Seedos And Shellies, Searching For Shelter
Ssssseeeedosssss...
There it was again. The eerie, gruesome sound he had heard yesterday and the day before, the frightening sound that reminded him way too much of the demon Tsi...
The memory of what had happened that night almost a month ago still gave Seedos the creeps,yet he couldn't do anything but ignore the hissing, and march on firmly. He was on his daily round for seeds, and he wouldn't head back home until he'd found that precious watercress seed he had been looking for for so long.
There was a gardener who needed it, and that gardener had very loose hands.
Ssssseeeedossss...
''What the..?''
There was the hissing again, this time more intense. Seedos looked around suspiciously. Was there something hiding up there, in one of the swamp trees? How many unfortunate strollers had disappeared because they had been caught my monsters, demons and even the Dark Gods themselves? Weren't the bogs and rainforests the riskiest places to wander around, especially on your own?
The boy shuddered and tried to walk even faster. Maybe that watercress seed wasn't that important at all... No, it actually wasn't. He would just receive Bear's beatings and be okay with it...
Even though he didn't feel like getting hurt and fixing his mask up again, he favoured anything above getting devoured by ferocious Neraguan beasts. The sooner he got home, the better.
Oh, he'd be the Gods so thankful if he managed to reach his dead tree safely, and if his Shellybeans were still okay!
What if the Dark Gods, demons or whatever it were wanted to torture him by doing something to his Shellybeans? That sure would be an effective way to devastate him - Shellybeans were his life! He cherished them even more than his seed collection, it were the snail piñatas who had taught him to look for seeds in the first place.
Fortunately, he saw the smoke of his small heard crinkling up from his tree's flue already. He started to trot, his feet sinking deeply into the quicksand-like swamp mud, and glaring around to in search of one of his beloved Shellies.
''Shoco? Sonil? Sergei?''
He heaved a relieved sigh when he heard the reply of the very latter - a pathetic little squeak.
Sergei was Seedos' favorite Shellybean, and he was sure that that feeling was mutual. Sergei seemed to fancy him even more than all of his other family members, he asked for cuddles noteworthily more often, and brought Seedos seeds from time to time. It was a shame that Sergei sucked so badly at tricks, otherwise he'd definately honor that little piñata by bringing him to the P-Factor.
If he had more talent, he'd certainly win a prize. Sergei was the most beautiful Shellybean on the entire Island.
Suddenly, he hear another squeak, this time closer by.
''Sergei!'' Seedos cooed tenderly when the mollusc's shiny shell slithered out of the bushes. Its eyes were bigger and more bulgy than usual, and the fact that there were no other Shellybeans in sight confirmed Seedos' gut feeling that something was up. Something bad.
''Were you afraid of anything?'' Seedos asked anxiously. ''Oh, Sergei, I can tell you were!'' The boy rushed towards piñata and picked it up to hold it closely. ''What did you see? Or did you hear something? You can tell good old Seedos what happened to you...''
Sergei squealed plaintively.
''What are you saying? Your siblings won't leave the house? That's nothing like them, they love this kind of weather, and this is their favorite time of day too! Great Gods...''
Seedos looked up and between the tree tops he could see that enormous gray clouds had repressed the sun, which hadn't shone very intensely since the violent rainstorm of a few days ago...
''Alright. I'll check up on them to see if they are fine... Oh, Sergei. Please don't say this to your brothers and sisters, but... You know... When I was walking my daily route'' Seedos said in a confidential voice ''I heard really, really, really suspicious sounds... It sounded like voices from Neragua - demons, Dark Gods, I don't know! - and they were whispering my name! They. Were. Whispering. My. Name.
I'm finally turning nuts, aren't I?''
Seedos heaved a sigh and stared at the ground. He knew he was making up excuses because he didn't want to leave his swamp... He had turned nuts already a long time ago, if he hadn't been born nuts as he always had assumed.
Leaving the swamp would have a dramatic impact on his family... Both his Shellybean and his human family actually, because where else could he go than Ameena's garden if he left? He had some crazy uncles and aunties, but they either lived in one of those horrific houses in the Village or they had their garden on the other side of the Island...
