Cerulean Planet (Blue Dust Trilogy #1)

Chapter 19

"I dreamed that I was floating in darkness. There was no end to the darkness and I couldn't hold onto anything. No matter how much I screamed or laughed or cried, there would be no response. Not even an echo. I dreamed that I was standing on a ship, sailing deep into the ocean, never to return. I dreamed of yellow lands and wild grass fields. I was back on Earth again, but Earth was empty. The roads were left abandoned and the plants had taken over everything. The buildings began crumbling one after another. I was alone."

The monster held Jiayun's hand. "You are not alone."

Jiayun smiled. "Hey, it's about time you got out of mushy mode."

"This is not mushy mode," the monster insisted. "I am in honest mode."

Jiayun felt a mix of emotions and thought that if the monster were to trick some human lass into falling in love with them, they would have their way each and every time, even if they did look hideous.

Jiayun got out of bed and walked around. He threw up quite a bit and was still feeling a bit sticky, so he jumped inside the lukewarm water and gave himself a rinse. The monster, worried, kept close to Jiayun. The pond wasn't all that big. The moment the monster got inside, half of the hot water was forced out. Feeling that they were getting in the way, Jiayun sent the monster off to clean up the room.

When he returned to the room after rinsing himself off, Jiayun noticed that the hut was as good as new. Even the stench of vomit was gone and the monster had gone out of their way to prepare some food for him. It was a piece of cooked fish, tastefully plated with plants garnished on the side.

Jiayun was starving and ate a lot. When he was done, he leaned into the monster's arms, dazing off while hugging them.

After resting for a couple more Earth days, Jiayun was full of vigour again by the time dawn arrived.

Even knowing that they had all the time in the world, Jiayun became restless and wanted to explore everything that the island had to offer.

They found a small volcano in the middle of the island. Bubbling lava oozed from it, scorching the ground around it soot black. Jiayun asked the monster about the volcano and the monster told him that it would not erupt again. They found a creeping vine near the volcano that bore yellow fruits the size of a chicken's egg. The monster tried it first before letting Jiayun have a bite. The fruit was sweet and sour, like an unripe small mandarin orange; a flavour that seemed vaguely familiar. Jiayun was overjoyed after eating some and ended up picking lots to bring back with him.

There were two more spots on the island that had similar landscapes as the cave that they resided in, but the place they chose remained the best among them. They discovered many more plants and many more fruits. Jiayun began naming each one of them. He would immediately forget their names after, but the monster would always remind him.

Jiayun collected those plants and picked many rocks to bring back to decorate their rooms with.

As the two of them began exploring the island some more, they discovered many more types of materials that could be used for construction and continued to modify and perfect their own hut. Soft rocks replaced wood and their house became taller and wider. It began to take on beautiful lines and shapes, and the small wooden hut gradually turned into a castle.

Jiayun loved running. Once he got used to it, he fell in love with running naked. The skin on the soles of his feet became tougher and would no longer be cut by hard rocks.

Though the monster remained in humanoid form, they were still a bit large. Neither their skeleton nor muscles were quite suited for human movement. They were quick when they ran, but looked a bit silly while doing so. Whenever Jiayun ran ahead, he would turn around and laugh at them, his laughter ringing in the valley. The monster would reach out and grab him, holding him in their arms and kissing him.

Jiayun would turn bright red from the kiss, his heart pounding. He would push them away and run off again.

They knew every inch of land on this island like the back of their hands. They also explored the smaller islands nearby. Jiayun had given them each a name: Big Thumb, Index Finger, Middle Finger, Ring Finger, Little Pinky, Big Dude, Little Junior, Nose Hair.

There was a tall mountain shaped like a phallus on Little Junior. Nose Hair had a patch of forest made up of soft yet sticky black, stripey plants.

They even swam through every patch of nearby waters. The monster was able to survey the bottom of the ocean; they now had a complete set of information and knew everything there was to know about the island's surroundings.

The southern side of the island had the same underwater topography as the island that their fighter ships had crashed onto when they first got here; the water was shallow at first before hitting a bottomless trench in the ocean.

The monster asked Jiayun whether he would like to go down and take a look.

"What's underneath?" Jiayun asked.

"It is quite deep. I am not sure."

"It's really dark in there."

"I can light it up for you."

Jiayun thought about it, but shook his head in the end.

"There's an old fairytale on Earth. A rich man married a young, beautiful woman. He gave her a key to every room in the house, but told her that one door must never be opened," he said.

"But she opened it."

"Yes," Jiayun said. "Curiosity is not a trait unique to humans, but I can bet that of all the species you have ever known, humans are one of the most curious bunch. We'll head down and see what it's like one day, but not right now."

There were many craters on the tall mountains on the west side of the island. It would seem that despite being the target of many rounds of meteorites, the meteorites themselves did not pose too much of a threat for this island. On the side of the mountain facing the ocean was a cliff where rope-like vines thrived. Jiayun would occasionally climb down the vines with the monster watching close by. There were a few close calls, but overall, it would seem that Jiayun was fairly skilled in this activity.

Jiayun enjoyed partaking in extreme sports. One of his favourite things to do was to climb up to the tallest mountain with the monster, then have the monster carry him as the two soared across the forests, the valleys, the shallow lakes, then falling into the ocean at last. Jiayun would scream at the top of his lungs, the sound of his voice ringing in the air.

Life seemed to have dialed back to primitive times. Jiayun's physique grew even stronger, his body covered in beautifully shaped bundles of muscles. He would spread his body for the monster, anywhere and every which way.

"This is all that living was meant to be. You live the same way no matter where you are. Just spend your life living. Life isn't meant to have too specific a goal. But I'm very lucky because I have you by my side," he would say.

"Humans cannot live in solitude. Solitude will drive humans crazy," he would say.

"But you're here, and you always have your eyes on me. You know everything about me. You have my DNA. You know every word I've spoken, everything that I've done. We'll spend the rest of our days together. There will be more and more of me in you. Everything I've lived through, you'll have known.

"Remember me," he would say.

"Remember me."