One of the branches of a tree let off a tiny leaf which waved down and rested on a grey surface. Around it were some other plants, slightly adopting the touch of green....
Few yards away, around the lively and vigorous trees, a kid was seen present. He stood still, fixating his gaze at it – for no wonder how long – as if it appeared quite fascinating. After standing for a while he stepped forward and went near the tallest tree. He placed his hand on the bark and felt it sturdy. As he looked above,he found himself shrouded by numerous leaves which spread a soothing viridity all around...
The bright green leaves were extended over the branches and among them were something else he saw. Out of curiosity, he grabbed the tree firmly and tried to climb up in order to reach that thing. His way was like that of an amateur, so it took him quite a few attempts to barely reach the nearest branch. Luckily he found it there and struggled a little to pull it off.
For getting down, he decided to jump off. As usual, the kid tripped on the grass from the long height. With childlike curiosity, he glanced at that thing in his hand from all sides. It was clearly something he had never seen which he later held carefully with both hands and slowly walked away.
Beyond the verdant field, the environment was unpredictably solemn which began to unfold as he kept walking.
The soil became comparably paler and the trees started waning. Along the long way, the scenery turned more melancholic, the arid surface wore a grayish colour, dust started winding up - turning into a completely different place. Feeble asylums were scattered around, suffering in desolation. In a miserable environment tattered from dreariness, the kid quietly walked on paths beyond any bounds.
The sun leaned towards the west by the time he could see a tiny hovel standing far away. He took his time and steadily approached the spot. A door was kept ajar which he pulled open in a way he was familiar with. A person who appeared to be in his early youth was sitting inside, doing something personal. Hearing the noise of the door, he exchanged his gaze for a moment and then reverted it back. With a normal tone, he spoke,
"Valnorch?"
He stood up and started looking for something.
"You must have been somewhere far."
There was only one room and a little space for entering - both separated by a wall. Valnorch went inside. Smiling a little, he said,
"How can you tell?"
He sat back and looked into what he had been doing. Without waiting for a reply Valnorch went near him and held out the thing, saying,
"Look, what I found. Have you seen something like this?"
He faced at his hand and saw a round shaped and curved green object. It was fairly larger than Valnorch's palm. He drew nearer and asked,
"It's... Where did you find it?"
"It's like you said. I went somewhere far and saw a really different place. There were trees but much brighter. That's where i found it." Valnorch replied.
"Is it so?" He toned lightly.
"That place was soothing. Somewhere I had never been. I don't know what to say but you'll understand if you go there." Valnorch voiced in excitement.
The young guy stayed quiet for a bit.
"Can I take a look?" He requested.
Valnorch handed it to him and let him check the object. Valnorch began strolling around and checking out his surroundings. Moments later he said,
"It's hard to believe what I said if you don't go with me and see for yourself."
"I don't doubt anything. Infact I find it quite intriguing." He spoke calmly.
"Yes, now I'm more curious to explore even further. I won't stop until I reach the place where I can touch the sky." He adhered to his words.
"That's your thought? I see..." The young man confirmed, trying to keep his usual look.
A moment of silence followed before getting breached by the kid's inquiry,
"Hey, what do you think the furthest place looks like? How different could it be from this place? Would it be something we imagine in our dreams or maybe... it's where our dreams come from?
The other one didn't speak. He only kept staring at him as if contemplating something else.
"What I think?" He faced outside,
"I never gave it a thought. But I know as much that there's no place we can reach where fortune and misfortune don't coexist."
"Ugh, that's not it," he turned upset at his reply. Anyone around seven or eight years would find it aversive.
"You always stay in this gloomy corner. You never get amused by anything." He say down nearby."well, I can't pass a day without exploring outside at all. Today was exciting, can't wait for tomorrow, he he..." He giggled with fervor.
"Planning on going further?" The other one asked while deeming his personal work.
"Yes," Valnorch replied as simply as he could.
"Then do me a favour. On your next time, bring some parts from the trees in the place you'd been. Also bring some dirt from the deep and around the roots."
"But why? I'm taking you with me?" He said a little aloud.
