The Witch, The Wizard, and The Out-Worlder

A Little Rokus, A Little Apprehension

     

"Can you hear what's going on at all?" I asked him.

"I hear many voices. It is best if we try to remain unnoticed." I couldn't agree more with that. If we were to be outnumbered, I'd rather not be detected.

We moved much closer, soon I was able to make out what was going on. It was a large group of people going about their day to daily routines, only, the setting was a peculiar sight. The people had made their homes within the plants. There were plenty of familiar sights, such as; doorways, windows, balconies and staircases. Bridges connected homes to one another, with nearly every home having access to what was, in my opinion, the most marvelous fixture of the town.

There, in the middle of everything, lied a large wooden building, built in and around the base of an extraordinarily large tree. The building seemed so plain, but at the same time, it was created with masterful craftsmanship. Every home had a bridge to give them access to the marvel. It was truly the heart of the village.

"This place is amazing. I can't believe they made a home out of the plants, and just look at the size of that tree." I was still a little awestruck.

"One must do what is necessary to survive. It is beautiful though." Felix seemed just as surprised as I was, though he handled his composure much better.

The men and women of the village were busy as ever. Some worked on the large building, hammering away with repairs and improvements while others dried their clothes on lines hung out near their homes. We both sat in silence for a moment and observed.

"What do you think we should do? I hope they are friendly." They all looked friendly, but it wouldn't be a surprise if things weren't what they appeared.

"Should we introduce ourselves?" Felix asked. His large blue eyes fixed on me, waiting for a response. I didn't want to be the one to make this decision, what if it was the wrong one? What if I led us into harm's way?

"What do you think? Do they look friendly enough?" I asked him. All things considered, I'd say they were friendly, but this was a different place from where we came from.

"Yes." It was a simple reply, but it gave me the courage to answer.

"Then let's do it, let's go introduce ourselves. We need to get directions at the very least." There was no sense in assuming everything was evil, we had to take a chance.

Slowly, we moved out from behind the large blades of grass and into the clearing where their village began. At first, we weren't noticed, but that all changed in a matter of seconds. A large horn was blown, followed by three more. Soon, all villagers were looking around as to why, that's when they saw us. It was only a matter of time before we held every gaze. As I looked around, I noticed everyone's skin was a dark, leathery brown.

They didn't act, only stood and stared. Seconds crawled by as time seemed to stand still. My stomach was in knots, waiting for someone to do or say something.

"Hello?" I started, "We do not mean you any harm, only we're lost. We don't know where we are exactly." I was on the brink of yelling, but I didn't want to scream at them, even though my voice wavered a bit with nerves.

At first, nothing changed. The villagers remained still as they stared back at us. Soon, a few of them briskly made their way down the stairs and towards Felix and me. It was one man and one woman that came down to meet us. They said nothing as they approached, doing nothing to quell the nerves that tangled stomach.