We walked through the beautiful green land. I would have loved to run, but I didn’t know if my brother would be able to keep up, and I couldn’t chance that.
Finally, we stumbled upon a cabana with a tiny porch. The porch had no roof, and looking over the ledge at the forest was a woman with a bushel of leaves for hair. With her golden eyes and nature bound appearance, I knew she had to be The Nature Deity.
“Mrs. Deity?” I said as politely as I could.
She turned over to us, her face the definition of bliss. “Yeah?- oh goodness! That poor fox!” she yelled, and ran over to me.
“Yes. It's sick,” I explained. “And so is my brother. Please, please heal him first! He is terribly ill!”
She stopped right in front of us and looked at my brother. “His energy does seem off a bit, but he doesn’t look so dire. What’s wrong with him?”
“Well, he’s been coughing and goes in and out of consciousness, but he’s been looking better ever since the dragon from which we came here with splashed him with water. He actually started walking!” I answered her. That got me thinking, *just what is in that water here?*
“Ah, water! Water is quite good for you, and since the water here is untampered with by factories and purifiers, such a taste tends to have some healing effects. The Nature Deity informed me.”
“Wow,” was all I could say after. “But still, Nature deity, can you heal him?”
“Of course!” she said to me joyously. “Come now, young lad.” she said, and my brother followed her to a tree.
She reached up high, picked a yellowy-red apple from one of the branches, and offered it to my brother.
My brother looked at her a bit strangely, then took the apple, rinsed it in a nearby stream and took a bite. Immediately after his face lit up.
“Jenna, you must try one!” he didn’t say anything else after that. He was hooked on eating bite after bite.
I looked at The Nature Deity gingerly. “May I have one?”
She smiled back warmly. “Sure. Just kick the tree and one will fall right down.”
I was about to walk to the tree, but then I realised I still had a very sick fox in my arms. “Uh, can you help this fox too, please?”
“Oh I know just what he needs.” And she gently took him from my arms.
I walked up and did as told. I heard tussling of the leaves and then a hardy plop.
An apple had landed. I picked it up by the stem and started examining it for dirt.
The Deity must have noticed, because then she said, “Dirt is natural. It’s actually filled with minerals which the fruit absorbs as it grows. It won’t kill you.”
I supposed she was right. I took a loud crunch. That golden apple contained heaven in a circle. The apple was sweet, nice and cold, and tasted like fruit juice. Never mind the light brown spots on the skin. I couldn’t believe how shocked I was that this actually tasted *good*. I took another bite.
The Deity smiled at me. “Have a seat in the canopy, my treat.”
I followed her to her beautiful canopy porch and took a seat on a smooth wooden bench. I saw she had taken the fox by the water, where it drinked tenaciously, it’s throat working.
When it stopped, I saw it’s eyes widen, their color more...vivid. *Or was that just my imagination?*
My brother was running around in the green grass, oblivious to anything else but bliss, jumping and dashing, chasing birds and what-not.
The Nature Deity set a wooden plate of fresh meat slabs next to the fox. Once the fox stopped drinking, he turned to the plate and began smacking rapidly.
My brother bent over near the fox and smiled at it. The fox finished his meal, then looked back at my brother. Its ears went back and it’s tail started wagging, a slight, playful grin on its face. The two began running after each other, then rolling around in the flower spotted grass.
I couldn’t stop a smile from appearing on my face.
“Feeling better?”
I looked at The Deity, startled she had just appeared sitting right next to me. “I’m not sick!”
“But your mood was so low earlier, your energy grey like a storm cloud. Filled with burden and worry and sadness.”
“Well, I was so anxious that we weren’t going to get here, that my brother wouldn’t get better. I felt like happiness was so far away. But to see him play all joyfully and better, to see the fox alive again… it just makes my day. Thank you so much, Nature deity!”
“No problem.” She said back, her never-ending grin at full force. “You must have travelled far to get here.”
