Aerith [Original Story] [On Hold]

Chapter 13: In Which We Go to a Haunted House

By the time we got to the bottom of the hill, I was surprised that my jaw hadn't started dragging along the ground yet. The closer we got to the scene, the more impressive it got.

The city itself was like something out of a medeival movie. The dirt path we were on turned to cobblestone, which made up all of the streets. Little tufts of moss crept up between the stones, which weren't the usual dull brown and grey colors. Instead, the road glittered jade and aquamarine, like precious stones had been embedded into the cement.

Small wooden carts lined the alleys. Vendors were selling everything imaginable. Pearls and seashells glittered on rings and necklaces at the stand nearest to us. Further on, a round man was selling all sorts of various fruits, which all looked more luscious and rich than what I was used to back at my home. There were quite a few fruits that I had never even seen before. 

We walked past a set of stairs that led down to a lower plaza. In the center, an elegant fountain sprayed crystalline water in jets of mist, which formed intricate swirls in the air. A couple of infants splashed around in the pool, giggling and cupping the water in their hands to toss it at each other. 

I turned and saw that everyone else in the group was grinning despite the grumpy moods this morning. No doubt I looked a lot like the kids in the fountain. I definitely felt like a little girl on Christmas day, and I suddenly wanted to know what everything was. 

When we walked past the fruit cart, the scent was unlike anything I had ever experienced in my life. My eyes quickly landed on a crate full of large fruits that I didn't recognize. Pale orange and pastel yellow blended on their skins to create the color of sunrise. 

Tom noticed what I was looking at and walked up to the stand. 

"Oh, you don't have to-"

He tossed one of the fruits into my hand before I could finish the sentence. 

"It's called a sun berry," he told me once we had paid. So, my observation about the color hadn't been far off the mark. "There's no need to peel it." 

I took a bite. There was no good way to describe the sweet taste. It was unbelievable, like a blend of raspberries, pomegranates, mangos, peaches, and bananas, all at the same time. I was surprised to see the dark color of the center, which was hot pink, like a grapefruit.

"I wish I had these back at home," I told Renee as we kept walking. She smiled.

"We can only get them when we come to Patria, because they only grow on Yggdrasil. That's the tree," she told me.

I knew what tree she was talking about. It was pretty hard to miss, and, despite how beautiful the rest of Patria was, Yggdrasil was the centerpiece for a reason. 

I could see it even when we had been on top of the hill. It reminded me of the tree Rafiki from The Lion King lived in. The branches, which were covered in thick foliage, surely stretched for miles towards the sky. Vines trailed their way down the trunk, which had to be as wide as the mansion.

The name Yggdrasil was familiar, and I pulled it out of my head as something from mythology. 

"The Tree of Life," I said. 

Now I remembered the story. It wasn't Greek or Roman, but Norse. Supposedly, all the realms of the universe were connected by the branches of Yggdrasil. I had no idea how the Norse could have placed something from Aerith into their myths, but wasn't surprising that they believed it could connect the universe. That tree was freakin' huge. 

Everyone else looked impressed, excluding Nicole, of course. She was scowling at the sun berry in my hand as though it had personally done something to offend her.