached out to grab it.

Solan immediately pulled back and swiftly made the journal disappear to where it came from.

"You're not very good at sharing, are you?" Sky teased.

You're not very good with boundaries. Sol thought.

"Oh!" Sky shouted suddenly. "I see a nest right there! I'm gonna investigate."

Sky tossed her collection on the ground, to the side and rambunctiously ran towards a rubber tree. Clasping onto the branch with bare feet, she began climbing, ascending without a hitch; as if she had the same skillfulness as Knuckles.