Among Dimensions

By Zitziki Chávez

What would happen if what we describe and classify in a separate way as reality and fantasy was only the result of our poor perception of the world? What if what we dream when we're sleeping isn't only a product of our mind, and it really exists in another dimension? The things we see in that dream are ju

• Language: English
• Publisher: ibukku, LLC
• Release date: Dec 20, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685742836

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Among Dimensions

Zitziki Chávez

All rights reserved. The total or partial reproduction of this work, nor its incorporation into a computer system, nor its transmission in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or others) without prior written authorization of the copyright holders is not allowed. Infringement of such rights may constitute an offence against intellectual property.

The content of this work is the responsibility of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publisher. All texts and images were provided by the author, who is solely responsible for the rights thereof.

Published by Ibukku, LLC

www.ibukku.com

Graphic Design: Índigo Estudio Gráfico

Copyright © 2022 Zitziki Chávez

ISBN Paperback: 978-1-68574-282-9

ISBN eBook: 978-1-68574-283-6

How blind are we to the world?

Somewhere I overheard someone quoting some words that, whenever I remember them, only reaffirm beliefs that previously remained restless inside me for many years, and with the passage of time, I only began to understand them with the influence of time as it passed through my hair, dyeing it silver. Those words even came to seem coherent to me with the world in which I now live . Is something that I cannot perceive with the experience of my senses, real? And if I don’t perceive them; do they really exist or do they only exist if I can perceive them? If dogs can track with their sense of smell a trail left there for some time, or manage to hear sounds that are not in our range, what makes us believe that we experience one hundred percent of the world?

What makes us believe that we are better than they are? If there are owls that can hear their prey below ground and miles away, what makes us superior to them?

The list could go on forever if we were to analyze every detail. But there will always be one that ultimately will always be better than us, the human race. None of the species destroys its environment. They only take from their habitat what they need to live.

Why do we want telescopes and search for life on other planets if we do not know how to take care of our own and do not know how to observe and respect the beauty of our Mother Earth?

Why are we so naive in thinking that we are more intelligent or capable of experiencing the world around us?

We are as blind as a mole. And I’m not just referring to the fact that moles are very limited visually, but that we do not possess all the senses necessary to experience the wonder of living on such a diverse and magical planet. Perhaps, it is just that we have not learned to use our senses in the proper way, or maybe it is the fact that we are limited to using only five, which we were told, were given to us at birth. Perhaps we have many more, but it is just that we have not learned to use them. What does it take for us to experience the world as it is?

If the dog can only see in two colors, and those two colors are absolute to him... How would you explain to him that there are colors other than the ones he sees? How would you describe them?

Who assures us that the range of colors that we perceive is only a poor range that allows us to see our world only in the shadows?

We only know the combinations of red, blue, yellow, light, and shadow. What would happen if someone told us that there are other colors that we do not know about? Colors for which we do not have names because we have not yet classified them, or because we cannot even imagine them?

Maybe you can get an idea of your minuscule place in this world by comparing your five senses (in many cases atrophied) in comparison to the twenty that plants have. Don’t you see them in the same way as those green beings whose leaves you tear off just for fun as you pass by?

Some theories affirm that there are several parallel worlds coexisting in the same plane and that it only depends on the speed with which their particles vibrate, which is what gives us the perception of movement and physical reality. That is, the rock maintains a slow enough vibration which allows us to observe it as motionless, but... What would happen if something moved so fast, like the blades of a propeller in motion? The point will come when our sense of sight will cease to perceive it, and it is then that we ask ourselves what proof we have of the existence of those blades if we had not had the antecedent of having seen them before when they were motionless.

What proof do we have that there exists, or not, one or several dimensions parallel to us, to our plane, which due to their vibratory capacity we are unable to perceive with our poor senses?

Just as we once thought that the earth was held by turtles and elephants and that it was the sun that circled around us, what stage of our knowledge are we at? What level of understanding of nature, of the world around us, of energy fields and dimensions do we believe we are at? and, what is the reality? What stage of truth are we really in? Then, how is it that we can deny or affirm the existence of fairies, elves, ENTS, fantastic lives, and existences?

