1.22 - The Hidden Life of Trees
“You’re just going to keep wearing some version of the same outfit,” Kai chastises me as we prepare to go after the next piece of code.
Kai has taken advantage of having access to his full wardrobe. He’s finally gotten a chance to change and chose to make a statement. Brown boots, black wool pants with a sewn pattern towards the bottom, what looks to be a button-down shirt also made of wool and a brown leather jacket covered in geometric patterns.
“Alright, what should I wear,” I give in much to his delight.
“Give me access to your wardrobe.”
“Good luck,” I give him access to my clothing and accessories
“How do you feel about camouflage,” he asks.
“I prefer black.”
“You never wear anything bold, but you’ve got a lot of unique items available to you.”
“I just pick them up from quests and loot boxes.”
“I’ve got it, don’t complain until it’s complete.”
When Kai is done, I’m standing in a pair of bright blue high-top sneakers, black camo overalls worn incorrectly with the straps down as if I’m a wrestler who just got really serious. A blue shirt with some random phrases, scribbles, blotches of black ink and doodles all over it. To top it all off not one but two gold chains.
“Dude, I’m 30,” is all I can say.
“Yeah, dress like you’re 30 and not 50. You look good.”
“I look, like a teenager.”
“You look fine, really,” Kai assures me.
“I’m going to trust your fashion sense because we’ve got a train to catch.”
Kai and I hit the streets for Astro City as we’ve done plenty of times before. This time it feels different, realer. This might be one of the last times we’re just walking through the streets. It’s why we chose to take a train to meet with Daamin and Kay. Downtown is filled with people in suits rushing to get to their next meeting but on every corner, you can see some different kind of culture. A man with two golden hands serving horchata. A café at the base of a high-rise apartments specializing in Turkish Coffee. I’m amazed the city seems to have a sense of normalcy since the last time we were here it was chaos. When we enter the shopping mall the smell of Bolo de rolo being made at the bakery near the entrance grabs our attention.
“We don’t have time,” Kai says.
“If we split one, we can still be on time.”
Kai looks around as if someone is going to see him, “we’ll split it, and eat it on the train.
We quickly settle on a strawberry flavor with a cream cheese filling, a favorite of both of ours. The trains in Astro city always run on time so it’s a mad dash to the elevator from the bakery. I live near this mall but never come here unless Kai is with me. As we take the elevator to the 31st floor where the train stops, I look through the glass windows and wonder just how many stores are really in here.
“You’re looking all sentimental,” Kai says.
“I only come to this mall with you, and this might be the last time we come here.”
“Aww,” Kai mocks me. “I didn’t know we had a special place. Do you want me to kiss you, make sure we remember forever?”
“Shut up,” I shove Kai gently as we both laugh.
The glass tube that is the train station is filled with people even early in the morning. We make it to the platform just as the Sycamore Line is arriving. The sleek pearly white train with large circular windows is the complete opposite of most of this city. An AutoSoft marvel of technology connecting almost the entire game world at high speeds. We take a seat on the train; our destination is sixteen stops from here. From there, we’ve got a two block walk to the meeting spot. Kai hands me half to the bolo de rolo as the train pulls out. Even at high speeds the train doesn’t rock as we enjoy the sweet sponge cake dessert.
“Why do you like taking public transit so much,” Kai asks after a few stops, licking his fingers clean.
“Public transit decreases the traffic, provides access to people who won’t be able to drive, you can do things like eat bolo de rolo on the train and my city doesn’t have good public transportation in real life.”
“Fair enough.”
I stare out the window watching as the city goes by. Buildings that look like they’re made of sheet metal separated from stylish high rises by a canal. The whole thing is a testament to the work that’s gone into the game even if Kay was stealing story elements from everywhere else. I feel something on my shoulder and look to the left to see Kai has fallen asleep and chosen to use my arm as a pillow. I don’t mind, he stayed up all night with me when I didn’t ask him to. I joke around with him a lot, but I really do love this guy. I’ve got ex-girlfriends I liked less than Kai. I’d be devastated if he ever left me. I chuckle to myself as the train comes to another stop.
“Shit, sorry,” Kai wakes when people exit and enter the train. “Didn’t mean to fall asleep on you.”
“It’s fine, we’ve got seven more stops so about 35 minutes if you want to sleep more.”
