The Willow And The Wallflower

By Raahen Sinha

The Willow and the Wallflower

I sighed, looking over what was once a riveting sight of Colaba. The British architecture that I had read about ages ago had become nothing more than a desolate ruin- with nature taking over its course after years of abandonment. Vines had scurried their way onto the top- their grip often breaking many a brick off their building. Rusted, broken vehicles adorned the streets, potent in enough dust to give a normal person an asthmatic fit.

I massaged my eyes before arching back to get a good look at the massive rib-cage like spires that had washed up on the coast a few months back- something we still hadn’t recognised what it stood for. Maybe it was the part of the asteroid that had branched off into the peculiarly shaped structure before it. Maybe it was a monolith to display the Skyroot’s conquest over earth. Or maybe it was just a sort distress signal. The theories were endless.

‘Ow-’

I jerked my hand, not realizing that my cigarette had burned its way into the filter. I sighed before tossing away the bud, a little pissed. Being on watch was painfully boring, the supply of cigarettes being even more painfully limited. After a while, I looked at my watch- shaking my head. Screw it- I’ll ask Dev to take in my shift a little early.

I got up, dusting my pants before walking off the terrace. I swung open the half-torn door in a squeaky arc, before promptly descending the stairs. The dark atmosphere and the empty corridors had become acquaintances to me by this point, with my footsteps the only sound that echoed within the walls. I was half-tired half-irritated when I peered into the opposing building to find something crawl off the ceiling before disappearing into an adjacent room.

I blinked. What?

I had frozen, finding myself peering past the broken window pane for quite some time. I eventually snapped out of it- an eerie tingling still lingering on my nape. I breathed slowly, controlling my rhythm before continuing down the stairs, my hand on the holster. This was the first time I had seen any movement in weeks, my fear of ambiguity only matched by my innate sense of morbid curiosity.

The floor beneath me changed from tiling, asphalt to marble as I already found myself in the adjacent building. My pistol drawn; my posture tightened as I mentally calculated which floor I’d seen the event happening. After a few wrong turns I found myself in the very corridor I’d peered in before, my grip tightening on my weapon.

‘Okay…’ I whispered, ‘Okay…you got this…’

I found myself without incident as I had reached the end- with me barely able to make the word dormitory off the rusted sign. I cautiously pushed the already ajar door, making sure not to make a noise. The blinds in the room had been put down, so it took me some time for my eyes to acclimate to the darkness. But once it did, I sure enough immediately recognised the monster.

There it was in the darkness- a swirling, chaotic mass of branches and leaves. It walked across the room, cautiously and slowly- the soft rustling of its leaves seeming as impatient as the creature itself. Judging by its size, it seemed like a nymph- a young one at that. I squinted my eyes and sure enough I saw it- tiny bulbs embedded deep into its skin. I raised my gun, slowly taking my aim when I stopped.

The monster raised one of its appendages caressing a pillow on one of the beds. A small, shivering pillow. My eyes widened. No… it was a girl. A young child, no older than 10. I could just slightly make out the top of her head, the rest being enveloped in a blanket. The obvious question crossed my mind- why didn’t the nymph kill it?

I took a quick look around. A packet of chips and medicine adorned the bedside table, with a duffel bag and a suitcase kept in a corner. Few blankets although dirty- were folded onto the few beds that seemed like it could take some weight. It seemed inhabited recently, and witnessing no evidence of struggle I came to a baffling but the most appropriate conclusion.

The monster was helping a human.

I gritted my teeth before keeping the gun back in the holster. This was probably one of the stupidest things I had done. I walked in, my hands raised. The monster turned, immediately devolving into screeching- her cry akin to a chalk grating against the board- before she started rearing up.

‘I’m here to help…’ I said, slowly, ‘I can help her by taking her back to my base-’

The girl on the bed turned. She was sweating profusely, her discomfort palpable. Almost immediately I noticed the two chipped marks on her ears. My heart sank.

‘Screeeeee!’

My eyes quickly darted back to the nymph, who was circling me. It seemed more frightened than me. Its shaky, reclusive behaviour suggesting it was forcing itself to confront me- knowing I could potentially kill it. I sighed, before I slowly slid my hand into my pack. It hissed, and continued to do so as I pulled out a small bottle.

‘It’s Advil…’ I said, ‘It will help with the pain…’

I placed it on the floor. The monster continued to stay on me when a weak moan broke her attention. The child was shifting and crying weakly. I looked as the nymph slowly backed towards the girl- shifting her attention cautiously from her to me. I gritted my teeth, slowly backing away myself before walking out of the room.

I turned before pacing quickly. It all felt unreal, like too much was going on at the time. I kept wiping the sweat off my brow, looking over my shoulder, even after the building was nothing but a distant silhouette.

Our next encounter happened around two weeks later.

I was walking through the streets of Malabar hill, adjusting my bag pack strap after my ration run over at Worli. It was a tiring day, and non-perishables were a hard find in these days. But I managed to bag myself a few packs of canned tuna and beer in one of the abandoned high risers, alongside a scrap book and hb pencils off my regular route off the stationary. I found one of the scouts perched on a building, with it presenting a wide wave at me which I reciprocated.

‘Argh!…’

A sharp, piercing cry shook the silent setting. I looked ahead to witness one of my fellow scouts be attacked by a familiar mass of branches. It ripped apart a part of the bag, when a couple of shots rang out in the air. A bullet skewered right into its back, and with one last ear-piercing cry it shoved the person before rushing off into a building.

‘Crap…’

I rushed towards him. He wasn’t badly wounded except for a few scratches and over his neck and his face.

‘It’s all right.’ I said, ‘It’s going to be fine.’

‘It got the, arghh…’ He blinked in pain, ‘The… supplies…’

He started to get up before doubling over and falling. He was breathing through his teeth- biting the pain back. His leg, it must’ve been badly sprained. I fumbled through my belt, pulling out my walkie-talkie.

‘This is canopy seven. This is canopy seven, do you read me? Over.’

After a brief pause, I heard a static.

‘This is base. What’s the status? Over.’

‘We have an injured runner. There was an ambush by a stray nymph near Wood’s Garden. Requesting backup. Over.’

‘Understood. Do you have eyes on the attacker?’

I watched as the silhouette crash pass a curtain wall. I felt a hand on my collar- the scout looking me dead in the eye.

‘Get him. Each ration is valuable. GET HIM.’ He told me in hindi.

‘You’re gonna be okay-’

‘Just GO!’

I nodded before racing after it. I put the receiver next to my mouth.

‘I have eyes on it. Currently in pursuit. Over.’

I sprinted by the lanes, hopping over a traffic of rusted cars and trucks. The nymph in any other context would have been faster than me. But the bullet seemed to really do a number on it as it continued to crash and stop to gather itself. After a while it seemed to dive into a small mixed-use building. It didn’t seem aware of my presence, more impatient on getting away so I was able to follow it into a second-floor apartment. I barged in before coming to a dead stop.

The main hall was a mess- furniture thrown over, broken portraits sprawled across the room. I navigated cautiously across the floor, trying to make sure not to step over any broken shards. Dead spaces were nothing new, but there was a recent sense of conflict that still unnerved me. I pushed the ceiling fan which was dangling with a set of vines, before heading into the bedroom- the door already ajar.

There it was- the nymph on the bedside wailing. Medicine bottles and half-open eatables untidily adorned the blanket. I stepped closer to witness the monster attempting to feed the girl some tablets- the bottle in its appendage hastily torn apart with a few pills littering the floor. Resting on the bed was the same girl from our first encounter. Her body was pale and unmoving, her eyes already hazy- fixed onto the ceiling no matter how many times the nymph attempted to feed her. I closed my eyes, disappointed.

She had long passed away.

‘-Canopy, Do you read me?’ A static interrupted me, ‘Canopy come in over-’

I picked up the walkie talkie.

‘This is canopy, over.’

‘Do you still have eyes on the target? Over.’

I looked at the nymph, it’s wailing almost feeling… human. Was I feeling pity? After a brief moment, I shook my head.

‘Negative.’ I said, ‘I’m afraid I lost it. Over.’

I could almost hear him cursing before he even responded.

‘Come back to base, canopy. Over’

‘Negative, sir. I believe I have a carrier to deal with.’

I put the device right back onto my belt. There was no smell in the air- and judging by the body she seemed to have died just a few hours ago. I walked slowly towards the duo, the nymph slowly lowering its arms- as if the harsh epiphany had finally reached her.

‘I’m sorry…’ I said reflexively.

The nymph didn’t move. I slowly walked up to the corpse, about to put the blanket over her eyes when the nymph immediately broke into a snarl.

‘I’ve got to burn her body.’ I told it, ‘She’s a carrier. She can still infect us.’

She continued to snarl. I gritted my teeth before taking out my pistol.

‘Look, this is going to go two ways.’ I looked at it, ‘We fight, I kill you. Or we fight, you kill me but the bullets fired attracts back-up. Either way, things don’t look good for you. I understand that she was close to you and again, I am deeply sorry. But I am not going to risk both my health and the health of my peers knowing she can potentially kill us, you get me?’