“Oh did we ever!” I started. “We went through the clouds on a huge dragon. The dragon told me of people who dared to build towers to the sky just to see landscapes as colorful as here. Maybe I’ll build a tower like that one day. In fact, I can’t wait to finish this apple.”
“Why?” the Deity asked me.
“Because I plan to enjoy every moment I’m here along with my brother!” And with that, I took the final bite of my apple and ran out with my brother and the fox. I wasn’t worried about littering, I knew the earth would take the core back as compost.
I chased my brother and then I got chased by the fox, then I was back chasing both of them. I was so close to catching the fox, my vision focusing in on the fiery orange fur, then I jumped and lunged to grab him. He slipped right from my hands. He stopped and turned, grinning. He knew I’d caught him.
Me and my brother sat and laughed in the lime green grass, happy to be alive right now. The mountains were beautiful. It was nice and cool out.
We sat quiet for a bit after that, just catching our breath after running so much.
“I wish I could see more colorful places like this.” My brother said.
“We will. I’ll make sure of that.” I told him.
He turned and smiled at me. “What do you wish?”
I thought. “I wish I could help all the dying people in our kingdom get better. ”
“What’s stopping you?” My brother asked me.
He was right. What was stopping me? After all, not only did I ride a dragon and get to the land of light where the Nature Deity lived, but I saved his and a fox's life, all in one day. I could do more than I thought, and I never realised it.
“Hmm. You know what? What *is* stopping me? I will help the people of our kingdom! I’ll bring some of these healing apples and water back to them! Come, for I have an idea!”
We got up, and ran back to The Nature Deity, who was busy petting the fox.
“May I pick a batch of apples from one of your trees? People back home are in need of some healthy food.”
“Pick away.” the Deity told me. “They're not my apples, they're the tree’s and she’d be just about thrilled to have someone put them to good use.”
“Thanks!” I yelled to her, thrilled. Then I stopped in my track and turned back. “Wait, she!?”
“Yes the tree- oh, nevermind, just take them!” the Deity laughed.
I kicked the tree a bunch of times, hearing a bunch of apples plop to the ground. As I picked them up, I thought about how great the water here was too. “Oh yes, and I’ll need jars of that healing water for the people too- if you don’t mind.” I added gingerly.
“Oh, not at all.” The Deity answered. “I’ve got some jars in my home that would be just the thing for water.”
I almost felt overwhelmed by her kindness, how would I ever pay her back?
I told her this as I went to grab my brother.
“Pay me back? Oh no, you shan’t have to do a thing. I like to help people, just as you.” she told me.
“But-but, this is so kind of you, you must want something in return…” I started, but she just waved me off.
“Are you healed?” I asked my brother. I could tell he was, but I wanted to be sure.
“Yes, fit as new shoes!” my brother beamed. Good. He’d be ready for the road ahead. Or rather, sky.
“Come on fox! Back home we go!” I yelled.
But the fox ran over to The Deity, circling her feet.
“Come on now, over here.” I repeated.
He lay by her side.
“He wants to stay here,” said the Deity. “This adventure is for you, now go! Save your kingdom!”
I smiled. “Right! Well then brother, it’s just you and me! Let’s go!”
We ran to the dragon port. The red dragon from which we came here with was now napping, but a younger-looking blue one was being saddled and ready to go.
“Excuse me, how much is it for a ride on this one?” I asked one of the ground crew dragonflies.
“Oh, you can ride Azul for free! This will be his first trip, and he’s ready and eager to go!”
“Yeah! Hop on!” Azul confirmed.
I didn’t know if I trusted my life on the back of a new dragon, but Red showed no signs of getting up soon, and I had to rush back to treat the rest of my family with these healing supplies, so Azul it was!
I saddled on, my brother right behind me.
“Uh, Jenna, I’m quite a bit scared.” my brother told me.
“No need, we rode here by dragon, remember?” I asked him.
“No. I only remember the end, when we landed.”
