CHAPTER 8 #2
“I ordered us a ride to your garden. It’s only twenty-minutes from here, so we should be able to do a quick trip there and make it back for dinner,” Ellie says, and sits on a nearby wooden bench.
I take a seat beside her.
“I am an archivist,” I begin. “It’s what my parents before me did, and it’s what is expected of me and any offspring I create.
However, until we reach around sixteen, sapphiro’s schooling methods involve mostly independent, self-directed learning.
So naturally, I spent the majority of my youth studying plants, only to be denied the ability to become a botanist.”
“I’m so sorry,” Ellie replies, her features turning soft.
“Terilia is not like Earth. It’s smaller, and we’re in what humans call the Barnard’s Star Orbit,” I explain. Although to us, it’s just the zonleil. “Our sun. It’s a red dwarf, which has created tidal locking.”
“What does that do?”
“Half of our planet is in the sunlight, the other half in the dark. It does not change. This has caused a ton of problems regarding resources, but our biggest issues are skin cancer and vitamin D deficiencies.”
Her brows furrow. “Sunscreen?”
“Yes! That’s what I want the edelweiss for.
Most of the chemicals humans and other species use are harmful to sapphiro, and we don’t have as many minerals to mine, either.
Edelweiss have to survive high amounts of ultra violet radiation.
Their fibers are incredibly dense and keep them protected.
If I can get a sample to my best friend, Zul, who is an organic chemist, I think he can synthesize the flora,” I share.
The idea of achieving this gives me a surplus of hope and pride I’ve never experienced before.
A small, white sedan pulls up and Ellie stares at her phone for mere milliseconds before nodding. “That’s us.”
I open the door for her and we both climb inside.
“Bonjour,” Ellie says to the driver.
“Enchanté,” the man replies.
Music plays through the car speakers, and Ellie stares out the window as we leave Nevers, nobody speaking. I’m quiet for a while, but as we approach the park, I feel inclined to say something.
“For the record, I am sorry for lying to you.”
She doesn’t accept or reject my apology, but instead says a few things to the driver in French, and then we park and get out of the vehicle.
Walking up to the front, Ellie pays for us as we enter, and I wish I had more currency to help out. I know that on Earth, it’s more common for males to pay for things, especially if they’re interested in courting.
Fuck. Why is my brain thinking of these things right now?
“It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” Ellie finally responds.
I cannot tell if she’s being honest or not. “Are you mad?”
“No. I mean, I’m a tiny bit frustrated we’re here at this park instead of inside the train going through your DIRC, but that frustration is rooted in my own selfish desires.”
“But you aren’t upset about the edelweiss?”
She lets out a sound that borders on a chuckle. “No, I totally get it. I considered lying to you and saying pre-historic language evolution was a part of my dissertation research, but I knew that wouldn’t make any sense.”
“That would have been silly. The remains in the catacombs can’t be more than a thousand or so years old,” I say, one corner of my mouth curving up.
Ellie sighs. “I am well aware.”
“Right.”
Looking out at the park, it is a paradise of green. There are a seemingly endless number of plants, flowers, and trees. A luxurious, Mediterranean-styled pavilion stands in the distance.
I could die happy here.
There’s a vibrant red bridge that crosses the river, and we walk past it, our movements faintly serenaded by the neighboring waterfall. Water lilies cover the river and ponds, the sight bringing me great joy.
We explore for what could be five minutes or five hours, I’m no longer sure, until we come up to a small field of poppies.
Ellie stops to stare at them, and I allow myself the opportunity to stare at her in turn. I don’t know much regarding human fashion, but in loose jeans and a t-shirt, she stands out as American.
It’s endearing, and very Ellie. She chooses comfort over everything else, and still manages to look this good.
“We should get going soon. I’m sorry, I know it’s only been an hour,” she says, but I shake my head.
“Don’t be sorry. I appreciate you for coming here with me. You could have easily asked to split up, but I’m grateful that you didn’t.”
Ellie schedules a driver to come pick us up, and we start for the exit, passing hydrangeas and delphiniums. Outside the park, my eyes stumble across a lone flower, and I can’t stop myself from investigating. There’s so much to living organisms, I wonder what drew Ellie to researching the dead.
“Why do you like studying bones?” I ask as my fingers brush the stem of the arum lily, feeling the life radiating through it. “I’m not judging, simply seeking to understand.”
“Probably the same reasons you enjoy looking at plants,” she says, quirking a brow. “Evolutionary history, ecol—”
“Ecological influence?”
“Exactly,” she answers, and I smile. Even though we’re studying antipodean fields, it’s clear our interests have more in common than one might assume.
Ellie looks back at the entry building, which is covered in vines and greenery.
“It’s not all death and decay. In every mandible, every vertebrae, there’s a story.
One that often goes untold. From the two-thousand-year-old pet cemetery, where animal remains were found with collars and blankets, to the Neolithic period couple, buried in an eternal embrace.
It’s all still there, waiting for us to bear witness. ”
There’s a beat of silence before she exhales. “Do you not feel that with your work as an archivist? Maybe you don’t hear the song that bones seem to hum, but aren’t you at least a little intrigued by the stories of those who came before you and me?”
I shrug, my mind briefly fixated on the guilt I feel surrounding my position. I wish my work thrilled me, but it isn’t what I would have chosen for myself, so it’s hard.
“Honestly, no. I have respect for the history and cultures, but I am not drawn to them. It is not because of humanity! I mean, a decent percentage was because of humanity, but I find you most interesting,” I spill out, fumbling my words.
Embarrassment hits me in the stomach, a wave of nausea churning there.
I should shut up before I do any further damage, except I can’t seem to close my mouth.
“What I mean is, I would be uninterested in archiving any species’ history. ”
“Except plants?”
“Except plants,” I confirm. “And it’s not just their compositions and how they can serve other species. It’s everything. I enjoy learning about how plants communicate within their structures. Hormonal signaling, electrical currents. They’re similar to us in many ways.”
Ellie cocks her head to the side on the word us.
“Humans and sapphiro,” I explain.
She nods in understanding before moving closer to me. “I never thought about it before, but do sapphiro have an endocrine system?”
“Yes, and it works almost identically to yours. The biggest difference is we are more acutely aware of each hormone and when it’s being dispersed.” With her new proximity, I am suddenly aware of everything happening with my body. Not only the hormones, but my posture and the sound of my voice.
“In others, or just yourselves?”
“Just ourselves. Don’t worry, I don’t have any superhuman abilities, unless you count our electromagnetic sensing.” Looking down, I stare at the tan-ish flesh of my hands, the shade so unlike me.
“Explain, please.” Ellie looks up into my eyes, and I hope the uncomfortable contacts put her at ease.
“As a sapphiro, I can sense electromagnetic waves in other objects and organisms, much stronger than a human can. When I touched that hydrangea, I could feel the electrical signals it was sending.”
“That’s actually kind of cool.”
“Lift up your hand,” I say. To my surprise, Ellie follows my instructions without saying another word. Placing my significantly larger palm against hers, I’m able to sense the electrical signals in her heart. “I can feel your heartbeat.”
A pink flush sweeps across her cheeks, and she recoils her arm, grabbing her phone out of her pocket. “Our ride is almost here.”
“Great,” I reply.
When a gray sedan rolls up, Ellie double checks her phone before allowing me to open the door for us to step inside.
We’re silent for the entire car ride, and I wish we could have stayed there a little longer. The golden glow of the setting sun would have illuminated the flora beautifully.
And Ellie, too.