MAZE - The Endless Quest

Hera could see a vast expanse from her vantage point. Even from this point of view, she could see the repet.i.tiveness of the place. Scanning the area, she noticed one spot where the pattern changed. Balancing herself in the tree, she quickly made a note on the map to explore it later. She climbed down a branch to look at the other side. She could see not only Peaches and the spring but also a few patches where the tree pattern stopped. She figured one of them should be the town and another the flowerbed. But there was still a third one, smaller than the others. Marking it on the map, Hera started to look for the rake.

It only took her a few moments to notice something odd. On the top of a spruce, the rake was balancing in a branch. It would be one thing if it was laying in several branches at once, but the rake was being held by with its metal claws in a single branch.

"What the...?" Hera kept staring at it. How did that thing got stuck there?

Hera looked around a bit more, just to be sure if she wasn"t missing anything else. Feeling confident she wouldn"t be able to find anything else here, Hera climbed down the tree.

"Any luck?" Peaches yelled as she reached the ground.

"Yeah, there are some places that seem interesting. And the rake is stuck in a tree here," Hera replied.

"On a tree? Well, the farmer really is something,"

Hera stopped and stared at peaches.

"Say, you didn"t give me that tip on purpose, did you?" Hera asked.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, kid. You are the one that said that you would climb up trees," he replied with a smile.

Hera squinted her eyes at him. It seemed a bit too convenient that the first thing she tried after talking to him led her to the rake. At the same time, it was her idea, Peaches never said anything about climbing trees or changing the perspective.

"Ok, but how did Frank"s rake get there?" she asked.

"Kid, c"mon. This is a test, but it is also trying to teach you somethings. What could those things be?"

Hera thought for a moment.

"Well... Finding the flowers was related to the monster attacks. Maybe it was about having more than a single solution for a problem? Or go the extra mile, since the a.s.saults started once they could start again. Spreading the flowers is a long-term solution. Finding the metal for Betty seems like just a way to show that monsters can drop items. This one... would be to make us look into other directions? People tend to focus on what is happening in front of them or look down, It"s rare to see someone who has a habit of looking up,"

"That... Is almost completely right, d.a.m.n kid, I underestimated you."

"And I thought you were a fruit, can we call it even?" she said, moving back towards the trees.

"Sure."

Walking towards the spruce where the rake was, Hera considered her options. The tree seemed too weak for her to climb. If she had something big to throw, she could make the rake fall.

"Peaches, do you mind me helping a little bit?" she asked.

"Depend on what help you need. I can"t tell you anything about the test."

"That"s fine. I just need something big to throw at the rake," Hera said.

"Well, there are some big rocks around here, but they are kind of heavy. You need to pick a lighter one," Peaches replied.

"Don"t worry about it. Just come here. I want to throw a green apple at it."

"What green... HEY! YOU WANT TO THROW ME!?" Peaches snarled at Hera.

Hera laughed and looked at the slime, walking towards the spring.

"I"m just kidding, you are way too cute to be treated like that," she said.

"Cute, she says, just after pulling that c.r.a.p. Being saved by you was worse than being stuck there for the rest of the week."

"I was just teasing, don"t be so grumpy,"

Peaches just clicked his tongue and looked away as a reply. Hera giggled and grabbed a few rocks from the creek. Her aim was terrible. It would be a miracle to get it on the first try. Yet, the first rock she threw hit the rake"s shaft, making it swing for a few seconds before stopping. Hera twisted her nose.

"That"s just mean," she mumbled before throwing the next one.

It took her almost twenty minutes to make the rake fall. During that time, one of the rocks even ricocheted into a lower branch and hit her in the head. That made Peaches laugh loudly and tease her for a few minutes.

With Frank"s tool in hand, Hera looked at the time. It was still 3 o"clock. It seemed a waste to go back now, and she wanted to explore that area up north, where the pattern changed.

"Say, Peaches. Do you think Farmer Frank would mind if I took a bit longer to give his rake back?" Hera asked.

"Considering he is not really alive or has any sense of time. I don"t see why he would mind," Peaches replied.

Hera was a bit surprised by the bluntness of the reply. Sure, the villagers were not real, but they were still so lifelike.

"That was pretty heartless of you to say. Don"t you kind of live here with them?"

