Wolf Read - The Flowers That Bloom in the Spring

Miranda’s grim appearance improved. “I’d forgotten about the detachable living quarters!” She pondered the situation a moment. “Mom,” she said to the ceiling, “I hope your own engineering yanked you away before you could get your curious nose into the magnetic field generator.”

Annwn hoped as well that her parents stayed “home.” She could not bear to imagine what she’d feel if she found out that they were killed.

Annwn grew concerned about their own shuttle. “What were those bright flashes we saw, anyway? Were they from the flare?”

Miranda thought a moment before answering, “I don't think so. The flare couldn't have been that bright, or Bode would have been really fried.”

“What then?”

“I don’t know'. Remember that loud clang that occurred just after?”

“Yeah. Like something had hit us.”

“I wonder if something exploded… and we got hit by debris.”

“What would explode?”

“Not much… maybe two shuttles collided near us or something….” she let the disturbing thought trail away.

“There’s only a small chance our parents would have been in those colliding shuttles.”

“I know,” Miranda said, frowning. “It’s hard not to worry.”

Annwn nodded.

She heard the rain tapping on the circuleaf trees, with the occasional large thump produced by big drops that had collected on the leaves and branches. Nature’s wet drumbeats were unhurried, as if time were an afterthought.

Annwn said, “I hope this weather stops soon. We really need to keep moving.”

Miranda grimly said, “We may have to brave the elements. It could rain for most of winter, or worse.”

“Yeah, if anything, our food supply might not last if we waited.”

Miranda gave her a questioning look. “But the food’s not what’s really bothering you, is it?”

Annwn shook her head slowly, wondering if she should say anything. She didn’t want to frighten Miranda. “I wish I knew what was bothering me. Not knowing is so stressful.”

“What do you know?”

Annwn thought for a moment. “I think… I think we need to get to the colony before winter’s end. I don’t know why, but we just do.”

Looking hopeful, Miranda said, “You’re absolutely sure you’re not just worrying about the food or something like that?”

“Yes. It’s something worse than being hungry, I guess.”

“Worse?” Miranda fell silent, lost in her own considerations. She looked afraid.

Annwn felt bad for her. “I’m sorry.”

Miranda looked at her. “Sorry for what?”

“Frightening you.”

“No, don’t worry. I’d rather know.”

Annwn became frustrated. Why can’t I just remember? she thought.

“When you find out what exactly is bothering you, please let me know, OK? Maybe I’ll be able to help, if I know what it is.”

Feeling assured by Miranda’s words, Annwn said, “I’ll tell you.” She paused, still trying to find the elusive answer. “When I know.”

Annwn marveled at the plants they encountered, a variety of leathery-leafed shrubs mixed with several yucca-like species, some colored purple-red, others different shades of green to blue-green. Ground cover comprised of patchy weeds with broad leafy rosettes. Circuleaf trees clustered in gullies, rough barked and squat, foliage beautifully endowed in warm hues. The soil was hard and rocky, but an improvement in comfort over the rough plain that stretched out behind them. The rain had stopped yesterday night, leaving the misty air with a fresh, moist smell.

Her stomach growled, an event occurring with increased frequency. She meandered over to the cart and, opening a container, pulled out a small bar.

Wildwind gave her a look that said, “Too bad you have that puppy, huh?”

Sticking her tongue out, she glared back.

He turned away, pulling the cart as if nothing had happened.

Annwn noticed that Miranda had been watching the whole exchange silently, wearing a worried expression. She didn’t like frightening Miranda, but she was not about to start acting nice to Wildwind either.

She looked at her bar, and almost returned it to the cart. Nothing like anger to destroy an appetite. However, putting the food back would show Wildwind that his prodding was getting to her. She would eat.

Opening the tight wrapping, she took a bite.

Xavier, ever alert for food, pranced over to her. He yipped his expectation and leaped at her feet.

“OK, I’ll give you some. Calm down.” She stooped and handed him a chunk of the virtually tasteless bar.

He immediately started chomping. Fortunately the tough bar forced him to chew for awhile, keeping him preoccupied so she could eat in peace. “Wait till you get real food, then you’ll wonder why you ate this stuff.” The thought left her longing for the bland starship food.

Xavier trotted up for a second helping, tail wagging a miniature hurricane.

She gave him another piece, hearing Wildwind’s quiet laughter ahead. Understanding the reasons for Wildwind’s chuckle, she grew angry again. His persistent attacks were becoming intolerable.

Annwn heard Miranda unzip the tent, and after a noisy paper-like rustling, her friend exclaimed, “Hey! What happened to the leaves?”

Startled. Annwn sat up. Miranda stood on her knees half outside the tent, covered waist deep in a wash of multicolored leaves, some of which had fallen inside to bury her feet. Morning light filtered around Miranda’s dark silhouette.

Annwn reached up and pushed on the tent’s sloped ceiling. Rasping, the dark circular leaves slid down the fabric, opening a window of light. “We could have slept through the whole morning,” she commented quietly.

“Not when you have to go as bad as I do.” Miranda stepped outside. “This is so unreal.” Feet rustling through the leaves, Miranda walked away from the tent.

Xavier charged outside, drilling through the blocking leaf drift like a mole.

Annwn crawled over her sleeping bag and poked her head out the door. Seeing the hillsides, she gasped. With an alien perfection, not a single leaf remained attached to the gnarled trees, their gray trunks starkly poking above the colorfully draped slopes like a field of gigantic nails.

Kwazar and Wildwind stumbled from their tent, crashing through the leaf-fall in excitement. “I’ve never.. commented Kwazar.

Wildwind wadded up a large handful of the water-lily-sized leaves. He pitched the ball of foliage into Kwazar’s face, sending an eruption of glittering yellow and orange dishplatesized circles around his head. “Leaf fight!”

Kwazar dived down and tossed an armful of leaves at Wildwind.

Wildwind grabbed some of the thrown leaves out of the air, and jumped over to stuff them down Kwazar's tunic. “Ha!”

“Hey, those are cold!” said Kwazar. Grinning evilly, he leaped upward with two leafy handfuls, ready to do the same to his assaulter, a flamelike trickle of crinkled circles falling from inside his tunic.

Wildwind ran backwards, kicking out a trail through the leaf cover. “You’ll have to catch me first!”

“No problem,” said Miranda, as she rushed from densely branched shrubs and stuffed leaves into Wildwinds tunic. Expecting retaliation, she ran away, giggling, kicking leaves up high.

“Hey, that's cheating!” Wildwind called. He tripped and ploughed face first into the soft ground cover, pushing up a tall mound ahead of him.

“Now you’re going to get it!” called Kwazar, dosing on his victim.

Shivering, Annwn watched her friends’ fun, pondering the heavy coat of foliage they threw around. Evidence dropping right in front of her face, and she still couldn’t grasp why she felt so afraid.

Higher into the mountains, climbing a steep slope far above a creek trickling through rounded quartzite rocks, she slowly progressed through a thick forest of bare circuleaf trees. The particular circuleaf variety she walked among was a white-barked, medium-high tree with long, graceful limbs. Trampling through springy-soft, ankle-deep leaves, she had yet to spot a plant that retained any foliage, a persistent and worrisome display of nature's grandiosity.