Kai shrugs and shamelessly puts his head back on my shoulder and closes his eyes as the train takes off again; as if he wasn’t apologizing a few seconds ago. He looks way calmer when he’s asleep, it suits him. He’s not full of energy, devious plans and jokes. The train passes out into a district that’s supposed to be completely self-sustained and green. I’ve been here before but never for more than a few minutes.
“Hey, wake up,” I whisper to Kai, “we’re at our stop.”
He groggily follows me off the train and through the station until we’re outside. It does smell better than other parts of the city, but not fresh air. It smells more like Pine-Sol. Wouldn’t surprise me if there was a quest to prove this district isn’t as green as it claims to be. The neighborhood feels just as alive as any other part of the city. Little old ladies watering plants. There’s a community garden which surprises me. I don’t recall seeing many gardens here, even in areas with single family housing.
We spot Daamin and Kay waiting for us outside of a massive apartment building, overgrown with thorny vines and covered in graffiti where it’s free of plant growth. I don’t mention the fact that I saw them holding hands as we exchange greetings. Daamin is glad to see me in better shape and Kay makes sure I know I’m an asshole. Sounds perfectly fine to me.
I knock on the door, and we’re greeted by an NPC wearing a dirty cream-colored bath robe, and nothing else. He welcomes us in and points to some seats in an equally dirty sitting room. He vanishes up the stairs and leaves us alone, all without saying a word.
“Well, this is a wonderful house,” Kai kicks at a box on the floor.
“It’s a lot narrower than the outside would make you think,” I respond.
“Trust me, it’s a monastery, really more of a palace,” Kay swears.
“Do you know what this reminds me of,” Daamin asks.
“A super rare anime you’ve only seen on VHS after trading six rare DVDs for,” Kai responds.
“Nope,” Daamin says calmly.
“An underground Norwegian film recorded in Swahili but with German actors,” I guess.
“Nope,” Daamin shakes his head.
“Some kind of disturbing viral video,” I respond.
“An unreleased video game,” Kai adds.
“No to both of those,” Daamin keeps calm.
“Alright, what does it remind you of,” Kai asks, curiosity getting the better of him.
“A crack house,” Daamin answers as if he hasn’t said something crazy.
“Comparing things in the game to society’s ills and providing depressing commentary is sort of my thing. How about you just tell us some kind of obscure anime fact,” I speak up when nobody else does.
“Yeah, some Sailor Moon or something,” Kai adds.
“Did you know in the Sailor Moon anime they changed the ages for no reason? Tuxedo Mask wasn’t in college trying to date a middle schooler that’s creepy. They were basically a year apart in the manga. Also, you may have wondered why there is not Sailor Earth. Well, in the manga it’s revealed that Tuxedo Mask is actually the guardian of Earth and that’s where his powers come from,” Daamin tilts his head cockily.
“I didn’t think he’d do it,” I shrug.
“I’m almost glad he did,” Kai laughs.
The NPC returns from upstairs and ushers for us to follow. I take the lead and notice the bottoms of his feet are blackened from walking around barefoot, but he doesn't seem to mind. The staircase is just as narrow as the rest of the house. There’s a handrail but no real point as there’s a wall on each side. It’s barely big enough for one person and Daamin has to squeeze in to get up. We come to a landing of a floor sloppily covered in blue paint with the white walls fading through. There’s a TV, a miniature fridge, some books and a young woman laying on a bed playing with a data pad.
“Are we in someone’s apartment,” Daamin asks.
“Snake prince,” the NPC says leading us up the next set of stares.
“Who is this snake prince,” I ask.
“Snake prince,” the NPC responds.
“What does the snake prince do?”
“Snake prince.”
We come to another apartment landing, this one with a teenage boy picking between his toes. He gets upset with the NPC who didn’t mention visitors to him but the NPC doesn’t seem to care that he’s made the boy feel embarrassed. He just leads up another flight of stairs. On the third floor there’s no apartment or people living there. It’s just a blank white room with a large wooden set of double doors.
“Snake prince,” the NPC says before pushing open the door.
Behind the door a massive tree shoots straight up towards a completely blue sky that almost seems to sparkle. Railings of different floors covered in lush and bouncy leaves. An entirely different world than what we had seen so far. People traverse stairs dressed in traditional monk robes or clean bath robes. Some with tech implants, others with obvious animal DNA.
“I told you it was amazing,” Kay says smugly.
“You’re right, but it looks more like a resort or spa than a monastery” I admit defeat without giving her satisfaction.
“Snake prince,” The NPC leads and ushers for us to follow.