“Oh right. You’d been unconscious most of the way…” I thought aloud. “Oh well! We’ll be fine! Azul will fly straight, right!?” I looked over one of Azul’s horns I had grappled onto to look at the dragon in one of his huge yellow eyes.
“Yep! I promise not to get too excited, especially since you’ve got fragile cargo!” Azul assured me.
“Ready for take-off!” one of the dragonflies yelled to Azul, and with that, the blue dragon broke right into a sprint, his eyes set on the sky.
“You’re supposed to trot, then dash!” I yelled to Azul. “Stop going so fast!”
“Sorry! Off we goooooo!” He yelled, and we zoomed up into the clouds.
The ride back was not at all as smooth as the first ride. Azul was way too eager, almost flying into a flock of birds and nearly crashing us into one of the high towers that loomed in the clouds.
I secretly loved the thrill, but I yelled to Azul to slow down and watch where he was going.
Finally, we landed back in my kingdom, where things were not nearly as colorful as the Land of the Light, the Nature Deity’s realm.
As he landed with one stomp Azul nearly jolted me and my brother off his back. “We’ve made it!” he yelled, smiling.
“Yes, yes I know.” I told him.
Even after my feet touched land, the ground felt like it could give before me, feeling as light as the sky. My legs also needed a real stretch.
I was surprised to find the ground crew was overjoyed to see me. They crowded around me asking “how was the flight!?” or “what did The Nature Deity look like?”
“My stars, you’ve brought something back!” A ground crew lady came and looked at my cape full of things.
“Yes, healing apples. We’re going to sell them to the sick, Ten coins a piece.” I explained to her.
“We’re?” she asked, but then she saw my brother hop from the dragon. “Why, he’s better!”
“Yes, we were helped by The Nature Deity. Natural food can go a long way.” I told them.
“Where’s that fox?” asked another crewman.
“He stayed behind with the Deity. I think he fits right at home there.” I said.
Once we got home, my brother and I immediately fed my parents some of the apples and water, to which their skin lit up upon eating it.
“My dear Ladybug, you’ve healed your brother and us. You’re more dearer to me than you’ll ever know.” My mother told me.
I couldn’t stop the layer of tears from covering my eyes.
“You’re filled with color, you and Dale!” father said to me and my brother. And at first I thought this was just a heartfelt compliment, but then I looked at my cape, my clothes, my everything. Normally, everything in the kingdom was black, white, or gray, but my pants, they were green. My shirt, crimson. Even my cape seemed to be a glowing bright red. I turned to my brother, who was radiating with his own colors.
“Woah, we really are!”
“We’re glowing like the Land of the Light!” my brother stated.
“It must’ve rubbed off on us or something!” I told him.
“Or maybe, you two are just radiating positive energy, like The Deity is said to do.” our mother told us, and who knew? Maybe she was right.
Then I went to the medical center in town with my brother, to which we told the doctor we had the antidote for the great sickness.
He allowed us to go room to room to sell the antidotes and treat people right there in the hospital.
I was thanked in tears, thank-yous, tips, and various other things people decided to give me and my brother for our generosity.
“How will I ever repay you?” said this one grateful woman.
“Oh, with nothing. The money is enough. I like to help people.” I told her.
“But, but, this is so kind, you’ve brang back all this stuff to help everyone.” she told me, still holding her apple.
“Oh, just eat, it’s yours!” I told her, And that made me feel like The Nature Deity. Maybe that’s how she felt on a regular basis.
By the end of the day, everyone was treated and me and my brother had earned a lot of money.
“This,” I shook my cape filled with coins, “is our travelling money.”
“Will we travel the world?” my brother asked excitedly.
“Yes, yes we shall.” I told him. And with that, we told our parents about our dream of traveling. They agreed, we should see more of the world, our dad said, and the next thing we knew, we had packed some bags, bought a ride at the dragon port, and were off somewhere new.
I took out my notebook and started sketching. At a place I found just right, I’d build my own tower, high to the sky.
# THE END.
hiveblocks