Besides, it was more reassuring to think he was losing his sense than facing reality in this case, so bad was it. If everything Chamkele had told him were right... if the Old Gods were really after him - especially Terah who he had always found scary for some reason... If Ameena, Dastardos and himself were about to get assisinated by an army of bloodthirsty demons...
The boy shook his head, hoping he'd shake his worries away too.
It hardly helped. He turned to Sergei again.
''So, what did I say? That I... That I'd check for your brothers and sisters, right?''
Sergei nodded with his antenna-like eyes.
''Okay. Ehm... I think that I should also tell them...'' Seedos used his right hand to squeeze his left hand tightly. He had heard that somewhere that it helped against stress. And he had a lot of that, this decision wasn't easy to make. ''... I'll also tell them... that they better get ready to pack their bags. We're moving.''
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''Ameena...''
''Yes, Seedos? Oh...'' A stunned look appeared on the girl's pink Tigermisu mask. ''I see you've brought company...''
''Yes, yes I have.'' Seedos smiled like a goofball. When he and his Shellybeans were just on their way to Ameena's garden it had started to rain again, and he was soaked to the bone. He usually didn't care much about him not being the most handsome appearance on the Island, but now he looked downright ridiculous. His sodden shirt strained tightly around his body and his blue hair just looked awful when all wet and sleek. ''Ameena'' he stumbled ''these are my Shellies... Shellies... Ameena... I know I've told you guys a lot about each other...''
''Ehm, hi Shellies.'' Ameena smiled and waved at the snail piñatas, as she was growing just as uncomfortable as the seed boy.
Most of Seedos' Shellybeans didn't react to her puzzled welcome gesture, except for an old female exemplar named Sharia, which started to make enthusiastic noises.
''So... What brings you guys here? It's not exactly the nicest weather to go for a walk...''
''We didn't go for... This was no Sunday stroll... It's... It's...'' Seedos averted his glance. ''I'll just tell you right away, my Shellies and I... We're looking for shelter... A place to stay, just as long as needed...''
''Of course you guys can stay with me, Seedos'' Ameena whispered, as she felt a teardrop prickling in the corner of her eye ''that's what friends are for...''
Seedos' situation really rued the girl.
Why was that boy so ashamed of asking her for help? Didn't he know that she truly cared about him, that she considered him as much as her little brother as Leafos did? Why did he become so close-tongued whenever they were talking about another subject than plants, seeds or piñatas?
''G-great! Thank you, Ameena. It means a lot to me.''
''It's okay Seedos, it's perfectly fine... It's just...'' The girl's forehead wrinkled. ''I don't think that you are all going to fit into my house, I mean, it's big enough for one person and a baby Kittyfloss, but...''
''We're okay with staying outside. My Shellies like rain - it reminds them of the swamp, their birthplace - and I, well I... I will ask Leafos if I can borrow that old tent we used to camp in when we were younger, I think she still has it somewhere in the house...''
When Seedos spoke that last word, his voice faltered a little. He couldn't put his finger on why, it were either the childhood memories he had from his parental home or his desire to snuggle away somewhere warm, cosy and comfortable... Like the old couch in the living room only his dad really sat on nowadays.
''You want to stay in a tent? You crazy? Not going to happen, not in this weather... You'll sleep at my place until the storm has blown over.''
''I don't want to be a burden...''
''You're not! Like I said, I'll help you out, that's what friends are for! Now, let's go to my house before we catch a cold... We have to talk.''
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Ameena heaved a deep sigh. It was evening now, the weather had cleared up, Seedos had set up a tent in the middle of her garden and their conversation hadn't gone as planned...
First of all, when she asked him why he looked so pale and anxious, the boy had been as closed as a clam. Involuntarily she wondered if clam piñatas existed, but her thoughts almost immediately wandered back to Seedos again.
There certainly was something wrong with him. He had always been an eccentric one, but he had seemed a lot happier when she first came to the Island. After that collision with Dastardos, he hadn't quite been the same.
Of course she understood how traumatizing that experience must've been to him - it had shocked her too - but he didn't ever seem to mention it, not even when he was talking to his sister, who was probably closest to him of all people.
