Soulmates

( 8 ) False Church of False Corals

Can corals live outside of the sea, in plain air? Usually, it depends. Some corals can live hours and hours outside of the sea. But what about years and years on end?

The natural world was a marvel, a puzzle waiting to be solved.

Hajay was deep in thought, his hand unconsciously tapping on one of his consoles. He snapped out of his trance hearing the alarm on his bedside clock, signifying the start of another match. He fixed his hair, got out of his bunker and walked to the field.

Today's match was fatiguing.

After his turn was good and done, he decided to stop by another field to talk with Dansuki. The two of them decided to have a walk outside the fields, thinking of where to go next.

That is, until while walking, Dansuki stepped on a stray piece of something crunch.

"Ah-?"

She took a step back, and picked up a small blue chunk. It was a coral.

"What is this...?"

"A... coral?"

Hajay picked up the small coral piece and inspected it for a moment.

"This is the last place i'd expect seeing a coral in..."

"Wait wait, look! There's another one here... and it's... a weird pink color."

Hajay scratched his head for a moment. With that, the pair decided to follow all the corals hidden along the azure flowers.

The corals were of all sorts of colors, from bright blues to ashy grays to neon greens. As the pair walked along, they became more and more numerous, and even bigger.

Before they knew it, they entered a coral 'forest', if they could even call it that. It was more like a perpetual reef on the surface.

It was almost like a path to somewhere.

The time was already nearing dusk, and it felt like they were lost. They went through the jagged path, trying to find the area it was leading to, if there even was one.

They stumbled upon a statue. It looked almost unreal. It depicted a deity, one that didn't exist in any firmament. It was completely handiworked by the gods of the plane to replicate the statues in the megalopolis. It was supposed to be a reef deity, but it almost looked more like a mass of shapes and corals.

Dansuki and Hajay, hand in hand, followed the path that the statue led to. It was a coral-patterned marble, making a clicking sound as Dansuki walked on it. Hajay wheeled himself smoothly over it, leaving barely visible skid marks from walking in the dirt earlier.

Soon enough, they stumbled upon a church. Another handiwork from the gods. Corals sprouted out of the building, covered in marbles and oddly shaped stained glass windows tinted in blues, pinks, greens, every color. They were almost like iridescent windows, projecting surreal silhouettes.

Hajay leaned towards the patented doors, and knocked on them with the back of his hand.

"Anyone home?"

"Why do you need to... uh, do that?"

"Pff, so that i scare evil spirits away!"

"Faiiir enoouugh..."

Hajay opened the door, and stepped in quietly. Not a sound coming from the building.

"Coast's clear."

Dansuki stepped in, admiring the inner workings of the building. Pristine seats made out of colourful marble were lined over a checkered marble floor, all going up to an altar covered in corals that were the colours of the ocean. Over the altar there was also a blue, golden-trimmed curtain adorning it, almost like an offering place to a deity that didn't exist.

There were smaller yet equally colourful stained glass windows lining up the church, showing what might be the apostles of the false god of the reef.

The clacking of her shoes could be heard throughout the church. The sound soothed Hajay. It was like he knew she was safe and sound with that noise alone. The setting sun projected a glistening reflection of the stained glass window, iridescent and colourful.

Dansuki sat near the natural projection, admiring the colourful lights with wonder.

She knew it was all a handiwork of the gods, something made by them just to replicate another plane, but she didn't care. It was better than the fields. Anywhere, everywhere was better than there.

Hajay sat right next to her.

"You wanna camp here for the day?"

Dansuki felt her cheeks heating up a little.

"Ah... sure. Anything to, well, spend time with you...really."

Hajay chuckled a little.

"With a loser like me? Naaaahh, you're way outta my league."

"That's... the least of my concerns, haha.."

"Kidding, kidding! Just pulling 'yer leg. I'll gladly spend time with you."

He pulled her close to him, almost like a hug. Dansuki happily nuzzled herself in the crook of Hajay's neck, wrapping her arms around him. Hajay patted her back, letting her rest there.

"Rest well, dear."

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