Mareike bounced her toes in delight and stood up from her seat, gliding towards the window to her left as she fixed her gaze on the new scenery.
A wide set of small mountains arranged in sets of ascending order danced across her eyes as the vehicle moved forward. Thick blankets of snow covered their peaks, further beautified by streaks of blue dandelions perched on the tops. It reminded her of the cake she had every afternoon at home; vanilla cupcake with a blueberry on top.
Her stomach grumbled in response to her thoughts, and she left the control room making her way up the stairs. She stopped at the lounge to check the time; two a.m. The girls and Femi would be long asleep, so with no one to help her in the kitchen, she picked up a candy bar instead and turned on her heels moving downstairs towards the vehicle main's control in the game room.
She slowly descended the stairs, holding the rails for assured stability. It still felt surreal that the whole house, and all its parts could stay the same even as it glided between worlds. She did not even know what its outside parts currently looked like, and a small part of her still expected it to crash with them inside it.
She met Tihan rapidly pacing back and forth on the empty platform typing on his laptop with one hand, and she carefully sidestepped him giving a soft smile as she took his seat beside Ace.
"Is there any problem?" Ace addressed her, keeping his eyes on the constant scene ahead.
"No, not really. Are we there yet? I noticed the scene changing a while ago."
She watched as he clicked a green button on the control panel and wheeled his chair to face her.
"Technically, we are. But these are just the outskirts of Meissa. I'll be sure to tell you when we arrive."
He stood up and stretched his arms, giving Mareike a small view of a taut stomach beneath the checkered shirt. She blushed and looked away, the mental image replacing Marcello's in her memory.
"I'm going to get some food. Care to join me?" He offered, smiling down at her.
"I have got this, but thanks for the offer," she replied, holding up the candy bar still in her hand.
She heard her stomach cry out in protest and immediately darted her eyes, covering her face with one hand.
"I'm cooking, if you like."
"I very much like that," Tihan said, dropping his laptop and falling into step beside Ace. He looked at her and added, "You should taste his food, it's so good."
Mareike leaned forward expectantly, "Alright. But who is going to watch the controls while you are busy?"
As they advanced further away from her, the silence quickly overshadowed his voice. "It's on autopilot mo–"
She shrugged and looked around her, marvelling at the sights of the unfamiliar world. The mountain range looked larger now, closer in view from the wide glass panels on each side of the vehicle. It directly towered above them, and would do so for miles, making the flowers on top of the snow covered parts more visible. The star shaped petals of each one spread widely, revealing a single yellow stem within that stood proudly.
In front of the vehicle, Mareike watched as gold specks started to fall outside decorating the front glass and the sides. Immediately, a whirring noise started and she looked on as a wiper cleared them, leaving faint traces of the material.
She looked on in fascination when it happened all over, happy she was awake to watch it. When the others had retired to sleep, the scenery was just the same as it had been when the journey started: thick forests filled with deafening silence and large thickets of bushes. Quite ordinary in everyone's opinion.
Mareike ran out of the control room and approached her bedroom, eager to tell her friends what she witnessed but stopped short. Chiara had explicitly told her not to wake her up till morning, and she had no interest in knowing what would happen if she disturbed their sleep.
If she had to take a guess, most likely another outburst from the girl. No one wanted to address the issue, but since the journey started nearly one week ago, Chiara had been in foul spirits getting upset at every little thing.
"No need to give her another reason then," Mareike murmured, opting instead for the safer option of going upstairs.
The scent of food overwhelmed her immediately she stepped into the lounge upstairs. Her stomach grumbled in delight, and she patted it, eagerly moving towards the kitchen where Ace and Tihan were discussing.
"I don't think they'll be happy to hear that, but there's no other way. We have to–," Ace locked eyes with her and stopped talking, raising a spoon to her in greeting.
"How are you liking your travel so far? I just realized I haven't been able to talk much since we started the journey."
"I wonder why. Is there something we should be worried about?" Mareike asked, sitting down on the stool farthest from Tihan's.
She watched as both guys looked at each other for a second, seeming to come to an understanding before Ace turned to her. "Not really. It's just something about your family."
"Family...but I only have my mom. Is anything wrong with her? Is she alright?"
Mareike heard a sigh beside her, as a hand came to rest on her shoulder. "He means your real family, your biological parents."
"Oh." She deflated at the statement and awkwardly nodded, shrugging off the hand meant to placate her. For years, she heard whispered conversations about her birth, accusations about her origins but no one dared say it out loud, not even she herself.
But in the space of a few hours, these men had confirmed everything she suspected, and more. Her mum didn't give birth to her, and that did not make her less of a mother. Just like her birth by her biological mother did not make the woman more of a mother to her.
