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Time in space seemed obsolete now. Everything felt dreary and cold, the liveliness that people offered gone. The silence was deafening. The bane of my existence. I was no longer lulled to sleep by the cacophony of early risers getting to their job. What was a thriving world? It seemed everyone had forgotten but me. “But Kai,” they would whine, drunken in the sensation of lethargy, “what is the point of the hustle and bustle? Motivation is pointless, we have everything we could ever need!” Fools, all of them. Couldn’t they see it? The lack of drive, the absence of a goal? Everything had paused, the blearily sated faces of snoozing people were plastered about. Something was amiss, I knew in my gut as it snarled; leaving me restless. Hopeless as well, I resorted to moments of staring off in conflicted agony. I knew something had to be done to bring the drive back. It was up to me to encourage the euphoria of exploration. What point is there to life without new ambitions to set, new frontiers to reach.
I needed a plan, that much was certain. I worked endlessly to brew up something that could work. Color-coded in digital files ranging from A to Z. It was organized, beautiful, and perfect. Humming a working melody, I pinned fragments of some of the plans. I allowed myself a moment to hover over the words, picturing them in my head. The first informed me of what I knew, the abrupt sluggishness from the people. The first step was simple enough, find the root of what could be occurring. Research was needed, as it would be the key to everything else. I tied back my hair, popped my knuckles, and began to type away. I searched for the news the day before this all started to occur. Months had passed, but the information forever stored was plenty for my needs. Yet, nothing caught my eye. A ribbon cutting in Uranus here, a new line of Saturn resorts there, the usual buzz of a thriving day. I felt tempted to change my search input, as my finger hovered over the bar.
At last! In the bottom corner, there it was, the oddity I needed! “PLANETARY TRAVELS: ANOTHER PLANET TO RESIDE IN? BRAVE NEW EXPLORERS RETURN BACK FROM PLUTO AND FIND AN INTRIGUING NEW PLANT.” I gawked at the bold letters, hurriedly clicking the article. I carefully read through it.
“SINCE 3450, THE PLANETARY RELOCATION COMMITTEE FOR HUMANS (PRCH)
HAS SENT ITS OWN GROUPS OF BRAVE AND SELFLESS VOLUNTEERS TO TEST THE WATERS ON NEW PLANETS FOR US CITIZENS. WE’VE RECEIVED FINALLY NEWS ON THEIR LATEST ENDEAVOR. IN 4077, AT 17:56 EARTH TIME, THEY RELEASED AN OFFICIAL STATEMENT AND PHOTOGRAPH OF THE RETURN OF 4 BRAVE EXPLORERS THAT HAD VENTURED TO PLUTO, THE PRCH'S FURTHEST VENTURE YET. THE FOLLOWING IS A BRIEF QUOTE FROM THIS STATEMENT: ‘IN OUR DREAMS, WE WISHED FOR REACHING NEW HEIGHTS NEVER THOUGHT POSSIBLE TO THE SIMPLE CITIZEN. NOW WE CAN SAFELY SAY OUR SOLAR SYSTEM HAS BEEN EXPLORED TO LIMITS ONLY MACHINE COULD HAVE EVER WITNESSED. […] WE THANK EVERYONE WHO HELPED US ACHIEVE THIS, AND PROMISE TO KEEP IN CONTACT OVER OUR FINDINGS WITH THIS NEW AND STRANGE PLANT LIFE.’”
I stared in shock; my throat suddenly dry from the weight of it all. I was stunned, flabbergasted even!
Feeling the gears turning in my brain, I hurriedly checked for the date it was written. It was from 4 months ago, and there had been no further updates since then. In fact, curiously enough, after the article was published no follow-up was posted anywhere. It only added the melting pot of confusion, as my brain struggled to find the missing piece of this research. Suddenly, an idea! A brilliant one to boot. PRCH had brought a plant with it, a peculiar one. After that, the updates had stopped, and all the dreariness began. Perhaps I could sneak into where they're holding it and investigate further. There had to be an answer to this, and I had to find out what. It was my job.