How blind we are to the world.

KINGDOMS

Let me tell you a story, which could be just a product of my imagination, or maybe a memory of other lives lived in other planes, or maybe it is just the whisper of the wind encouraging me to write this story. I will begin by talking about six realms that exist in a parallel dimension to the one we live in, and to them, our existence is a myth. The six kingdoms I am talking about are called Animalia, Plantae, Water, Fungi, Air, and Fire. These are subdivided into smaller kingdoms, but absolutely all owed respect and honor to one parent entity called Energy. Energy controlled the six kingdoms which, although far removed from each other and shared almost no time or space together, each was dependent on the other five. They maintained very intricate and sometimes very complex trade relationships.

Each kingdom had a completely different culture from the others, with different ways of dressing, feeling, different languages, and ways of thinking. Each had a special charm. Even physically they were very different from each other.

Energy was the driving center of the six kingdoms, although each had its own rules and customs.

However, Energy was always a mystery to the denizens of the six realms, for it was an entity that constantly changed places, that could not be summoned or found so easily on a map. Only on very special occasions or sporadic occasions could one maintain contact with such a matrix.

The maps only showed the places where Energy had once been, and these were used by scholars to try to find the place where it would appear again, although, in truth, they all failed in their attempts. Each realm had designated people from different regions of their own realm trying to unravel the intricate random pattern of Energy’s appearances. They ranged from scholars of the subject with hundreds of years of accumulated knowledge, as well as younger people introducing new ideas to such a complicated enigma.

All the inhabitants of the six kingdoms knew that, although they had a physically inconstant matrix, their transcendence as a member of one of the six kingdoms depended on and was absolutely tied to it. They also knew that the laws required were immutable, rigid, and inflexible. But that such rules, being so, would maintain absolute peace and brotherhood among their peoples. What these laws ensured was transcendence.

For the six, Energy was always a mystery, they did not know very clearly who governed it or what it protected them from, however, no one questioned its power, its scope, its respect, and its absolute truth; as well as the peace and harmony that generated this union, and that allowed the neighboring peoples to respect each other.

Unlike other kingdoms where a fee or taxes are paid to the headquarters; the six kingdoms did not offer any tribute, compensation, or retribution. The only tribute offered was that of respect for the other kingdoms and their people.

Energy was a symbol, an authority, but for the present generations of the people, it confused those who governed it, because it was wandering because it had no foundations and physical persons to show themselves at any opportunity because no obeisance or praise was paid to them. In each different town, there were wise men who did have very clear the origins of energy, but their inscriptions were left in oblivion, papyrus undone by time, and memories forgotten among the families.

These teachings were transmitted by word of mouth from father to son, but that tradition had been dying over the years and almost nothing was remembered of that past where all the questions of Energy could be answered.

As there was absolute commercial dependence on each other in the six kingdoms, respectful but very limited relations were maintained between the inhabitants of one kingdom and the other. There were those who commonly remained with always tense commercial relations due to the barter of goods and that, each of the interlocutors wanted to get the most out of their products so that sometimes they solved it after drinking a few beers in a tavern on the banks of the docks.

It never became a big deal, because the trade had to continue and everyone had to either change suppliers or swallow their pride and continue dealing with the one who had knocked a tooth out the night before.

There were no blood ties that would have existed between the different kingdoms because each boy or girl from birth was educated and inculcated with the devout culture of their hometown, and that meant that the little ones only had eyes for the arts that were developed in their territory that shared their same interests.

The other arts of the other kingdoms different from the native ones, lacked sense and importance, because they considered their cause vital, above the other activities.

Each child, of each different place, thought the same of his own kingdom, causing each other to see one another without any kind of interest, other than trade amongst themselves.