She knew that guys didn't talk as much about their emotions as girls, but Seedos seemed to bottle up every single feeling that didn't have anything to do with his affection for Shellybeans. She'd heard some stories of Leafos, and Seedos had been through a lot, their whole family had... But Leafos and Storkos seemed to be doing a much better job on moving on, maybe it was because they actually had social contacts?
As if Seedos' tortured mind wasn't worrying enough yet, Ameena had the idea that he was actually scared of something that was hiding in the swamp... Even though his family and she didn't agree, the bog was the most amazing place on the entire Island to him, and he had implied often enough that he would never leave it.
Now he was probably convinced that his life was in danger if he stayed... What made him think that? She wouldn't be surprised if his gut feelings were right, so why wouldn't he tell her anything about it? If he warned others in time that something big was coming up, something evil, they could possibly do something to stop it...
It was almost as if he tried to protect something, as if the lurking danger was part of a secret of his... He knew more than Ameena, she was sure about that, he probably even knew more about Bart the Tinkerer, who still hadn't returned from his business trip...
Something was getting completely out of hand, and there was no one she could ask help from... She didn't even know what kind of help she needed, but she did believe in the Island's demons and Dark Gods and whenever she looked at the moon lately, she swore she saw an evil mask staring back at her...
Was it Bulan?
Not only the moon seemed to spy on her, but the bushes on the outskirts of the rainforest as well. Sometimes she would swear that she heard the panting of something ridiculously evil hiding in them, but she never dared to look... For some reason that felt like just tossing her life away.
Although the prospect of either losing her mind or getting attacked by demons in the near future sounded scary, Ameena wasn't afraid of it at all. She had a strong feeling that not only evil beings were keeping an eye on her.
Someone was guarding her from the temple of the Kelele... The presence of the huge building soothed her in a way, as if no one less than one of the New Gods was watching both her and the malicious entities...
''Mraw!'' Katchie's soft, paper fur stroked against her leg. Ameena awoke from her pondering.
''Katchie! It's time for your saucer of milk, how could I forget? Argh!'' She stretched her stiff, painful back. She had been sitting in that chair for too long... ''I believe it's almost bedtime... I'll wish Seedos a good night - no, rather not, he's probably sleeping already, he always wakes up early...
Speaking of Seedos'' she murmured as she took an opened bottle of milk out of the refridgirator ''I hope he and his father will get along better tomorrow... The latter didn't seem to pleased about his presence today...''
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''I can't believe this boy! I just can't believe him!''
''Papa, please!'' Leafos put her hands on her father's shoulders, which were shuddering of anger.
''Don't 'papa, please!' me, daughter!'' The cheeks of Jardineiro's copper mask turned a deep red. ''I can't believe your brother! He leaves that filthy bog of him - fine, he finally takes a step into the right direction - but that doesn't give him the right to bring all his slimy, use- and awardless Shellybeans with him...''
''Those are his...'' Leafos swallowed the word 'family', she knew that her father would totally take that the wrong way ''... friends...''
''Yes, yes, that's another thing! His only 'friends' are molluscs! Ain't it about time for him to search some REAL friends? Great Gods!''
''He HAS real friends, daddy! He's got Ameena!''
''AMEENA?'' Jardineiro thundered, his thick Irish accent making him sound a little bit less frightening. ''That girl just helps him out because she PITIES him! She doesn't give a -''
''She cares A LOT about Seedos, probably way more than YOU do...'' Jardineiro fell silent, and Leafos swept a tear away. ''You, you, you... Sometimes I just can't believe you, dad.''
Leafos was about to walk out of the door and stomp to her room when her father laid a wrinkled hand on her shoulder. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he know that he was going to far, in a way.
''Leafos, please'' he said in a surprisingly quiet voice, considering he had roared like a Roario only seconds ago.
''Don't 'Leafos please' me, father!''
''Don't walk away! I'm just as concerned about Sidos as you are...''
''HIS NAME IS SEEDOS!''
''No... It's not'' Jardineiro mumbled. ''That's not what your Mother called him...''
