Growing Heart

Ch 15 - An Unprecedented Event

Grandma, do you see this? Do you see this Vearth?, Sid thought as she sat on the steps of Iwan's front porch. She watched the sun slowly rise and turn the sky purple and the fields and pastures a soft yellow. A blanket was draped over her shoulders and Boo was snoring lightly in her lap.

Everyone was still asleep in the house. Iwan, Cricket, Shoujo and Mashira stayed up late chatting and catching up. While Sid went to bed early, she was too excited to really sleep. She had lied awake on a flattened out haystack on the loft overlooking the living room, thinking about all that she had experienced already and her journey had only just begun. It was this excitement that drove her out of her makeshift bed before anyone else. She was eager to start the day. Eager to learn all that she can. Eager to just be in this world.

They had only spent barely an hour in town yesterday and Sid was looking forward to the next time they could go. The town, itself, was only an hour's walk from the farmlands, half that time if Sid could just ride Boo full speed. It was situated on the outskirts of the island and Iwan had told them that if they go through town and head onwards the base of the mountain, they would reach a bigger town, Molaga, which was the capital of the Lisart kingdom and where the entrance to the fortress and the factories were. Sid could only imagine what awaited for her there.

However, with all the excitement, she did not lose sight of her purpose. They were told by Iwan that the farming territory covered almost two thirds of this island. Each farm grew a variety of crops. Sid couldn't wait to learn about them and possibly collect a few seedlings.

The door creaked behind her and Cricket joined her on the steps.

"You're up early," he said and handed her a mug of something hot and steaming, "Here. Have some coffee."

"Is it food? Good! Because I'm starving," Sid groaned as she sniffed the cup, "It smells nice. Like dirt."

"Earthy. We describe that as earthy," Cricket chuckled. He lifted his mug for her to see the contents, "I drink mine without anything in it. Black. But I added milk in yours. Since it's your first time drinking coffee, I figured to go easy on you. It can be a little bitter."

"Thank you," Sid said as she looked down at her mug, "And not just for the coffee...Thank you for everything."

"Don't mention it," Cricket said.

"You didn't need to do all this. You could've just listened to my story and then sent me on my way. I would've figured something out..."

Cricket shrugged. "It's not like I had anything better to do. Besides, I like helping out fools like you."

"Would you want to go to Sky Island? I can take you when I'm-"

Cricket shook his head and he held up a hand. "No. That chapter of my life is done. Noland and I have settled our score."

"I understand," Sid said and took a sip of her coffee. She let it coat her tongue, hitting all her taste buds and alerting her to the mildly bitter but deeply complex flavor, "This is good. I like it."

She downed her cup and held it out to Cricket. "Can I have more?"

Cricket gaped at her. "You finished it that quickly?! You're going to burst with energy!"

"Huh? Why? Is this something-?" Sid started to ask and then she stopped herself. She stayed very still for a brief second. Then she set down her cup and slowly transferred Boo to Cricket's lap.

"What's going on?" Cricket asked.

Shing! Thwack!

In one swift move, she pulled her trident out from the cloth and threw it into nearby row of tall tomato plants.