day 4 - chapter 5
5.
“What are you doing here?” was the welcome I received when stepping back into Home. My sunny reality was being reflected here, where the sun made the forest bright, clear and positive. I took a deep breath of air, feeling peace pump through my veins - this was exactly what I needed.
“Hello to you too,” I laughed, sitting up and peeking out of the window, smiling as I saw people walking along the trails, all on their own business. Today, though, people were up in the trees - rebuilding homes or extending them, pulling up baskets full of fruit and home grown vegetables. I was so eager to know more about this place.
“I am always glad to see you,” Oliver said, smiling. He seemed happy today, as he did every day, and I felt my own mood brighten. “But you normally don’t come around this time.”
I shrugged. “I broke some rules, blew of university. No big deal. I wanted to come here and see more of Home.”
“University?” he asked, a puzzled look coming across his face. “University with other people in your community?”
Smiling, I replied with, “no. University is like school. Education. It’s for adults - you go to university to get more knowledge so that you can get a good job.”
“School.” That, it seemed, made sense. “You should try to gain as much knowledge as you can.”
He was so honest, so sincere. It seemed he only wanted the best for me and everyone else - such a nice change from the real world. “I seem to teach myself, mostly. Books, films, music - I educate myself.”
“You enjoy books?”
“A great deal.”
“I must show you the library here! It is well stocked. Perhaps you may enjoy something there.”
“I don’t doubt it.”
With an unspoken agreement, we both began the descent to the ground. Today, in the light and with plenty of time to spare (I figured I had about four hours), I began to take in my surroundings much more. The entire world here in the forest was fascinating - all the people, dressed in colourful garments, their long hair cascading down their backs. Occasionally, an animal would step out of the trees, cross the path, and disappear again. Above, birds sung and swooped down to drink from small fountains that dotted the area randomly - and all around, there was unity. No one felt excluded, but it wasn’t cheesy: there was just an invisible thread tying them all (and me) together.
Or I thought so until a woman came hurrying down a trail, and I immediately felt repelled by the sight of her - physically, she was quite average, with light eyes and skin. She wore the same clothes as everyone else - a cropped dress and leggings, but still, she felt like an outside. The only thing that distinguished her from every one of us else was her shaved head, which she seemed to feel ashamed about. People gave her second glances and moved out of her way so as to not come close to her. I too felt like I should avoid her - that there was something wrong with her.
“What... what happened to her?” I whispered to Oliver, looking up at him.
His dark hair was dancing with the wind happily, but his face was hardened. “She disobeyed the rules here. That’s what happens if you do. Don’t ever become like her, Dylan.”
It all seemed very taboo; like I shouldn’t ask, as though I should already know. I tried to shake it off, but the image haunted me - the woman was so low in everyone’s regard, and in a place like this, I didn’t know if there was a worse punishment. What crime could she have committed? And why was all her hair gone? I began to subconsciously play with my own curls, thankful that they were long and allowed me to fit in with everyone else here.
But once the woman was out of sight, everyone returned to normal, resuming their steady pace along the trail and heaving baskets up to the trees. Oliver and I kept walking, passing people and handing out greetings. The people here seemed to know who I was -
“Good to see you up and about, Dylan!” said one jovial, round man who was balancing a basket of bananas on his head.
“Watch her, Ollie!” said another woman, her long, grey hair was closer to her knees than her waist.
Some small children ran around us, chanting some nursery rhyme I’d never heard of before they ran off, screaming and laughing.
People knew who I was, and I knew no one. Oliver tried to inform me - “that’s Mrs. West, she loves cats” and “Mr. Bender there with the spectacles - a very nice man; he fixes clothes.” Everyone seemed to have a place, and as I watched Oliver talk to various people, I wondered what his was. What did he do in Home when I was gone?
“That’s Mary Lou there; we went to school together. I think you’d like her - she has a beautiful singing voice,” Oliver said, beaming down at me.
“What about you?” I asked, watching his reaction - he was a little taken aback. “Everyone has something; Mary with her voice, Ben with his building, Grace with her paintings. It seems everyone here is something. What are you?”
Oliver smiled. “You learn fast. I didn’t want to tell you before, but now that you’ve picked up on it, I probably should explain. Home is a place for the individual, Dylan. It’s the meeting of people from all walks of life - we value difference.”
“And you?” I asked again, feeling my curiosity peaking - it had always been my weakness and my strength; that drive to just know.
But he wasn’t going to give in that easily, so he shook his head, smiling. “It’s not time for that yet,” he said simply.