My grip tightened around my weapon. A tense standoff remained, but after a while the nymph receded before slowly walking away. For a while I stood there, a bit surprised, before looking back at the body.

‘Oi.’

I looked behind me. A bulky, teenager wearing a gas mask and a military attire stood before me. It took me a while to identify him based on his voice and size, to which I promptly sighed and turned. I witnessed the last wisps leave the makeshift pyre before me, with me eventually dusting my hands.

‘Shailender.’ I nodded.

‘I reckon you’re finished with the… stuff’ He gestured, ‘Base is really mad at you, you know. First you lose the nymph and now you decide to waste time on whats-her-face. And that’s taking in the factor you actually found a carrier, that is.’

‘And what do you think about it?’

‘… That your pyre is smaller for an adult human being?’

I rested on my knees, segregating the ash with a stick. I found a ring in the heap, with me slowly separating it off the skeletal finger it once adorned.

‘Because it is. She was a kid, no more than 10.’

I could feel the tension thicken immediately. I looked behind at Shailender, who’d folded his hands. Even though I couldn’t read his expression, his hesitation was very evident.

‘I’m sorry. Maybe we can talk about this over the walk back?’

‘Give me 10, Shailender. Please.’

My request ended in a rather stern disposition. He sighed, turning before starting to walk away.

‘Five minutes.’ He said, ‘I’m waiting by the kiosk down the road.’

I sighed, pocketing the ring before getting up and looking at the apartment. As I slowly walked up the stairs, I caught a faint ringing sound. As I neared the destination it grew more defining- a decoherent collection of sounds. I pushed the door to find the monster sitting beside a keyboard-those small three octave instruments with demo buttons and small, round speakers. It seemed to be randomly be pushing keys on it- with it sometimes playing string, sometimes a percussion set.

I squinted my eyes. Unlike the chaotic swirl of branches a few moments ago, it felt different. I could break it into distinct shapes- a head, a torso and the limbs. Like a sculptor just throwing masses of clay to get a rough base for their model. I had heard nymphs change its features under stress. But considering its indifferent reaction to my presence, it didn’t make sense of it attempting to be more… humanoid.

I looked round the house. Most of the things were broken or decayed to salvage. I sighed, before noticing a notebook and a slightly discoloured picture on the countertop. It was a family photo, with the girl- a few years younger- holding her father’s hand while the mother caressed who I assumed was her baby brother. I flipped the photo, the date calligraphed in a very cursive font.

Happy Birthday, Mommy!

August 31, 2018

I sighed. A month before the Skyroot descended on earth.

I looked back at the nymph who’d stopped playing the keyboard. I hadn’t encountered much of its kind, but the ones I did couldn’t stand human presence. If not for its obvious appearance, I would’ve really considered this to be a sad, two-man funeral. I slowly walked over to it, aware but sympathetic, before placing my fingers on the keys. It retreated its appendages, almost looking at me in consternation.

‘Let’s change it to piano…’ I said, pressing some buttons ‘That’s C… alright… and…’

I started to play a few chords before my fingers started floating around the keyboard. In no short time my left hand joined the melody- my muscle memory on display as a simple, quirky tune rinsed the gloomy air. My finger may have slipped a little here or there, but I didn’t care. I was just immersed into it.

After a while I stopped, slowly lifting my fingers off the instrument. The last note lingering in the air long after I had played it, before I adjusted the strap around my shoulder. I took the ring off the pocket before placing it on the desk.

‘Take care, nymph.’

I started to leave when something fastened around my wrist. I looked back, with the nymph looking intensely at me before retreating it’s appendages- leaving a half-torn Advil bottle in my hand. A smirk escaped my lips, with me clasping the bottle before walking away.

I blinked, slowly massaging the bridge of my nose. In a distance the sun was setting over an orange-yellow haze, when a static alerted me to a caller.

‘This is Base, what is your status. Over?’

‘This is canopy. Just finished recon off Malabar hill. No activity. Over.’

‘Understood. Maintain position, you will be briefed soon. Over.’

I sighed, before locking the walkie-talkie back onto my belt. I looked to my right, the children’s playground lingering in a distance.

‘You know that I can see you right?’

A shadow shifted from within the Shoe house. I got up with a groan before slowly walking towards the structure.

‘Come on, Fossil… I’m alone. Seriously. By this point you should know me.’

A hand came from under the bridge, before the nymph revealed herself.

Over the course of the last few weeks, my encounter with nymph had increased substantially. It’s started with me finding her peeking from an alley or a corner, panicking when I discovered her before running off. Sometimes I would catch her back at apartment where the incident occurred- where I would find her morphing her physiology to mimic different humans. At first, I found the practice incredibly creepy- when I recognised one of the faces she’s made. It was of the father I’d found in the photo. This was her way of remembering the family, however warped the practice may have seemed.

Our first encounter that’d lasted more than a minute was when I visited the apartment once it was empty, before playing a rendition of hymn of the weekend. After the small two-and-a-half-minute symphony, I retreated from the instrument before encountering the sound of something colliding. I looked into the adjacent room to find the nymph desperately trying to slide beneath the bed. After a time, she poked from below the bed. I smiled.

‘You want to learn this?’

After that, we’d meet up- with us indulging in various activities every other week. By our conversations, she seemed rather sharp and naïve at the same time. In a span of few short weeks, she had memorized the scout’s movement pattern- and knew the ins and outs of the system with an impressive precision. At the same time, whenever I would gesture at her face and say ‘Got your nose!’ with a clamped fist, she would panic and grow a nose on top of her already existing nose. I named her Fossil, mainly for her weird out worldly physiology that sometimes even felt primal at times- yet at the same time I always felt I had discovered something new about her.

It already knew a few things- like chess and tic-tac-toe- something she’d learned from the previous family she was accompanying. The Lakhani family. I’d learned that the daughter’s name was Dhriti, and that she’d been travelling with her for quite some time before arriving at Colaba. She was very vague about her life before that- and I was not sure if she was in some sort of amnesia-based accident or if she was genuinely hiding it. All I knew was that she landed on earth quite far away.

I felt a tug on my pants, before I looked in her direction. She sat cross legged on the floor, already written something in the sand.

I LEARNED IT

Did you now?’ I smiled, ‘Have at it, then.’

She nodded, removing a Rubik’s cube from the folds of her branches. She tossed it to me, with me instantly jumbling up the device. The whole time she was crawled up, her hands on her eyes/ bulbs which made me chuckle since it was just an imitation of the organ, not where she actually looked through. After I was satisfied with the multicoloured mosaic I had created, I punched a button on my watch.

‘Start.’ I tossed her the cube.

I crossed my hands. Over the last few weeks, she had really dedicated herself on transforming herself into a human. Whether it was adding limbs a month back, dissecting her vines into fingers two weeks before, or adding facial features a week back. She seemed determined to look like the girl she was taking care of- and I had to admit it. It was weird to watch an artist sculpt himself.

Fossil immediately began fumbling with the cube- with such ferocity I was afraid that she’d rip her whole thing apart. After a few seconds I watched as a few of her digits turned into vines, with her subconsciously reverting into her original alien state After a time, she held the cube up.

‘Ah-uh.’ I shook my finger.

She looked back at the cube, which indeed had a corner piece out of place. With a quick twist, she aligned the colours before holding the cube back up. I shook my head, stifling a laugh when she whacked me with one of her vines.

‘Ow! Okay. Okay.’ I clocked in the time, ’52 seconds. Not bad.’

After massaging my bruise- which hurt a little more for a jovial whack- I found out that the nymph had already sat down again, drawing in the sand.

YOUR TURN

I smiled, before digging in my pocket. I walked over to a nearby bench with Fossil energetically following me, jumping on furniture as I took out my sketchbook.

‘There.’ I flipped through the pages.

She nodded, taking the book off my hand. I leaned back on the bench as she assessed the drawing- rough, 15-minute sketches of the Worli Coastline, including the incomplete skyscraper of Palais royale and the Bandra-Worli Sea link. Her face was pretty much just a flat wooden mask, so I couldn’t read her expression. But her body didn’t lie, as she excitedly pointed at an aspect of the sea link.

‘Oh yes.’ I said, ‘A part of the cable snapped off. I was just as surprised, you know. Used to drive there as a kid and now it’s all…’

I shrugged. She lowered her head.

‘Why did you guys come here?’

She didn’t reply, instead taking my book. One of her vines extended into a thin prick, before she contorted it as a black-sap protruded from the tip. She then started to write- the dye faint and blotchy- but readable nonetheless.

OUR PLANET WAS DYING

I looked down. She’s never shared this before, but then again neither had I asked her. Our earlier interactions only lasting a few minutes, sometimes just seconds. She had slowly warmed up to me in the past few months, and I didn’t want to chase her away. I turned to find her already writing something else.

DID SOMETHING HAPPEN?

I shook my head, ‘No, nothing. I’m just curious is all.’