''Mother is either dead or having the time of her life with an exotic, sexy, CONSIDERATE man!''
Jardineiro's heart skipped a beat and he felt a strong urge to scold at his daughter again - or even strangle her - but he kept his rage in. He didn't want to upset his little girl even more, he had done that enough in the past, and it was one of the only stupid things he'd done he felt sorry for.
Neither did he want to end up behind bars for murder.
''You are right, darling'' he sighed. ''She's history... but she's the prettiest, most amazing part of history there'll ever be in my opinion...''
''I just wish you could stop criticizing Seedos!'' Leafos exclaimed, afraid that her father was changing the subject on purpose, which wasn't the case this time.
''I'm sorry Leafos, but that's something I just can't. Someone needs to teach him right from wrong, he's only a young man! How old is he really? Twelve, fourteen?''
''HE'S FIFTEEN!''
''Oh, that's older than I thought'' Jardineiro murmured, not that baffled by Leafos' hysterical yell.
''If you were more involved with his life, you would've known...''
''Probably, yes... But tomorrow I'll have to give him a talk, the way he just wastes his life away now is no use.''
Even before Jardineiro had finished his sentence, Leafos had walked out without wishing her dad goodnight.
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''Oh, Sergei... I know you can't function in this kind of climate... Your shell is all cracked - Great Gods how come the sun suddenly shines so brightly?''
''Talking to your 'friends' again, I see?'' That voice sounded familiar.
Seedos looked up, and an expression of disgust spreaded across his mask when he saw his father rolling towards him, which confirmed his hunch of his least favorite person on the Island was about to have a 'talk' with him.
''Dad'' he said stoically.
''Is that the tent you sleep in?'' Jardineiro asked incredulously. ''It looks more like an rags basket if you ask me, or a very badly organized collection of ugly scarves...''
''Mother made it. You don't remember?''
Jardineiro cocked a brow. He was used to his youngest and only living son being stand-offish towards him, but he'd never seen him acting that cold.
Besides, bringing up Neela hadn't been very wise of the boy. It was the easiest way to irritate him, the Legendary Jardineiro...
''Oh, now I see why actual people can't stand to be around you!'' he spluttered, a vein in his temple pulsating dangerously fast. ''You won't even accept some small talk from your father! Hmph! I'm out of here, I won't speak to you again, not even if you wish me to...''
''FINE!'' Seedos spat as he watched his father rolling towards the house again. ''You were only here to criticize me anyway -''
''I was SO NOT!'' Jardineiro turned around and spoke so firmly that Seedos thought the old man actually believed what he claimed. ''I only wanted to give you some GREAT advice... I'm the Legendary Jardineiro you know, hundreds of Islanders would KILL for a conversation with me...''
''Well, I'd move to a swamp to GET RID of your rude comments...''
''Why don't you MOVE BACK then?'' Jardineiro rolled back to the garden with a furiouslook on his mask. ''The wheater has cleared up considerably!" Jardineiro pointed at the watery sun shining in the clear blue sky. ''However... I wash my hands of it! If you want to be a conceited, snotty outcast, go ahead! You're not my son anymore! You're not my Sidos! I should've known Neela was a cheater...''
The old man's heart crumpled when he spoke out those last words. Even though he'd loved Neela to death - maybe because he had loved her to death - he had always suspected her of enjoying the attention she got from other males more than a married woman was supposed to...
She was the most beautiful girl in the Village when they got engaged, while he just had looked like a nerdy little dork... Actually, he'd looked quite a lot like Sidos did now, so that was most probably really his son, but that didn't take away the fact that Neela was a huge flirt...
''Go'' Seedos whispered coldly, taking Jardineiro back to the present.
''You dare to tell me to leave my own TERRAIN?'' Jardineiro mocked the fifteen-year old.
''It's Ameena's terrain now. You sold it.''
''So? Since when are you in charge of HER...''
''I-I... I just can't believe you talked about Mother like that!'' .
Jardineiro smirked. ''The truth can be harsh.''
With those words, he raced towards the house again, bumped over the front door's doorstep to disappear inside.
