https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/grocko/23xozBXUdH6K7AgVZz3JrNVdawFK7KspY7Et47dFzBGWqmmYuQFAwJxDV5NvG1LE2oFhE.png
The air was brisk from the nearby stream. I sat on the grass, small prickling bites appearing all over my body. Riversquitoes aren't near as bad as Billy said. I let the little ones suck on my blood as I sucked on the crisp island air. Fine blades of grass at my feet and a wind more melodic than song - it was paradise.
Fishies jumped, squitoes bit, time passed - life was good.
A nearby brush broke my serenity. As the leaves twisted I heard muffled voices intermingling with the nature around me. The twins that appeared from it were grinning like fools. Identical fools - and my closest friends.
"Billy was right." Jon, the elder, or so he claimed, sat next to me. "This place is a great getaway."
"Did you talk with Billy, twin?" Don, the elder, or so he claimed, asked of his brother.
Jon bit his lip in thought. "Actually, no, Donny." He whacked a riversquitoe as it tried to bite him. "Last thing he said was... something about cherries?"
"Weird. We didn't see any cherries anywhere." Donny bit his lip. "How about you, Yrvin?"
"You see where I'm sitting, Donny? I haven't moved since you idiots left."
"Time to change that."
"No thank you. I think I'm quite content just-" Jon grabbed me by the shoulders and I was suddenly upright. Jonny was stupid strong, they both were, although they rarely showed it. "-sitting here. Sitting here and enjoying nature for myself, Jonny."
Jon grinned like a nitwit, which he was. "Why did we come here if not for exploring?"
"Relaxing?"
The twins guffawed as if I'd made some terribly clever joke. Next thing I knew I was leaping over toppled trees and mossy rocks. Don tried to push Jon down a hill, resulting in them both rolling over one another in an oddly synchronized way.
The sun was at its apex when we reached the biggest forest wall I'd ever seen. It felt oddly... man made? On an isolated spec of land such as this one? Impossible.
"There must of been settlers here once." Jonny carefully rubbed several trees. "But I've never seen trees like these, they're... beautiful..."
"Tree huger." Donny quipped, but not with his usual gusto. Jonny didn't even retort. Awestruck, I held up a particularly large branch and created a gateway. "Into the enchanted forest!" Seemed like the right thing to say. The twins just nodded and entered with no jibe or witty remark. This island really was good for settling the nerves. But it felt like something was missing.
Inside was a forest like any other. Maybe brighter? Greener? Nothing awesome or grand. I don't know why, but I expected some fairy to appear out of nowhere, guide us to some hidden meaning we've been missing all our lives.
As we kept exploring my tummy started rumbling. But I'd yet to see any fruit, or anything edible for that matter, since we docked on this island. Animals not included.
"You guys hungry?"
"Actually, yes." Don said. "Guess Jon exhausted me with his inferior intelligence."
"We have the same intelligence, Don." Jon was staring at a particularly magical butterfly. His voice lacked its usual conviction.
Don only smiled in response. I turned to face them both. "Look. Let's go back to the stream. There were lots of fish there, I'm sure I could scrounge some up and make a nice big dinner for the three of us.
"What do you say?"
Quiet settled on the forest like an invisible blanket. The birds stopped chirping, the wind stopped blowing, and the three of us remained.
Then, distant noise cut through the silence like a blade through water. Louder it became. And louder. Someone was coming, I was sure of it.
Out the forest came a man. He carried a basket filled with cherries and an expression worn only by the hard working. When he saw us, his grin reached from ear to ear. He bowed slightly, proffering the basket of fruit towards us.
"You were right about the settlers, Donny." I said, mesmerized by this figure and his sudden appearance.
"Actually that was..." Donny seemed at a loss for words, his jaw slacking. "That was... that wasn't me."
"That was..." But Jon only stared at the man, his mouth starting to drool.
We were just talking about making dinner. The fruit glistened red in the sunlight, plump and succulent. My growling stomach started dismissing any other thought. I was famished, and those cherries...
His smile got wider, his basket got closer. I noticed Jon taking a cherry, then both twist were ravishing the poor man's offering.
"Guys, don't..." I reached to stop them but my hand went towards the basket. I jerked back, falling on my butt. The twins only increased their ferver.
The cherry-man turned his piercing gaze on me. He was so... trusting. Letting us indulge in his hard earned food. A soul such as this was rare to come by. I wanted to apologize to him, to thank him, to warn him. We were gonna devour all his cherries!
My stomach's growling became painful, and I joined the twins in their meal. Thank you, sir. I wanted to say, but my mouth was full.
As we ate, a part of my mind screamed. And kept screaming. I did not - could not - listen to it however. All I could think about was cherries.
Cherries... cherries...
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