The exercise:
Write about: what comes next.
Big week ahead. Monday is my final day of probation at work, which means Tuesday will be my first day back on benefits. Tuesday also happens to be Miles' 6th birthday. Thursday night my sister and brother-in-law arrive for a visit from Calgary, and then we roll into the Easter long weekend - which also features a family birthday party for Miles.
Lots of excitement in the air around these parts.
2 comments:
I hope Monday is uneventful and unsurprising for you then! And that you're not planning anything with all these people over Easter than will necessitate those benefits... ;-) Certainly nothing like what's happening the year-long story, for example.
What comes next
Fabian had assumed that they would take a taxi to the Forest of Sorrows and so was slightly surprised when Rystin turned left instead of right at the doors of the Museum and they walked along a broad, white-paved path with green lawns on either side in the direction of the subshuttle; a metro-like underground train system where small pods holding up to 15 people shot along dark tunnels to stations across the city. There were queues for several destinations, the most popular being the central shopping area and the Imperial Park, but only two people were waiting for a sub to the Forest of Sorrows. As they approached so did a sub and they all boarded together.
The journey lasted nearly twenty minutes; there were three rows of seats across the sub with aisles on either side. The floor was carpeted in green and brown, as was the case for any sub going to a non-urban destination, and the walls were adorned with advertising panels. Fabian was more familiar with those going into the city, which tended to showcase major brands, food destinations, and occasionally family-activities. Going out to the Forest of Sorrows the advertisers were trying to sell hiking gear, tents, destination holidays and, oddly to Fabian's mind, there was a recruitment advert for yoga-instructors.
"What is yoga?" asked Rystin as the advert flashed up for the third time and Fabian shrugged.
"My ex-wife would be the person to ask," he said. "She seemed to enjoy it. Or at least she enjoyed the teachers for it."
Rystin might have wanted to carry on the conversation but he picked up on the hint of bitterness in Fabian's voice and decided to be interested in the next advert instead.
They arrived at the station with a gentle deceleration and an androgynous voice asked them to disembark. Their two fellow travellers quickly disappeared in one direction while Fabian and Rystin strolled in the other; they emerged on the surface inside the Forest itself, startling Fabian.
"There was a fuss," said Rystin as they looked around; the station was wood-panelled and looked a little like a cottage that might have been fitting for a forest home. "The Forest of Four Elves was borderline sacred ground and building a station in the middle of it was sacrilegeous to some. Plus even with the Empire's technology you can't just tunnel under a forest and not disturb the ground or kill some trees."
"So why did they do it?"
"To prove they could, I think."
They walked in silence for a short way, and then Rystin nudged Fabian gently, turning him to the left and they seemed to be walking towards a glimmer that Fabian thought was a lake in the near distance. Then the ground dipped down and curved a little, and when they came up on the other side of the declivity the glimmer was gone and the trees were denser and more ivied. A little further and the trees thinned again and Rystin turned left a little more, and then, crunching brown, brittle leaves underfoot, they found themselves stepping between tall trees that blocked out much of the sky and into a natural clearing. Fabian found himself entirely unsurprised that there was a large, squareish block of stone at the centre looking entirely like an altar.
"So," said Fabian, eyeing it warily, "what comes next?"
Greg - well, I mean we are going for a hike in the woods tomorrow, so maybe I'm pushing my luck...
This is an interesting new location. And I find myself as curious as Fabian to see what follows!
Post a Comment