[Back to the Present]
We arrive at the village to pandemonium on the streets, except this time instead of villagers fighting for their lives, we're greeted with the sight of everyone happily working together to move things like tables, blankets, large baskets full of delicious looking food, and even barrels full of mysterious clear powder.
"You two are jus' in time, eh! Cade, my love, could ya help dat ol' fool over there? He's back dere struggling wit' dat old bellow of his. Some of the other men in the village wanted to help, but he pushed dem all away! Hmph! Actin' all big and bad even though he's an old man now!" an old black woman around 6.5 ft tall with greying brown hair and green, emerald eyes greets us as she spots us walking down the dirt road.
"Sure thing, Grandma Rosa!" I nod my head while smirking in amusement.
This old woman is the wife of the old man, and basically co-leader of the entire village, and as you can see, they clearly love each other… in quite the amusing way.
I quickly pull away from Porche, who was clinging to my arm this entire time, and walk back to where I can hear the old man cursing, walking into the room just to see him fretting over a giant 4-meter-wide bellow.
"Hey old man, need any help? ~" I tease the old chieftain, making sure to act as dramatically as I can.
"Eh?! Who say anytin' 'bout help, you lil' mocoso? You think I need the help of a buffoon-boy like you to move my dear Iris!? Ha! You got another thing coming." the old man, clearly annoyed by this, retaliates back while tenderly stroking the huge instrument, which he apparently named Iris.
"Well, your wife sure thinks so~" I jest back, pointing to the direction I came from.
"Hah!? What dat old hag be tinkin'!? What kinda nonsense is dis!? Here, watch and learn how it's done, you young brat! I show you how it's done, ¡coño! "The old man, who now has an angry tick mark on his forehead, yells back while hunching over to lift up one of the sides of the instrument.
*CRACK*
Until the sound of his back breaking stops him in place.
"Aahaahowow~ Mierda!" the old man suddenly stands straight and holds his back.
"Puhaha old man! You sure you don't need any help?! Hahaha!"
"What! Why you- "the old man comically freezes in place as he remembers my presence, however I don't let him finish before I nonchalantly approach the giant bellow made out of some strange black material and lift it above my head with minimal effort… even though the thing weighs over 800 pounds.
"Don't worry old man, I got it see? We gotta go, can't be dilly dallying all day long or we'll miss the whole thing!" I cut him off before whatever unique curses he had for me leave his mouth.
"Ukh! *cough* well, I gonna let you carry her dis time… I can tell you really wanted to!... well, follow me!" the old man cheekily plays off my help before walking out the door.
"Hah~ whatever old geezer…" I shrug as I follow the old man to where Porche and Grandma Rosa are waving at us.
…
We arrive at our destination after 40 minutes of walking, a beautiful white sandy beach with clear blue waters full of large groups of fish and coral reefs living together.
"Wow~" Porche awes at the sight.
"Wow indeed…" I agree before setting down the heavy instrument underneath the shade of a giant sunflower; I then do what everyone else is doing and remove my muddy shoes and walk onto the soft white sand barefoot.
"Hot~ The sands a little hot~" Porche whines a little as she clings to me for support from the sand for some reason.
"Heehehe~ Don't worry, mi'ja. Every four year' we come here to celebrate the Monarch's flight. Vamos, we'd appreciate two extra pair' of hand' to help dig before they arrive." Grandma Rosa, who is clearly enjoying the soft and hot sand on her feet, comments.
To this we simply nod and follow her lead, grabbing our own unique looking shovels from a large pile and begin to help dig a huge 15 feet deep hole in the middle of the beach, something much easier said than done.
We then proceeding to open up the barrels full of the clear mysterious powder, and dump it into the hole, making sure to leave an indent clear in the center.
"Phew~ that was quite the workout," I say to myself as I wipe a fountain of sweat off my forehead; I'm used to working out, but I've only ever done it below the cool and refreshingly humid canopy of Bloom Forest… a weakness I didn't even realize I was creating for myself; guess that's another thing I need to work on.
