Canaan: My World To Live

Today's NEW (to WN) Chapter is:

Chapter Seven - 7 || Tragedy of Farinheld

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Copy and pasted explanation from the previous chapter:

If you are confused by this chapter, then please read the new auxiliary chapter titled "[New!] IMPORTANT Notice before you read..." which explains what happened and why I'm re-uploading updated chapters.

I strongly encourage old readers to read the new version of the rewritten chapters before reading the completely new to chapters. Additionally, it's a good way to refresh the memories of the story as well as gain new insight.

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DON'T read the below. :P Don't say I didn't warn you! I just cut and pasted to rearrange the order of the words. xD You can never be too careful with these sly bots! O_O

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The two laughed and ran carefree on the road for some time. Then they walked and talked while Akari merely listened with feigned indifference. Darren shared that he played basketball recreationally, but he used to be in his high school team. He enjoyed video games, alternative music, and action movies. He had a younger brother and sister, and a golden retriever. Their family lived in the suburbs, and he attended college to study business a few hours away in the city. Essairyn enjoyed many of the same recreations and also had a family dog, a little terrier mutt from the rescue. However, she was an only child and commuted to a college close from home. She also majored in business, but she loved the arts and dreamed of a job that could satisfy her restless imagination.

Before long, they reached a little farmhouse with fenced animals in the back. It was now the evening. They decided to stop here and ask the owners if they could stay for the night. The farm owners were the Welforts, a hospitable, somewhat elderly couple. They had been repairing a section of the fence where a pack of wolves had broken it the night before. Thankfully, all the animals had been safe inside the shed. However, it was unheard of for wolves to leave the forest much less run into human habitation. The travelers offered to help fix the fence in return for letting them sleep overnight. The Welforts gratefully agreed as they still had their daily chores to do.

While they were fixing, Darren asked Essairyn, "By the way, did you know there would be a farm here?"

She shrugged and replied, "No, I just guessed we'll hit something along the way."

Darren gave her a look of mock exasperation. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, but camping out is not so bad either," she grinned.

He could only shake his head in amus.e.m.e.nt. "You're really taking this adventure thing to a whole other level, aren't you? Remind me why I followed you?"

Essairyn tilted her head up in a thoughtful pose. "Because I'm awesome?"

The man nodded under the guise of his hood and soundlessly glided out the indigo school doors. Lachlan watched the man leave with profound eyes as his mind stirred tempestuously.

Unbeknownst of their exchange, Essairyn decided to visit a shop before they departed Reisparte as it was late afternoon. Upon opening the door, Essairyn was struck by the honeyed scents that wafted deliciously inside Leia's candy shop. It was a cute little store lined with shelves of various candies that were loose in mason jars or packaged in clear-topped, ribboned boxes.

She walked over to the counter where a young girl was standing behind and inquired if she knew a little boy named Jerry Andelrin. The cashier chuckled when she heard Jerry's name and replied that he visited the shop every time he visited Reisparte. Essairyn asked which candies were his favorites, and the young girl led her to a shelf with colorfully labeled tins. She handed Essairyn a rectangular one labeled, "Jelly Gems: Berry Citrus — strawberry and raspberry hard candies with soft honey and lemon centers."

The trio strolled briskly on the road to Byar'non. Essairyn twirled a teardrop-shaped, viridescent stone pendant between her fingers. Earlier, she had punctured a tiny hole at the tip of the gem with magic and looped the fine string once through it. She didn't want to lose too much of the Ayvirdizite, so even if a single strand wasn't durable enough to last long as a necklace, she had already planned to make the jewel into a long earring once she got ahold of some light colored metal.

Essairyn snacked on a dark pink apple with pale, chartreuse yellow flesh. She had bought the apples and some peaches that were shaped like small mangoes from the marketplace. She sampled them from one of the stands and was instantly sold on their crisp, exotic flavors.