"Yeah, but when you spend so much time with a company that can only reply a few pre-made phrases, it gets boring fast. To me, they are more like those animatronics things you would see in a theme park," Peaches explained.

"Oh… yeah, with time that might happen. But how long are you here with them?" Hera asked.

"Longer than anyone should. And that"s the best answer you are getting."

Understanding she shouldn"t press the subject, Hera changed the subject.

"Ok. Peaches, I"m going north, there is an area that seems to be different from the rest, and since I"m already here, I might as well check it out,"

"You don"t have to tell me what you are going to do. Just go do it, kid," he replied.

"I know, but it seems rude to leave without saying goodbye. Try not to get stuck again, I can"t come here every day to save you," Hera said as she walked towards the trees leading north.

"Fair point, good luck, kid. Maybe we will see each other again before you finish the test," he said with a smile.

"Of course, I need to say my goodbyes," she replied, entering the forest with the rake in hand.

Traveling through the forest, Hera kept looking at her map to ensure she wasn"t moving in the wrong direction. It reached a point where she would spend more time looking at the map than at her surroundings.

"Wait, since I have the map and I won"t get lost, I can polish some old skills, can"t I?" she mumbled.

Hera walked towards a tree and started to dig near its trunk. When she was little, she used to carve some marks on the trees to make sure she wasn"t moving in circles. After some time, her dad explained to her that she should avoid making those types of marks. It hurt the tree, and some could last forever.

Hera kept digging near the roots until her fingers could feel the moisture in the ground. She smeared the dirt into the trunk, creating a light brown mark on it. It wasn"t very distinct from the rest of the tree, but she could recognize the markings if she looked at the right spot. Using her waterskin, Hera made the dirt a bit wetter trying to get a better color. It needed a few drops, but she turned the light brown dirt into a reddish dirty one. Using that the mark was more obvious.

She kept walking for another hour, stopping every few minutes to mark a new tree. If she had found any types of berries or fruits, it would have been easier to make the signs, but she only had dirt and water to work with.

At the end of the hour, Hera saw the trees changing. From the same repet.i.tive pattern to a beautiful orchard. Just by glancing about, she could see oranges, apples, grapes, bananas, and many bushes filled with berries. Looking around, she noticed that right near a strawberry bush, there was a papaya tree. Hera was never too interested in gardening, but she knew enough to tell that this shouldn"t be possible. Strawberries need a colder climate to grow, while papaya can"t grow fruit without warm conditions.

It would be one thing if the trees were here, but only some of them had fruits. Yet, the orchard was filled with amazing looking fruit. Just by looking at the juicy red apples, Hera"s mouth started to water. Before doing anything else, she inspected the trees, just to be sure. All the descriptions seemed to be fine, only talking about the tree and the type of fruit they had.

"Might as well stock up," she said to herself.

Using the rake, Hera started to grab various fruits. She prioritized things that she could easily take back like apples, oranges, bananas, and avocados. She stared at the peach tree for a moment. Even though eating it could be weird, they looked delicious, and the smell was intoxicating. She quickly grabbed a few and tossed into her satchel. Scanning the area, she also saw a green apple tree, which she decided to ignore. That would be too close to a certain slime.

After filling up her satchel, Hera picked some fruit to eat right now. Strawberries and more delicate fruits would be very troublesome to carry around. On the other hand, the watermelon and the pineapple would be too c.u.mbersome. But she could have a quick bite around here.

As she walked, Hera found the center of the orchard. It was a wider open area, almost like a small town square. In the center of it, there was a beautiful cherry blossom in full bloom. Before walking into the area, she activated her [Inspect].

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ever-blooming cherry blossom

Flora - Prunus - Prunus serrulata

As the name suggests, the ever-blooming cherry blossom, or ever-blooming sakura tree, is always blooming. The flowers grow daily and fall during the night. Only to regrow before the next morning.

Many ever-blooming trees can be found inside the MAZE, and it is considered a sign of good luck to find one by accident.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hera smiled at the notification. It was a perfect spot for an afternoon snack. She grabbed a few fruits and sat down under the cherry blossom.

While she ate, Hera wasn"t able to stop smiling. This place was beautiful, more so than any story or painting she ever saw. This is what she always wanted. To find a place where she could feel like she was in a different world and, even if just for a moment, be the only one there.