"Pah! Buffoon boy! You spendin' all your time under dem flowers, but you can't even handle a lil' heat, Bahaha!" the mocking old man comes up to me and laughs at my drenched figure before handing me water from a long flask-like plant with a wooden stopper at the top.
"Thanks, old man, *gulp* *gulp* ahh~ that's some good stuff!" I happily proclaim as I taste the fresh clean water on my tongue.
"Hmph! Of course, it is! Dat right there's a river trumpet! Ya plant it in some damp soil, and it'll fetch ya fresh, clean water! All ya gotta do is make sure ya plant it again when ya done drinkin', ya don't wanna let it croak after it quenched ya thirst!"
"That's pretty neat! Think I could get one? Anyways, thanks for the drink old man!" I hand the yellow-brownish river trumpet back to the old man, who simply grabs it and begins to walk back to whatever he was doing.
"Sure brat, you can have one later, jus' make sho' you don't overwork yo'self into unconsciousness under dis heat, I seen enough fools like you who don't know when to stop!" he grumpily yells back while waving at the blazing hot sun… I guess the old man really does care!
"Hah~ now to relax before- never mind, guess there's still something else," I mumble to myself as I spotting some men slowly moving the giant bellow from beneath the sunflower.
…
"Bahaha! An' da wors' part is he got cover' from head to toe in giant belly slugs, coño! I even rememb'r him yellin' dat one got into his asshole! Hahaha!"
"Hahahaha!"
Laughter fills the area as we listen to the hilarious story told by Euris, one of the locals from the island, about a merchant that bravely and idiotically tried to conquer the islands flowery but dangerous jungle.
It's been a few short hours, and the sky is now tinted a soft orange with the setting sun, and I'm currently sitting around with the men of the village, enjoying some exotic (for me) drinks while listening to hilarious stories.
To be honest, I was a little hesitant to join at first, due to not knowing many of them, but over this past hour they've shown to be pretty cool guys, even if the majority of them like to cover themselves in flowery accessories… which I guess is a normal custom in this world for flower themed islands.
"Cade, hermano, why don't you tell us mo' 'bout dat time when you- "one of the guys with a cool looking black and blue orchid in his hair goes to ask me, only to suddenly be interrupted by a cacophony of excited yells and cheers from some kids running out of the forest.
"They're coming! Look up, they're coming!" they yell as they jump around, causing all of us to stand up and walk towards the giant powder filled hole in the beach.
"Cade-kun! Over here!" Porche waves at me from one side, I quickly join her and look back towards the forest.
"I wonder what I'll see…" I mumble to myself as I stare intently at the swaying canopy of the huge flowers.
*Flap*
*Flap*
*Flap Flap*
*Flap Flap Flap Flap Flap*
Soft flapping of wings can be heard coming from deeper within, only for that to steadily grow louder and louder as more flapping sounds join in, not only that, but the sounds of animals, birds, bugs, and even 'singing' flowers echo in accordance with the ever-increasing flapping.
And just as it felt like I was in the middle of a strange concert the giant sunflower in front of the beach begins to sway from side to side at an ever-increasing speed, as if it's in the center of a hurricane or in this case… a kaleidoscope of beautiful and otherworldly butterflies the size of fighter jets.
*FLAP FLAP FLAP FLAP*
The sound of their wings flapping in the wind now resemble hundreds of v8 engines revving simultaneously, not to mention the fact that these butterflies are moving at speeds that rival modern-day sports cars!
They are beautiful ethereal things, with their main bodies consisting of a diamond or crystal-like texture, being almost transparent, and shining and refracting all the colors in the spectrum, making them appear as if a real-life kaleidoscope approaches.
*WOOSH! *
The giant creatures fly over our heads like jet planes and onto the vast orange tinted sea, going higher and higher and higher until they reach powerful air currents hundreds of feet in the air that connect the entire world and even go over the Red Line.