She looked at Ace's back and allowed the scent of the food fill her nostrils. "Your food smells nice. I am sure it will wake the others up."
"You bet it did," Femi's voice resonated behind her. "I'm so famished. What's cooking?"
"Right on time, guy. You could smell it from all the way down there?" Tihan laughed, leaning forward to draw out a stool.
"You sound like it's in Hell or something. 'Down there' is just a few steps away, man." He grinned and shook his arms, taking a seat.
Mareike admired the guys' friendship, and how they had gotten so close within a few days. Though Eryk and Femi still had their reservations, she saw how easy it was to put them aside and have a good time. They had inside jokes, and good laughs about anything and everything. But the girls were still the same, no she and Priya still were.
She felt two hands squeeze gently on her shoulder. "I told you to wake me up once something changed."
"I did not want to wake you up, besides it is nothing special. We have not entered the country yet, at least that is what he told me," Mareike explained, gesturing to Ace who was currently dishing out plates of food.
Priya let go of her and sighed, sitting down on the stool next to her. She turned to a small window, "I can't see the beauty of these mountains from here, we're too high up. The view is better in the control room, isn't it?"
Mareike instantly nodded, and looked out the window as well. From where they sat, the mountains were nearly eye level and she could see the jagged lines on the snow peaks. They looked old and worn out, and the only thing seeming to hold them together were the flowers growing in oddly strategic positions.
"Umm, Ace. Were those flowers planted on the mountain tops?" She inquired, moving closer to one end of the wall.
"Yes. They were chosen for their regenerative abilities, and have been sitting there for about four hundred years. They make the mountains prettier too." He moved closer to her and touched the glass, "How did you figure that out?"
"Because of where they are placed," She replied swiftly and turned back to the table, "Is that my food? I have been waiting."
When Mareike got back to the table, she could not hide the expression on her face nor the words that tumbled out of her lips.
"What is this? It has a nice scent, but not a pleasing look." She commented immediately, and covered her mouth turning to Ace with wide eyes.
"They're called Dorcolan buns, and don't worry, I'm not offended. Honestly, I wish I could change the looks but that's what most Meissan foods look like, unfortunately," Ace replied, smiling at her.
Mareike struggled to smile back, as she peered into the dish bowl. Several green slimy substances wrapped in red leaf-like rolls and held together by small toothpicks stared back at her from the plate and in her opinion, there was no need for the buns part, besides how did he get the ingredients?
"Then that's the first thing we need to change when we get there. Am I right, Earthlings?" Femi attempted a cheer, even as he gulped down his share of food.
"Earthlings?"
He swallowed a mouthful and turned to Tihan, "Yes, that's what we are. Half-breeds if you will, though that's more Greek."
The guy rolled his eyes and huffed in response, flipping his bangs to the side. As often as he did it, Mareike always stared at him unable to fathom why he kept it. It gave him girlish looks that she was sure he did not want, but to him it looked cool.
"You're not Earthlings. You're full blooded Crisiants, sons and daughters of Ratna."
"Who is Ratna?" Mareike heard a gruff masculine voice behind her.
"How can't you...never mind. She's the goddess of Meissa, and the one who gave us life," Tihan said, tapping his feet as he turned away from Eryk.
"Well, that's for you. As for me, the Lord God gave me life." Eryk walked forward and sat down, lightly rubbing his eyes, "Is this for me?" He asked, and dove in immediately Ace nodded.
"You'll see once we get there," Tihan murmured so low that the guy would not hear him.
Mareike watched her housemates in disbelief as they took bite after bite, while her plate remained untouched. She closed her eyes and tried for the last time, willing it to look more appealing but when she opened her eyes, it stayed the same.
However, she had to force herself to start eating when a harsh pang of hunger waved over her body and made the food more appetizing.
"Wow. What's that!?" Priya exclaimed, pointing to the window.
The scenery had changed again leaving the mountains behind to reveal hundreds of red-leaf trees on both sides of the vehicle swaying gently on their roots. It would have been the perfect autumn look for Mareike, had there not been droplets of snow on the leaves and around the tree roots.
"Brace yourselves to be wowed, ladies and gents. We're now entering my home. Well, yours too."
She pursed her lips and frowned, hugging herself tighter to prevent more cold seeping into her bones. "Have we not been in Meissa for about...two hours?"
"Well, technically we have. But this is the real part though." He wagged a finger at her and turned to the rest, spreading his arms wide as a building came into view.
"Don't let her spoil all the fun. This is the true Meissa."
*****
Word count: 1,992 words
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WELCOME TO MEISSA! WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS STRANGE PLACE? LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENT SECTION.