The way back was uneventful and, somehow, I was thankful for it. I still felt my heart pounding in my chest out of a primal fear I hadn’t experienced since I left my native planet. Anaissa had the body of an angel, the face of a saint, the attitude of a bishop, and the presence of a bear! She may not look like it, but those hands killed hundreds, maybe thousands before meeting me.
I don’t condone murder but, somehow, I felt a kind of weight in every action she took part of. The very fact she was there had some deeper meaning I had yet to comprehend.
When I glanced up, I noticed we had already passed the seemingly infinite forest expanse and we were now walking on the oldest paths out of Colony 32’s dome. These paths were muddy and wasted trails amidst some solitary trees and high grass. Not long after, we walked along one of the few surviving roads; a road lined with long-abandoned decorative trees, ruined road barriers, and a few rusty streetlights left barely standing by time. We then reached the nice and well cared for parks on the outside of the city.
"Hey, Renate" as if nothing had happened before, Anaissa spoke to me with her, in theory, usual friendliness". Is there any rule against living outside the city boundaries?
"What do you mean?" it was a relief she wasn’t angry anymore. Still, wasn’t she tired? She had just fallen from the sky, for crying out loud!
"I only need a glance to know I won’t like this place. Sooner or later, I’ll visit it, but seeing everything so tidy and clean and boring…" she turned to me", makes me prefer seeing your face. It’s way more interesting.”
No more fear. Only blushing.
"Don’t be silly" I blurted in a hurry. “And, yes, most of the place is clean. That’s the point, isn’t it? And, about your question, I don’t know anything about laws, not that many people from the city go outside the dome. If you ask me, I’m probably the only person who ventures down these old roads.
"Good" she kindly pinched my nose and walked away from the city, without taking even a little rest. Where did she come from that she found the cleanliness of Colony 32 so asphyxiating? It had everything a person could need, from food to medical attention; and getting a job wasn’t an issue, if she wanted one. Heck, I could even invite her to the orphanage where I worked. I could suggest having a walk there, showing her around, introducing her to my dear boss Ellie… it would be nice having Anaissa as a roommate…
“Bad Renate! Bad!” I whacked my head. I had that very bad habit of gawking every time I found a nice waitress or a cute barista. Falling for nothing wasn’t healthy.
Anyhow, what was her plan? Sleeping under a tree? I tried that, lots of times. It was nice, but I still preferred my humble bed in the attic of the orphanage.
After leaving behind the last traces of the old paths, we reached a glade and she, without a second thought, sat down on the ground, the same way she had done when she made those clothes appear.
"Are you sure no one will come to this forest at all?" her relaxed position made me think she was going to do whatever she wanted, regardless of what I said.
"Unless someone is watching from the transport freighters, I don’t think anyone is interested in some old trees.
"Perfect for me, then "and so, she closed her eyes. And for a minute, she remained silent.
I thought she would summon a little house, a nice home, or maybe something a little bigger like a mansion or a tower… but after that long minute of silence, only one thing appeared before her: a common camo camping tent. Heck, it wasn’t even assembled.
"…done…" whatever she did, she appeared clumsy and clearly dizzy.
"It’s curious" I said half mockingly. "Your clothes didn’t take even half the time”.
Her answer: a big and sonorous laugh.
"You have no idea what I created here "she grabbed the tent and dragged it three or four steps forward. "See? This is what I really created”.
In front of us, concealed in tall grass and moss, I found a tiny hatch, covered in moss the same color as that surrounding it, so small that only someone as thin as Anaissa or myself could fit through it. If anyone was looking for it, they’d have a bad time trying to find that minuscule rectangle where I almost couldn’t put both my feet through at the same time.
She opened the hatch and offered me to enter first. A faint glow came from the interior, lighting a short hand ladder. After fighting myself and my backpack through that really narrow entrance…
…I couldn’t believe my eyes. What the actual hell was that!?
"…what…? "not even half a word could escape my mouth before my jaw dropped spectacularly to the ground where, amidst my pure feel of awe, it would remain for a long time.
"Should i take two minutes instead of one?" now, the mocking was hers. “Nah, one dome is enough in this place, don’t you think?”
A huge stone tunnel descended into the ground in a long curve, which is what I noticed first. After Anaissa took my hand and guided me down, several doors to my left revealed circular rooms. First, a well equipped kitchen; later, a better provisioned pantry; after that, a big and elegant bedroom, with all kinds of tapestries, pillows, and the most comfortable looking bed I’ve seen in my entire life; putting those tales I read to the orphans to the most miserable of shames…
It wasn’t only a tunnel though: it was a spiral into the earth that surrounded a gigantic subterranean spire with all the amenities of a luxurious home. One no one would ever notice even if they seek it, because the entrance was so inconspicuous.
After seeing the spectacular bathroom of that secret palace, Anaissa finally reached the deepest part of her home: a domed basement, completely devoid of everything. It was bigger than a theater, and completely barren, other than the clean, smooth stone floor.
"So tell me: who’s laughing now?" Anaissa took off her jacket and opened her arms. “I do this all the time and, you know what?" she again reached my face with her hands, guiding my eyes to hers. “I love the surprise when people can’t believe little examples like this.