I made myself a mission in that moment: I would attempt to work out what it was he done in Home. But I couldn’t do it here - things weren’t paced to allow a person to just settle down and think. I assumed that there were times when you could do this, but daytime seemed the most active part of the day here - people were always moving, always talking, always working. It didn’t appear tiring or laborious, and I wished to know more, but Oliver was telling me about the Elders who we were going to see.
“Just speak your mind, but politely and with respect,” he told me, deadly serious. “Don’t look them directly in the eyes, either. Lower your head. Bow as you walk in.”
It seemed quite formal for such a relaxed place, but I nodded and took note to remember the directions - I refused to be an outcast at Home. It was strange to me, as we walked, how at home I did feel here; like I had been waiting my whole life to awake here, and it felt, to me, quite unfair that I was constantly coming and going. Couldn’t I settle here and leave everything behind?
“Through here, watch your head,” Oliver muttered as we stepping into a dark tunnel, and I turned to see the light shrinking away behind us. “This is the shortest route.”
He took my hand in the darkness, and led me carefully, telling me when to step or duck. His warm hand in mind felt reassuring in the face of uncertainly, and I squeezed it a little tighter, hoping that he would stay with me. In the darkness, Oliver stopped walking, and I felt him turn to me.
“You’re going to be fine, you know.”
“Who said I was worried?”
“I can feel your anxiousness.”
This made me smile, and I thought nothing more of the strangeness of the remark. The silence around us was deafening, and I wondered vaguely how far below the earth we were.
“I just want to stay longer, that’s all,” I replied softly, glad that he couldn’t see my face.
He drew closer, and I could feel the warmth radiate from his skin, like invisible sun rays. “You are meant to be here,” he said, and it was a whisper in my ear. “I won’t let them take you from me. Not again.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him into an embrace, sighing deeply. He didn’t make sense, but I knew I loved him anyway. “I want to stay here.”
“I want you to stay too.”
“From the moment I woke up here, you’ve been by my side. You haven’t left me.”
“I can’t bear too.”
“I think I like you.” And the silence seemed to ring in my ears. “A lot.”
He let out a low chuckle, and he drew back from my arms. “I’ve always liked you, Dylan, and I’m pretty sure I always will.”
I felt myself take a sharp breath and he came closer and closer, but the moment I’d longed for never came - Oliver stopped himself and mumbled a quick apology, backing away from me entirely. I tried not to feel hurt as he was lost in the dark, leaving me to wonder what I had done wrong - hadn’t we both just admitted our feelings?
“Oliver?” I called, stumbling forward, my hands outstretched. When he didn’t say anything, and there was only silence in the tunnel, I tried not to let me panic take over. I just had to move forward and eventually, I would make it out.
It seemed simple, yet it was much harder than that. With one hand on the wall, I began taking small baby steps forward, afraid that I would trip over a boulder or fall into a ditch. I ended up doing these things several times, each time I got back to my feet and wiped away loose tears. Why did he leave me here? I lost track of time in the darkness - the amount of falls, the amount of bruises all seemed to run into one another until I felt a hand fall into my own, and a strong arm wrapped around my waist.
“Please forgive me,” he whispered, and I felt him kiss the top of my head. “Let’s go.”
I had no choice but to trust him, and so he led us out of the darkness and into the blinding sunlight. Here, on the other end of the tunnel, was radically different from the forest we had come from. It was very much like a city here - the ground was paved and tall buildings rose up from the cement. There were no streets, just pathways between homes and buildings, and on every wall were paintings and graffiti. I stared unabashedly around me, completely taken aback. It was nothing like I expected.
“It’s...” but nothing came more came.
“You didn’t think we all lived in the trees, did you?” laughed Oliver by my side.
“Well...”
“There’s a lot more to Home than you know,” he said, and together we walked out of the tunnel and down one of the paths.
Here, life was busier. The people dressed differently, yet their hair retained its length. Their clothes were much more modern - something I was used to. The colours seemed duller and muter, and their faces didn’t have as much animation. On the pathways, the people who passed one another didn’t say hello and they didn’t smile - it was shocking to compare the different areas of Home.
“What’s wrong with them?” I whispered to Oliver, trying not to seem too conspicuous.
“Later,” he said, and I nodded, willing myself to remember.
We walked several blocks, and I was transfixed by all the lifeless people - how could it happen when just minutes away, there were people so full of life? The buildings seemed to be getting more expensive the further we walked until we came to what appeared to be a round-shaped building, one of the largest I’d ever seen.
“This is it,” Oliver announced, looking up at the building. “This is the House - where the Elders reside.”