I grabbed some supplies and squeezed them into a bag, slipping into my beige trench coat and lifting my mask into proper position. I set foot outside of my small apartment for the first time in ages. My heart was stuttering and strangling itself in anxiety. I shook my head, ignoring the burning feeling in my chest. There was no danger yet. However, I couldn’t quell the auto-response of leaving my safe room. With coordinates set, I marched forward, step by step. All while the ringing raged on the war with the sensible side of my brain. Focusing on the background instead. I notice how truly barren the world looked, without the limits the small window back home imposed. Everything felt dead. As if it were a ghost town. No children playing around, or cars hovering by. It was… empty. Quiet. Not a human or any other creature in sight, just a misty haze all around. Is this how others felt about me? I argued with myself, hissing that at least I was productive. At that, the voice stopped along with my feet. Blinking back, I didn’t realize I had reached my destination at long last. I peered up to the unwelcoming fence, and stretched my limbs. This wasn’t my first break in, nor would it be my last. Being a detective who despised interaction was what led me down this criminal path. Determined to fix everything, I started to climb.
I dusted myself off, letting out a grunt as I dropped on the other side. The building ahead was enormous, no doubt well-funded from donations. Security was not an issue, but wariness steered me down the shadows to avoid cameras present in the area. Precaution never killed.
The entire place felt damp and unmaintained, shrubs and vines jutting out everywhere. The foliage seemed to grow overgrown the closer I got. It was certainly peculiar, and it set my theory-crafting in overdrive. Thick vines covered the massive steel doors, and the outer vents were stuffed to the brim with leaves of the strangest pink color.
“What the hell…” I found myself muttering, shocked by the overgrowth. I couldn't let myself get distracted, however. I dug into my bag, put on my gloves, and grabbed the pocketknife. There was no way this measly thing could cut through the thick vines on the door, but the leaves however… yes, it would make quick work of those. I slashed away at the ones outside the vent, leaving one of the vines for use as a makeshift ladder. After deeming most of the tangled leaves to be cleared from the outside, I popped off the vent cover and hoisted myself up, squeezing in. The tighter space made hacking away at the leaves harder, but I continued nonetheless. After what seemed like hours, I kicked out another vent cover and let myself drop into the room below with a grunt. Taking a moment to recollect, I fixed my ponytail and dusted off my coat. The flowers and strange fruit(?) hanging from the walls took me aback. Perhaps the plant was close? Suppressing a shudder from a strange chill, I headed to the nearby door. It opened with a bit of force, my arm aching at the sudden abuse it had to take from a slam. But…
There it was. The sole thing I was hunting for. The strange plant, without a doubt causing everything to go wrong. Plus, a child right in the middle of the strange bloom of the plant.
The child stared at me, tilting their head and grinning. “Hi, human! I'm Lilyacinth! What’s your name, mister?”
… I felt like puking, what cruel misfortune is this?!
“What is a child doing here?” I forced back the bile and shuddering, my hands shaking. I did not like children, much as any other human truthfully. Interactions were painful and left me feeling drained and sick by the end of them. I saw the young child stand up, crossing their arms with a sour frown on their face. That is when I noticed it.
Blue skin. Big teal eyes, with long green braided hair littered in those very flowers I saw before. Oh. Oh no. This was an alien, wasn’t it? This, girl? I didn’t even notice her already near my feet until she hugged them, forcing a flinch out of me.
“What’s your name, what’s your name, what’s your name,” she kept repeating, jumping up and down. I tried to shake her off my leg, but she clung like a flea. “Are you a scientist? Spy? Oh, Oh! Please say you are part of the Saturn force! I heard so much about you guys! Hey, hey mister how did you get your scar? C’monnnnnn, talk to me, human!” she whined, questions going miles a second. My eye twitched and my stomach churned in vain attempts to keep whatever wanted to escape me down.
“Listen, little girl.” I hissed, finally peeling her off my leg. “So that you can stop insisting and I can get on with my investigation, my name is Kai Martinez. I am no… Saturn force or spy. I am a detective, and I came to investigate an issue plaguing this entire planet.” I glared, expecting her next question and shutting it down. Now… “So now it’s my turn. What is an alien child doing in that plant, and what did you do to everyone?”. The young girl stared at me; head tilted as she sulked.
