Chapter 23
When Croco first laid his eyes on the unusual settlement, he couldn't help but to be amazed by the sheer ingenuity of the "town." It was just like Nobby had said in her letter...all the buildings were in the canopy of the huge oak forest that enveloped the area and the trees were connected by an intricate bridge system. A couple of young men about Croco's age came over to greet them while Bix and Cassie ran off to where a family of brachiosaurs were conversing. They were from Chandara and led him up one of the trees so they could show him how to tend to the ropes that held everything in place. Just then, an old woman joined them and the two boys ran off leaving Croco to mend the ropes by himself. She tried to call them back but they were already down the tree and running off to where an Orinthomimus was waiting.
"I don't know what I'm going to do about them," she muttered to herself. Then she turned to Croco. "You must be Croco Hallaway. It's a delight to meet you...I am Melanie, the matriarch of Treetown. You're going to have to get used to Darren and Carlos...they're always running off when I try to talk to them."
"A pleasure to meet you Melanie," Croco said as he shook her hand. Knowing of his long journey from Waterfall City, Melanie offered him some millet cakes with fresh berries and juice. He took them gratefully and consumed them in a rather quick manner, as he wanted to go explore his new surroundings. No sooner had Croco climbed down from the tree did he run into a girl that caught his eye. She was somewhat shorter and appeared to be several years younger than him. Her eyes were as blue as the sea and her black hair was tied up in a ponytail. She was somewhat darker than him but when she smiled at Croco, that did him in. As she strolled off to join her friends, Croco took off behind her in pursuit. She turned to see him coming and paused where she was.
"You must be the new dolphinback my friends told me about," she said, blushing. Croco was a little nervous
"Yep, that I am," Croco said. "The name's Croco Hallaway and I just got here from Waterfall City."
"Croco Hallaway, huh? I'm Nalina Santos from a place called Kuskonak and I am eight mothers Portugese."
"Nalina...such a beautiful name for a beautiful girl," he said. Nalina started to giggle and Croco knew that his charm was still there. He had learned that she was only sixteen summers old and had been in Treetown for only a couple months herself. Then he asked Nalina about Kuskonak. She explained to him that it was a small fishing town on the eastern coast almost exactly halfway between Chandara and the northeastern city of Prosperine. But Croco was leaning up against a tree, half asleep and not paying any attention. So Nalina went to look for Melanie and soon they were at his side.
They woke him up rather easily and Melanie led him up one of the boys' trees. They stopped when they got to a basket that was hanging out a couple feet over the edge and about fifty feet off the ground.
"What is this...if I can ask?" Croco asked. Melanie smiled and put a hand on the young man's shoulder.
"That would be your bed Mr. Hallaway," she told him. He looked down at the ground below them and put his hands upon his hips.
"You've got to be kidding me," he said. She reassured him that it was no joke and had Croco climb into it and he was only slightly impressed, but that was enough to convince Melanie that he liked it.
"From what I hear, you should be quite at home at these heights," she chided as they looked to see the sun very low in the sky. Melanie scrambled back down the ladder while telling Nalina to come, but not before saying good-night to Croco. He was wondering why she was in such a hurry to leave.
"When the sun goes down, Melanie rings a bell telling all to come back and get ready to go to bed," Nalina explained. "It won't be until it's dark, but once it rings and you're not back, you're definitely gonna hear it from Melanie the next morning." She giggled as she parted way with Croco. But deep inside, he wanted to be closer to Nalina...she reminded him too much of a girl he knew and had a crush on back in New York. He drifted off to sleep well before the bell rang, exhausted from the journey, the chores and the exploring he did that day.
The next morning, Croco awoke to his basket being shaken. Terrified, he braced himself but didn't scream or yell. He looked over to see the two boys that he met yesterday laughing hysterically. Angered, Croco jumped out of the basket to attack them but after he saw who it was, he held back.
"Could one of you guys tell me whose bright idea it was to scare the living daylights outta me?!?" he demanded. The shorter boy, about fourteen, was shivering in fright while his fair-skinned companion, who had to be about sixteen or seventeen, stood up to Croco.
"Welcome to Treetown!" he said with a smile, "That was just our little initiation to life in the trees for you, dolphinback. I see you took it rather well." Croco eased up and sat down between them.
"Do me a favor and never do that again...it reminds me too much of what happened to me while my plane was going down in the sea almost two years ago. By the way, I'm Croco." The boys introduced themselves and Darren McMillan and Carlos Rodriguez, both sons of dolphinbacks. They raced down the trees for breakfast, with Darren and Carlos taking the ladders while Croco swung down from a rope and was caught by a passing brachiosaur.
Croco was starting to settle in nicely with the citizens of Treetown. He was vigilant in his daily tasks and always found time to either hang out with either Darren, Carlos, Nalina, or even Cassie, or to go swimming in the refreshing waters of Deep Lake. One day as he was about to go for a mid-afternoon swim, a young man gave him a harness-like thing and told him to put it on his shoulders. Croco asked him what it was for.
"What, you've never heard of skyhopping?" he asked. Croco shook his head. "Are you crazy?!? It's quite a thrill!" Being the thrill seeker he was, Croco put the device on like he was shown, then he approached the brachiosaur that was standing in the water and waited as he was told. Without warning, the brachiosaur grabbed the loop in its mouth and hurled Croco through the air some one hundred feet before he dove into the water. When he got back to where the young man was waiting, he was grinning ear to ear and wanting to do it again. Four more times he was flung by the brachiosaur before he decided to call it quits and head back to look for Nalina. But only after a week in Treetown, it became perfectly clear that Croco had found his utopia...where he could interact with humans right around his age and the dinosaurs which he had grown rather fond of as well.