“What are you doing here?” was the welcome I received when stepping back into Home. My sunny reality was being reflected here, where the sun made the forest bright, clear and positive. I took a deep breath of air, feeling peace pump through my veins - this was exactly what I needed.
“Hello to you too,” I laughed, sitting up and peeking out of the window, smiling as I saw people walking along the trails, all on their own business. Today, though, people were up in the trees - rebuilding homes or extending them, pulling up baskets full of fruit and home grown vegetables. I was so eager to know more about this place.
“I am always glad to see you,” Oliver said, smiling. He seemed happy today, as he did every day, and I felt my own mood brighten. “But you normally don’t come around this time.”
I shrugged. “I broke some rules, blew of university. No big deal. I wanted to come here and see more of Home.”
“University?” he asked, a puzzled look coming across his face. “University with other people in your community?”
Smiling, I replied with, “no. University is like school. Education. It’s for adults - you go to university to get more knowledge so that you can get a good job.”
“School.” That, it seemed, made sense. “You should try to gain as much knowledge as you can.”
He was so honest, so sincere. It seemed he only wanted the best for me and everyone else - such a nice change from the real world. “I seem to teach myself, mostly. Books, films, music - I educate myself.”
“You enjoy books?”
“A great deal.”
“I must show you the library here! It is well stocked. Perhaps you may enjoy something there.”
“I don’t doubt it.”
With an unspoken agreement, we both began the descent to the ground. Today, in the light and with plenty of time to spare (I figured I had about four hours), I began to take in my surroundings much more. The entire world here in the forest was fascinating - all the people, dressed in colourful garments, their long hair cascading down their backs. Occasionally, an animal would step out of the trees, cross the path, and disappear again. Above, birds sung and swooped down to drink from small fountains that dotted the area randomly - and all around, there was unity. No one felt excluded, but it wasn’t cheesy: there was just an invisible thread tying them all (and me) together.
Or I thought so until a woman came hurrying down a trail, and I immediately felt repelled by the sight of her - physically, she was quite average, with light eyes and skin. She wore the same clothes as everyone else - a cropped dress and leggings, but still, she felt like an outside. The only thing that distinguished her from every one of us else was her shaved head, which she seemed to feel ashamed about. People gave her second glances and moved out of her way so as to not come close to her. I too felt like I should avoid her - that there was something wrong with her.
“What... what happened to her?” I whispered to Oliver, looking up at him.
His dark hair was dancing with the wind happily, but his face was hardened. “She disobeyed the rules here. That’s what happens if you do. Don’t ever become like her, Dylan.”
It all seemed very taboo; like I shouldn’t ask, as though I should already know. I tried to shake it off, but the image haunted me - the woman was so low in everyone’s regard, and in a place like this, I didn’t know if there was a worse punishment. What crime could she have committed? And why was all her hair gone? I began to subconsciously play with my own curls, thankful that they were long and allowed me to fit in with everyone else here.
But once the woman was out of sight, everyone returned to normal, resuming their steady pace along the trail and heaving baskets up to the trees. Oliver and I kept walking, passing people and handing out greetings. The people here seemed to know who I was -
“Good to see you up and about, Dylan!” said one jovial, round man who was balancing a basket of bananas on his head.
“Watch her, Ollie!” said another woman, her long, grey hair was closer to her knees than her waist.
Some small children ran around us, chanting some nursery rhyme I’d never heard of before they ran off, screaming and laughing.
People knew who I was, and I knew no one. Oliver tried to inform me - “that’s Mrs. West, she loves cats” and “Mr. Bender there with the spectacles - a very nice man; he fixes clothes.” Everyone seemed to have a place, and as I watched Oliver talk to various people, I wondered what his was. What did he do in Home when I was gone?
“That’s Mary Lou there; we went to school together. I think you’d like her - she has a beautiful singing voice,” Oliver said, beaming down at me.
“What about you?” I asked, watching his reaction - he was a little taken aback. “Everyone has something; Mary with her voice, Ben with his building, Grace with her paintings. It seems everyone here is something. What are you?”
Oliver smiled. “You learn fast. I didn’t want to tell you before, but now that you’ve picked up on it, I probably should explain. Home is a place for the individual, Dylan. It’s the meeting of people from all walks of life - we value difference.”
“And you?” I asked again, feeling my curiosity peaking - it had always been my weakness and my strength; that drive to just know.
But he wasn’t going to give in that easily, so he shook his head, smiling. “It’s not time for that yet,” he said simply.