DID YOUR GUYS SUSPECT YOU FO-

She jerked her hand as the sap ink dried out, before she continued writing.

-R BEING AWAY TOO LONG?

‘Jesus Christ, Fossil. How paranoid are you?’ I scowled, ‘No, nothing. Besides, most of the guys are back at the base. There is a wedding, you know.’

I could feel something change within her. She looked back at the sketchbook, starting to write furiously on the pages.

WEDDING LIKE-

‘Yes, yes. Those big extravagant showings where two lovers pledge to be each other’s till death does them apart.’ I paced my hand on her vine-pen, ‘Or the saat phere around the sacred fire. It’s different for different people.’

She just tilted her head in consternation, before pointing her finger at me. I sighed, understanding immediately even when no word was spoken.

‘I actively chose to be on lookout detail.’ I said, ‘We humans, we’re not as close you think, you know? This is just circumstance. You would normally think that being alone would scare you, but it’s not. The worst thing in life is to end up with people who make you feel alone.’

She turned, almost looking off in a distance. I interlocked my fingers, rubbing the back of my palm with one of the thumbs off my other hand. It was kind of nice to confide in her, almost therapeutic. After the faint noise of her vines scratching over the paper concluded, I looked over to see what she’d written.

WAS THAT LINE FROM A MUVIE?

‘That’s movie with an ‘o’.’ I chuckled, before looking ahead, ‘And yes. It’s Robin Williams, uh- ‘World’s Grestest dad, I believe? 2009- 2010’ish movie.’

I looked back again, not realising she’d written something before scribbling it away. However it was done shoddily and hastily, and with the sap drying out during the scratches I could still read what she’d written.

DO I MAKE YOU FEEL ALONE?

I sighed before getting up. The nymph shook awake, looking up at me.

‘Look, I don’t despise them for it. They’re may be tense. Irritable- and like I said it’s just everything around us. The attack, us foraging for survival everyday. Sometimes they lose it, you know? You can’t blame them. And it’s not like I’m not at fault either… it’s just I haven’t trusted in a person for a long time.’

I felt her cold, hard fingers envelop mine. I rested my other palm on her fingers- before she placed her hand on her chest.

‘You asking me if I’m mad at you? Or are you asking if I’m mad at your kind?’

She hesitated a bit, before stretching her fingers to the number 2.

‘Your kind- the Skyroot- did whatever they could to save themselves. I’m sure humanity would’ve done the same, given the adequate resources.’ I waved my hand, ‘Besides, you seem like a kid. And this whole takeover thing- whatever it is- couldn’t have been done by you. You were just along for the ride. Being mad at you would be like imprisoning a thief’s child for the crimes of their father. It’s be stupid.’

I patted her. She nodded, before scribbling in the sketchbook again.

I’D LIKE TO SEE A MOVIE SOMETIME

‘Yeah, me too.’ I smiled, ‘I’d love that too. There are so many-’

I stopped, noticing her completely frozen up. My expression dropped too, before I turned myself. Behind us was a middle-aged man in an old military gear, shaking as he held a rifle in his hands. His eyes were wide open, my spine writhing in cold fear. He immediately raised his weapon, with me standing in between.

‘Whoa, whoa, whoa.’ I waved my hand, as Fossil cowered behind me, ‘Stop! Mr. Shah, hold it.’

‘Rehan, what are you doing?’ He gritted his teeth, ‘That is a nymph!’

‘I know, just listen to me-’

‘Are you serious? That thing attacked one of our runners-’

‘No, it isn’t. I was there.’ I said, ‘I was there, sir. I was there with it, this isn’t the same nymph, trust me.’

He lowered his weapon. My mind raced. I had already started a lie- I had to cook something up otherwise I was really screwed.

‘I followed the nymph into a building…’ I said, piecing together a story in my brain while enunciating every word slowly, ‘…I followed it and saw it fighting another nymph, which is the one behind me. Apparently, it had trespassed into its territory and after the conflict it retreated with her behind.’

‘Her behind?’ He scowled, ‘So… you’re taking care of that?’

‘Yes…’ I said, begging that he’d taken in my story as I slowly started to walk towards him, ‘I mean she was just defending herself but she helped us get some of the supplies back.’

‘You mean the broken advil bottles and the crumpled meat cans?’

‘Hey, it’s the effort that counts, right?’

He pondered. The survivors were dead serious about threats, and in no situation could the reveal of Fossil being the actual attacker leave her in any good footing. Mr. Shah was fidgeting with the gun too- I could see him slipping. He then looked over.

‘So why is it like that?’

I watched as Fossil poked her head from beneath the bench. I sighed.

‘A family was taking care of it. I guess this is her way of her trying to remember them? I don’t really know.’

The man lowered his gun. I was about to heave a sigh of relief when he hit me in the temple with the butt of his rifle. There was a flash and I had crumbled onto the ground, blinking as a searing pain enveloped my head.

‘I’m not going to take any chances.’

I raised my hand but everything was blurry and shaky. As Mr. Shah raised his weapon I watched Fossil tuck her knees inside her shoulder. Her mouth opened- the noticeable sound of wood cackling and crunching as she spoke.

‘SoRRY!’

He froze.

‘PleASE.’ She said, ‘i’M SorRy!’

It was a weird amalgamation of voices, if a man’s final breath was like metal grating against a sidewalk. It was highly unnatural, taking both of us by surprise. I watched as Mr. Shah’s shoulders went loose, with him still trying to process what had happened.

‘What-’

I delivered a sharp kick on his knee, interrupting him. Before he could regain his posture, I took out my pistol and knocked him the side of his head- giving him a taste of his own medicine. He collapsed on the ground, a little wavy but still conscious.’

‘You filthy traitor!’ He snarled.

He raised his gun, but a vine came out of nowhere- pulling his leg. He fell back on the ground, losing his grip in the weapon. A shot rang in the air, the man falling over. A small pool of blood formed before us, with me taking a small step back. I exchanged glances with Fossil- who looked like the same nymph I’d found back at the dormitory. Scared and alone.

I gulped, before looking back at the man. His nose would still flare up ever so slightly to take in a breath. I was a bit relieved, before balling up my fists.

‘Okay… okay…’ I said, slowly walking over to him, ‘We can solve this.’

The sound of rustling behind me alerted me that he’d finally woke up.

‘Baap re baap…’ Mr. Shah scowled, before looking up ‘Where are we?’

‘It worked.’ I smiled at Fossil, who was dancing in a corner, ‘Good job.’

I looked up at the millions of stars twinkling in the night sky- one of the things I had grown to appreciate during the apocalypse. Compared to now, the sky was always seemed muffled a few years back- like some filter was put before my eyes. It was so sharp and dazzling that sometimes it almost felt overwhelming.

‘My shoulder, it feels weird…’ Mr. Shah woke up, before realizing he’s been completely tied up in vines, ‘What, what is this? Where are we…’

‘Well, Fossil wanted to see the wedding and I was on my way home.’ I mentioned, ‘So we decided to take a quick stop.’

‘Wait…’ He looked around, ‘Are we on a terrace?’

I nodded, before looking over from the ledge. Sprawled below us was our base- a collection of various heritage buildings buried under mounds of fortification and makeshift constructions. There was first the barricade made out of crushed vehicles, followed by the main fence which was mounted by broken shards of glass and steel. Then a thin but strong wall of 5-meter-tall corrugated sheets lined the periphery, with Guards on patrol by the watchtowers- made from both bamboos and cast iron.

The houses inside had seen better days too- the gable roofs chipped off by attacks and weather replaced with scaffolding HDPE plastic sheets. It was a withering monument, yet today there was a certain life to it. It seemed brighter than usual, almost livelier. On closer inspection you could see these Christmas lights dressed all over the campus- with a few teenagers doing the kazotzky on the lawn, laughing and rolling as the fell on the grass. A few others had huddled together and were singing a tune. Something Fossil was mimicking in the background, holding her arms around her imaginary friends.

‘Rehan, what are you doing?’ Mr, Shah asked, exasperated.

‘What do you think I’m doing?’ I said, lighting a cigarette, ‘I’m enjoying a wedding.’

Out of nowhere a vine slapped the cigarette off my mouth, leaving me scowling.

‘No SMoKing!’

I shook my head, ‘Jeez, I prefer that she goes back to pen and paper.’

‘Rehan, you realize what it is?’ Mr Shah insisted, ‘The same thing that destroyed our kind and you’re frolicking with it?’

‘The same thing that saved you too.’

I exchanged glances with Fossil, before I nodded. She raised her hands, the vines around Mr. Shah loosening. He blinked in consternation for a while, before caressing his right shoulder which was wrapped in bandages.

‘Wait…’ He frowned, unravelling it, ‘What is this…’

He took the last wrap off it to fine a mass of his shoulder replaced with a grey bark-like skin. For the first few minutes he seemed to be under shock, averting his eyes.