“You didn’t answer about the scar mister… Bad human!” She giggled, no doubt finding this entire situation to be some joke to her. I scowled,trying to take a deep breath and calm down.
“Just answer the question.”
“Um, well, I come from the grand planet of Pluto! I was hibernating… but then these scary people woke me up.” Sniffing, she wiped her eyes. “But I dunno what I did to everyone mister…”
“How can you speak English…?” Brilliant question, absolutely what I needed to ask in these dire moments. The girl seemed to brighten at that, clapping her hands together happily.
“We study humans a lot in Pluto! We love to copy such intelligent life forms! So, my ancestors watched and learned the most common language at the time! Cool, huh!”
“Debatable… regardless, you have still caused harm to humans, and I will get to the bottom of it, feign innocence all you want. I will know why everyone is so… lethargic.” I hissed like a stray cat, standing my own ground. She pursed her lips; eyebrows knitted in a pose all too familiar of exaggerated thinking. Choosing to take this opportunity to continue my research, I leaned in and examined the plant further. The area around it was covered in a grainy-looking lavender dust, and I crouched to scoop a bit on my gloved finger. Bringing it up to my face to take a closer look, I noticed small spores. How interesting…
“Wait! No! Don’t breathe that in! That could be bad for humans! It’s meant for us, Mr. Kai!” the girl shrieked, rushing over to me. My reflexes kicked in, making me flinch away and wipe my finger against my coat. This girl…
“That might be it! Humans take breaks often, yeah? So, it’s thanks to these plants which are like, what you humans would call beds! The spores let us rest! But I don’t know how that goes for humans!” She cried, pointing at the plant. “Oh gosh, I don’t want to be the reason you guys die! Humans are so great!”
…Debatable. I resisted the urge to scoff, crossing my arms instead. “Well, it’s too late now. Would sending you and this… plant, back fix what is going on? I would assume a lack of source means the spores would die, yes?” It would be elementary logic if that were the case.
“This is why humans are so smart!” her eyes glimmered in pride. “How did you figure that so quickly?” I paused for a moment, taking in a deep breath. My brain refuses to believe it was that… simple, but did I really have a choice on the matter? Very well. I got to work quickly, focusing on lifting the plant out. It was spilling out of the container the researchers had put it in, but thankfully the roots weren’t as sturdy as the vines. I trimmed them down with my pocket knife, along with the thinner connecting vines and leaves. That took care of that. As for the girl…
“Listen. Lilyacinth, was it? Follow me, but do not make a sound. No questions, no singing, nothing. None of that leg clinging either. Understood?”
“Yes, sir!” She saluted me with delight. Well, that was somewhat cute. I was not heartless. Admitting it was not hard. Shaking my head, we began the search for the ship area.
It was grueling. My pocket knife had seen better days, but the girl mostly followed the rules given. The amount of damage that plant had caused to this building was impressive in a bizarre sense. Those fruits - which the girl snacked on - and flowers cluttered everywhere that vines and leaves hadn’t claimed hostage. An alien forest ruin, in its hues of purples and pinks. Perhaps, if it weren’t for the danger of it, humans would adore the plant for its… unique color aesthetics.
At long last, through a tall door cracked open from some of the vines, was the ship room. It was a relief. A glorious relief. My legs guided me inside, overjoyed and exhausted all the same. Every fiber of my body simply thrilled to be close to the end goal. I peered around for a control panel, for an empty ship that could quickly get this forsaken plant out. Plus, the… the alien. Right, how irresponsible of me to forget.