"Please, slap me" a simple pinch of the cheek wouldn’t make the cut. Anaissa gave me a pair of friendly happy slaps in the cheek and let me go with a smile.
"Are you interested in this place?" she asked nonchalantly.
"Wha…!?"
“I can create another one in less time even. I don’t dislike the idea of having neighbors, you know?”. Was she serious? If so, that was an offer I hardly could resist. I still kept that dumbfounded expression as I started jabbering incoherent nonsense for her to laugh at, when, among all the things that escaped my mouth, a very comprehensible sentence could be heard:
"…but… I only… you… you know!? I… you… see you… I just want to see you”.
I kept babbling for more than a minute but, after the fact, I noticed that she stopped laughing when I said that last sentence. She kept that cloth over her mouth but I knew she was smiling. But I was sure it wasn’t a mocking smile.
"I was joking, of course" Anaissa said as she reached my arm and guided me to the tunnel. “It would be problematic if someone sees people coming in and out of your home. And, let me tell you, I hate people asking stupid questions" she guided me to the bedroom. “Want something to drink? Something to eat? Everything goes”.
"…no… sorry…" I kept sputtering nonsense with a pinch of realism. “I have to return to the orphanage and… work to do… I need… I’m tired, I mean and…”
Her eyes squinted. Behind that goddamn cloth that prevented me from seeing her mouth, I knew she was smiling from ear to ear.
"Then, let me escort you back to the surface" she didn’t let my arm go, not that I wanted that. Her grip was insanely strong and I didn’t even try to break free. I wasn’t, by any means, weak; in fact, all the contrary, but she was on an entirely different level. At the same time, she was really caring: she guided me subtly, continuing her small talk full of little puns and jokes that I didn’t hear because I felt exultant just being near someone like her. And, best of all, I would later notice all the little details of our time in her strange home. She knew how I felt about her and, even if she didn’t oblige me, she acknowledged it and let me keep her company, time and secret location.
"I still have to assemble this tent" she announced once we returned to the surface and, finally, let my arm go. “If you want to find me, right now, you’re the only one who knows where I live so… laters?”
Still in a haze, I heard her, but I didn’t get everything she said. I didn’t even notice what I did before leaving her there. I got out of the forest, I reached the roads, I walked to the orphanage, right outside the dome and then…
…right before Ellen could greet me back, I ran past her to my room, flustered and embarrassed. I passed over tumbled toys, messy clothes and misplaced books at full speed and, after reaching my room, I got the med-kit to apply some ointments to my arm.
Why the hell did I do that!? I wasn’t at Thaeb anymore! I was supposed to leave all their customs and forget them forever, wasn’t I?
But nooooo… I found a cute girl who didn’t outright reject me and practiced the blood binding with her! Gosh! I couldn’t believe myself!
I kept mumbling furiously for a while, when I noticed Ellen in the entrance of my room.
"Good afternoon, little girl" no matter how much time passes, that woman will always call me little girl. But, given her age, more than young but still not old, she could say whatever she wanted. “Did you find a boar or something? It’s not usual for you to come back home injured”.
"It was nothing" I replied, mechanically, as I tried to control my frantic hands managing the disinfectant, gauzes, and bandages. I felt so out of myself, that I didn’t notice my old guardian helping me until I saw the bandage around my arm.
"What happened?" she asked. And, when I say she asked I mean, she did it in a manner so cold and direct that I was compelled to reply like any bad kid in the orphanage.
"I messed it up…" she was the one who took care of me when I first reached Earth and she was the one who educated me out of my parents’ customs. I couldn’t lie to her, even if I wanted to. But, still, I wanted to keep Anaissa’s existence out of her knowledge, not so much because she could order me around, but because she might think I’ve gone mad.
"That was a very clean cut" she pointed out, with my bloody point knife on her hand. She snatched it from my hip sheath before I could notice anything. “And, it seems, you did it yourself" she stopped talking and looked directly into my pitch black eyes. Even to this day, I was completely defenseless against her motherly ways. “What happened?”
"Flashback" I muttered. Not even the most rebellious youth could resist her charming ways. “I remembered some of the rites of my people and, before thinking about it…”
"Hm… I see" that was the most objective truth. She didn’t find any falsehood in my words or in my eyes.
"You know how I was when I came here the first time" this time, a bit annoyed but under her influence still, I got my knife back to clean it up. “Back in the day, I covered everything in blood, remember?”
"Ammonia and vinegar work miracles, I tell you" she laughed it out. That was a good sign. She probably wouldn’t ask too many questions. “What was the rite this time? Marking your territory? Cursing the forest for not giving you game? Thanking the tree for giving you fruit?”
"…I marked some prey" I was ashamed of it, she knew, so she believed me.
"Let’s hope you can give us some boar or deer one of these days, young miss I don’t want kill anything" she got up and, from the door said. “I don’t think we will need you this evening. Take a rest and prepare for tomorrow. I hope that little flashback of yours doesn’t bother you tomorrow in the kitchen shift”.
"I hope not" I replied, sincerely. Ellen closed the door and I let a deep sigh escape my chest.
“Marking prey”, I said. It wasn’t completely false. Anaissa was, actually, my prey.
Not of my knife, mind you. Of my affections. I asked her to marry me…
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