Negative energies move through the soil. They move through the air. They move through the vibrations, spreading out from each and every step that a creature, infected by them, takes.

When something releases negative energies from themselves, it is easy to see.

You can see it in their expressions, their actions, their demeanor and their lack of care for themselves and for those around them. These things, these negative creatures, they are best avoided.

- Misery does love company, after all.

Perhaps that might be a cruel way to see the world. But negativity is a parasite. It will latch onto a host and then infect it and that entity will then move on to infect another, in an attempt to cure itself of its own misery, thereby spreading the disease further on and onward.

The cure is sunlight.

- [Sunflower] -

You bask in the light of the sun

+ 1 EXP

EXP: 23/310 EXP (Burch): 56/160

- For a sunflower, at least. I can not speak for any other creatures.

I hold my petals spread open wide, my stem tall and straight. It is so simple, really. That’s all it took, some sunlight, some water and a few days of rest and already my friend is recovered. So perhaps it works for monsters too?

I did not allow her negativity to spread to me.

That would have been most unbecoming of a sunflower.

Could you imagine? A sad sunflower?

- What a strange thing that would be.

The big stone path, the ‘road’ that we have followed for a day and a half, has led us to an oddity.

A split.

- [Sunflower] -

You bask in the light of the sun

+ 1 EXP

EXP: 24/310 EXP (Burch): 57/160

The road breaks off into two directions. One heads towards the left and one heads towards the right, like two branches, leaving the thick trunk of a tree.

How interesting. I was unaware that roads were able to do this.

Can all roads become two roads?

…Can those two roads become two more?

Are there an infinite, uncountable number of roads, just like there are branches in the forest and stars in the sky?

- Amazing.

I never knew that paths and roads could be so interesting. Perhaps they are too interesting, as my friend Burch is unable to make a choice. Both choices lead towards the west, roughly speaking. But one leads towards the lower west and one towards the higher west.

I myself am indifferent to which one we take.

Life will be good either way.

Burch, overwhelmed by her two choices, stands there in uncertainty.

Tell me, friend.

What is it that a monster fears?

I notice from the tension in the muscles of her back, that my roots slide through, that she is uncertain. An hour has passed. We are still at the break in the road.

Burch takes a step towards the lower path.

- And then she stops, turning her head towards the right, towards the other.

Ah.

Life is confusing. You wonder, what lies at the end of that road? Is it preferable to what lies at the end of this one? Am I choosing correctly? Will this bring me closer towards my goal, or further from it?

- A conundrum.

But, at the same time, I suppose that this is the thrill; the indecisiveness of it all. What if we choose wrong? What if this road leads to death and that one to paradise?

Fantastic.

The bounty of life, choices, individuality, it is absolutely fantastic. Sad are the dead who are unable to feel the kiss of the sun, who are unable to choose a path, left or right.

The living are truly blessed.

Burch steps away from the lower-path, having changed her mind again. We head along the upper road, finally continuing our journey.

As for myself, I remain indifferent.

As long as I can see the world, as long as I can feel the sun, as long as I can spend more days with my monster-friend, then I suppose it does not really matter which road we take, no?

I am a content sunflower.

It is night.

Voices ring out aloud in the distance. An unusual oddity.

Fire and life make themselves apparent in the forest grove not far ahead of us, just over the meadow yonder.

- What a nice word, ‘yonder’.

I wonder where I learned it from? I don’t quite recall. In fact, I suppose that I still don’t exactly know why I am alive and aware. But perhaps this does not matter, really?

- What good would knowing the answers to that be?

Would knowing why make me any less or more alive and aware than I was before?

I think not.

Burch creeps towards the grove, lowering herself down to the ground like the stalking predator that she is. We crawl, sneaking through the bushes. I would complain about this, but there is no sunlight right now anyways. So why not live a little?

Burch has tried to learn the ways of the sunflower. Perhaps it is time that I learn the ways of the monster?

It is only fair.

Reaching the edge of the undergrowth, my curious, horribly beautiful monster-friend and I stare out at the collection of carts, pulled into a ring.

