Tisis

Proof of life (S)

Fortunately my leg is much better already and Nym's hangover is not quite as severe as it first seemed to be.
Moving around in the fresh air and drinking a lot of water seems to help her head clearing up, though I'll bet she'll still be feeling that for quite a while to come.

While we're slowly moving over to the forest, Nym explains that most predators seem to have gone into something called 'hibernation'.
At least that's her explanation, why nothing really dangerous tried to eat her as of late.

My mind goes back to last night, but I quickly push it away.
I cannot afford my mind to go to the gutter right now, lest I ruin whatever it is we have right now.

I let her keep talking about stuff I cannot even begin to understand.
It's been a whole while since we've been out together, so I guess there's a whole lot of 'lectures and observations' piled up inside of her.

Just when we reach the outskirts of the forest, the clouds part and let the warm rays of the sun through.

We stop for a moment and bathe in the light from the heavens, taking every little bit of warmth we can get.

I sit down and cool my aching leg with some of the snow still lying around and gaze at the plains around us.

The snow shines and shimmers like a trillion shards of glass, blinding me when I look directly at it.

Yet still, it is the most beautiful thing I've seen in a long time.
It is quiet. Pure. Peaceful.

Nym said, that this planet is a lot like Earth used to be.
I still have a hard time believing, that my ancestors ruined a beautiful world like this.
How could they possibly do that?

The mere thought makes an unwelcome thought surface from the depths of my mind.

Someone, who destroys this kind of beauty deserves to be destroyed as well.

I shake my head and shove the thought away.
That's not like me.
It's not a healthy thought either, because try as I might, I am still human.
As such, I am perfectly capable of this very destruction that brought about the end of my ancestor's home world.

What did Nym call me?
Tisidean? The 'fruit of destruction'?

"Sirus? Are...you okay? Does your leg hurt that bad?"

I look up from my thought and look at Nym, who's squat down in front of me with a worried look on her face.

I blink a few times and only now realize that I spaced out.
In the middle of nowhere no less.

I curse myself for being so careless, force myself to my feet and reply, "Nah, I'm fine. See, no problem...I was just..."

The thought from before returns and I sigh.

"Nym...do you hate me?"
"...where'd that come from?"
"Answer the question please. Do you...hate me? My people?"

Nym gets up herself and lets out a deep sigh.
"We've been over this before, you know? We agreed on not blaming each other for what happened...things beyond our control, remember?"

I close my eyes, the image from around me vividly imprinted in my minds eye before I say, "Yes, actually I wasn't talking about that...event. This world...you said it is a lot like Earth, right?"
"Yeah, at least from its basic type. Lots of green and blue...why do you ask?"
"...because my people destroyed it...and...and I don't even know why! Why would...how could anyone ever destroy something this beautiful?!"

Nym leans against me, resting her head against my shoulder and responds, "I don't know, Sirus. But it was probably the same kind of reason why the ship was destroyed...some people with ill intentions sought to gain more power...and destroyed what they sought to obtain in the process. These things just happen."

"...tell me, what is Asmodeus like?"
"Actually, I don't know. I've never been there. I was born and raised on the ship, just like you."
"But you've seen pictures, right? I mean...with all the things you know..."

Nym stares into the distance and after the longest time she says, "Asmodeus is a water world. 95 % water with only a few island scattered over the entire planet. It's like...an ocean that never ends...you've seen an ocean in your dreams, didn't you?"
I nod, remembering the huge body of blue stretching out towards the horizon.

"So yeah...by Garkla's grace and wisdom we built large underwater cities, where my people live. The images I saw told of a splendor that nothing on the ship could ever compare to."
"And...how would we have lived there? As we already established the other day, my people can't live under water all that well."

Nym chuckles at the memory of me almost dying in the lake, but quickly explains, "After Garkla blessed us with the technology to conquer the dry land, we've begun to expand beyond the surface to support our increasing population. There are multiple cities that swim on the waters of Asmodeus and then there are the islands, though those are mainly used for growing the food the seabed cannot supply us with. Rest assured, we didn't traverse the stars for years only to drown you in our oceans."

I want to give her a witty remark, when something suddenly catches my eye.

"Now, would you look at that..." I say and walk over to where a small patch of green shimmers through the blanket of snow.

I carefully bow down and look at the tiny white flower bravely sticking out its head towards the rays of the sun as if to spite the freezing cold.

"Hey, good find...do you know, what this means, Sirus?" Nym asks me from behind, but quickly proceeds to answer her own question, "Spring is not far away now. The first flowers are waking from their sleep."

"So...you think the cold season will be over soon?"
"Sure looks like it. Life is returning to this world. And these little guys are the first proof of it. Let's see...it's been about 3 months since the first snow."

While Nym goes on one of her thought trains with that calendar thing she's building, I look at the small harbinger of life for a few more moments.
Until Nym's stomach rumbles audibly, making the both of us laugh.

"Alright, let's go see if we can find something to eat. Sounds good?" I ask.
"Yeah, sounds good, Sirus. And...thank you."
"...for what?"
"For...distracting me. Just for a moment I forgot that we're stuck on this Garkla forsaken world...just for a moment, I felt...happy."

"My mom once told me, that we naturally see the bad around us...but that we must not forget to also see the good and beautiful, lest we grow bitter and cold. If...if only I had listened to her more, none of this would have..."

Nym places her hand on my shoulder, smiles and points to the tiny flower.
"We cannot change the past. But we can influence the future. And if that little flower can brave the cold of winter and terrors of this world, then so can we. Now come on, I'm starving."

I nod and we finally enter the forest to look for something edible, leaving the tiny proof of life, the promise of better days behind.