----------3 days later----------
Everything looked the same. Sands and dust balls all around, wandering aimlessly. No sign of an ML flag nor the big black walls of home. All these days, I had no other choice but to drink from my canteen of the magic water. My girls had shown no interest in drinking these days. And we only kept going forward. There's no turning back. I've been trying to save up most of the water, but still. 1.5 liters left.
Just as I was about to take a sip, from the tip of my cylindrical canteen, I can make out a tree. A palm tree. I thought it was a hallucination. But Nectar sniffed the air and ran towards it. Followed by her sisters.
I sprinted. Sprinted like I never did before. I let my legs took control of my body. Little by little, the palm tree multiplied in numbers. Soon, I saw a whole forest of them.
I read about this. It's an oasis. The only water source in the desert.
We barged through the thick layers of vines and bushes. Until the pink vines. It is the last layer. I walked through it and saw... I don't know how to describe it.
The soil is moist and full of grass. The water is not glowing, but it is crystal clear. It is contained in a circular lake. In the middle, there is a floating piece of marble. Shaped of a rectangle with each end curled up. Above it, there are other pink shades. Covering the marble rest place from the sun. My gaze followed the source of the shade and found it was from 2 great trees opposite from each other. The vines I passed through just now was also a part of them, connected together. I closed my eyes before taking a deep breath and smelled the sweet air tingling my nose. When I opened my eyes, I now saw them. Butterflies & birds.
I thought they have mutated to horrifying beasts.
But... they're not. They did mutate, but they turned more beautiful. One of the butterflies had flown close to me and I saw its uniqueness for the first time. Its wings of explicit patterns with multiple colors forming a gradient. As it flew, like the other butterflies, they dripped golden threads.
BRAK!
I looked to my right and saw Amber crashed into a tree, sending flocks of colorful birds into the red afternoon sky. Amber didn't give up. She jumped and chased them everywhere. It was a ruckus until she fell into the pond.
The pond is surprisingly deep. But thanks to their natural habitat, Amber swam back up with no injuries. Wondering how I could get to the marble bed, my eyes accidentally caught the lilies on the pond. Beneath them, there are pillars of stones. Not easy to spot, but they are there. Slowly but surely, I stepped on the lilies. Nectar whimpered as I lifted my other feet from the steady soil.
Nothing...
The pillars are steady after all. And I can see fishes. Loads of them with the colors of rainbows. Prancing and jumping freely. I leaped from one leaf to another and soon reached the marble bed. The circular floor holding it was a marble, just like the bed. At 2 ends, a pillar stood. It'd head donning white translucent silk of curtain.
I went to touch it and sneezed. A little cleaning is definitely needed. I looked around and saw Hera making beds on all the soil sides of my resting place with palm leaves. An idea immediately struck my mind.
I went back to the soil and took a pair of palm leaves before soaking them in water. I got back on my private island and began the chores. I used to do this in my royal palace. I used to steal some sweets from Mother and hid it somewhere else so I never let other maids clean my room.
I missed those days...
The now polished and cleaned marble place is shiny and reflected the colors of the stars. I smiled as I took the dusty curtains and dipped it in the water. I hanged them and decided to hunt some fishes for dinner.
I never fished so it took me around half an hour before catching one. But hey, it's a big one. We ate together by the bonfire to fend off the coldness.
And most importantly, fend off the loneliness in me.
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I got so many deadlines this week so I can only write this much. and I'm really sorry if this chapter seems rushed. Next time I update, maybe after I finish cooling down my 7 pissed off teachers. Once again, I'm so sorry. (❁'◡'❁)
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YOU ARE READING
HOPE
Science Fiction-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- "Saevi Amaeri, do you know what you've gotten into?" Mother asked as she stood up and stared at me. "Yes, mother. It's a risk I'm willing to take for the Main Lands. For the ICI." -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_...