"I won't be moving around for several days. I'm kind of busy."
"No! You'll be coming. You aren't busy. You keep laying in corner all day." He somewhat started whining.
"What will bringing those do?" He added.
"I will see if it pricks my interest." He answered, forcing a faint smile.
"But you won't be coming," he objected with disappointment, considering his request futile.
"Don't worry, I'll accompany you someday."
Valnorch got up and swiftly went to the room's end."You can't trick me like this. If I bring something, I won't hand you them over."
Without waiting for his reply, he turned around and went away, leaving off the words of a child's demeanor. The sun was leaning near the west horizon and the sky began to turn obscure. "Am I going to be late?", a concern lingered his mind. At a time it became dark all around. Valnorch still remained outside, heading to somewhere.
Crossing the dry and eroded soil, he reached another decrepit hut. It wasn't much visible in the dark even though a dim light was emanating from it's empty window. He quietly passed through it's staggering door and sat down where the light source could be seen. The flame glinted from a tiny stick which was buried in a type of dust. At a moment while sitting in there, his oblivious gaze fell upon it and a resolution awakened in his glimmering eyes. His eyes twitched as the flame quiverd in an abrupt blow of wind and ceased unexpectedly. Footsteps ticked from the other side and trailed a silhouette of a woman in the blurry moonlight.
"You've come... It's quite late." she expressed with melancholy while taking away the tray and kindling it in the other room. Valnorch got up and went there, passing her on the way. She placed the light back and heard him grappling with things in there.
"There's a little wheat and beans behind the rack." She turned back with her dreary facial features visible by the light and spoke monotonously. Valnorch exceeded her sight and followed accordingly.
Valnorch sat near her, chewing some of the beans and keeping the rest in his hand. He looked at her gently.
"Have you eaten yours?" He bothered asking.
"...hmm." she replied with the slightest noise.
"You better sleep if you don't have anything to do right now." She suggested something she would constantly do, a word never unheard to him. He didn't know how to react, or maybe he could care less about those.
After finishing the remaining of what could be called 'snack' or in his words 'supper', he walked off to the adjoining room but stopped on the way." Are you going out tomorrow?" He didn't turn around.
Her face wore a trace of annoyance. "Why...? It has nothing to do with you." The quietness was disrupted by her clearer words. "Don't meddle with these... Don't just wander outside recklessly." Her solemn words were thrown at him like mud.
He simply moved away. For several days he had been seeing her constantly at home. She would leave the place early everyday and would arrive by evening, bringing a few poor edibles which would hardly go for a day and thus count the days like that. He neither knew where she would go nor would he follow her. The only thing he had known was her worn out image on arrival and her obscure presence which persisted. Her affected demeanor never encouraged him to share his thoughts or lead casual talks with the one he'd grown up with,in other words, his mother. Though the deterioration was gradual.
However, his mind was surging with the exhilarating moment of tomorrow. The moment to wake up, the right time to start off to reach further and arrive before dark, to give off an eye on the surroundings, to carefully evade her irritation, and to– he consistently made up plans while lying on a tarnished mat. A sheer amusement suffused him fully, leaving no place for slumber. Through the series of excitement, he suddenly crossed a moment of realization – that green thing was left in the young lad's place.
The dawn arose. After assuring the convenience, he stepped out along with the first sunlight. His mother was asleep, leaving his worries behind.
The grubby yard in the front, the ragged cabin far on the left, the murky pool in the lowland, glittering by the sun. With steady paces he observed those and occasionally turned back at his tiny hut. Treading on the arid soil, he viewed the morbid and deserted setting. The radiant spot of the sun slowly diminished into a pale canopy in the sky.
The land was grayish, frail and darker in places which sometimes cowered him with horrid stench. Passing the uneven surface, getting down a strechy slop, he met the young lad's hovel by the side. The thing he had aquired should be there. But after assuming the chance of getting into time wasting talks, he left it behind.
The distance shortened, but a lot more was left. At one time, he started heading in a swift manner but stopped in his tracks right after. Leaving no strength by the end is unwise.
He awaited. Few more shelters appeared around with few other residents outside, living near a moribund grove.