My Evergreen Love

Where It All Starts

The clouds in the sky slightly partway for the sun to shine and the nice breeze feels fresh against my skin. Despite the pleasant atmosphere the weather has set, the land of Ooo actually has had a few tragedies come to its land semi-recently. Rumors are sometimes embellished though so who knows, but I should be okay as long as I don't get into too much trouble. Brushing the hair out of my eyes, I squinted over to the horizon to see green rolling hills for miles.

I had to travel by foot when I got here, so by the time I found a place to camp it had already become dark. The outskirts of the forest seem safe enough, with a large boulder for safety from other creatures. My mind was set on getting some rest since walking all day tired me out a ton. Settling down on the cool grass wasn't that difficult for me and I eventually relaxed into my warm sleeping bag.

That night I felt myself sitting in the middle of a field on a hot day, the humidity made me sweat uncomfortably and there was no shade to run to. When I wiped the sweat from my brow I began to notice the temperature suddenly became much more bearable. I felt icy drops of snow begin to gently cascade the sky sparkling in pure white. Large snow-capped mountains sprouted out from the ground and blankets of snow surrounding me. The ice soothed my burns but when I looked up into the sky the sun was replaced with a golden owl soaring in the clouds. "Who are you?"

My attempt to talk with the owl didn't really lead to anything, they simply flew away into the horizon. The silence was cut with the sounds of a man's cries carried by the wind. I tried to follow the voice but I woke up and lost the dream when the morning rose. Damn, that's annoying, I hate when dreams end before it gets good. Now I have to get up and explore to find a real place to stay. Forest life is okay but I at least want a bathroom to enjoy a nice hot shower for once. With a deep sigh, I sat up and looked around; a river wash is fine for today.

While I got myself clean my mind began to wonder about what my next decisions should be after finding a room somewhere. I've never been to Ooo before but I've heard very interesting things about it for a while. Back at home, my buddies would tell me how it was basically made for someone like me. It had many diverse kingdoms and had loads of rabbit holes for adventure at every corner.

Putting my clothes on, I decided that it was best to try the candy kingdom first since it seemed to be the most favorable option for me. After taking one last look at my map I saw that there was actually an ice kingdom close by, how ironic. Anyway, time to walk, and walk, and maybe walk some more...

Thank Glob the weather is normal and not an oven, like how it was in my dream, the fire kingdom was definitely going to be the last place to visit. I'm just tired from the hot weather I get at home so can you blame me? Sun is good for you or whatever but it always makes me start sweating like crazy no matter what.

Far ahead of me tall pink trees start to appear in the dozens. I know it was called the candy kingdom but it didn't register that everything would be candy. Not a problem for me though because sweets are always a plus in my book.

So much color decorated the environment in every direction and the sweet smell of sugar and baked goods filled my lungs. I was let in pretty easily by the cute banana guards, and I realized everyone around me seemed to look like cute treats. Now I have the biggest case of cute rage because I wanna hug all these little guys. But that would be kind of awkward so that will just be an idea for later I guess.

The locals were nice enough to give me some help in directions to an inn that was equally as cute to the rest of the buildings. Everyone seemed really nice and happy to see someone visit the kingdom. Booking myself in was no issue and so I set my travel bag down and unpacked a few stuff before plopping myself onto the bed.

I mostly just plopped down for a while, stretching and mindlessly playing silly games on my phone when I hear a bit of a commotion outside. Taking a small peek through the pastel curtains there I saw a group of candy people surrounding this guy in a polar bear hat and a yellow dog. Weird. But whatever I guess, not like I'm any more normal but it's cute how excited they all are to see them. For a moment the boy caught my gaze but I quickly just closed the curtain in embarrassment. Let's just hope that doesn't get me into trouble.

After the strange encounter with the rando, the rest of my day flew by rather peacefully, with going to one of the nearby fountains to sit back and feed the birds. I didn't really do much other than that but I actually managed to snap some cute photos while out and about. Many of the light soft colors were just perfect for taking pictures.

Time escaped me and the night sky started to have those lovely oranges and purples alongside the ever glimmering stars. My plan was to simply go on my way back to the inn but the sound of music and lively chatter caught my attention. To my surprise it was a bar, I don't know why I'm surprised, I guess because everything sorta seemed so cute it caught me off guard. From afar I tried to get a good peek inside but all I really saw were candy people drinking or sitting.

Striding closer to the entrance, I managed to catch the 'open mic' sign at the rose-tinted window. Well, it seemed fun enough so I just stepped in and promptly took my seat in front of one of the bartenders who resembled a fizzy mug of root beer with one of those red and white striped straws sticking out. "Hello, what can I get for you tonight?" He smiled and gestured to the board behind him listing various concession items.

My brother back at home always enjoyed having special strawberry sodas so my eyes quickly lit up at its availability. "I'll have the strawberry soda please." I tried to hold back a giggle from fond memories before the server gave me another smile and went to make my drink. After calming down from the happy jitters, my eyes skimmed over through the crowds onto the main stage with a lone microphone. I'm hoping someone decides to go on stage, I do enjoy live performances even if they're small.

A sharp clinking of glass interrupted my thoughts and made me aware of the bartender yet again. "Oh, thank you very much." The Root beer guy nodded, "enjoy and let me know if you'll need anything else."

Taking the cool bubbling drink, Instantly I savored the sweet tang of artificial strawberry slightly burning my tongue. Yeah, I really needed this, after what's been going on with my life lately. I let out a sigh that delved deeper into my head swimming with troubling thoughts. Every time I go out I always get stuck in my brain, Glob, why couldn't that shit just fucking quit. Leaving my home town to travel has become a hobby of mine for some time now. Knowingly leaving just to get away from everyone in my family.

At least when I talk to strangers they take me as I am. Who they meet now is what's most important, why couldn't my family understand that. Outside my town, I get to be who I really am and not have to put on a facade for the sake of others.

"Let me show you something special"

"I can Introduce your parts to something new"

"Every moment now is special"

"Just as long I'm spending it with you"

Out on the stage was an older man singing while playing a keyboard, his small glasses reflected the spotlight above him while he sang. When did he get on to play? Regardless, I'm glad he snapped me out of my brain rot pit, I almost forgot I was supposed to enjoy myself tonight.

My heart feels much less heavy now that I have something to occupy my thoughts, in fact, it was nearly impossible to think of anything else other than the man performing. The few gray strands in the otherwise dark brown hair were so attractive. It's always a blessing to find men with great hair.

Let's hope no one saw my ears flutter in excitement because that would be very embarrassing. Now I begin to wonder if someone cursed me on my travels because right now is the second instance today when my staring catches attention from the receiving end. When we looked into each other's line of sight I swore I could feel my heart ready to pound through my chest. He then lowered his gaze back to the keys, now wearing a newfound smile.

"Every turn and spin"

"Will remind us where we've been"

"Will remind us when we found"

"Something special..."