‘You and me both know how nymphs are capable of changing their appearances.’ I mentioned, ‘However, Fossil over there went the extra mile to really be in a human’s shoes. Right now, just before we came here, she even grew nails- even though we both know how useless they are. She already has a skeleton and basic cardiovascular system running through her body. She also experimented with building capillaries and nerves to imitate flesh- included the one grafted onto your skin.’

He kept touching his shoulder, before rotating it- not letting out of his disbelief.

‘And how did you know this was going to work?’

‘I didn’t.’ I said, ‘I just trusted her.’

I watched as Fossil excitedly jumped around- watching and imitating everything the humans were doing out in the field. Behind me Mr. Shah groaned again before getting up.

‘She volunteered to fix you, you know.’ I crouched, ‘The wound was pretty severe.’

‘From a trigger you pulled.’ He retorted, before shaking his head, ‘Now what, you think this thing will let you off the hook?’

‘No, what I think is we both get our alibi ready.’

He scowled, ‘Alibi?’

‘Yes.’ I smiled, locking in my hands, ‘You see, I considered the possibility of you ratting us out a lot. So here is the thing. The moment you walk in those doors with even one of our syllables on your lips- that thing in your shoulder is going to contort and make you look like the very beast you were going to tattle on. It’ll definitely get me on the short end on the stick too, no question about it but man oh man, you are going to suffer.’

I watched his expression drop.

‘Stop bluffing.’ He said, gesturing at the mass of bark, ‘You can’t control this.’

‘She can.’

‘And where will she be?’

‘Nearby. Watching. Every single moment. Every single day. And trust me, she knows her way around.’ I looked over at her, ‘It’s fun here, Fossil. Ain’t that right?’

She nodded happily as she jumped around. I looked back.

‘So, what’s it going to be? Sinking us both or going right back at our earlier lives with just a small chip over your shoulder?’

He pondered, before smirking.

‘You had a lot of time to think this, didn’t you, kid?’

‘Well, you were out for four hours. And there are very limited things to do out here’ I nodded, before looking over the ledge, ‘I talked with Base too, said we were on a supply run for batteries after your talkie shorted out.’

I tossed him his backpack. He then joined me, resting his hands on the parapet wall as we both witnessed the wedding.

‘You going to join them?’

‘No…’ He said, squinting his eyes, ‘Wait, you do not know why the wedding is happening, do you?’

I shook my head, ‘What do you mean?’

‘For a teenager, you surely are ignorant sometimes.’ He laughed, before leaning over, ‘The bride, she is pregnant.’

I retreated, ‘Christina? What’s that got to do with anything?’

‘Well, the father despises the groom. But he fears more of her granddaughter to be born out of wedlock, so he married them off.’

I squinted my eyes, ‘Some priorities in the apocalypse, man. Who cares?’

‘He used to be a pastor at his local church. Some fear the lord too much even in direst circumstances.’ He adjusted his resting position, ‘But that’s not the point I was trying to make.’

He let the words linger in the air. I thought about it, before it slowly hit me.

‘Mr. Shah, what are you trying to do?’

‘During the onset of the attack the Skyroot were bought their own alien genealogy to the planet. Releasing those microbes in the air- whether intentional or not, no one knows.’ He said, ‘Anyone with weak immunity were taken out almost immediately. Old people. Sick people. And the kind Christina is about to bring into this world.’

‘Whatever you’re trying to do, it’s not going to work.’

‘Just tell me why, Rehan. Why are you sticking your neck out for them?’ He closed in on me, ‘Why would you rooting for them till this bad knowing what they did?’

‘Sir please-’

‘I just want to know why, Rehan.’ He looked me right into my eyes, ‘Just why-’

‘Because when I see my own kind fail, I tend to look for solutions in others.’

I gritted my teeth. There was really a firmness in his vision, that fire that wouldn’t be extinguished anytime soon. I sighed, before looking back ahead, clenching the parapet wall tightly.

‘Before the invasion, I didn’t exactly have a stellar life. I didn’t fit in with kids of my society. Didn’t fit in at school either. But I did manage to find a friend amongst the midst.’ I said, my voice slowly softening, ‘I was always jealous of the prick. Was good looking, even more charming. Attracted a lot of girls, especially of the wrong kind.’

The terrace fell silent, the only noise of Fossil tapping her feet.

‘One day, I found him, crying. He wouldn’t tell me what happened but after a while I saw him on the news. In court with some Governor’s daughter. I knew him- he may pretentious sometimes. Had some problems. But he was no predator.’

Mr. Shah looked down, ‘I’m sorry.’

‘I saw him once before his day of incarceration. It was all written over his face. The resentment. The anger. And when he passed me, he didn’t even speak a word. My friend of ten years, and that was my last memory of him.’ I looked back at him, ‘So forgive me if I didn’t trust the groundwork we claimed was for the good of all humanity. For once, I’d like to see through the blinds and decide for myself.’

‘Rehan, you cannot blame a whole group for the mistakes one person makes-’

He stopped in his tracks, almost realizing something. I raised my brow, almost mocking him in a sardonic way.

‘Go on, you were saying something.’ I said.

He scowled, tightening the strap around his backpack, ‘Yeah. I understand why no one likes you back there.’

With that he left. I sighed, still unsure about the rest of the night.

‘ReHAN, loOk. ThE bRide!’

‘Calm down. A scout will find you.’

Fossil jumped as she pointed down. I walked over to her to find a girl in a beautiful white gown walk in the lawn, with one of her friends hoisting her in the air. The rest of her friends huddled together too, smiling and singing with her.

‘EveryTHing okAy?’

‘Yeah just…’ I tilted my head, ‘You’re not going to ask me why I just let him go?’

‘No, it’s OKay.’ She said, ‘You trUSt him, sO I trust hIm toO.’

I withdrew, a smile grazing my lips before I pulled her in closer, with us witnessing the rest of the wedding.

Over the course of the next few months, things started to change a bit.

If I had to sum it up in a phrase- it felt like low tide. Infections were less, Skyroot encounters would be significantly reduced. Our farm was giving more yield- with the camp’s stomach more filled than ever. It wasn’t perfect though. One day as I was stock duty, I heard a distant cry. We huddled to witness the soldiers drag a lady to the gates, her ear denoting the fresh mark of a carrier. A bunch of people in tychem overalls and gas masks restrained her weeping child, as the whole crowd watched silently. It was brutal, and I had never seen more fear in Christina’s eyes until now.

Mr. Shah remained quiet on the front too, and my initial alertness to his presence gradually waned out- with me eventually realizing that he won’t rat me out. We would occasionally get into small talk too, when we would be together on cleaning or weapon duty. I always dreaded it, and he made no effort to hide the bitterness in his voice either. Sometimes the conversation would be short and sweet, other times it would devolve into a stifled rant.

‘The scouting team needs a few more men. You know, you could always volunteer…’ He said, putting a scoop of mash potatoes one of the passing trays before leaning in my ear, ‘… knowing you have a friend on the other side.’

I smiled at the person in the queue, stirring my pot of dal before putting some of it on her plate.

‘Come on, Mr. Shah.’ I said, adjusting my bonnet, ‘Not now.’

‘Why not.’ He said, smiling through his teeth, ‘It’s not like I’m lying.’

I watched as Shailender came before me, nodding.

‘Hey.’

‘Hey.’ I replied plainly before putting dal in his plate.

‘Uf.’ Mr. Shah looked over at me, ‘Do I sense some tension there?’

‘There is nothing to sense.’ I said, dumping the dal a little too aggressively, the food splashing back on the guy’s clothes, ‘Oh… I’m so sorry.’

‘Didn’t you arrive with him in the fort?’ He asked me, ‘I mean, both you and him were pretty much the only guys who made it from Versova-’

‘-D.N. Nagar-’

‘- And I remember talking around. You both were neighbours, weren’t you? You’re the only link to his past and still, you ice him off so coldly.’

‘So? It doesn’t mean I owe him anything.’ I nodded, adjusting the right glove on my hand, ‘Don’t speak like you know what’s going on.’

‘You should.’

I looked up. It was Faizal, the bridegroom. While small and pushy, he was scrappy and resourceful. I had been on a few runs with him, and he’s taken some of the blame where I screwed up. He was well liked by the survivors, and often has been heart of the conversation. I could really see how Christina liked him.

‘What do you mean?’ I started to put dal on his plate when he raised his hand.

‘We’ve become quite close, you know.’ He shrugged, ‘He talks about you occasionally. About how you played cricket on the local ground-’

‘Faizal, let me clue you in.’ I leaned in, ‘It’s called nostalgia when you’re fond of the memory.’

‘He really regrets it a lot.’ He insisted before apologizing the person behind him for holding up the line, ‘Really, he is a changed man.’

‘Wait a minute…’ Mr. Shah squinted his eyes, slowly catching on, ‘Shailender Singh was your high school bully?’

‘Oh my god. A six-foot three buff, brainless jock turns out to pick on his smaller peers.’ I mocked him sarcastically, ‘What a shocker. And I appreciate your effort, Faisal, but you should really move on.’

‘Just give him a chance.’ He said, walking on ahead, ‘He deserves it.’

