When the Sun Begins to Die

Chapter 10

Cadence P.O.V

The week moves along rather slowly. Each minute feels like an hour. Some small part of me feels as though the day is programmed to last longer. The Oasis just isn't the same as a normal town. This does not feel like home to me, nor will it ever.

Josh and I have been getting to know each other during the week. We have similar music tastes and probably would have been friends before this if the world wasn't in such a sticky situation. He only lived about two and a half hours away from where I used to live. We could have been internet friends.

Josh tells me about some synthetic trees he found while exploring earlier. I am not as fascinated by them because they are not real. I would rather have a natural tree from the ground then have some plant that was genetically engineered in a lab. It just isn't the same.

I say that I would rather stay home, but he drags me out anyway. I sigh and let him, knowing that he probably won't stop until I see them.

"Look," he says, pointing to a sign.

"Missing home? No worries! Scientists have developed a new breed of tree whose leaves smell like your own home memories! Go ahead! Pick a leaf and enjoy some good times!"

"Cool right?" he says excitedly, plucking a leaf off of a lower branch.

I shrug, glancing down at the ground. He smells the leaf and sighs softly.

"These remind me of my grandmother's cookies," he says softly before picking another leaf. "Here, you try."

I slowly take the leaf from his hand and begin to examine it. It looks like an ordinary leaf from an oak tree, only with a more glossy finish. It is obviously synthetic.

I bring the leaf to my face and take a deep breath in through my nose. Nothing. The leaf has no smell. I thought it would have a very faint smell of something at most, but it doesn't.

"I," I say softly while feeling my eyes fill with tears. "I don't smell anything," I mutter while crushing the leaf in my hand, closing my eyes tightly.

"Do you think it's defective? Or is your sense of smell blocked because of allergies or something?" he asks, probably thinking that it is impossible for me not to smell something.

I shrug, dropping the crushed remains of the leaf on the ground. Josh hands me another one and tells me to try again. I bring the leaf up to my face and take another deep breath. Once again, nothing. 

"Maybe allergies have you clogged up?"

I drop the leaf and take another breath in. I know that it is not allergies.

"It's not, I can smell your cologne," I mumble, sitting down under the tree.

Josh frowns and sits down next to me. I can't help the burning hot tears pouring from my eyes. I've kept my emotions bottled up for so long that they all come pouring out at once. I didn't stop them from existing, I just pushed them down deep in my body.

I wipe my tears away with my hoodie sleeve and sigh. Josh takes my hand after a moment, making my face feel hot.

"Things were that bad, huh?"

I nod slowly, looking to the side. I let out a small sound of surprise as Josh pulls me close and hugs me. I can't remember the last time I've had a hug from anyone. It feels nice.

"Don't worry, you don't have to deal with anything from the past anymore. We'll make some good memories," he says softly.

'What am I doing?'