Lunaria: Genesis

3- Bridges

Prae Sul leads me out of the hospital for the first time. The first thing I see is blinding rays of light piercing my eyes, so much so that I have to shield them with my hand and wince. Prae continues walking so I follow her blindly, until shade has fallen over my face. I look up to what had blocked the sun and I see a canopy of green. Colossal trees with trunks much wider than my arms could reach covers us on all sides. They grew close together, their roots tangled with another's making it impossible to walk anywhere but the straight path we were on. The large branches holds dark, thick leaves, flowing in the breeze like a sea of green. I have never seen anything like this, everything feels like it's moving along with the crisp wind, rustling and dancing about. Prae glances at me as I look at the forest and smiles to herself.

"This place is called the Village of Green, for obvious reasons. These special trees have blessed my village with refuge and a fortress, they are very sacred and respected here and we make them our home." Prae explains. As we walk forward I begin to see different things among the large branches, like post and bridges of wood and rope, high above the ground.

"Long ago they built pathways of rope bridges in the trees for those who don't get around with abilities. Now, we have the technology to build houses in the trees without harming them, so most of the village consist of houses above ground. Don't worry though, the markets and other things are on the ground for convenience." She says. We enter an exit in the path and everything around us opens up to a bustling community. The trees break apart making a large clearing where small buildings of stores and restaurants are crowded together in complex paths and alleys. Cobblestone roads lead all to the center, a large circle with peddlers and merchants and villagers walking freely and running errands. Small kids run and play around, people walk about and talk, buying, selling, or having conversations. The sun steams down on them, making their world bright and clear. Prae walks forward out of the shade of the trees and into the sunlight, but I carefully slink backwards. There is too many people there, and I no longer trust people so freely. Besides, the light strains my eyes, I am still unused to living in a world with constant sunlight.

Sensing that I have fallen behind, Prae turns and looks at me with concern. I just look down, wanting to push myself further into the shadows. She puts her hands on her hips impatiently, sighing in frustration. I don't like when she looks upset, it appears to me as if she wants to hit something. She stares at me, then sighs and rolls her neck.

"You must be shy or something. Whatever. We can just take the high path. Do you think you can get up there?" She asks, looking up to the network of bridges on the highest level of the tree branches. I look up also, crouching my body to make the jump. I spring upwards, launching myself high into the air above the bridges and landing on the soft wood silently. I look down, and Prae now gapes up at me with a slack jaw before shaking her head and jumping up to the bridges beside me. She looked down at me, still in shock.

"When I asked if you could; one, I expected that you would need help, and two, I didn't expect for you do do it so easily. Why the hell were you in the hospital for so long? You should have been out a long time ago." She says, taking a deep breath and leading the way though the treetops. I feel like I was just fully condemned, lowering my head to avoid looking her in her eyes before following wordlessly behind. Here, it was a little brighter than on the ground, but the leaves still cast dancing shadows everywhere shifting with the light breeze. The path of bridges takes us right around the marketplace and to a large building made of stones, almost as tall as the trees themselves. It has long steps leading up to the pillared courtyard and an inner building.

"This is the temple, the headquarters of my village. Everything in this village is my responsibility and I take on my job from there. That is where I live and where you will live until a suitable host family is found. Until then, I will teach you how this village is run. And the first thing you need to learn is that I am the Leader, and what I say goes as a final order, understand?" She says sharply. I nod in agreement.

"Good. Follow my influence and you will soon be working up the ranks of this village." Prae Sul says, looking out to the trees. In the distance across the other side of the market, I see clusters of houses woven into the forest, a neighborhood of tree houses, each holding a family of some sort inside. I don't know how to feel, it is a very beautiful sight, and I drink it all in, not knowing if I will ever see it again.