‘Well look at the sweet irony.’ Mr. Shah smiled wide, ‘I guess you aren’t open to change unless it’s someone not from your species. Hell, even your planet.’

I ripped the bonnet off my head, untying my apron before walking away.

The near death like atmosphere at the base was only lifted by appearances of Fossil. Whether I was on scouting duty or on some other errand, she’d find a new way to greet me. Whether it was swinging off the ceiling with a snappy ‘boo’! or propping herself into a bench just to fool me into resting my knees- it was rather remarkable about her ability to find levity in everything.

By this point, I had almost forgotten I was conversing with a nymph- instead just mistaking her for a young girl in cosplay. She had control over the color and translucency of her bulbs- so that it actually imitated an iris in fantastic detail. I would see her nose twitch when I teased her, her petal like teeth as she laughed on a practical joke she pulled. Her voice, which was initially jarring now had turned into something that suited her little girl avatar she donned, at a point which I asked-

‘-Is that how Dhriti sounded?’

Fossil took a break from running around a circular column. I walked down the main staircase from what used to be once a large mall, sliding my hand on the wooden railing as our voices echoed across the room.

‘Sorry, what?’ She asked.

‘Is that how Dhriti sounded? The way you speak.’ I asked, ‘I didn’t know her, so I keep wondering. On second thought we can drop it, I don’t want to sound intrusive, so…’

‘No, no. It’s okay.’ She said, carefully only stepping only on the red tiles of the floor, ‘Actually I’m not sure. It’s been what… a year almost since the incident? It’s hard to think about it, you know. The last memories of her were just moaning and crying.’

I stopped, ‘I’m sorry for your loss.’

‘You’ve got to stop saying that. It’s like you’re guilty or something.’ She shook her head, ‘I don’t get you guys sometimes. All of you apologizing for incidents that were beyond your reach.’

‘It’s called compassion. A way of providing sympathy.’ I said, taking a spray bottle off one of the stalls before dousing Fossil with two quick press of the trigger, ‘Prick.’

‘Okay, sorry.’ She laughed as started running from me, ‘Your planet, your rules.’

I put the sprinkler down, before looking outside. I suddenly felt a weight on me, with her hopping up on my shoulder, her arms round my forehead.

‘Can we go play the keyboard again?’ She asked, ‘I haven’t learned a new song in a long time.’

‘Yeah, just… wait a minute…’

There was a permeable silence for some time. After a few moments even Fossil stopped tapping my forehead, sensing something was off.

‘What happened, Rehan?’ She asked inquisitively.

‘I…’ I shook my head, ‘I don’t remember what my dad sound like anymore.’

She didn’t speak.

‘I didn’t meet him much, he was always busy with his work. I…’ I blinked, not able to register what was happening, ‘I just… forgot. How could I just forget…’

I could feel Fossil’s cold, misty breath on my hair. Before long I few her weight off me, before the sound of branches cracking next to me grabbed our attention. She had turned herself into this panther like being, each vine pronouncing her muscle.

‘Get on.’

‘What?’ I asked, ‘Why?-’

‘Just do it, man.’

I tilted my head, a bit suspicious, but eventually I sat on her. I could feel the barks below me shift in response to my weight. I grabbed onto whatever branch and twigs jutted out of the body, and after rearing up on her hindquarters, Fossil took off- racing at an insane speed.

‘Whoa-’

I could feel my skin peel back as she hopped over the pavement, ducking into alleys before racing again on open streets again. My hands were flailing for anything I could get a grip on- before Fossil created some vines I used as reins. We passed the train graveyard, the line of metal coaches covered in mosses and plants sprouting of its thin crevices. I even caught these tiny lotus-faced puppies drinking from a puddle, who dived beneath the vehicle after noticing us.

‘Where are you taking me?’ I asked, not sure whether she heard me over the wind.

‘Where it all started.’

After fifteen minutes, she stopped with me immediately getting off- my legs immensely uncomfortable. I looked around. It seemed like a slum area- a collection of low, two-storied gabled structures that felt like almost invading each other’s space. The presence of vegetation was the thickest here- each corner covered in some sort of undergrowth. the air thick with these spore-like structures. I foraged in my back-pack for my mask when Fossil placed her hand on my palm, already reverting to her human form.

‘You won’t need it here.’

I nodded, before she starting walking. After slowly acclimating to the claustrophobia, I followed her through the narrow, moist lanes. I saw a sign that said Sewri, which was somewhere in East Mumbai. I pondered, the Skyloft were said to first appear off that side of the coast too.

I felt a creature land on my shoulder too, whistling in a high-pitched tone. Other creatures started to appear too. Some were these fungi-ferret like hybrid, their gills inflating and deflating as their head moved to our movement. At one time, Fossil even pulled me aside as a Giant flytrap snapped shut where I was standing a moment ago. It didn’t feel like I was treading on earth anymore, when I ran into Fossil, who’d come to a sudden stop. I looked up, almost transfixed by what I saw.

‘Jesus…’

Before me lied this massive structure of stone. Unlike the rest of the structure it was perfectly composed of its own matter- however broken and decimated it looked. There was a huge hole in the center of the it, where some of the creatures were playing and chasing each other. After a moment, I stopped taking a step back before assessing it from another angle. The ridges, the features…

This looked like a part of a head.

‘This would be what you called a god in our world. The closest to one’ Fossil said, smiling ‘A scientist and a seer. Delver of the cosmos. The willow that hosted our kind, partial to none and worshipped by all. It is he who saw the death of our world, and decided to journey here- millions of Spires away from home. Us, who once lived within him and now him, who lives within us.’

‘Not gonna lie, I wish I got to see him full size for once.’ I looked back at Fossil, ‘What happened to him?’

Fossil looked below, saddened, ‘The journey through the stars were taxing for it, since it used its own body to propel through space. They held the entirety of our kind, over 300 species of various sizes and shapes while its skin bore the cold vaccum of space. Most of them collapsed before they even entered the atmosphere, including this one.’

She gently caressed the head. I shook my head

‘I’m…’

She raised her brow. I stopped, sighing when I noticed Fossil extending her hands.

‘What are you doing?’

‘I told you; he was the seer.’ She said, ‘Even in death, it possesses some of its powers. The one that helped me when I was lost too. The one who told me I could trust you.’

‘It spoke to you?’ I asked, ‘Wait, you didn’t trust me before?’

‘You wore a soldier attire when you first met me. It was a pretty strong impression.’ She gestured at her hand, ‘Well?’

I raised my hand slowly before wrapping my fingers around hers.

It instantly hit me- like a truck. It felt like the scenes in the sci-fi movies where the soul was ripped away from the body- your existence bombarded with everything and nothing at the same time. I saw birth and death coalesced into infinite loops. The universe fold it on itself, light sucked in a void before exploding into life again.

After this intense encounter, I gradually felt a mystical presence guide me. Condensing my essense somewhere else, somewhere specific- like I was being handed a pair of binoculars to focus in the dense forest before me. I felt whole again, before I witnessed a sight you couldn’t get on any part of earth. Twin celestial bodies floated in the distant purple sky before me- while nearer a belt of rocks closer to forming a beautiful ring around the horizon. Giant hives hung off the parabolic shaped cliffs, streams of sparkling water flowing above the dense landscape in the most beautiful gravitational anomaly I’d ever witnessed.

This is your planet.

Yes, but that’s not what we’re here for.

The perspective shifted. Almost everything became white, except for this thin strip of reality. I watched as a child and a father waved to a store employee, before walking on an elevator. After a covering sufficient distance, the child removed a packet of crayons tucked in his pants, while the father removed two small novels from the folds of his jacket. He leaned over whispering in the child’s ear, however it might as well have been said through a loudspeaker

‘Don’t tell mom.’

He smiled at the child, putting his index finger on his lip as the child burst out laughing. As they disappeared into the horizon, I looked down- couldn’t help but feel a bit odd. Not in an ominous way, rather it was in awe.

Never took you for a petty thief.

My dad grew up poor. He used to go in these big shot places and sneak album CD’s, comic books and stationery out like the smoothest criminal. I recollected He was a hero among his friends. Almost kept nothing for himself. Mom used to still get mad at this though, I guess old habits die hard. Jeez… I forgot I ever did this.

What happened then?

What happened I pondered, I don’t know, he hit it big with some writing gig. Either he was locked in his room, brainstorming or with the directors and production houses. I would rarely get to meet him at home.

Yet I don’t feel any envy from you. Just loneliness. You truly did love your father. Oh, I can see why he liked you…

I felt my consciousness zooming out before I fell right back onto the grass. My lungs immediately cried for air, and for the next minute I just sat there getting my breath under control. I looked up, noticing Fossil sit on the base of the hole.

‘That…’ I blinked, attempting to get sweat off my brow, ‘Is… Is that what omniscience feels like?’

‘I guess.’ Fossil shrugged, ‘However the pool grows smaller everyday. I’m afraid in a few decades, this will just be a relic like any other on your planet.’