I made myself a mission in that moment: I would attempt to work out what it was he done in Home. But I couldn’t do it here - things weren’t paced to allow a person to just settle down and think. I assumed that there were times when you could do this, but daytime seemed the most active part of the day here - people were always moving, always talking, always working. It didn’t appear tiring or laborious, and I wished to know more, but Oliver was telling me about the Elders who we were going to see.
“Just speak your mind, but politely and with respect,” he told me, deadly serious. “Don’t look them directly in the eyes, either. Lower your head. Bow as you walk in.”
It seemed quite formal for such a relaxed place, but I nodded and took note to remember the directions - I refused to be an outcast at Home. It was strange to me, as we walked, how at home I did feel here; like I had been waiting my whole life to awake here, and it felt, to me, quite unfair that I was constantly coming and going. Couldn’t I settle here and leave everything behind?
“Through here, watch your head,” Oliver muttered as we stepping into a dark tunnel, and I turned to see the light shrinking away behind us. “This is the shortest route.”
He took my hand in the darkness, and led me carefully, telling me when to step or duck. His warm hand in mind felt reassuring in the face of uncertainly, and I squeezed it a little tighter, hoping that he would stay with me. In the darkness, Oliver stopped walking, and I felt him turn to me.
“You’re going to be fine, you know.”
“Who said I was worried?”
“I can feel your anxiousness.”
This made me smile, and I thought nothing more of the strangeness of the remark. The silence around us was deafening, and I wondered vaguely how far below the earth we were.
“I just want to stay longer, that’s all,” I replied softly, glad that he couldn’t see my face.
He drew closer, and I could feel the warmth radiate from his skin, like invisible sun rays. “You are meant to be here,” he said, and it was a whisper in my ear. “I won’t let them take you from me. Not again.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him into an embrace, sighing deeply. He didn’t make sense, but I knew I loved him anyway. “I want to stay here.”
“I want you to stay too.”
“From the moment I woke up here, you’ve been by my side. You haven’t left me.”
“I can’t bear too.”
“I think I like you.” And the silence seemed to ring in my ears. “A lot.”
He let out a low chuckle, and he drew back from my arms. “I’ve always liked you, Dylan, and I’m pretty sure I always will.”
I felt myself take a sharp breath and he came closer and closer, but the moment I’d longed for never came - Oliver stopped himself and mumbled a quick apology, backing away from me entirely. I tried not to feel hurt as he was lost in the dark, leaving me to wonder what I had done wrong - hadn’t we both just admitted our feelings?
“Oliver?” I called, stumbling forward, my hands outstretched. When he didn’t say anything, and there was only silence in the tunnel, I tried not to let me panic take over. I just had to move forward and eventually, I would make it out.
It seemed simple, yet it was much harder than that. With one hand on the wall, I began taking small baby steps forward, afraid that I would trip over a boulder or fall into a ditch. I ended up doing these things several times, each time I got back to my feet and wiped away loose tears. Why did he leave me here? I lost track of time in the darkness - the amount of falls, the amount of bruises all seemed to run into one another until I felt a hand fall into my own, and a strong arm wrapped around my waist.
“Please forgive me,” he whispered, and I felt him kiss the top of my head. “Let’s go.”
I had no choice but to trust him, and so he led us out of the darkness and into the blinding sunlight. Here, on the other end of the tunnel, was radically different from the forest we had come from. It was very much like a city here - the ground was paved and tall buildings rose up from the cement. There were no streets, just pathways between homes and buildings, and on every wall were paintings and graffiti. I stared unabashedly around me, completely taken aback. It was nothing like I expected.
“It’s...” but nothing came more came.
“You didn’t think we all lived in the trees, did you?” laughed Oliver by my side.
“Well...”
“There’s a lot more to Home than you know,” he said, and together we walked out of the tunnel and down one of the paths.
Here, life was busier. The people dressed differently, yet their hair retained its length. Their clothes were much more modern - something I was used to. The colours seemed duller and muter, and their faces didn’t have as much animation. On the pathways, the people who passed one another didn’t say hello and they didn’t smile - it was shocking to compare the different areas of Home.
“What’s wrong with them?” I whispered to Oliver, trying not to seem too conspicuous.
“Later,” he said, and I nodded, willing myself to remember.
We walked several blocks, and I was transfixed by all the lifeless people - how could it happen when just minutes away, there were people so full of life? The buildings seemed to be getting more expensive the further we walked until we came to what appeared to be a round-shaped building, one of the largest I’d ever seen.
“This is it,” Oliver announced, looking up at the building. “This is the House - where the Elders reside.”