Chereads / The tree of Eden / Chapter 3 - The meaning of life

Chapter 3 - The meaning of life

An island in the middle of the realm.

"Hey old man"

"My name is Ariama, you damn tree!"

"No swearing old man" Ariama just huffed and ignored the tree spirit which was now the size of a normal human.

"Don't be stubborn old man. I just want to ask you about my offspring/creations. I want to know What they are" It inquired shyly.The god gave it a puzzled look as he wondered why the tree was so curious. But in any case, any mother would want to know about his or her children.

"They're humans" Ariama answered bluntly.

"Ehn? Why?" The little tree was stunned. Shouldn't its offspring be trees? Why were they like that despicable god? Where is the fairness is this world?

"Every life seed produces humans. They're the same for all life seeds in all realms"

"But..."

"Let me finish. Your offspring however have a certain resemblance to you. Their skins are colored according to their elemental affinities.

Once they're born, their skin is grey. When they awaken their elemental affinities, their skin turn into that color. Red for fire, blue for water, brown for earth, white for ice and others" Ariama explained.

"Are there any trees?"

"Sadly no. You are the only tree in this world"

"How?"

"We don't know. No one knows"

The sprite sunk to the floor in depression.

"You can plant trees, you know. You have that power" Ariama suggested. The sprite zipped up so fast it almost blinded the god.

"Really?"

"Yes but you need a body first. This form of yours cannot leave this island. You can't also stay away from your body for long. I'll ask Bolsa for you"

"You'd do that for me old man?"

"Yeah sure"

"Thanks Ariama" It said genuinely.

Ariama gave Dryad a strange look and stood up.

"I'm going back home for a bit. I'll talk to Bolsa about your situation. Either him or I will be back with your body. Don't set out without me because I know you are curious about your world" He said and Dryad nodded eagerly. Ariama disappeared in a puff of white smoke.

Dryad, having been out of his body for a long time, decided to go back in. It entered with a thought and opened its eyes. It saw the universe in its beauty and a trail of white light. It assumed it was Ariama traveling back home. It decided to sleep.

Three hundred years later, the tree woke up. It saw Ariama at it's base and went out to meet him. Beside him was a similarly looking figure but this one was dressed in brown.

"You're back"

"Yes, this is Bolsa. He agreed to make your body. We have to make it quick because he needs to go back" Ariama said with a smile.

"Hello little one, it's nice to meet you. You are the first minor god that Ariama cares about so I was happy to do this" Bolsa said with a grin.

"You both look alike" The sprite said doubtfully.

"Well yes. We are twins after all"

"What are twins?"

"People born on the same day by the same parent and are identical. Some are not but we are"

"Oh, okay. How are we doing this?" The sprite asked excitedly.

"Calm yourself little one. I'll have to ask a few questions first. First question, what is life?"

"I don't know. I was in existence for 10 billion years and awoke a mind not long ago. I can't say the right meaning of life but I can say being alive is great"

"Life is a gift given to a lot but not cherished by them. On this journey, try to find out the meaning of life because what you are going to see will require you to do so"

"Okay"

"This will take a while so I need you to go back inside your body"

"Okay".

The sprite went back into it's body and Bolsa started his work. For a period of 10 years, Bolsa created a body right for a minor god. When it was finished, he called the sprite out and asked it to enter the new body. When it did, it merged with the body.

It started with moving it's toes and fingers. It proceeded to move its arms and legs. After a while, it could move its body. Bolsa made a mirror appear and instructed the tree to look at itself.

"What is that?"

"It's called a mirror. You had those in your past life"

"I know what a mirror is Bolsa. I was talking about what is inside the mirror"

"Your new body. The reflection of your new body in the mirror anyways"

"I look human"

"Yes"

"I'm green"

"Yes". Dryad's eye twitched as it stared at his reflection.

Ultimately, it couldn't do anything. Before it could thank Bolsa, the god asked it a puzzling question.

"What gender do you want to be?"

"Gender?"

"Yes. Do you want to be male or female?"

"I don't know. Do I have to chose one now?"

"Not really. I'll leave two symbols here. Red for male and blue for female. Whichever one you chose just touch the symbol" Bolsa replied and waved his hand. Two ball-like symbols appeared in front of Dryad the way Bolsa described it.

"Okay. Thank you Bolsa"

"You are welcome little one. I'll be going now little one"

"Okay. Goodbye Bolsa"

"Till we meet again Dryad" Bolsa waved and disappeared in a puff of brown smoke.

"So, what do you think?"

"I like him better"

"You damn tree, I was talking about your new body!"

"He was more calm and quiet"

"Stupid tree!" Ariama huffed and tried to beat up Dryad. The latter escaped him while trying to get used to it's new body. The weird game continued between the two weird friends for a while.

"So, Dryad, are you ready to journey your world?" Ariama asked as they lay at the base of the giant tree.

"Sure, why not?"

"Aren't you nervous?"

"Nope. Are you?"

"Of course not. It's not my world"

"Have you been around my world before?"

"No, I haven't"

"Do you have a world of your own?"

"Yes. A a matter of fact, it was your previous world"

"So, I am indirectly your child?"

"Um, yes..."

"Ew, that's disgusting" Dryad made some choking sounds and Ariama hit its head, annoyed.

"You think I want you as a child too?"

"You should be lucky. I'm pretty and you're old and wrinkly" Dryad replied arrogantly.

"Shut up you stupid tree!" And like that, their weird game of tag resumed. In a galaxy far away, Bolsa watched both of them with an amused smile on his aged face.

"What do you think of this seed Simour?"

"It's amusing, that's for sure" Simour replied Bolsa with a chuckle.

"Did you know this would happen? Is that the reason why you gave it to Ariama?"

"No. Our poor brother was getting lobely and bored so I decided to give him one of his offspring with a life seed. Unfortunately, he abandoned it. Karma got him pretty well" Simour answered with a snicker.

"Let's see how they will fair in their tour around their creation" Simour said and Bolsa smiled.