I fell back on the grass. For a long time, there was no noise except for the chittering of the creatures around. I watched at the cold, drab ceiling above me- which seemed too… constraining after witnessing the expanse of reality.

‘Hey.’

‘Yeah?’ Fossil answered.

‘When we were talking out there, we were weren’t exactly talking. Were we?’

Fossil shifted, ‘Not exactly. It is less of a language and more of an emotion. It’s just understanding. The way higher beings conversed amongst themselves.’

‘Higher beings like the massive kaijus this was a part of?’

‘Kaiju’s?..’ Fossil squinted her eyes before looking at me, ‘Hey! Don’t compare them to giant, destructive monsters in Japanese movies. Take that back!’

‘Okay, jeez. It was for a lack of a better word.’ I raised my hands, before letting it fall to gravity, ‘Your home world seemed really cool. I wish I could’ve seen more of that.’

‘Yes, it was beautiful…’ She said, a sad twinge in her voice.

I said, getting up and pulling out my sketchbook, ‘You don’t mind, do you?’

After that I started visiting it often, the Willow as Fossil called it. It was addicting, having your mind blown open to the cosmos. It was as if the universe’s truths were condensing onto you. Sometimes I would just find myself coasting off the horizon of the other world, but there was often this weird feeling. I couldn’t exactly describe it- the nearest thing was that it always felt like Fossil’s hand was on my neck. Like she was directing me to watch what she wanted to do. But her intent was never hostile in the experience, so I didn’t question it.

Something I would regret later on.

‘Your kind…’ I said, retreating from the willow, ‘It seemed angry and chaotic till the time for departure.’

‘I was too young to remember it, but from what I know our ecosystem was extremely similar to yours. From biology right to the food chain. That’s why we chose your habitat.’ Fossil said scratching her ear, ‘There was a lot of disagreeing factions. Even right now. Our god-’

‘-the Willow-’

I winked as she continued, smiling too.

‘- the Willow insisted life above everything. When a species was to go extinct, they would go out of his way to preserve the kind. When there would be a surplus of feasting beasts, they would induce a species-specific plague to wipe them out. Cruel and caring. Balanced. Like all things should be.’

I squinted, ‘Why does that sound familiar?’

‘-And that same generosity extended to humankind. They were insistent on life be preserved, especially since earth was the host planet.’ He said, ‘However, like I said, they all perished. The remaining ones that descended on earth- they were divided too. Some wanted to honour the Willow’s last wishes, while others were more… let’s just say aggressive.’

My exposure to the Willow also left me in a questionable state. Sometimes I couldn’t differentiate between reality and hallucination. Occasionally I would see this web of amorphous vines rippling underneath my feet. Or the world in a wireframe view. The first few times it was almost incapacitating, with some of my peers thinking I was poisoned. Eventually, I got used to it and learned to shut up- fearing that they’d label me as insane and desert me like the carriers.

On our runs sometimes I could sense the Skyroot even before we encountered them. Especially the dangerous ones. And after saving the party for the fourth time from a bunch of Pollen stingers- I became a regular for the runners. Mr. Shah once jokingly suggested that my brain should be dissected to see how I was having such good intuition. I’d simply reply by looking him dead in the eye and mention that I just had a ‘good head on my shoulders’- massaging my clavicle, the exact part where he was injured.

‘You know… you’re really pulling some weight.’

I looked to my side. Faizal smiled back at me as we hiked up the hill.

‘What do you mean?’

‘I mean, remember our first runs.’ He asked, ‘You’d always lose something behind.’

‘Yeah…’ I shook my head, ‘Wasn’t really a spontaneous thinker. Hey-’

One of the people looked back. I pointed at the rock he was leaning against.

‘Don’t touch the moss up ahead.’ I mentioned, ‘It’ll damage your nerve endings.’

He immediately stood back up, straight. Faizal looked back at me.

‘How?...’

‘It happened to me.’ I said, raising my hand- which was covered in a wide blue gash, which was actually due to a stray whip off Fossil, ‘Just be careful, okay.’

‘Jeez.’ Faizal shook his head, ‘I was born here and it feels like you know this whole place better than me.’

‘Hey, don’t blame yourself. Everything has changed.’ I said, before looking at him, ‘So, how far along is Christina?’

He smiled, but I immediately knew it was a sore subject.

‘Any day now, buddy. Any day now.’ He said.

‘Yeah…’ I nodded.

‘You know the other day the base made contact with a group outside Chembur. They said that one of the survivors had a baby with them… so there is still some hope, you know.’ He nodded, and it felt like he was telling it to himself rather than telling it to me, ‘Everything is going to be fine.’

‘You’ve been doing a lot of runs with us.’ I said, ‘You sure you’re not…’

‘Allah ki kasam, what is your problem?’ He said in hindi, his stance suddenly much more aggressive. People stopped too, before looking back at us, ‘You better not be insinuating what I think you are.’

‘Faizal…’ I said, as calm as I could, ‘Your wife. She needs you. You can still turn back.’

I could see him grating his teeth. Beside me, the runners were getting a bit nervous too, a lot of them feeling what I was. Faizal just shook his head before walking away, absolutely livid. I sighed, when one of them patted me on my back.

‘Just let him be, alright.’ He walked up before me.

I sighed, when a searing pain enveloped my head. I saw flashes of a large gray tree- the biggest I’d ever seen. At the base of the tree, the wood was carved out in oval, egg shaped hollow. I walked in to see a faceless woman resting there, caressing her own stomach- a translucent silhouette of a baby within it.

I blinked. I was back at the present. In a distance I watched Faizal pick up his walkie-talkie. As the conversation progressed, his body became more rigid. His expression dropped, but somewhere it almost felt like he had expected that.

‘Hey!’

I witnessed as one of the elders yelled at a bunch of younger runners who were walking in cold, purplish grass. I stressed my vision, before making out the silhouette of a much greater being beneath the ground. Instantly my hand went cold.

‘Stay very still.’ I shouted over to the runners before looking over at the commander, ‘Jesus Christ, I thought you briefed them about the route.’

‘I did. It’s not my fault they get lost in there like idiots?’ He retorted, before looking ahead, ‘Retrace your steps very, very slowly.’

I watched tension grip them, their perspiration on their face much more prominent. One of the other runners went in to help them but I placed my hand on his chest.

‘Maintain your distance. Trust me, you don’t want to be caught in that.’

‘He’s, my son.’ He pointed at the runner in the grass closest to us, ‘Please, I have to help him-’

‘And you are helping him by staying away.’

I looked back. I watched one of the runners shivering, almost having a neurotic breakdown. And before I knew it, I saw his eyes roll up in his sockets, before he crashed onto the ground.

‘NO-’

Dust and concrete spewed in the air as a giant mouth clamped shut over the runners. The impact threw us off our foot, with me rolling into a sidewalk. We watched as a giant pitcher plant- as tall as a building- emerged out of the ground. Its dark, sullen mauve tone complimented by the haunting neon-like veins pulsating throughout the body. It’s vines slowly emerged from the hole in the ground, prickly, warped and as thick as a man. I cursed.

Before me, the remainder of the group drew their weapons, immediately firing upon the plant. However, most of them just ricocheted off his translucent but thick skin with it seeming increasingly agitated. I could make the faint silhouette of the runners within the creature- floating in the phytotelmata where they would be slowly digested over the course of the next few days.

‘Argh!’

I watched as one of the vines bashed into runners, who was tossed aside like a rag doll. Another one crumpled against a sign. Before me I watched Faizal duck as a vine sailed over him, however a stray one collided with his shin. He collapsed on the ground in pain, the wound looking severe.

‘Come on, we have to retreat!’ The commander demanded.

‘Please, no…’ The same elder from before clasped his hands, ‘Please, my son is in there, you have to save him. Please…’

‘Old man, you could have a hundred forty-sevens and it still won’t pierce that skin.’ He said, ‘Retreat! Now!’

I witnessed as the scattered team slowly started to collect themselves, retreating out of the range of attack. I watched as the other vines slowly started to pull in the collapsed victims, including Faizal. I grit my teeth.

‘Son, please…’ The elder grabbed me by the collar, ‘Please get-’

But I was already gone, racing at the monster. I ducked as his vines swung across the asphalt, with me gradually getting closer to it by taking cover off vehicles or staying in its blind spot. I prayed to myself, hoping that this idea worked.

‘Come on, you got this.’ Come on, you got this.

I hopped over the toppled van before making the final stretch. I extended my hand, desperately reaching out to it before my palm finally made contact. Its skin was cold and grainy, with it being coated with a layer of dirt on closer inspection. I closed my eyes, desperately trying to connect with it.

Please, Listen

Nothing happened

LISTEN

I felt a deep slumbering power awaken from within.

Wait what is this? A human… a human stands before me?

Yes, and I am begging you. Please leave them. We were trespassing and this will never happen again-

I heard a deep sound, something which sounded something akin to bellowing.

You take me for a fool? Who taught you the language of the gods- I will have that traitor quartered-

Please, sir. There was no traitor. I was guided to the willow by an honest spirit.

Honest spirit, eh? Well.