''Great'', Seedos growled. ''I've only been here for an hour or fifteen and he starts to get on my nerves already... Argh!'' The boy let out a frustrated grunt when he saw that Sergei's cracked shell started to fall apart. ''Sergei! I'll get tape at Ameena's! I mean... no way we can afford the services of that jerk of a Patch...''
The Shellybean weezed pitiably as Seedos rushed to his best and only friend's place, which looked incredibly cosy and inviting. Willy had built it in the style he built Helper Houses - it probably even was one, because Willy wasn't quite as gifted architecturally as his predecessor, who had been in charge of the building of his parental home.
Seedos rolled his eyes at the thought of the lazy builder as he knocked on Ameena's door. Apparently, she wasn't home.
He was just about to walk away when he heard her voice.
''Seedos! Is something wrong?'' Ameena had just returned from the Village and was packed with shopping bags. It was about eleven in the morning so it was quite warm already, and the girl was all sweaty and hot. ''I'm dying for a glass of water... But anyways, is there anything I can do for you?''
''Yes, Sergei - oh, no!''
Seedos heard a pathetic sound that most likely meant that another Shellybean - Sharia it was - had got her shell cracked as well!
Ameena, who was a little drowsy from the heat, slowly followed Seedos' glance and let out a startled cry. ''What's wrong with that Shellybean?''
''It's the weather!'', Seedos shouted as he hurried towards it. ''Ohh, Sharia! You'll be alright... Aw, no! Yours is falling apart as well...''
''As well?'' Ameena repeated in slight despair. ''Are more of your piñatas falling apart?''
''I'm afraid so. I told you guys that Shellybeans can't function in such a dry, hot envi-''
''I'm calling Patch! I've seen enough of this...'' Another forlorn sqeal came from the other side of the garden. ''... and I've heard enough of this as well!'' Ameena said as she took out her Alert.
''I can't -''
''It's on me. Your banana tree seeds have made me rich, you know!'' She smiled, and then exclaimed, ''Patchie!'' in a way higher pitched voice than she had just spoken in.
Seedos cocked a brow. Ameena remained silent for a while and seemed to listen closely to what the doctor was saying, and then:
''Haha, oh, Patch, you're so funny...'' Apparently, Mister Amazingly Cute Doctor had made a joke. Although he couldn't hear what was said on the other side of the line, Seedos knew he wouldn't find it amusing. For some reason, he started to hate that bumbling idiot more and more every time Ameena raved about him.
Why couldn't the two of them just skip the socializing part and get round discussing how they'd help his Shellies?
''Okay'' Ameena said suddenly. Seedos' thoughts must've wandered away for a short while - he'd get that a lot - because he hadn't noticed her ending her phone conversation with Patchingo.
''Patch's coming in a minute. Well, not exactly in a minute, as soon as he manages to heal the only Rashberry of a local farmer... His name is Hanson, I believe, and that Rashberry is really all he has, it's all he cares for... The man's pretty old, you see? If his baby Rachel dies, he might as well end his own life...
But Patchie will prevent that!''
''Great'' Seedos growled, incredibly annoyed by the fact that Ameena saw Patchingo as a hero.
In his opinion, Patchingo wasn't... If he were, he would help the piñatas for free, and he wouldn't be after Dastardos' ass all the time... Seedos had thought over and over it again, and what he'd seen in the closet of Patch's clinic was more than suspicious, the doctor probably was after something his brother had...
Why else would he give CPR to a reaper that made his job as a piñata healer more difficult? Did he know that Dastardos was a half-God?
''Don't you look so worried, Seedos!'' Ameena giggled, still swooning over Patch's awesomeness. ''He'll fix Shari up in no time! In no time...''
''It's Sharia!'' Seedos cried, slightly offended because she didn't remember the name of one of his most beautiful Shellybeans correctly.
''Oh, I'm sorry... You have so many of them Seedos, I don't get how you manage to differentiate them.''
''It takes practice'', he said gruffly.
''Aha! Patch says that too, he says that the ability to tell the difference between various kinds of medicines takes experience and time... He's so smart, you don't even know... Oh, oh! There he is! Patch! Patch! I'm afraid we have some patients for you...''
