He spun around but there was no one there. He sighed, turning back and continuing on his walk. 'Must be hearing things..'
Leo walked on, blankly staring at the leaves and dirt dancing around on the ground. It was weird. Feeling such a calm yet cheerful atmosphere was comforting compared to the dismal mood set by the unnecessary bombing a few hours ago.
Bang.
He was so lost in thought that, before he knew it (literally), he'd walked into a tree. "Fuck...", he stumbled back, rubbing his head "I swear that tree wasn't there... Must be seeing things as well now"
In an instant a sudden breeze brought about a subtle shift in the air. The very few dandelions on the ground lifted their heads and swayed gently in the summer-autumn sunlight.
"Leonardo Kiyoshi."
"Huh?" Leo looked around him, trying to find the source of the mysterious, yet slightly creepy, whispering. But there was no one. Nothing that could have known and said his name in such a soft, almost heavenly, voice.
The young man inhaled the cloying scent of flowers. It must have been the drugs. The sickly smell of drugs from the hospital that is (after all, he would never in his life indulge in illegal drugs and/or substances).
He walked on, only to be stopped by a barrage of leaves encircling him.
Trapped.
"What the hell?!" Leo shouted, secretly hoping that no one would hear him shouting nonsense in the extremely likely case that he really was just hallucinating.
"Mortal of the Earth, Descendent of Saskia, Saviour of the Land. I have been waiting 500 years for your arrival."
"Who?! W-What?! Who the hell is this?! What kinda drugs..?! Huh?!"
"My lord, my master, I am the humble servant of Her Majesty Mother Nature herself, the Divine Priest of Green. I am the Tree Whisperer."
"T-the what?! Tree Whisperer?! Pries- what the hell?! Wait, where even are you?!!?"
In front of his very eyes, a spiral of wind swiftly and gracefully swirled for a few seconds before revealing a stump. A stump. With a face.
"Hello dear chil- I mean Master."
"WHAT THE HELL?!"
"What, were you expectimg some kinda fair, young tree nymph? It's the 21st century for Nature's sake, don't discriminate."
"Err, okay. Alright. Well, nice to meet you but er... I have a hungry... Cat... Waiting for me... Somewhere... So er..." He almost-too-obviously lied and slowly edged away from the talking stump.
Once he had backed away to what he thought was a safe distance, he turned away and started sprinting. "KYAAAAAAA" He tripped, face-first on a pile of dead leaves. He looked up "AHHXJDJX" Just like some cliché fairytale, the stump was right in front of him.
"YOU CAN MOVE AS WELL!??!?!?!?! OH OF COURSE YOU CAN WHATS NEXT YOU CAN GROW A TREE OR FLY AWA-!'
"Course not, I'm a stump for a reason you asshol- I mean my dear Master."
'Totally deserved to be cut down, that's for sure...' Leo thought.
"HEY KID! HAVE SOME RESPECT FOR THIS OLD STUMP. YOU KNOW MY NAME NOT MY STORY."
"YOU CAN READ MY THOUGHTS?!?!?!?!??!"
"No, you just thought out loud you brat."
"So much for respect..."
Both Leo and the Stump took a breath in... And out... In... And out... With a slightly clearer mind, the young man decided to ask what the hell this ambiguous individual (or bark) wanted with him.
The Stump cleared his throat and sighed, again. "Right then, MASTER. Got to say, I was kind of hoping for someone a bit MORE COOL to be the SAVIOUR OF MANKIND. But sure, I'll take what I get. "
"You little-"
"RIGHT! So, kid, you know the story of the origin?"
Leo remembered the stories of Professor Ex, but alas he never listened to the crazy words coming out of his crazy professor's crazy mouth.
"Kinda?"
The Stump let out a deep sigh once again, disappointed in the lack of knowledge of today's youth.
"Ok. So. Basically..."
YOU ARE READING
Vengeance of the Union
Teen Fiction"This union was created as a means of peace and stewardship. You, Mr Kiyoshi, of all people, should know that." Leo Kiyoshi is a regular university student in the ICUE who doesn't have any particular dreams or ambitions, and sitting at the back of...