I felt something fasten around my waist. I cried in pain as it lifted me above the ground- hundreds of feet off in the air. I could see the top of the creature, it’s grass plated lid and its dangerous peristome. I closed my eyes, not to let the vertigo have any effect on me.

I have to say, I admire your bravado, human. I have no one else approach me in this light, but I’m afraid your friends would die nonetheless.

No, please! Please, just listen…

Listen? LISTEN? Did your kind listen to us when your rockets blew us out of the sky? Did your kind listened when machines that breathed flames razed our kind and drove half of us into extinction?

What?

Oh, don’t act so innocent, child. You know it- It were your devices that plagued our gods before we even had a chance to explain ourselves. I grew under the wing of the one you call the willow- I saw you as a sacred race. But your cynicism, your insistence on answering everything with violence before reasoning changed everything I stood for. I found this form off a land far in the north, endangered and rare. Just like what you had once reduced us to.

I felt his grip tightening around me. I gasped, trying to think clearly.

We are not them. We are not the men that rained fire upon you. We are just survivors

And what about the bullets you tried to lodge into me?

It’s because you ate us!

No matter what your plea, we are still living beings. We need sustenance.

What if… I said, biting back myself What if I provide someone else?

I could hear him shifting in his essence.

What do you mean?

You worshipped the Willow, didn’t you? And I know there were adversaries he had even before your time here. What if I bring them to you?

… That’s a tall order, boy.

And yet I am here. Just a mere human speaking the language of the gods. I’ll find them, and I’ll deliver them to you.

Hmm…

I heard the sound of something falling. I opened my eyes- a pore had opened up on his skin- with the trapped runners falling through it on the ground, covered in a thick mucous goo. I watched his vines withdraw, leaving the collapsed runners staring at us in consternation. The creature then put me back on the street before slowly burying itself back into the very tunnel it appeared from.

You better uphold your promise, human. Or you’ll face a fate worse than death.

I tried to balance, myself- stumbling as the creature retreated the last of its vines. I looked around, my peers still staring at me- not being sure what to make of it. Besides me I watched the father caress his son in his arms, who came back to life with a jerk and a sputter.

‘How… how did you do that?...’ Faizal asked.

I didn’t answer him. I was feeling off- something was wrong.

‘Did you… did you kill it somehow?’ One asked me

‘No, no…’ I watched another one point his finger at me, ‘I watched him touch that creature, he did some weird mind thing with it… he’s one of them!’

‘Does it matter?’ Another one inquired, ‘He saved us!’

‘What if they were planning something together, huh? You don’t know that!’

My vision started to get blurry. My head started to feel dizzy- not enough air going in my lungs. His grip, it’d almost crushed my ribs.

‘Guys…’ I said weakly.

‘-He was always been weird. Knowing stuff before it happens. What if he’s conspiring something… none of you are questioning it?-’

‘-Let’s just take him to the base. We’ll figure this out later-’

A static interrupted him. I saw flashes yet again- a monster made of skeleton- as one of the runners picked up a call.

‘-What? What happened? -’

‘Guys, help-’

I raised my hands before falling over, my consciousness blanking out.

I woke up to the smell of something strong.

I averted my head, immediately breaking into a coughing fit. My eyes opened, slowly acclimating to the light before I noticed Mr. Shah before me, holding a small unsealed tube in his hand before tossing it away.

‘What-’

I raised my hands just to find a force jerking it back. I looked down- I was in chains. I blinked before looking around, realizing it was a holding cell.

‘Jeez, what is happening?’

‘You sure you don’t know…’ He said, taking out a cigarette from his pocket, ‘Or are you just acting ignorant?’

‘Enough with the games will you just tell me what’s going on?’

He looked at me. His eyes as cold as daggers.

‘So, you don’t know anything about the massacre?’

I just shook my head, ‘Massacre. W- What massacre?’

He sighed, inhaling two quick puffs before setting aside the cigarette. He placed it in the corner, before cracking his knuckles.

‘You know a lot of people revered you.’ He said, ‘So I pleasantly volunteered for this.’

‘Volunteered for what-’

I felt him land a hard hit on my gut. I was instantly reduced to a belching action, collapsing face first onto the cold floor.

‘The witnesses saw you ‘conversing’ with a warped pitcher. Isn’t that right?’

I picked myself up, my arms shaking, ‘I was telling it to-’

A kick to my ribs shoved me into the wall.

‘Yes or no.’ He demanded coldly.

‘Yes.’ I coughed, clutching my ribs in pain, ‘Yes I was.’

‘And did you, or did you not advise it to attack the scouts off the Cuff parade?’

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about-’

I felt his face dent my cheek before he yanked me up by my hair.

‘STOP LYING!’

‘I’m not lying, I swear!’

He shoved me into the wall. For the next few minutes, I was either coughing or being hurt, with Mr. Shah roaring over me. Every inch of my body was enveloped in pain, before the man finally gave up- kicking the door. He picked up the cigarette he had kept in the corner, it already burned down to its filter.

‘Mr. Shah please…’ I whimpered, ‘What happened?...’

He stood facing the wall and breathing heavily. Just about when I thought he was not going to reply, he took in a deep breath

‘Few scouts returned from the morning route, a little earlier than usual.’ He said, ‘We crowded them at the gates, witnessing the motionless bodies they were carrying back on a makeshift sleigh. And it was about the same time your team encountered the pitcher.’

I didn’t reply. The gravity of his voice… this was all real.

‘The survivors told us of the one who attacked them. A warped, twisted being made of evil. Ripped through them like paper. Some even said it was the tallest nymph they’d ever seen- who kept threatening them to return back something that was theirs.’

My eyes widened open.

‘Oh no…’ I gasped, ‘Fossil…’

‘I did go there, you know.’ He said, ‘Where your shift was for today. She isn’t there. I reckon she only responds to you.’

‘This… this can’t be true…’

‘Then why is the hero that bested a giant creature rotting in a cell?’

I clasped my head in my hands. I wanted to scream, but was too weak to do that. I heard the door creaking open, the shifting of his shoes stopping in a distance. Something hit me on the top of my head. I picked myself up to notice a notebook with a few pictures within it.

‘A memoir of one of the deceased.’ He said, before closing the door, ‘Read it while you’re here. Don’t think you’ll be getting anytime out soon.’

As he closed the door behind him, I weakly picked up the book, opening it. Almost immediately I teared down, incomprehensible mumbling escaping my lips as the photograph in the front tumbled onto the floor- a class photo of me and Shailender.

I watched as tornadoes of sand harden before me into these marvellous spiral sculptures of glass. I squinted my eyes, trying to watch past the otherwise arid landscape. In a distance something launched off the surface, something massive- just taking to the skies. I tried to follow it, instead interrupted by the harsh glare of the sun above. It seared over me, each moment getting hotter by the second, making it nigh unbearable to watch.

You can see, even when not connected to the willow. How?

I don’t know. Really.

You need to wake up. Wake up!

My eyes fluttered open. Before me was Fossil, looking extremely concerned. I looked around, a set of shackles lying in a corner- the only evidence of them ever being on me the reddened marks around my wrist.

‘Wh-what are you doing here?’ I said, noticing the busted window above.

‘Rescuing you, what do you think.’ She said, attempting to pick me, ‘When Shah came in instead of you, I knew something was wrong. Hurry up!’

She started to climb, when I caught her leg.

‘Something is wrong.’

‘What?...’

I looked at her.

‘Explain.’

‘Explain what?’

‘Explain what the other nymph is doing here.’

I watched her expression widen before her face dropped.

‘No, no, no… it couldn’t have had followed me.’ She shook her head, ‘I… I’ll explain it later. For now, let’s just get out of here.’

I gripped her even more tightly, ‘I said… NOW.’

I enunciated no word louder than a shout, but by the expression on Fossil’s face I might has well had. She lowered herself, sitting cross legged on the floor.

‘The mass funeral outside…’ She said, ‘Oh, I never thought it’d be him.’

‘All those times with the Willow.’ I said, ‘There was something you didn’t want me to see.’

She shook her head, ‘The first few spires of my life, I had spent on my homeworld. I loved it, every waking minute. The floating rivers, the underground jungles. The beautiful purple sky. It was and still felt ethereal. Transcendent. You’ve seen it. You’ve felt it too.’

She rubbed her shoulders.

‘After our regained our consciousness back on earth, we quickly colonised a part of the forest. We were relatively lucky, compared to the rest of the kin. We rarely came into conflicts, but of course I had a problem. I hated the trees. I hated the pale blue skies. The aura, it felt poisoned. I fell into an argument with the elders, unable to accept our reality. Before long, I had deserted them- in search of the gods that would take me back.’

She scoffed, shaking her head. I sat down before him.

‘I was an idiot. Thinking I had it all figured out. I had foraged too much into the forest. Eventually I got lost, and before I knew it I’d encountered humans.’

‘Dhriti?’

‘No, it was someone else. Siblings- around your age. They were my first encounter with the humans- I had heard so vivaciously about. And just when I thought they were about to attack me, they just softly patted me. They were in awe more than in fear.’

