As I step outside, it is a bright sunny day and it takes a moment for my eyes to adjust. There are six other buildings nearby.
Five of the buildings are of the same size and shape and the sixth building is slightly larger and only has a door that I can see from here. Kiera guides me on a short tour around the little settlement. Right next to her house is the house of Edouard. She explains that even though he and the others have been gone for several months that she continues tend to all gardens that were started. She states "It keeps me busy with something to do during the days." I ask her "Have you ever wondered where they went and why they didn't return?" "I think of them every day. We were a family here, and my family was all gone in one day." She gets a little sad for a moment, I tell her "I am sorry for bringing it up, but I would like to help you find them to if they are out there." That quickly makes her happy again and she is smiling behind the tears.
She says that she does not go into the other houses, but since no one really has any personal items there is not really anything special or personal in any of the houses. However, she takes me into Edouard's house, the air is stale as we step inside the house. The furnishings are very similar to those in Kiera's residence. No one has any electronics of any sort, the only thing that personalizes Edouard's home compared to Kiera's is the choice of books scattered around the residence. When we step outside, it is more evident that each of them personalized their homes by what they did outside their homes walls.
Edouard seems to have taken the seeds from the fruits and vegetables that they ate and turned them into a vibrant garden. Kiera explained that the taste of the vegetables that the garden produced was far better than what came from the storeroom. She walked me up to the tomatoes and picked a fresh one off the vine, and she said "This is where everything came for the vegetable soup that you ate" I said "It was delicious, and now I know why. This garden is unbelievable. I have never seen so many fresh vegetables being grown out in the open."
Kiera asks me where we get vegetables where I am from and I tell her that "They are grown underground in hydroponic chambers. There is no longer enough land space to sustain growth for all the population of the world. We have solved many of the world's deadliest diseases and crime is almost non-existent ."
"With that many people living so close together, it must get uncomfortable. " I tell her, "It is probably tough for some but we try our best to make it better for everyone. I had a good job in law enforcement and as my husband had a good job also. " Kiera says "There must have been some people that were unhappy with their place in your society" and I say "Yes, there were and they are how I ended up here, or at least I think they are the reason. I'm not sure anymore."
Kiera and I continue to walk amongst the garden plants and around Edouard's house and she points towards the next house and says this was Sonya's house. Sonya's house has a well organized layout of strawberries and carrots. The plants seem to have been planted at various times as the berries are in various states of maturity which seem to be laid out in rows according to their planting age as you circumvent the house.
We step for a brief moment into Sonya's house but the view is the same as Edouard's. Just a few books, and some clothes scattered around. Last three houses are in the same state of abandonment as these two. The only signs of change is taking place on the outsides of the homes where Kiera is tending to all the plants.
Finally we are at the last building, which is different from all the others. The building has nothing growing around it and there is but one door to enter the building and it has no windows. As we enter the building, lights illuminate on their own. Kiera states "All the supplies that we need are found here. There are shelves with all sorts of clothes from shorts to pants, shirts of various types, and various undergarments. There are also various foods that are mostly canned and a few in wrapped packages." Kiera explains "The storeroom seems to be occasionally refilled, but no one has ever been able to figure out how it was replenished."
Other than some hills and a few trees, the lake is the only feature of note beyond the few buildings. After our short walk we head back to the house to sit down and eat some food. After we eat, I tell Kiera I wouldn't mind sitting outside for a while, and she says "That would be wonderful." After she cleans up the dishes, she grabs a bucket and we both go outside and she gives a hand sitting on the grass and we talk some more about the her time her with the others while she tends to the vegetables in Edouard's garden.