There are only very remote and very scarce stories, blurred in time which do not allow them to be told perfectly, which narrate the sentimental union between one of the inhabitants of a kingdom with another from another kingdom. As for the descendants of such unions, the story is as clear as that which shines under the crystal-clear water, and that when you dive into it, you realize that it is deeper than it seemed from the outside but so cold that it could freeze you; and that in the end, it was preferable to abandon the search and get lost in the attempt. In the end, you would not be able to reach the object, and it would remain that way, waiting for someone else to try, without getting any more information than the one who tried it for the first time.

Periodically, the six kingdoms would gather to celebrate Energy, which had no fixed date on a calendar, but each member of any kingdom knew exactly when it would be celebrated because of some presentiment in their hearts guiding them.

It was like feeling in your lungs the air rushing in desperately after having held your breath for a long time underwater. It left satisfaction as full as feeling your body relax after having been laughing so hard that your eyes can only shed tears of joy.

When that feeling was widespread in the four kingdoms, they knew that only a couple of weeks later the celebrations would take place.

No one knows exactly how it happened, but they ‘felt it.’

Every year, the celebrations lasted for three days in a row. The host house would overflow with gimmicks, typical dishes, accessories, and products that praised their own kingdom, always trying to make the other kingdoms see that their culture, skills, dances, etc., were more important than the others. Thus, every year the best of the best was offered in each house, making the festivities in celebration of Energy the most awaited by the inhabitants of each kingdom.

FIRE

The Kingdom of Fire had its foundations in the surroundings of a mountain range of volcanoes that emanated great quantities of heat. The extension of their lands was quite wide. To the north, they met the Red Sea, to the East they met the shores of the Blue Sea after having passed through the set of deposits of sulfurous waters. To the south, they met some lands of the Kingdom of Animalia and to the west, they were left with the Triplet Lagoons which was more or less as far as their lands bounded. Therefore, those who were born there, could not stand the cold nor large amounts of moisture. Even their skins began to swell and ooze a viscous substance that looked like that which a decomposing animal’s body spills, of a gelatinous consistency, with a transparent amber color, so they needed dry heat to live and thrive. To witness skin affected by moisture was to witness something grotesque.

They were normally dedicated to hunting, and their diet consisted of an infinite number of animals, be they mammals, some birds that crossed their path, lizards, insects, and even some poisonous ones. They did not know and did not want to know any food other than a feast of game meat. In those kingdoms, hunting was also a sport, an amusement, an activity with which they were familiar to such a degree that they were already desensitized to the process of hunting and seeing another being die in suffering.

Their body temperature was also very hot and they found it cozy to stay in places with temperatures that to other kingdoms would be insufferable.

Their houses were built of stone, which they quarried from the mountains at the foot of their homes. Everyone competed among their neighbors to place ever rarer stones on the facades of their houses. There were even entire houses made with stones such as lapis lazuli, different types of colored onyx, amber with brown veins, and others that were made with millions of small stones of coral chalcedony, with colors so beautiful that it seemed that an artist had painted on the darkest night, tiny pink flowers that adorned every corner of the house. There were others whose interiors were detailed with translucent quartz plates used in bathrooms, something very used by the most passionate couples. These quartz houses were available in white, purple, and the color of smoke. There was an infinity of colors and their tonality depended on the composition of the stones that these neighborhoods used, such as jadeite, blue aventurine, red aventurine, and snowy obsidian, among others.

The homes were also an intricate superimposition of stones that suggested forms that contradicted the laws of gravity. Intricate forms, but wonderful.

Each house was independent of another, and between them stretched countless hallways and corridors. These passages were made of cobblestone streets so finely detailed that one could walk between them blindfolded, except that the network of corridors and passageways was so intricate that even the oldest of the locals sometimes lost their way.

The most impressive building, which was at the highest place in the valley, was a fortress that stood of dragon obsidian, its four towers located at each end of the fortress were made of opaque obsidian, the facade was carved in rainbow obsidian and the thrones of the royalty were magnificent sculptures of snowy obsidian.