"These sound really good," Essairyn remarked as she flipped the tin over and looked for its price. It cost only a hathe pynce, so she picked up another and then spied a round tin labeled, "Goldmine — chocolates with crunchy honey bits." She s.u.c.k.e.d in her breath. These candies sounded better than the ones she knew from Earth. "Ooooh," she murmured excitedly with a girlish giggle as she took it from the shelf, "This one sounds really good too." It cost a hathe and eythe pynce. She stacked the tins together and looked over Darren and Akari who were browsing. "Do you guys see anything you like?"

Darren shook his head. "I'm fine."

Akari was smacking her mouth and staring intensely at a cylindrical container of sour candies. Her tails swished in a slow, fervent manner.

"Umm, do you want that, Akari?" Essairyn proposed.

Akari jerked away. "Huh, what, no." She jumped off the display table.

Essairyn chuckled. "Well, okay."

She paid for the three tins at the counter and asked the shop girl if she could pass a note to Jerry when he visited Leia's. The girl nodded and gave her a scrap of paper on which Essairyn wrote, "Hi Jerry. I'm sorry I can't stay and join you tomorrow. I'm leaving Reisparte early, so I bought your favorite candies for you. Please enjoy, and my best to your parents. Essairyn." She taped the message on the tin of candies and handed it the girl.

It was true that Essairyn was apologetic to Jerry, but she was too restless and eager to set out for Byar'non. Despite her kindly and empathetic disposition, her selfishness and impatience prevailed even in the simplest of situations. It was this kind of ambivalence in her personality which hindered her efforts to build deep, lasting relationsh.i.p.s with others. Even though, she was easily able to form them, and her connections sought to become closer. Thus, no matter her outward selflessness, her acquaintances were many, and the unseen, layered wall surrounding her heart remained.

"By the way, do you know any good places that sell fruit?"

The shop girl was briefly taken aback by Essairyn's question but answered, "Yes, in the northeast section of the marketplace."

Essairyn smiled. "Thanks again, bye."

Darren gave her a curious sidelong glance as they exited. "Fruit?"

"Why'd you only buy fruit? Why not bread or meat or something else?" asked Darren as he chomped down on a mango-peach.

"…Meat…" Essairyn's eyes lit up at the thought of a juicy steak fillet. "Well, fruit gives water and nutrients, and there wasn't exactly a water bottle stand around. Eh, we'll make it through somehow."

"Make it through? You have no plan?"

"This is an adventure! There's no set plan; it's constantly changing." Essairyn's eyes sparkled.

"But we need water to survive," objected Darren.

"Probably."

"Probably?!"

"Well there's no sun."

"Wai-, what—?!" Darren's eyes shot up to the sky, and he spun around frantically searching for the sun. "There's no sun!"

"Yup."

"Ahh, I thought I had already come to the realization that this was a different world. But I'm still so surprised." He furrowed his brows in a 'huh' look.

Essairyn gave a soft laugh, and Akari just raised an eyebrow tuft.

"Yes, and watch this." Essairyn suddenly broke away at a breakneck speed while Akari hung on for dear life.

"Hey, where're you going?!" Darren shouted, and he sprinted after the girl who was quickly vanishing from his view. To his astonishment, he accelerated at an anomalous pace. The refreshing air whisked silkily about his face, and he felt freer and more invigorated than ever before. Every bound took him closer to her, and he yelled, "Essairyn! This is amazing!"

The girl turned her body in a sideways run to look back at Darren. "Right?!" she called back. She spun on her heel and ran to meet him. A few strides before she reached him, Essairyn leapt into the air above him in a somersault.

"Whoa there!" Darren laughed as he reflexively ducked; even though, she was several feet above his standing height.

Essairyn giggled with giddiness when she landed. "It's incredible, isn't it? I couldn't ever do this on Earth."

"Yeah, my body feels light, but not as if I'm floating. I've always been athletic; however, I'm pretty sure I gave any Olympic sprinter a run for the gold."