The Quadbrid

chapter 2

It's morning. I roll out of bed, get breakfast and have to get ready for work. But before I do, I have to do some chores. That's why I wake up extra early.

It's a beautiful sunny day. The birds are flying overhead towards the many birdhouses and feeding stations I've made through recycled products. There's a part of the forest that I just made into a flower patch so the bees have nectar nearby to convert into honey, which is delicious by the way!

The night creatures are asleep and the day creatures are awake! As it should be. I check on the hive and notice a few drones being lazy, as they always are! Their job is to basically mate with a queen from a different hive. All the workers are female, they have all of the important jobs. It is as it should be. A matriarchy

I move on to the pond, where I give Belle and Mulan some fish food, Belle stealing the majority of the food as always, and Mulan letting her. I add a few flakes for her, seeming as her sister just took most of it, and left it at that, I move on the small shallow corner of the pond, to the tadpoles. They seem to be growing fast, at this rate they will drop their tails next week! The frogs croak as the dragonflies fly overhead. I fill the bird feeders so all the seed-eating birds have plenty to eat until I come home.

The owl has disappeared, probably to its home to sleep the day away, leaving the tree knot empty, like it is most mornings. The flowers are wilting a little bit, so tomorrow I will replace the summer plants with winter -flowering ones. That way the bees have flowers all year round.

I say goodbye to all the animals from my reserve, and spot a deer. It's a baby, it seems like it's only about a week old. I haven't seen a deer here in almost ten years! Then I spotted what I can only assume is the mama. A deer family! In MY reserve! For the first time in almost a DECADE! Oh my goodness, I'm so happy and excited! But I don't have time to gawk or play, I have to get to work!

You may be thinking that as a basketball coach, surely I don't work all day every day, but I do. I teach littlies, tweens, teens and adults how to play, and I even got some people playing the Bigs. But each group needs training. Littlies once a week, and each class group goes more each week until adults, who seem to enjoy doing it every day.

I'm in my house when I remember that disembodied voice from my dream “Find Out Who You Are” whatever that means. I KNOW who I am. I'm Nyra. I'm the Weirdo. The freak. The girl who talks to animals like they can talk back. Except when I'm on the court. There, I'm Coach. I have respect. I'm treated as an equal. I have people looking up to me.

I walk to work, as I always do, as the court isn't too far away from the bubble of reserve I like to call home. I call it a bubble because although it's legally my property, the property around the reserve is now entirely buildings. No nature except for my small bubble.

The wind whispers in my ear stronger today than it was yesterday, the leaves fall harder and a bird lands right on my head. It was a finch. It looked down at my face, as if looking THROUGH me, stayed for a few minutes, as if not fazed by my being human, then flew off. But by that point I had already arrived at the court. I shrugged off the strange morning and got ready for my first class.

The first class were the adults. At this point, they knew what they were doing so not much training was needed, I just threw a few drills their way and did a few practice games. A man named Blake accidentally threw the ball my way. Before I could react my hands locked into an almost-fist, but not quite, looked more like a claw,

my teeth bared and my face scrunched up. A growl fought its way out of my throat. I shook it off as the ball missed me entirely. It wasn't even close to hitting me. It was a reflex I've always had. And I couldn't explain it, but it was definitely one of the main reasons I was bullied in school.

“Sorry about that!” Blake yelled out. I waved him off, a clear sign that it was not a problem, and went back to teaching as if I didn't just freeze in the middle of the court. Before anyone knew it, the hour was over.

After that the day goes by quite fast as I teach class after class dribbles, pivots and 3-pointers. (I use a smaller court with a lowered net for the littlies so they dont feel bad if they cant get it in the big kid net)

Before I knew it it was time to head home. I put on my music and walked slowly. It's a ten-minute walk to my bubble, but it's always better with music. Then the wind picked up again, gliding under my hand when I held it out, as if playfully, the animals came unusually close, almost as if they recognised who I was, and then, while I was distracted, I bumped into someone.

He got knocked over and I helped him up, he looked old. Maybe in his 80s? He looked kind and my instincts told me I could trust him, I felt that with my WHOLE self. Like something that recognised him. But I've never met this man in my life! Why would I feel like I can trust him, when I've never even MET him? But they have never been wrong.

So we walked together, and he told me fantastical stories about a mysterious search for a missing Princess as I walked home. “Some say she died, but I would know if she had. I would have felt it. She's still out there… somewhere” he says.

I don't say anything back. I mean, what CAN I say to that? Sorry about your missing Princess? it didn't take too long to reach the edge of my bubble, but why did this random old man follow me here? And why did he feel the need to tell me? And which princess? And why do I care so much about it? Why even tell me?