Howl Your Appellations

It was Paradise

BOEN OPEOR

    I suggested we get her clothes and my picnic basket back from the tree we met up at and then I show her where the cabin is. She offered to carry me there, so we’d get there faster but I pleasantly declined. I'd like to see where I’m going this time, without the bushes, the twigs and the motion blur in my face. 

    Lissana’s standing extremely close behind me with her hand guiding the small of my back as we walk. She acts as if something’s about to attack and is preparing to punch it with her other hand. This feels familiar somehow from when I was small, whoever who was in-charge of watching me, mentors or nannies, they always act like I’ll do something stupid and get in so much trouble. I give Sana a brief smile and she smiles back with baring her teeth like an offended cartoon character. The forest is deceptively calm.

    I see the stream that acted as a border for when this whole predicament started. If I only went upstream instead of across, would we still be in this situation? Would I have met Lissana or seen the wolf girl? I’ve been running around the forest way before Lissana found me, why am I suddenly meeting people now?

    “Hey, can I ask you more questions? I promise it won’t be as much as 256 or about the wolf girl.” I razz her. She thinks about it and sighs, her muscular build relaxes as she performs the motion. I couldn’t tell if it was a yes or a no. She notices this and nods as assurance.

    “Just ask me easy questions. I’m no good with the hard ones. Too many consequences.” And there she goes being vague and cryptic again. But maybe it’s for my own good? Would knowing get me killed? But not knowing is killing me!

“Ah, Boen?” She taps my shoulders, bringing me back to reality.

    “Oh! Sorry. I have A LOT of questions.” I tell her, but the questions I need answers for are hard questions I suppose. I’ll need to ask simpler ones, those can reveal too. Maybe the answers I’m looking for is in “Skia’s Appellation Records”. I fix my hair and act as if I’m counting the most important questions on my fingers, as if everything was at stake.

    “Soooo...” I gayly ask, “How long have you been living here, buddy?” I hesitate and question myself why I called her buddy. 

    “Ah man~ well that takes me back~ I was living with my brother and mom in a small town that’s, like, pretty close from here actually~~ but a lot of people started to move when I entered elementary school. Everyone was talking about better opportunities and facilities in the city… that it’s safer in the city. But we eventually did move out though,”

“And you started living here...”

    “Yeah! It was paradise until...we’ll I don’t remember very well. My mom died a few years ago and...” Her voice trails off and we stop walking. I try to imagine the pain of her loss and console her, but a banging thought in my head says it’s better not to intervene. There’s a bitter, hostile aura emanating from her. I wait for her to snap out of it. For a moment, the light from the forest collected elsewhere.

“Ah, Sana…?” I say in the calmest voice. She snaps out of it.

“Ah! f**k! Sorry about that! I---”

    “At this rate you won’t be able to answer any of her questions, Puppie~!” A silvery voice from the tree branches interjects. A voluptuous woman with long mustard yellow hair jumps down from a branch a tad too high from any normal person to be comfortable jumping off from. She’s wearing a scatheless slim white dress with gold ribbons for the sleeves. She’s holding both my shoulders and faces Lissana with a smug little look. She has a mischievous smile that reminds me of a fox. Lissana looks obviously irritated.

    “Now, now~~ you don’t have to look at me like that~ I know I don’t stand against you in a skirmish, I just wanted to see how much progress you’ve made.” She explains as she squeezes both my cheeks making my lips pucker. I’m unable to do anything about it. “You crumble at the simplest questions, Bone and Fang. Such a shame.”

    Lissana is right there and I’m just a few steps away from her. I do not know what’s happening again, but it doesn’t feel as threatening as the last time I was forced to submit.She doesn’t seem worried about me so the lady probably doesn’t intend to harm me. They seem to be locked in an intense staring contest of mutual dislike. When Beanie told me I’d meet extraordinary people, I didn’t think it’d be so much trouble communicating with them.

“Let go, or I’ll bite.” Lissana finally says.

    “Mm~~ of course I wouldn’t like that~teehee” The lady lets go of my face but gently twirls me making me face the trees and the pitter patter of the stream. She whispers to my right ear, “That book you got there is very interesting~”

    A chill goes down my spine and she runs off, engulfed by whatever part of the forest that wishes to consume her. Lissana looks upset. 

    I move towards her so I can tell her that it’s okay and that she’s finally shown me a plausible reason to trust her. I stop in my tracks as her face has not mellowed even after the lady was gone, the angry glare she presents is directed towards me. It feels as though I’m being preyed on. I clench my moon ring with the gem covered by a layer of blue ribbonette. She’s now the one who’s approaching me. I take a step back.

    She grabs my arms tightly and with her mouth directly next to my ear, in a serious and gruff voice she says, “If I ever see her with you again, I’ll rip her inside out, starting from the least important organs and I’ll save her heart for last.”

    Nothing has ever come close to the sheer dread her exposition made me feel. The sheer bloodlust that emanated from her dark eyes makes me want to hide in a deep grotto where  nothing can ever find or harm me. I feel my legs turn to jelly, but as if anticipated, Lissana holds me in a way that doesn’t allow me to collapse. This terrified me and I suddenly couldn’t see anything.

    In the past, there were always lapses in my memory; I have memories that don't link up or make coherent sense. One moment I am in the gardens with my sister but the next thing that happens is, I’m somewhere in an old observatory, wandering around without a care in the world, the sky is always night time and there’re other people there, discussing things. It’s as if I could control it when I was younger because the moment I got bored, I’d go back to the gardens. None of my family members ever noticed this but my mentors and guardians always told me I disappear from time to time and they always warned me not to get carried away. I didn’t know what they meant because I knew I could always go back. I never believed I could get lost.

    I came to and I’m sitting next to Lissana under the big mossy tree with the white flowers. She’s folded her clothes and set my picnic basket to my side, the picnic blanket neatly folded inside but the beverages and consumables were nowhere to be found. She doesn’t want to look at me and I’m too anxious to look at her. She clearly has so much going on inside her head and I don’t think I’ll be able to unravel them. I tap her hand softly and say, “I have to go home.”

    She nods and follows me slowly back to the tree that looks like a two-way sign. The cackle of the forest leaves and the steps of wild animals made a natural conversation. We were both silent. We waited for each to say something, Lissana initiates and says,

“It’s okay if you don’t want to invite me to your house anymore.” 

I shake my head, “You can follow me if you want.” I say to her as I turn to the right and walk back home.