The Path to Ivory

Ch. 4 - A Novel Marvel

Usually by this time in the morning, the sun would already be sweltering, bringing me to a sweat and forcing me to use the brim of my hat as a fan, but I guess I was blessed today. Truffle was excited as well, we never rode in the shade so this was more than welcome. It's been awhile since I've seen a tree so green, so green it was almost blue in comparison to the red sands of the desert. I thanked the heavens that the desert was starting to fade out, replaced by what seemed to be a well taken care of speckling of grass, trees, and even brick inlaid roads.

I could tell it was a shock to my horse, as his feet danced for a second over the clicking bricks, working to get used to them. I gave him a pet and encouraged him to continue, since this meant good things for us. A new town, one with money. I was starting to get tired of the dirt and wood of every place we've stayed at before, the hot days and cold nights, the devil-may-care people who'd sooner shoot you dead than accommodate you. Well, not always, the people may be cold at first glance, but if they consider you family then you'll never have a worry in your life.

I was unfortunate in never making those bonds. Now I didn't have any regrets, you do what you think is right when you do. That's living. But a man like me can't help but wonder if instead of leaving mama's shack and not being there to protect her, how different my life would've been. But she didn't want that for me. She's the one who shooed me out, kicked my right in my ass and kissed me right on the head. Told me to live life how it was meant to be lived. I hope this is what she meant.

I've heard my fair tale of how cold the people out here away from the desert can be, but I have yet to see it myself. Considering they never hear from those dusty towns anyhow, I'm sure they'll treat me better here where they don't know anything about me. Only time will tell.

Truffle put his worries to the side and carried through, continuing down the way as our path become more lined with cooling trees. The picturesque grass covered almost the entire horizon line, with the only exception being straight ahead. I could see buildings, it seemed, and many carriages and carts. It looked more busy than I could've expected, and shone brighter than any place I'd seen before. Pure whites and an accent of darker browns, colors I were familiar with but had never seen new and not faded.

I lowered my red bandana for only a second to take in a deep breath of the air, and it was almost sweet. Clearer than I knew air could be, with a hint of some sort of confectionary. Maybe chocolate? Something sugary. I always had a sweet tooth, but never got to indulge in it. The sweetest I got was the coffee prepared for me in the town food halls, but other than that everything was either spiced to high heaven or bland as hell. Not like the food from when I was a child, though. Everything was salted to perfection.

An excitement built up in both of us, Truffle and I, at the smell. In the back of my mind was a wonder if they had clean water, which was only overshadowed by the idea that I could have a real piece of chocolate. I could feel his energy change, and he kicked up with more of a trot. It made me sit there and wonder if my horse had a sweet tooth, too. Or if he was looking forward to a good drink and a bath as well. Either way, we couldn't wait.

The closer we got, the stronger the smell was. It was floral, like the perfumes the girls of the saloons used to wear, rose something, but with that powerful smell of candied sugar. It was certainly cocoa. Must be a sweets focused town, if you could even call it a town. Maybe a confectioner, or maybe just bakeries. Hopefully someone would be kind enough to gift me something. I wasn't worried, I'd figure something out, always did.

I was able now to spot emblems on the sides of everything. Buildings and carriages, and even the people. A pink heart surrounded by what seemed to be solid gold. Taken aback by the idea of such money, I finally took the moment to really absorb the looks of the people. If I had to put words to it, I'd say they looked like a gift you'd receive on your anniversary of marriage. Whites, reds, and browns, like a box of chocolates or chocolate covered strawberries. Kinda made me hungry...