This fortress was built not with the most colorful stones but rather was designed because of the properties it was believed to have. It was said that whoever stepped on the floors of this magnificent construction would be obliged to always speak the truth and to address those who lived in those walls with the most certain intention. It was also the balm of any inhabitant, for it was a fortress dedicated to the healing and protection of its inhabitants.

The inhabitants of the Kingdom of Fire; although serious, were reliable people, loyal to their feelings and their words. Generally one did not find people who lied indiscriminately giving faith to some untrue event.

Like the other kingdoms, these were long-lived. Several inhabitants were still alive at 236 years of age. Some could still be found playing an ancient game with small colored crystal spheres. These crystal spheres were transparent with red, blue, and green veins trying to enter a shallow hole made in the ground. The game required a lot of skill. It was taught from an early age, especially to royalty or people destined to lead, since to hit the hole in the ground, a good pulse, patience, and above all, strategy, were needed to achieve it.

They created among them solid and endless friendships, they liked to share time together, and daily they met in several taverns along the main street of the colony to share good beer and meat on the fire.

They worked mainly with whatever they could mold with fire, so the elaboration of all kinds of metal utensils and artifacts was their specialty.

Their clothing was scarce, generally, the male population wore their torso naked, except when they had to protect themselves with armor. They usually wore tight pants made of different animal skins, most of them tanned. They were close-fitting and without any additional color other than the original color of the prey that had the misfortune to be left on their pants.

They always had muscular bodies, broad shoulders, and strong and extremely rough hands due to the continuous contact with the different rocks. Their hair was a mess which they never thought of combing or taking care of, so, in general, both men and women wore it short, making less humidity accumulate between the neck and the head. When that happened, they would start to break out in a rash and itch to such a degree that it made it impossible for them to go about their daily activities.

Their bodies were usually full of dust or smut, mixed with a thin layer of sweat, but at the end of the day, they rubbed themselves with an oil that allowed them to stay clean. This oil was bought at the port from the inhabitants of Plantae. The oils gave off unique fragrances, delicious to the senses, so even though they were under the dust and in constant contact with the stone they could look clean and smell pleasant.

Because of their problem with excessive moisture, they could only drink small amounts of water and that gave them an advantage over other armies.

The oil emanated a smell as pleasant as the one that makes you squint when you inhale it making you feel your neurons explode with pleasure when you perceive such an intoxicating fragrance.

Although the women were and looked rougher than other females from other villages, these Amazons were beautiful indeed, although not very expressive in any situation.

The inhabitants of the Fire Kingdom were generally beings of large proportions. Tall men and women, with white skin and blond hair, and others with very white skin and red hair. Their eyes were always very expressive. They usually used their bodies more to communicate than words. Any confrontation with them or among them resulted in an intricate and passionate debate, whether verbal or physical. Sometimes these were accompanied by insults and profanities, and from time to time, the arguments ended with an occasional lost tooth or two that night. That did not worry them as they had acquired a certain evolution of their bodies, causing these teeth to grow back just by waiting a few weeks. It seemed comical that sometimes you could observe these muscular men with serious features, almost with mercenary styles, suddenly show their barely populated teeth as when the little ones start teething.

When the quarrel was between a pair of lovers, there were always heated arguments and wholesale profanities, just some rough tugging, and caressing, but they usually ended up making passionate love.

They were good people, just like the other beings of other kingdoms, only they were always driven first by their passions, then by their stomachs, and then by their minds.

They loved music, so much so that they had designed instruments that were exquisitely hammered into thin sheets of metal, which, when played, produced strange sounds, but in unison, composed ballads that would make the hairs on the back of anyone’s neck stand on end. The main instrument was called Hang, with a rather simple description, consisting of a thin round sheet of metal that was shaped like a very large saucepan upside down, and as if it had been dropped repeatedly; it had several dents scattered across its surface. When the musician placed it on his legs and began to give it small blows with his fingers, it began to vibrate with a certain majesty and delicacy, emitting soft, but at the same time deep, sounds. This instrument was played by skilled apprentices and the ballads were instructed only by the eldest members of his kingdom. Not all villagers were chosen to learn to play. It was usually played in unison with quartz bowls of various colors and also bowls of an alloy of seven metals that, when delicately scraped with a small wooden stick, began to vibrate with an elongated and unique note, but of special vibration and highly energetic frequency, which conferred a halo of magic in each note. Ancient texts narrate that these notes were healing both physically and spiritually. In their songs no one was ever heard to sing, it was only the sound of the brass that flooded any room with beautiful melodies.