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At the end of the day, Seedos was tired, just tired. He hadn't done any heavy physical labour, but the argument with his dad, the visit from Patch and the worried comments his sister constantly made had exhausted him mentally, and for some reason, that had affected his body's condition too.
He could hardly move his arms, and the muscles in his legs hurt with every step he took. It was crazy, he hadn't even gone out on his seed route or anyhting like that.
Great Gods, he hated life here. He even was less productive when away from his natural environment.
It didn't matter though. The evenings here were beautiful, he had always loved spending those in Ameena's garden - even during the times between her arrival on the Island and Jardineiro's heyday, when the parcel of land had been nothing but a dreary, ravaged wilderness...
Something about this place was magical, and it was the way the sun set. The gloomy sundowns in the swamp would never match this spectacle or reds, oranges and golds, pink clouds and warm summer breezes. It was almost as divine as dawn over the old Orchid Valley... Hmm...
He wondered if the place where some of his few good childhood memories came from still existed today.
Suddenly, he felt something slimy slithering up his leg.
''Squee!'' Seedos looked down, smiling affably at the snail piñata.
The Shellybean's shell was wrapped in white bandages. It looked ridiculous; if that was what Patch charged so much money for, Seedos wanted to become a piñata vet as well.
Or actually, probably not. He did have dignity. ''Sergei...'' he sighed. ''Come here.''
He prudently grabbed Sergei by his damaged shell and planted a small kiss between his antenna-eyes, a kiss from which he hoped it worked reassuringly...
He wasn't sure wether he wanted to comfort the Shellybean, or himself though.
''This all is a big, big mess, Sergei'', he whispered, knowing that only the snail understood him because only he knew what his owner was going through.
Ameena and Leafos... they just couldn't comprehend how awful his life had been after the exorcism of Tsi...
''You alright, buddy?''
''Huh?'' Seedos' heart skipped a beat of excitement. Had Sergei suddenly learnt to speak, despite Chamkele's assertions, right now when he needed his support the most?
That was amazing; he'd always been jealous of the relationship between Dastardos and Magnar, he had had the desire to communicate with his piñatas on a higher level ever since he had moved in with them.
How come Sergei had the voice of a girl, though? Had he misconcepted her gender for all those years? But that was unforgivable! It was a miracle that 'Sergei' still talked to him, that she had never gotten angry about -
''Ah!'' A dark, tall figure plumped down next to him. ''I like watching the sunset as well, my friend... Ain't it beautiful?''
Seedos nodded. He hoped that the look in his eyes didn't give away his disappointment.
He didn't want a stupid conversation with that dumb girl of an Ameena. He had always considered her as a good friend - and she most probably was - but as soon as 'Patchie' came in sight, she seemed to forget all about him.
''Hey...'' she hawed, ''I... I... are your Shellybeans doing better now?''
''Slightly'', he snorted, ''I don't think that Patch is much of a good surgeon, though...''
He pointed at Sergei, and the amateurish way his shell was bandaged.
''Well... you wanted to use Scotch tape'', she said jokingly.
''Which would've been better'', Seedos replied earnestly.
''Perhaps...'' Ameena looked at her hands. Her fingernails were painted a dark grey - she wanted to switch to a hot pink as soon as she got home again, the grey reminded her of the awful weather - and she realized that her presentiments were true... Seedos was angry at her.
''Are you... are mad because I... sort of... ignored you as soon as Patch arrived in the garden?''
''Maybe...'' Seedos closed his eyes. He felt his resentment towards Ameena decreasing...
Apparently, she did give a damn about him.
''Sort of... I... yes. I was a little mad you could say. Only a little.''
It remained silent for a while. Even though Seedos usually enjoyed silences - even when he had human company - this was not a comfortable one.
He was more than glad when Ameena finally broke it.
''You seem more than just a little mad...'' she whispered quietly. ''Are there... more things going on than just you being annoyed by... you know?''
''Possibly.'' Seedos pressed his lips firmly against each other. He didn't want to give away too much about his fears of the Gods or his family situation.
''You can tell me!'' Ameena said in a genuinely kind voice. ''I won't say anything to your dad, or sister...
