Lifelight: Calypso Returns

7.

"I have to say boys, I'm a bit disappointed." Hera said.

They were walking away from the dock town where Yuli had left their boat in the care of a perfectly ordinary looking man. She did not know what she had expected but she knew that she had not got it. The town was busy, the market was loud, the sailors and merchants were crude. Dusk brought out the prostitutes and one of them had hair so white and light it looked like a jellyfish was stuck to her head. Big whoop. They spent the night there but she could not sleep because of the racket the sailors were making.

"I'm sorry that the 3rd realm, kingdom of Saira, high seat of the goddess,home to more than a hundred species of intelligent flora and fauna does not meet your standards." Kairu said.

"I did not say that. It's just when you say a hundred species, I expected more people like Berry." She said.

"Well,there is still a whole journey ahead of us, perhaps we will meet your expectations." Kairu said.

"How much of a journey? And how come everyone can speak English here.Don't tell me those bastards colonized you two." She said.

Kairu and Yuli shared a glance.

"They're not. Speaking English that is." Kairu said.

"What do you mean? I heard them. A few weird words here and there but it was definitely English."

"I would explain but I can't." Kairu said.

She started to protest but her eyes strayed to the road ahead and the words died in her throat. The town lay at the bottom of a slope that met the ocean. The slope was a lush green carpet of grass if a bit overgrown. The road had been carved climbing over the hill. Beyond that hill were hundreds, thousands like it. Gentle, rolling slopes stretched as far as the eye could see. In between some, rivers collected and met in an estuary that emptied into the ocean. The grass was not all green here, some of it was the same blue as the ocean.

"Impressed now?" Kairu said.

"A little bit, yeah."

"We are headed West, upstream. By nightfall tomorrow we should be in Laevros." Kairu said.

They stopped at a junction at the bottom of the hill. Yuli carried their supplies, Kairu looked straight ahead, and Hera tried not to scratch at her new sweater.

"What are we waiting for?" She asked.

"The bus." Kairu said.

"And the thrills just keep coming." She said.

***

"She is still staring at me." Hera said.

She was whispering the hourly updates to a half asleep Kairu in a way that she hoped was imperceptible. The lady in question got in a few stops after they had. She could have been 30 or 80, Hera could not tell. The seats were in a train-booth style and she sat in the booth diagonal to theirs. She got comfortable, shrugged off what looked like a fur coat and then fixed her stare on Hera and did not look away.

Hera looked anywhere but at the rude lady. There were a few other passengers on the bus, all of them had avoided the vicinity of their booth due to her large intimidating companions. The bus did impress her, it hovered like a speed train and ran on electromagnetic free energy or something, Kairu had said.

The rolling hills had given way to sparse forests and grassland. The odd cottage would pop out of the bush but there were no other signs oflife.

"Ignore her." Kairu said.

When the stiffness in her muscles and the crankiness from lack of sleep could no longer be ignored, she let herself sleep. She lost the odd sensation of being watched when she closed her eyes.