They did not understand the use of instruments other than those used in their villages and even claimed that the other foreign instruments sounded like when someone dared to try to drink water through the nose, something unnatural that usually went wrong, but what they really wanted to justify, was that they were simply terrible interpreters of any song that was not in its traditional form.

DIAMONT

The rulers of the Kingdom of Fire were a very old family, of the first men. It consisted of King Orush and Queen Esmer. They were a solid couple, which, although they did not show their love in eternal caresses and cuddles, demonstrated solidarity, trust, strength, and companionship exemplary for the other couples of the kingdom. This marriage had three fruits of its alliance. In order of their birth, they had three children, all boys; Diamont, Ehath, and Plomush. All of them strong, tall, of rough complexions, and very loyal to their house.

Diamont, exceptionally similar to his father, was tall, muscular like the common of his people, with blond hair due to the long hours in which his father trained them under the sun; centered, a little taciturn, but never disloyal to his kingdom and much less disloyal to his family. He was first in line to occupy the throne upon the death of his father and mother.

Although he was educated to know how to handle any type of weapon, Diamont demonstrated a surprising ability in the handling of the crossbow, as he said he would not have to get his hands very dirty or tire himself excessively. His steely temper made him an excellent strategist in battles. He was a serious man, cautious with his decisions, even concerning sentimental matters; however, he had already set his eyes on a certain girl from his village who had captivated him with her beauty; and contrary to what could be expected from the royalty, the people of fire were free to choose their respective partners even if they did not belong to the royal or older families. The worth of a man or woman in the Kingdom of Fire depended solely on the battles or contributions they had made to their people, therefore; all were capable of aspiring to occupy a royal place, as long as their actions spoke for themselves.

Although Diamont seemed sentimentally impenetrable, there was one girl who managed to captivate his heart, being a healer in the legions of hunters and warriors.

It was when Diamont had a major accident with a bear trap, that Turmalina’s hands laid the delicacy of her care on Diamont’s skin. Day after day, she removed dirty bandages to replace them with new ones. She washed and disinfected his wounds with great care until he was completely healed. Her touch was very soft with delicate care and caresses. Despite living in a place where demonstrations of affection were rude and flirting was practically nonexistent, Turmalina’s looks enveloped him in tenderness and intrigue. What Turmalina could not cure was the deep pain Diamont felt for the bond his heartfelt, tighten every time she left to continue with her daily tasks. So he finally made a decision, he would take her as his princess, queen in waiting.

EHATH

Ehath, the second in line to the throne, was a son that even his own parents and siblings did not fully understand. He became his father’s favorite because of his mastery in the handling of the different weapons of the kingdom, such as the sword, short and long, crossbows, bows, traps for large and small animals, slingshots, and every weapon that was ever put in his hands; even as a child, there was no rival that surpassed him when it came to playing that millenary game of the small crystal spheres. He also demonstrated an exceptional understanding of close combat and developed an impressive physique that kept almost all the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Fire in awe. The rest of the female audience was captivated by Ehath’s younger brother; Plomush.

Even all the battle legions admired the mastery with which Ehath wielded weapons, commanded an army, and also controlled his emotions. He was always a mystery even to his parents.

In his childhood, he was always secretive. His mother, because he was always engrossed in his thoughts, devoted extra hours not to teach him the daily lessons, but to show him attention and pampering, but nothing worked to make him more expressive.