It's them you have a problem with, right?''
Seedos nodded, to his horror. ''Actually... Mostly Dad.''
Shit. He had actually admitted it!
''Hmm... Don't get me wrong... I like your dad... but he's not really an easy person to get along with, is he?''
''No, not at all.'' Seedos stared at the ground. The shades the flowers casted on the grass became darker, and it wouldn't be long until those flowers would close their flowerheads. The dusk was falling in. ''I never seem to do anything good in his eyes...''
Ameena gulped. Was it just her or was Seedos, who usually seemed so emotionless, fighting his tears?
''... He... He thinks of me as an outcast. And I am. I know I am one.''
Ameena expected the boy to start sobbing at this point. His mask looked like a miserable, desperate mess, but he didn't let out any sounds of sadness but a peevish gasp.
''I know I am'', he repeated, looking up at the now dusky sky.
''Oh, Seedos... You may have different interests than others... but that doesn't -''
''It does matter to my dad, Ameena. And so does it to most of the Villagers... I don't have any friends.''
Ameena cocked a brow and gave Seedos a faux offended look.
''Okay'', he grinned, as soon as he noticed her staring at him like that. ''I have you. You and all of my Shellies...''
''And you better remember that'', Ameena smiled. ''You can always rely on...'' Me, she added in silence, because she knew that that wasn't completely true. When Patch had visited her garden this afternoon, she had totally forgotten that Seedos even existed...
''However...'' He sighed and concentrated on the sky again. Clouds were rolling by and wild Parrybos flew back to their nests in the jungle... If he could only belong to the loving, caring but free society of those bird piñatas... If he could only mean anything more to them than a random outsider they knew nothing about...
Much to his displeasure, it started to dawn on him that he was as much of a foreigner to the Parrybo society as he was to his own.
''This might sound weird to you'' - he spat the word 'weird' with disgust because he had been called that countless times, and those times weren't exactly those he had good memories of - ''but...'' His tone of voice softened. His 'weirdness' wasn't Ameena's fault. ''Sometimes... actually most of the time, I don't feel like I belong to the people surrounding me...''
''What do you mean?'', Ameena asked, having difficulty with a boy not much older than her younger brother sounding so... depressed, and wise at the same time.
''I am not depressed'', Seedos emphasized, as if he had read her thoughts. ''Really, it's something else, I'm rather... dispirited, not that that sounds any better...
Look. Whenever I see people laughing and smiling and just having a good time in the Village, I just don't understand what they're talking about. Or why'd they find the jokes they make funny. Whenever I observe people - wether they're my own family, random gardeners, Helpers of merchants - I feel like... a stranger.
Like all people belong together, in a warm, cosy house and that I'm a worthless homeless person looking in...''
''Seedos, you're not worthless -''
''I know that I AM not worthless, but I FEEL worthless!", the boy exclaimed, slightly agitated now. ''Just... just let me finish, will you?'', he grumbled, and for a moment he sounded just like Jardineiro.
''Seedos... Please...''
''I'm alien to the other Villagers. Only my Shellies... I don't belong here. The weather has cleared up. I might as well return to my swamp...''
''You will belong some day. I promise.''
''Here's the thing...'' Seedos pulled up his legs and burried his mask between his knobby knees ''... I'm not even sure if I want to belong...''
''You'll figure that one out'', Ameena said as encouraging as she could. She patted the boy on his shoulder. ''I think it's time for us to find some shelter now... It's getting dark outside. The night's falling in!'' And I don't trust the nocturnal shadows.
Seedos nodded, got up slowly and glanced briefly at the Kelele temple. He knew that his older brother and Chamkele were guarding over him, somewhere in a burial room in the upper storey of the piramid... They actually were only a hundred piñometres away from him...
Despite its volatility, Ameena noticed Seedos' trustful glance at the ruin. That was strange... Did the seed boy know more about what was going on in the temple than he gave away? And, more importantly, did that what he knew confirm her feeling that something up there protected her and her garden from further calamity?
She shuddered. Whatever was going on... she'd sleep with one eye open tonight, in case something catastrophic would go down.