“Um, mister…” she tugged at my pants gently, “I want to ask if I could,”
“Not now.” I brushed her off, pointing to a corner. “Sit there and wait. I’ll find a ship to send you both back.” If I could just find a control panel in this tangled mess. Lilyacinth grumbled, sulking away to the corner. A very small part of me felt pity for once, guilt even. Yet, the logical part of me brushed those away. The girl could wait. There were more important matters to address, after all. Pulling away vines in a desperate attempt to find something resembling a control panel, I disregarded my tattered gloves and the gashes beginning to form. There were more pressing matters at hand. I was so close to the end of this. So close to going back to my safe place, my home. Back to the normality, that I craved so much. There had to be something! Where was it?! I kept searching and searching, not having realized the plant had dropped back to the ground. Where was that control panel?!
I fell to the ground on my knees. Absolutely drained. I couldn’t… give up now. I was so close; the end was right there. Mocking me. Sneering and jeering at my utter incompetence at finding such a simple thing.
“…Mister Kai?” a soft voice; the girl. “I have an idea, if you let me help you out.” In a tone I knew all too well as pity. I turned to her briefly, as she gave me a soft comforting smile. “C’mon! Get up! Isn’t it a human saying that there is strength in numbers? With twice the help, we can find what you are looking for! Um, speaking of... what is it?” Lilyacinth tilted her head, as a strange awkward noise echoed in the room. She gasped at it, amazed. Laughter. It was a strange, long forgotten noise to leave my throat. I could not recall the last time I had laughed, or any other living being had for that matter. Feeling tears pool up in my eyes, I offered a small smile to the girl.
“A control panel. It’ll have these buttons and lights to it and should activate a blue screen if you turn it on.” I explained, finding the strength again to get up. She nodded, jumping up and down as the crunch of vines echoed along in the room.
“Got it! Let us find this and fix this issue, mister!”
“Ha, let’s.” I agreed. Together, we searched. Combing through every corner of the room, looking for the end goal. She hummed a strange tune as she worked, familiar yet foreign. Perhaps their alien version of a children’s song. It strangely boosted morale and my own energy to keep at it, even using the old pocket knife for its last few cuts.
Finally, we found it. In the far north corner of the room it laid, delicate blue flowers treating it better than the thick vines did with the rest of the room. It still worked too, as if a miracle to finally bring the string of bad luck to its bitter end. Lilyacinth cheered in elation, and I felt pride swell in my chest. I scanned the screen, in search of a ship to use. Many unfortunately were marked out of commission; the foliage no doubt to blame for that. Yet there was one still unmarked. It was right there, in the log. The one that brought the very issue, and now the one that shall send it back. Ordering the girl to go pick up the plant, I began the process of starting up the ship and its course. To Pluto, back to its native land once more. Hurriedly typing the coordinates in the log again, I spotted something from the corner of my eye.
A sad little alien girl, clutching the plant.
An emotion flooded through me, one I never thought I would feel in great lengths. Sorrow. Yes, the plant would leave, but… so would she. The little bright alien girl, as annoying as she seemed. Clenching a fist, I called out to her. She snapped her head to my direction.
“I was… a child when I got it. The scar. Perhaps your age. I had dumb ideas and no one around to stop me. Questions that no one answered. This, this scar on my eye is a reminder of that.”
“Mister,” She cried, “Why are you telling me now?”
My voice wavered also, drenched in melancholy, “So you don’t lose it. Dumb ideas and questions are just potential for greater things. New heights and possibilities. Ambitions. New places to explore. Never lose that, like me.” Lilyacinth wailed at that, tossing the plant aside and running towards me as she squeezed my legs. I didn’t know what to do to make her relax.
“Please let me stay! I can leave a note with the plant! I can explain! I don’t wanna go! Let me learn about humans in person! Let me experience things only a person living here could!” She begged, tears rolling down her cheeks. My heart was cracking, it was utterly inexperienced in this. Useless. Ignorant.
So I agreed, and let myself cry after 17 years of denying myself that comfort.
I never wanted to be a hero. I wasn’t, not even for sending that plant back. No, the title of hero given to me meant nothing in that sense. I no longer cared for the normalcy, the routine. The medal, the praise. It meant nothing. It was the growth I gained, the walls within myself I broke. Not on my own, but with help. With support.
If I was a hero, then… so was she, in every single way. I was a hero to the planet, but Lilyacinth was the hero to me.