Time passed and things never changed. He always treated his parents with extreme courtesy and respect. His brothers were his only friends in childhood, but when he reached adulthood he found that the men of his village respected and admired him so much that it was not possible for him to find friendship among them, for they only looked upon him as Prince Ehath, the ideal and example to follow.

This idealized form they had of him quickly became irritating, itching and bothering him constantly, for he had no one with whom he could share his thoughts openly. His siblings were the only ones with whom he could express something more; of being able to live with someone without them having so much respect or fear for him that it could compromise their opinion of him or his abilities.

Ehath was always very reserved when his mother would ask him if he had ever harbored an interest in any maiden in the kingdom, but he always remained impenetrable in his thoughts and feelings towards any woman.

Even his father came to think that his predilection was not oriented towards any lady, but on the contrary... it would be to some gentleman. Many times different situations were insinuated to him to see if he would let them see something of what his heart could trust them with, but nothing came to fruition. They all eventually gave up and maintained, from then on, a respect for their son’s silence and left Ehath to concentrate on what he did best: managing an army.

He constantly frowned, and at first, everyone thought it was because of the sun that covered his face most of the day, but even in the shade the frown never went away.

His brothers joked among themselves and constantly teased Ehath that his frown and the fact that he never smiled was because he couldn’t perform properly and was constantly constipated.

He was already about 34 years of age, and the other lords of neighboring kingdoms asked as a compliment why he was in such good shape, to which his brothers answered before him and said that his secret was that he was preserved in vinegar, and that was the reason for his bitterness.

One morning, before opening his eyes, Ehath rolled over on the mattress and automatically embraced the air as if someone had been with him all night, lying there on his bed. Suddenly he sat up in bed still without lowering his feet to the floor. What did he expect to find, he thought. Suddenly fragmented memories of the dream he had had came to him and it was so vivid, so sensory, so different. One part puzzled him greatly, he could still feel the touch of his fingertips against someone else’s skin. The touch was as gratifying as any struggle had ever been able to generate. That touch was so pleasurable that he just wanted to go back to sleep, although he reluctantly knew that even if he tried, he would never be with her again. With her?! with whom?! he mentally questioned.

His thoughts were interrupted by a maiden knocking at his door.My prince Ehath wishes me to prepare his oil bath?

Wulfenita was a maiden in her late sixties and had devoted her entire life to tending to the three princes. From an early age, they had won her heart, she was the chief procurer of their greatest mischief. Even when they grew up, Wulfenita continued to treat them with so much love that she forgot about having children of her own and poured her maternal side into the three rascals.

She never seemed to regret her decision, she said it was a relief to have three children and never have suffered a single labor pain.

Yes, Wufita, hurry up, I overslept.

Ehath was most surprised that he had overslept, for if there was one thing he abhorred in his soldiers, it was when someone was late for duty. Any act of indiscipline in general irritated him visibly. The soldiers who would go hunting that morning were already formed up when he arrived. They would hunt silverback bears. One of their sentries had given information of having seen a family of bears roaming on the south side of their territory. It would be a hunt just for fun.

It was fascinating to look for clues, some broken branches, the special scent of the bears that they were spreading in the trees, tracks in the leaves that lay on the ground, and dry mud that was molded with their fluffy paws. Until a while ago, he could not find anything more interesting to do. That morning everything changed, the first part of the hunt he was especially active, gathering clues to the whereabouts of his prey.

When he finally caught sight of the family in the distance, the mother bear was struggling to give her cub the courage to cross a knee-deep stream. The bear was already a bit nervous as she had caught a whiff of the scent of the oils that the pursuing hunters were carrying in their skins.

When they spotted the family of bears, they all let themselves go against them. The bear stood on two legs as a sign of struggle. The sound was loud from the mixture of the bear’s screaming and growling. The bear cubs kept emitting pitiful squeals of panic. The first to be pierced by an arrow was the bear cub that was just about to decide to cross the stream. It died slowly. The bear, seeing her cub inert, fled with the other two remaining cubs. They followed them for about three kilometers more. Not because they were not fast-moving and could not catch up with them, but for the enjoyment of prolonging the act of hunting.