"Hahahaha! There they go!" people around me howl in ecstasy as they jump and reach to the sky, marveling at the utter and glorious freedom on display.
"Hoohoo~ It's 'bout dat time! John, Axel, let's do it! We gonna show dese youngins' da magnificent marvels of Lily Island" the old man, standing on top of the giant bellow, loudly proclaims into the air.
"Si!" the two men who not long ago were sitting around the fire with me, whoop enthusiastically before pulling the two huge handles of the giant instrument apart.
Stretching out its pitch-black flaps and surprisingly creating a loud *whistle* as torrents of air rush into the belly of the bellow and fill it with tons of pressurized gas, much more than should even be possible, blowing the previously ornate flaps into a giant balloon, one with a laughing old man comically sinking in the middle.
"Hoohoohoo~" well, the old man's clearly enjoying it!
The balloon grows more and more until it resembles a hot air balloon.
"Now push!" the frenzy crowd joins in this time, and just as commanded, the huge, and likely heavy handles of the bellow are pushed closed by the two struggling men.
*Faaaaaah! *
Huge amounts of air explode out of the metal nozzle and right into the center of the giant hole. *Phoof! * Blowing every single speck of transparent powder high into the sky!
"Hoohoo! Mocoso! Go 'head and look at the settin' sun!" The old man clearly staring at me hollers, which I immediately follow.
And to my surprise, all I see are the huge soaring butterflies in my vision, or more specifically their huge 40-foot wings that span across the sky and reflect the light of the setting sun to cover it in myriad of intricate patterns and colors from the entire light spectrum, like a giant aurora, but much larger, much more vibrant, and many times more stunning!
"Holly Jesus!" I yell in awe as I take it in this mesmerizing sight, but the surprises don't stop there, as even though the sky is blindingly beautiful, the things that really catch my attention are the huge velvety wings of the Monarchs, where colors come together to form pictures on their sleek surface, pictures and images that only ever existed in the deepest parts of my mind!
Beautiful skylines of cities that cover blue skies, packed moving crowds gathered in Times Square, like ants, to celebrate the coming of a new year, large luxurious villas planted on green hills, tightly packed apartments stuffed within busy streets, tranquil temples, reverent churches, busy schools, hurried stores, image after image flash through those wings.
Until finally images that I have no recollection of begin to play like a movie, a small family of 4, living in your typical suburban home, happily playing in the snow as laughter and joy fills the air, living their life to the best they could.
The small family wasn't perfect, the father figure was absent, gone with a different family, arguments that create cracks in the image as time passes, highs and lows come and go, yet through it all these four figures stay as a family, a single mother, two sisters, one older, one younger, and lastly, me, the middle child of the family…
With that revelation the image finally cracks like a broken mirror and falls apart piece by piece until only darkness remains, but not for very long, as suddenly colors rush back into sight, more powerful and vibrant than ever before, but this time it's not of familiar sights or smiling faces, but of giant never-ending oceans with small islands scattered throughout, miles apart, with nothing but turbulent seas, dark creatures of the deep the size of entire skyscrapers, and roaming bloodthirsty pirates in between, only images of falling countries drowned in sand, blood, fire, plague, and even strings greets my hollow eyes.
And all that these two illusions have in common is a lone boy, drifting through life on a sinking lifeboat as the tide of reality slowly seeps in.
Sink or Swim!
"Caaade! Caade! Cade-kun! Are you there?! Are you okay?!" I'm suddenly awakened by rough shakes, jogging me back into consciousness and into the world of the present.
"Y-yeah, I- I'm good, I'm good Porche, What's up?!" I question through blurry eyes at the person shaking me back and forth.
"*Sniff* I thought something happened to you! *Sniff* You were standing there for hours! Under the illusion of the Monarchs!" Porche, with puffy red eyes greets my vision as I blink the wetness from my eyes.
"Oh…"
Is all I can say as I pull her into my embrace while softly patting her back, all the while looking out into the distance, to where I remember seeing the light of the sun, now only darkness of the night greeting me back.