follow me closely, paying attention to all below and above you, making certain you respect your surroundings. You will find that nothing in Brattea will harm you, so you will not harm anything, either. Now, find a partner with whom to walk and follow me closely, so you don’t get lost.”
With that, Mr. Sylva turned, his many roots—which looked like long, curly toes at the end of his two feet—plunging in and ripping out of the soil as he walked.
As instructed, everyone got in pairs. Iris interlocked her arm with mine. We all walked behind Mr. Sylva closely enough not to lose him, but far enough away so as not to be hit by the falling clumps of earth in his wake.
He led us into the thick gathering of trees along a narrow, leafy path. The deeper into the perpetual forest we walked, the dimmer the light from above became. The dead leaves underfoot, with their bright reds, oranges, and yellows, contrasted with the dark soil beneath them.
“Isn’t this beautiful, Seven?” asked Iris, interlacing her fingers under her chin.
Right and left of us, the ancient forest planet creaked and groaned and whispered. While those far from bothered me, I felt as though there was something else out there. That somewhere in the depths something watched me.
“It’s lovely, Iris,” I replied, keeping my thoughts to myself.
As we walked, we came across strange beings we’d never seen before. From either side of the paths we followed there would occasionally be a certain species of plant, which had three long purple and pink spirals, reaching up from the ground. These particular plants mimicked every sound they heard around them in a slightly nasally, high-pitched tone. So when Mr. Sylva first walked past the first few of their kind we came across, they mimicked the churning sound of the earth he created with his feet.
Once we all heard this, we stopped and stared in wonder at them as they mimicked our chattering voices.
“Please ignore them, students,” began Mr. Sylva. “They feed off attention, and these appear healthy enough as it is. Please, follow me.”
Farther on, we encountered others of their kind, though this time they were a deep shade of red with bright yellow spots all over them. These, unlike the last, made what on my native planet we call “raspberry” sounds with every step we all took. There being around six or seven of them on either side of the path, the peace and tranquillity of the forest quickly turned into an orchestra of wind instruments. We giggled helplessly through Mr. Sylva’s continuing, repetitive advice of, “Please ignore them, students. They feed off attention, and these appear healthy enough as it is.”
The farther we walked, the thicker and damper the air became until it weighed down on my shoulders.
“This is all so wonderful,” said Iris more to herself than to me, looking all around her. It always amazed me how she could sometimes be so ruthless and scary, unafraid of anything or anyone, but at other times be so light-hearted and merry as she was then. “I cannot wait to finally see the Bratteans. They’re just so cute !”
“Iris,” I began, hesitantly, “do you get the feeling we’re being…watched?”
“Oh yes. We started being watched since before we even landed. I mean, this planet is full of life all around us, so it’s natural to think they’re going to be just as curious about us as we are about them.”
“No, that’s not what I mean. I don’t know, I…”
Suddenly, something brushed the top of my head. I instantly flinched and looked above me to see what it was. Small floating trees were silently coming out of the thickness of the forest and hovering slowly along before rising high into the dense canopy of leaves and fur above and disappearing within it. Their many brown roots hung down below them, and they appeared to have no trunk as above the roots leafy branches fanned out around a central dome, which sat in its center and seemed to contain something
With that, Mr. Sylva turned, his many roots—which looked like long, curly toes at the end of his two feet—plunging in and ripping out of the soil as he walked.
As instructed, everyone got in pairs. Iris interlocked her arm with mine. We all walked behind Mr. Sylva closely enough not to lose him, but far enough away so as not to be hit by the falling clumps of earth in his wake.
He led us into the thick gathering of trees along a narrow, leafy path. The deeper into the perpetual forest we walked, the dimmer the light from above became. The dead leaves underfoot, with their bright reds, oranges, and yellows, contrasted with the dark soil beneath them.
“Isn’t this beautiful, Seven?” asked Iris, interlacing her fingers under her chin.
Right and left of us, the ancient forest planet creaked and groaned and whispered. While those far from bothered me, I felt as though there was something else out there. That somewhere in the depths something watched me.
“It’s lovely, Iris,” I replied, keeping my thoughts to myself.
As we walked, we came across strange beings we’d never seen before. From either side of the paths we followed there would occasionally be a certain species of plant, which had three long purple and pink spirals, reaching up from the ground. These particular plants mimicked every sound they heard around them in a slightly nasally, high-pitched tone. So when Mr. Sylva first walked past the first few of their kind we came across, they mimicked the churning sound of the earth he created with his feet.
Once we all heard this, we stopped and stared in wonder at them as they mimicked our chattering voices.
“Please ignore them, students,” began Mr. Sylva. “They feed off attention, and these appear healthy enough as it is. Please, follow me.”
Farther on, we encountered others of their kind, though this time they were a deep shade of red with bright yellow spots all over them. These, unlike the last, made what on my native planet we call “raspberry” sounds with every step we all took. There being around six or seven of them on either side of the path, the peace and tranquillity of the forest quickly turned into an orchestra of wind instruments. We giggled helplessly through Mr. Sylva’s continuing, repetitive advice of, “Please ignore them, students. They feed off attention, and these appear healthy enough as it is.”
The farther we walked, the thicker and damper the air became until it weighed down on my shoulders.
“This is all so wonderful,” said Iris more to herself than to me, looking all around her. It always amazed me how she could sometimes be so ruthless and scary, unafraid of anything or anyone, but at other times be so light-hearted and merry as she was then. “I cannot wait to finally see the Bratteans. They’re just so cute !”
“Iris,” I began, hesitantly, “do you get the feeling we’re being…watched?”
“Oh yes. We started being watched since before we even landed. I mean, this planet is full of life all around us, so it’s natural to think they’re going to be just as curious about us as we are about them.”
“No, that’s not what I mean. I don’t know, I…”
Suddenly, something brushed the top of my head. I instantly flinched and looked above me to see what it was. Small floating trees were silently coming out of the thickness of the forest and hovering slowly along before rising high into the dense canopy of leaves and fur above and disappearing within it. Their many brown roots hung down below them, and they appeared to have no trunk as above the roots leafy branches fanned out around a central dome, which sat in its center and seemed to contain something
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