Ehath kept close to the soldiers, but that day everything changed as they watched the bear suffer, still struggling to defend the inert bodies of her cubs. Everyone exclaimed in elation at the successful hunt. Ehath watched them closely, like a teacher who teaches a lesson to his students and waits patiently for them to finish it before giving his approval, but in reality, something was not right. He felt a little dizzy and his stomach was very upset.

What’s wrong with me, why do I feel so sick?

Unnoticed by his soldiers, he slipped out of sight so that he could get out everything that was making him sick. He vomited violently, but no matter how much he vomited again and again, he could not feel better. On the contrary, he remained extremely disgusted and his hands still trembled from the effort.

It was probably the new oils that Wufita brought me this morning; I’ll talk to her later, he thought irritably.

They returned to camp, all covered in blood and bear hair that was already beginning to dry and form thick scabs that would be difficult to remove from their clothes. That day Ehath did not eat any food. Everything disgusted him. Everything made him retch so much that it was impossible to even bring the food to his nose, as he found the smell repulsive and it made him dizzy.

PLANTAE

Plantae, as its name describes, was dedicated to caring for the earth and everything that grew from it, from the small clover to the great willows and Montezuma cypress with lush foliage, passing through exotic plants and discovering some others, also called magic plants.

This kingdom developed in temperate climates, in the warmer plains of the area, just at the end of the foothills of the mountains that stretched into the distance, where only sight and imagination could reach. Both its climate and its proximity to two seas, the Dead Sea and the Red Sea, with water currents of different composition of salt and other nutrients, which favored the cultivation of all kinds of plants, trees, shrubs, vines, guides, and even plants that needed special conditions, which could be conditioned very complex greenhouses that favored the climate of other places.

The nation of Plantae was settled in a lush forest, where the houses were majestically elaborated with all the branches that could be collected at the foot of the trees. No leaves or branches that still belonged to the plant were ever cut for use, for all that was used was naturally provided by the forest itself and this was more than enough.

The houses were ingeniously placed on the strongest branches of the trees. They were little houses that, as I have already said, were made with branches and bows made of masterfully woven fibers. To decorate them or to make them look different on the outside, no pigment was used, it was enough just to provoke the blooming of this or that vine to provide the desired color to the neighborhood.

The houses were intercommunicated with an extensive and ingenious number of suspension bridges at different heights, as well as pulleys between them to transport heavy goods.

As the branches did not provide much space for large rooms, they were placed at different levels of the tree branches, up to five different levels per tree, depending on the height and strength of the trees.

The study of these plants led them to create all kinds of ointments, medicines, tools with stems and dry leaves, musical instruments, gadgets, etc. Even clothing was made from fibers taken from plants such as cotton and other highly resistant plants. Some were made for the hardest jobs, and it was said that not even the sharpest spears could pierce the garments made with this material. However; it is never remembered to have seen any battle where this myth was proven because the Kingdom of Plantae was an extremely peaceful people.

At the base of the trees, everything was meticulously cared for, trying to respect the largest possible area between the plants, and was only crossed with just enough space on very narrow paths to be able to walk on foot. The soil was reserved only for the care and study of certain plants that could not be grown on the trees. They treated the soil, the plants, and the land with the greatest of care so as not to alter their natural growth.

The gods for these people were simply those who had no form, and who were identified or materialized in any plant that grew from the earth. They saw their gods in every petal, leaf, stem, or bark. That was God expressed in tangible form, and therefore they honored their God, their people, and themselves by taking care of everything that grew from the earth.