When Croco first laid his eyes on the unusual settlement, he couldn't help but to be amazed by the sheer ingenuity of the "town." It was just like Nobby had said in her letter...all the buildings were in the canopy of the huge oak forest that enveloped the area and the trees were connected by an intricate bridge system. A couple of young men about Croco's age came over to greet them while Bix and Cassie ran off to where a family of brachiosaurs were conversing. They were from Chandara and led him up one of the trees so they could show him how to tend to the ropes that held everything in place. Just then, an old woman joined them and the two boys ran off leaving Croco to mend the ropes by himself. She tried to call them back but they were already down the tree and running off to where an Orinthomimus was waiting.
"I don't know what I'm going to do about them," she muttered to herself. Then she turned to Croco. "You must be Croco Hallaway. It's a delight to meet you...I am Melanie, the matriarch of Treetown. You're going to have to get used to Darren and Carlos...they're always running off when I try to talk to them."
"A pleasure to meet you Melanie," Croco said as he shook her hand. Knowing of his long journey from Waterfall City, Melanie offered him some millet cakes with fresh berries and juice. He took them gratefully and consumed them in a rather quick manner, as he wanted to go explore his new surroundings. No sooner had Croco climbed down from the tree did he run into a girl that caught his eye. She was somewhat shorter and appeared to be several years younger than him. Her eyes were as blue as the sea and her black hair was tied up in a ponytail. She was somewhat darker than him but when she smiled at Croco, that did him in. As she strolled off to join her friends, Croco took off behind her in pursuit. She turned to see him coming and paused where she was.
"You must be the new dolphinback my friends told me about," she said, blushing. Croco was a little nervous
"Yep, that I am," Croco said. "The name's Croco Hallaway and I just got here from Waterfall City."
"Croco Hallaway, huh? I'm Nalina Santos from a place called Kuskonak and I am eight mothers Portugese."
"Nalina...such a beautiful name for a beautiful girl," he said. Nalina started to giggle and Croco knew that his charm was still there. He had learned that she was only sixteen summers old and had been in Treetown for only a couple months herself. Then he asked Nalina about Kuskonak. She explained to him that it was a small fishing town on the eastern coast almost exactly halfway between Chandara and the northeastern city of Prosperine. But Croco was leaning up against a tree, half asleep and not paying any attention. So Nalina went to look for Melanie and soon they were at his side.
They woke him up rather easily and Melanie led him up one of the boys' trees. They stopped when they got to a basket that was hanging out a couple feet over the edge and about fifty feet off the ground.
"What is this...if I can ask?" Croco asked. Melanie smiled and put a hand on the young man's shoulder.
"That would be your bed Mr. Hallaway," she told him. He looked down at the ground below them and put his hands upon his hips.
"You've got to be kidding me," he said. She reassured him that it was no joke and had Croco climb into it and he was only slightly impressed, but that was enough to convince Melanie that he liked it.
"From what I hear, you should be quite at home at these heights," she chided as they looked to see the sun very low in the sky. Melanie scrambled back down the ladder while telling Nalina to come, but not before saying good-night to Croco. He was wondering why she was in such a hurry to leave.
"When the sun goes down, Melanie rings a bell telling all to come back and get ready to go to bed," Nalina explained. "It won't be until it's dark, but once it rings and you're not back, you're definitely gonna hear it from Melanie the next morning." She giggled as she parted way with Croco. But deep inside, he wanted to be closer to Nalina...she reminded him too much of a girl he knew and had a crush on back in New York. He drifted off to sleep well before the bell rang, exhausted from the journey, the chores and the exploring he did that day.
The next morning, Croco awoke to his basket being shaken. Terrified, he braced himself but didn't scream or yell. He looked over to see the two boys that he met yesterday laughing hysterically. Angered, Croco jumped out of the basket to attack them but after he saw who it was, he held back.
"Could one of you guys tell me whose bright idea it was to scare the living daylights outta me?!?" he demanded. The shorter boy, about fourteen, was shivering in fright while his fair-skinned companion, who had to be about sixteen or seventeen, stood up to Croco.
"Welcome to Treetown!" he said with a smile, "That was just our little initiation to life in the trees for you, dolphinback. I see you took it rather well." Croco eased up and sat down between them.
"Do me a favor and never do that again...it reminds me too much of what happened to me while my plane was going down in the sea almost two years ago. By the way, I'm Croco." The boys introduced themselves and Darren McMillan and Carlos Rodriguez, both sons of dolphinbacks. They raced down the trees for breakfast, with Darren and Carlos taking the ladders while Croco swung down from a rope and was caught by a passing brachiosaur.
Croco was starting to settle in nicely with the citizens of Treetown. He was vigilant in his daily tasks and always found time to either hang out with either Darren, Carlos, Nalina, or even Cassie, or to go swimming in the refreshing waters of Deep Lake. One day as he was about to go for a mid-afternoon swim, a young man gave him a harness-like thing and told him to put it on his shoulders. Croco asked him what it was for.
"What, you've never heard of skyhopping?" he asked. Croco shook his head. "Are you crazy?!? It's quite a thrill!" Being the thrill seeker he was, Croco put the device on like he was shown, then he approached the brachiosaur that was standing in the water and waited as he was told. Without warning, the brachiosaur grabbed the loop in its mouth and hurled Croco through the air some one hundred feet before he dove into the water. When he got back to where the young man was waiting, he was grinning ear to ear and wanting to do it again. Four more times he was flung by the brachiosaur before he decided to call it quits and head back to look for Nalina. But only after a week in Treetown, it became perfectly clear that Croco had found his utopia...where he could interact with humans right around his age and the dinosaurs which he had grown rather fond of as well.