They walked into a small clearing. Many small vines had been separated from their trees and fallen on the floor. The heat and humidity felt the same, though more bearable without the pounding sun.
“I don’t believe that the things on Earth have no meaning,” Cyrus said as he slowed to a stop. “I just think we have lost their meanings over the years, or people have forgotten them.”
Cyrus dropped his bag and opened it.
“Earth is a dying culture,” Katie said. “Art and beauty don’t mean the same as they once did. And if we’re not careful, Narque, I mean, the same could happen to us.”
“True,” Tyson said softly.
“One can always change that though,” Cyrus changed the topic abruptly as he pulled out his sleeping bag, “We should stop here for the night. We’re almost through the jungle. Hopefully, we will be out of it before noon and soon after that we will enter the gates of Ilon.”
“Cool,” Tyson said. “Sounds like we won’t catch the worst part of the day. But can we have some food now? I’m starving.”
Well, that explains a lot. Katie thought, though she did not speak, as she was hungry too.
Cyrus chuckled. “Sure, check your bags. There’s food in there. And pull out your sleeping bags while you’re at it,” He said and pulled out a small, bright red fruit with a hairy skin that, other than its color, resembled a kiwi fruit more than anything else.
Katie and Tyson obliged. Katie found a similar odd fruit in her bag.
“What is it?” Katie asked, examining the hairs on the red skin.
“It tastes similar to Earth fruits, and something else I can’t remember,” he answered. “They’re called Wella fruit. Don’t worry. The taste is pleasant, and they are good for you. Lots of vitamins and nutrients in them.”
“Is there any meat?” Tyson asked.
Cyrus shook his head. “No, I won’t do that to you yet. One, the meat would’ve gone bad by now and two, you both aren’t used to Narque yet so feeding you animals that we have here would probably poison you. Fruits don’t matter because they are relatively light. You’ll be eating meat in no time, though, so don’t worry. Just not today.”
The fruit tasted like oranges with a hint of something similar to strawberries, Katie relished the familiar flavors. They ate in silence for the rest of the time; the only sound was that of chewing and slurping particularly juicy bites and the occasional rustle of leaves as something went by.
When they finished eating the fruit, Katie and Tyson felt oddly full and satisfied. They both lay down on their respective sleeping bags and looked up at the sky. Hundreds of stars were visible. Most of them were sparkling white, but some resembled more of a pearl or a swishy mix of white and cream. A few stars glowed blue or yellow and one was even green.
“Are they planets?” Katie asked.
“All the white or nearly white ones are stars,” Cyrus said. “But all the odd-colored ones are planets.”
“Are there constellations on Narque?” Katie asked.
Cyrus looked at her, incredulity plain on his face. He had his arms wrapped around his legs. “Of course. Constellations on Earth were discovered by a native Narquian. He went to Earth and saw similar patterns in the sky, so he just brought over the names.”
Katie continued to admire the night sky. She looked over to Tyson. He was looking up as well but turned his head to face her. He smiled. His teeth shone brilliantly like the stars above. Katie smiled too. He looked at peace and she felt the same.
She looked back up. Cyrus soon fell asleep but for another few hours Katie and Tyson just star gazed. Katie imagined different patterns in the sky, making her own constellations in her head. She saw a shooting star.
“Look!” she exclaimed, pointing up to the sky.
Tyson smiled at her. “I know what I’m wishing for.” She didn’t reply but returned the smile and continued her gaze. Now and then they would exchange mutual glances.
Katie had slowly dozed off into sleep. She wasn’t sure when, but she knew she was being shaken awake.
“All right you two,” Cyrus said as he moved over to wake Tyson. “Time to go. We’re a little behind schedule so we should get moving.”
Katie looked around. The sky was a dim blue. There were a few clouds overhead, none of them big, but like wisps in the air. Tyson got up and packed his sleeping bag back into the backpack.
When they were ready to go, Cyrus said, “Good. If we move quickly, we’ll still make it out before the worst of the sun.”
They started their trudge again further into the jungle. They didn’t talk much as they tried not to waste time in reaching the end. Katie wasn’t sure how Cyrus knew where he was going because to her, all the trees looked the same. Even the vines that hung down looked the same. When Katie asked Cyrus if they were still heading in the right direction, he assured her that they were, and not going in circles.
“Ahead! I see a clearing!” Tyson shouted. He jogged towards it. “And the sun isn’t even at its peak!”
“Right you are!” Cyrus said happily. “We have reached the end of the jungle.” Soon they all were standing on a large plain of flat and bare land.
Katie looked back. The sea of trees and vines looked normal to her, all the same, but also dangerous. She didn’t want to have to enter the jungle again, and would forever avoid it if she could, but at least her fear of Tyson
