Another World

Chapter 21

It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. The most gorgeous waterfalls and lagoons. Wet grasslands with really huge bears.. I see soldiers riding on them, chasing after the quads. That must be scary!

"Austin, what are those bears and why aren't they eating the guards?"

"Well, they are called The Beasts. But they're tamed and we use them as a kind of transportation. My favorite is Zetora. She's mine. When you're ready to bond with one, it's yours, your responsibility and your baby." Awesome!

"Um, wow! That's cool! When do I get to bond with one?" I throw him a curious look.

"When you're crowned Princess." He says so nonchalantly. I just nod my head and look down to the beautiful scenery and pure nature itself. The lush green trees and attractive plant live. Crystal clear lakes and vibrant meadows with a hint of humanity and wildlife.

"It's beautiful, eh?"

"It's incredible. Never seen anything like it before. I'm used to seeing the woods and people full of crap." I say quickly. "I like to think of them as goons." I laugh at my own joke. He just smiles and asks me the next question, "So what's your story? Where're you from?" I hesitate for a moment.

"Well, I was born in Canada. My family had like a little guest house near Niagara Falls. And that's near Erie Lake. My mom wanted to have me in that very house! So she did and when I was nine, we moved to Chicago. My dad got a really good job opportunity as a firefighter! But five years ago on our way to the farm, we were in an accident. Both my parents died and my brother, Steven has cancer. I am actually supposed to be in a wheelchair right now but Kio said that I can walk now because of my royal position. So yeah. What's your story?" he brings a hurt expression upon his face and says he's sorry about everything that happened. He told me about his childhood and his mother giving him up for adoption when he was still a baby. His father apparently disappeared when he found out that his girlfriend was expecting. So Austin ran away two years ago and got lost in the woods until Kio and Jake found him. That must've been bad. "Oh my gosh, Austin. I can't imagine what it must've been like."

"Well thanks to that, I'm responsible for my actions. And hopefully one day, I'll be an excellent dad!" He said that last sentence with a grin. A grin that told me that he'll be an excellent dad, for sure! One lesson in life that is most important, 'people who walk through hell most of their lives, are the ones that build a heaven for little innocent angels.' Every morning I woke up seeing people struggling and I know it's all around the globe 24/7. All these things happen for a reason and in the end, you come out as a new, stronger and faithful person. Believe me, I talk out of experience! Sometimes we don't realize that the people around us could have a huge influence to us. Examples:

∙ a young girl who's heart gets broken by the school's biggest nutjob and she loses all interest in love and relationships.

∙ a guy who is surrounded by people who are top of the class, straight A's and jocks... in the meantime, there is this girl in his class that he doesn't even notice, and she has a crush on him. He decides to join the drug-dealers and one-night standers (Yeah, that's a real thing. You'd be surprised!) and ruins his reputation. At the same time, the girl abandons the idea that she would ever like someone ever again and yet he loses a chance at getting to know someone really well.

.ad��^,�]