It seems that some of her ilk have gathered here to shelter for the night. It would appear that they have pulled their carts into a circle to make a barrier of sorts, a nest, in the center of which they all rest by a roaring fire.

If I had to wager, I would suspect that Burch is hungry.

After all, food is always scarce on our journey and she only ever eats during moments of gorging, after having found a source of plenty. The last large meal that she had eaten was the fish from the river. That was days ago and since then, she has eaten little, save for the odd berries, which we had found here and there along the way.

- Are we hunting?

No.

Given her demeanor and low posture, it seems that we are here to simply steal from the unsuspecting creatures.

Hmm…

Or maybe ‘harvest’ is a more applicable word? After all, how is this different from taking the berries from a bush or the seeds from a flower? It seems the same to me.

Burch sneaks forward, moving over the grass towards the cart, walking in the shadows where the light of the fire does not stretch towards.

They speak to one another, the males and females of the inner circle, but they speak in tones and words that I do not understand, like the girl from the village.

Given their low tone now, it seems that the conversation is dying out, as they all slowly fade into the depths of sleep, their energy suppressed by the heavy blanket of the spirit dampening night.

We wait in the shadows for a time longer and then, after minutes of silence, save for the wind, save for the rustling the trees, save for the mischievous fire, crackling joyfully across from us, Burch slowly peaks around a cart and I peek together with her.

- A bounty.

The carts are full of objects that I do not recognize. Some are small and obscure in their shape and forms and shine alluringly in the firelight. Others are odd wooden trinkets and baubles and others still are long stingers and claws, made out of hard metals. There are mounds of what appear to be dried leaves and plants and mushrooms.

Burch seems to have eyed one box in particular, that is laden with dry meat.

I can feel the growl of her stomach all the way up in her shoulders.

We crawl towards it and she grabs a handful and then a handful more, already biting into a piece of it, unable to stop herself.

I can not taste it. But I suspect that, given the glow I feel in her blood, the leaning in of her posture, it is most delectable.

My friend harvests much meat from the carts, stuffing it and many baubles into the bag, where they rest on my soil.

My roots could, perhaps, have a small nibble of the meat. But there is no blood in it, so I care little for it and besides -

- This belongs to my friend.

“Kaschib!” yells an angry voice, most unbefitting of the quiet night. I do not know what it means.

Burch quickly looks at the man who has spotted us. The others rouse from their daze. Burch spins around and runs, scrambling with her arms full and I watch in curiosity as they, the original harvesters of the meat, are hindered in their pursuit of us by their very own barricade of carts, which they first have to climb over.

Ah.

Irony.

We escape into the night, making away like bandit raccoons.

- [Sunflower] -

You bask in the light of the sun

+ 1 EXP

EXP: 27/310 EXP (Burch): 60/160

I sometimes ponder about why my friend took me with her on this journey.

It does seem unusual, does it not?

Burch sits by the big rocks and I sit next to her on the big grass and we look together, staring at the big water, which cascades down a cliffside. A waterfall, most beautiful, glistens as it displays the prismatic beauty of wet sunlight.

She leans against the large, day-warmed rocks behind us, having gorged herself full on the dry meat of the cart-monsters and the water of the spring and there is a look of contentment and peace on her face, which I find most pleasing to observe.

The waterfall, mighty, roars with a dampening, overpowering hum that is sweeter and more harmonious than any voice of bird or monster that I have ever heard.

Burch sleeps, leaning against the big, hot rocks by the pool of the waterfall and I hold watch as she does so.

The harvesting of food, of things, has been a common theme of my life until now. It started with the bird, taking my seeds and then with Burch taking me. So many things have been taken during these most exciting days. It is the rule of nature. The strong and the quick and the clever take from those who are not.

- But what if someone comes along and tries to take Burch with them, like she had taken me from my meadow?

Then I would be alone.

That would be most unpleasant. I have grown accustomed to having a friend. I suppose that I can not allow this to happen. After all, this is so much fun. I would like to drink blood again and I would like to see a very big fish and I would like to see so many other things, impossible and wonderous.

I calmly gaze towards the sun, thinking about my thoughts.

A sunflower and a monster, friends on a journey.

- What a beautiful world.