I pulled my legs closer to my chest, listening on in curiosity.

‘I’ve been with many groups since. Some tried to kill me, others took are with the best of their abilities. The latter was rather rare, but were the most memorable times I had. Even after they drifted apart of passed away, I tried my best to remember them. Eventually, I realized I was no longer angry. No longer elated either. What I’d discovered was I’d already accepted this place. And when I finally discovered a remnant of a god, I realized…’

She just waved her hands, a faint smile on her lips.

‘… I realized that this had become my new home.’

‘And the nymph?’

Her expression dropped, ‘A tracker of my homeworld. Here to take me away.’

I looked down, I felt her hand grip mine.

‘I’m sorry, Rehan. I made the same mistake. Your comrades had to pay for a desire that was selfish and wrong. And I… I made a severe lapse in my judgement

I withdrew my hand.

‘Please.’ She said, ‘I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry…’

She couldn’t cry, but she might as well have. I looked at Shailender’s journal, lying across the floor. I felt a sense of guilt building within me- culminating in a burst of sigh.

‘Look.’ I told her, ‘You will go back to your colony, okay? You’d be safe out there. Promise me…’

‘What about you? They’ll never allow you there, and the people here, they’re going to-’

‘That is the only condition that sees me escaping with you.’ I said firmly, ‘Promise me.’

‘I…’

I grabbed her hands, ‘I have made a lot of mistakes on my part too. But I think the reason the willow is more compassionate to me is in the end I too preside life over everything else. And even if we’re apart, we’ll still be together.’

She smiled, ‘Us, who once lived within him and now him, who lives within us.’

‘Exactly.’

She hugged me. I reciprocated it too, resting my head on her shoulders.

‘I’ll miss you…’ I said, before realizing she was morphing around me, ‘Wait, what…’

‘I don’t think you can walk far in your condition.’ She said, with me realizing she had formed a weird exoskeleton around me, ‘We’re going to improvise.’

She jumped, with me along in it- tearing through the window as parts of cement flew off in a distance. I heard sounds of confusion and the shuffling of feet. But before long we’d already started to depart, racing through the shadows with feet of feathers.

‘You’re becoming really great at this.’ I noted.

‘Yeah, all those times sneaking up on you really helped me a lot.’

In a distance I watched a flame tower over everything. My eyes widened- with a bunch of funeral pyres lit up in a distance. My heart began to melt, when the sound of a gunshot echoed from a corner.

‘Escapees!’ One of them shouted at us, ‘The prisoner is escaping!’

A stray shot chipped off a part of Fossil. Another sank right into one of her bulbs. She cried in pain before collapsing, the people slowly closing in on us.

‘Fossil, leave me.’ I demanded, ‘Run.’

‘No.’ She raised her hands, ‘Here goes nothing.’

She clamped her hands together. Immediately branches and vines erupted from the ground, slamming into the crowds and buildings alike. It was as if I’d witnessed an earthquake done voluntarily, sending all the forces into disarray. Parts of buildings crumbled before me, a whole side of the watchtowers just sinking into the ground. As I witnessed the people chaotically trying to control themselves, I felt Fossil shrink around me.

‘Just go…’ She said weakly, turning back into a little girl in my arms, ‘Run…’

She fainted. I looked around- with them already somewhat able to gather themselves. My eyes widened- no one seemed to get hurt- atleast mortally, considering the destruction. I grit my teeth before starting to limp away- biting back my pain. I finally made it to the gates, pulling it with all my strength as the sirens blared behind me. After creating enough space to eek through, I stopped- finding Mr. Shah with a rifle trained on me.

‘Please…’

There was another gunshot and Mr. Shah was forced onto his knees, crying in pain. I watched as a man cocked a rifle from a distance- I was unable to make him out in the dark, but he seemed like a man of an older disposition.

‘Go!’

I nodded feverishly, before squeezing past the gate.

I felt her shift on my back, I adjusted her with her finally awake.

‘Wait…’ She straightened herself up, ‘We made it?’

‘Yes.’ I said, ‘We’re almost there.’

‘Where?’

‘The place where the scouts were attacked.’ I said, ‘I’m presuming that’s the place the tracker wants us to meet.’

We walked past the streets of Cuff parade. Every step pronounced and petrifying. Behind me I felt Fossil check up on me, quite surprised about the state of my wounds.

‘How did you…’

‘I visited a safehouse nearby.’ I mentioned, ‘Had stowed kept a few spare supplies off there. Patched myself up, although I’m not even close to being completely recovered.’

She tilted her head, ‘Which safehouse?’

‘One I had after meeting you.’

‘Hmph.’ She put her head on my shoulders, ‘I would normally be offended, but I’m actually glad right now.’

The earth shook beneath our feet. Fossil got weirdly silent too- in fact we both sensed it. Goosebumps rode my skin. I turned. He was there.

He towered above us, with atleast a meter and a half difference in height. Its barks were black as obsidian, its bulbs reflecting the lustre of marble. I clenched my fists, trying to stand my ground- however its mere presence was paralyzing.

So here you are.

I didn’t speak. Behind me Fossil got up on my shoulders.

So here I am.

You gave us quite the trouble, young one, In fact, you scared all of us. It took quite some time to track you down.

I went on quite a journey. Fossil confessed I’ve had quite the experience.

‘Promise me, you’ll take care of her.’

The tracker tilted its head This one speaks our language

‘Yes I do.’ I confirmed, finally taking an effort to take a step forward, ‘Promise me.’

I promise.

I watched as he extended a tendril, sharpening it like a knife

What are you doing? Fossil inquired.

Getting rid of the distraction. He said, before I felt his essence focus on me, I apologize, human. It’s nothing personal. It’s so she doesn’t get any ideas.

I gulped, ‘Fossil. Can you transform?’

The tracker raised his blade. Beside me, I watched her nod her head.

‘Now!’

I felt her envelope me just as he bought down the blade. She transformed into a panther like being, racing past the streets as the tracker twisted its body before following us.

It’s futile, human. Give it up while you can

‘What’s the plan?’ Fossil inquired.

‘The spire at the west side of Colaba. Hurry.’

‘You want to go back the place the base is?’

‘Just hurry!’

We raced past the streets. The tracker was much faster than us, but our knowledge of the streets and the narrow alleys barely kept us out of his grip. In a distance the rib cage like spires started to grow larger. I patted fossil, who seemed to be already very tired.

‘You’ve got this. Come on.’ I said, ‘Listen once we get there…’

I explained her the part of the plan. We burst into the shoreline, with no buildings or cover left to protect us. Behind us in a short few seconds the tracker appeared from the side, colliding into a truck and sending it careening sideways.

You both are proving to be very frustrating.

‘You’re ready, right?’

‘It better work, Rehan.’

I nodded, before slowly started to run towards the spire

Whatever you’re doing, it’s not going to work.

I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder- with the tracker slowly pulling me towards him with his extended vines. I howled in pain, clawing at my wound as the tracker protruded another vine from his back.

‘You… have… one last chance…’ I blinked, ‘Give up.’

And why would I do that?

I smiled, ‘Balance of life, snitch.’

I watched Fossil clamp her hands, a wave of branches smashing into him. We both were sent sideways, colliding into the spire. Almost instantly we were torn from the plane, our conscience separating from our bodies.

What… What is happening?

You know it took quite some time. I used to always think what this spire meant, why our base lasted so long all these years. Even more so, why no one was killed back at the base after Fossil’s attack The truth is that we were under their protection all this time. And you just violated the space

I felt an essence rip right before my eyes. Before long I fell back on my knees, panting. I slowly felt my consciousness compress back into my body, before I looked sideways. Before me the tracker lay motionless. I got up, dusting the sand off my pants before limping over to Fossil, who stood with her hands crossed.

‘You had a lot of time to think about this, hadn’t you?’

‘Doesn’t matter, we’re still taking you to your colony.’

I started to laugh, which slowly morphed into a painful cough. We both turned, looking at the base- the only source of life in the dead city.

‘Something happened?’

‘I saw it.’ I said, ‘Christina just had a boy. I guess we had nothing to fear about.’

Fossil shrugged, ‘Too bad, we can’t go back.’

‘Yeah. Too bad.’ I looked back at the tracker, ‘‘Can you carry him? I have a debt with a warped pitcher on the way out.’

‘Not with those scouts on the loose.’

I turned. I noticed a small flock of people leave past the gates. I sighed.

‘You feel bad?’ Fossil asked, ‘Leaving that place?’

For a while my eyes lingered on the structure, with me eventually nodding.

‘Yeah. Actually, I do’ I said, gesturing my arm at her, ‘Can you transform?’

‘You know, why don’t we take a last walk up this shore?’ She said, ‘I’m a bit tired.’

I smiled, ‘Fair enough. But you transform the moment the heat catches up.’

‘Deal.’

I grabbed her arm. She smiled back, and with that we took off- the prints of our feet the last thing to echo in the sand.

By Raahen Sinha