It was a very quiet and very cheerful people, all its inhabitants carried in their physique the place they came from because in their skin you could see the long hours under the sun, leaving them with a beautiful tan, which made their eyes and smile shine. Most of the inhabitants of Plantae were thin, not to the point of being skinny, but rather that thinness that comes from eating enough fruits and vegetables day after day. They had an infinity of stews and preparations that would delight any palate. Their food was so spectacular that even the inhabitants of other kingdoms would pale at the memory of the taste of the vegetarian dishes offered at the dances held in honor of Energy. The government of the Kingdom of Plantae was destined for the greatest people, and I refer to great by the fact that they were people with innumerable ages that gave them spiritual and intellectual greatness. Plantae was led by the grandmother Regent Rosh. She was the highest authority, with a just but undoubtedly kind character, and she was infinitely loved by her inhabitants. The deepest respect and admiration were dedicated to Rosh, who was equally accessible to other senior members of the Plantae government, as well as to solve the doubts of the youngest children.

The regent grandmother had a seasoning envied throughout my region, and managed to make trade deals with the different villages by bartering with the rarest dishes ever tasted.

Grandma’s stews were different from the rest because when she was with foreigners when doing business, she asked innumerable questions about the seasonings, the meat of animals from other kingdoms, preparation techniques, etc. She mixed them and made her dishes special and unique in her town. She was the only one who was able to get the meat used in other places to mix with the traditional vegetarian dishes of Plantae.

In fact, she was repeatedly called upon to prepare the main dish at the annual feasts. Although many inhabitants of another kingdom wanted to imitate her, they never succeeded. She even kindly offered to share her recipes with them, but at the end of the preparation, they never tasted the same. Everyone suspected that she had a secret ingredient for all the dishes she prepared, but every time Kaab asked what that secret was, she just shrugged her shoulders and showed a wide smile, to which she continued saying:

If you watch carefully, I am willing to unveil said secret with you. She immediately turned away and resumed her daily chores.

Rosh was a skilled reader, she would read every last word that could be read from the paper in which the daily soap was wrapped at home, and she would say that she was intrigued by the missing part. She would then invent a fantastic story with the remnants of the missing information, which she ingeniously managed to recreate, making life half of what for many is real, and half of what for a few could be.

She had such a large personal library that it was strange that the grandmother could have managed to read every thick tome, but as she was never known to tell a single lie, they had no choice but to believe her and admire her at the same time, not so much for her ability to read so much, but also for her ability to remember every word of what she read. She was a rare person because, unlike the other inhabitants of the city, she was interested not only in the things to learn and discover in Plantae but also in the combination of those disciplines with the other disciplines of the other kingdoms.

She had a whole floor for her books and her kitchen; and that was a lot, for each floor was so large that it could accommodate many, many people comfortably settled. She kept everything in impeccable order, but the best part was that she let her granddaughter undo that impeccable order as often as she wanted, as long as she rearranged everything when she was done playing.

She said that all those books had been given as gifts or bartered in exchange for her dishes on the banks of the river where all the products were exchanged. The rarest copies, she said, had been given to her over time by ‘friends’ she had cultivated in other kingdoms. She had never explained very well how she made those friendships, but one thing was known about her, that she was rare. A characteristic that made her marvelous.

Physically she was very different from the members of her community and close family. She was very tall and thin, and her hair was always pulled back, not so tight, but rather making some natural folds of her hair show through. Her hair color was a dark silver-gray tone that made a very attractive combination with a pair of large green eyes. Her skin had been very white, but with the passing of time it had taken on a very warm, brownish tone. Her facial features were long and fine, it really looked like they had sculpted a face so carefully that she looked like a goddess on Earth. Her hands were very soft and smooth due to all the work she had done throughout her life, but in them, she always kept an unusual warmth that attracted the attention of many, but her granddaughter was always reminded of the thousands and thousands of caresses and good treatments that were given to her throughout her life. It was not known for sure how old grandmother was because it seemed that the years passed very slowly in her, she hardly had very pronounced wrinkles, and the few that she kept, were the result of her always smiling when she worked with the plants or the wrinkles produced by an almost inaudible whistle that she uttered every time she prepared one of her delicious stews.

Rosh was a being full of caresses for anyone who approached her, whether it was her daughter, her plants, her casseroles, her stews, or for her two guardians Poloc and Fary. Even birds would travel from nearby meadows to perch at her window as she gave them breadcrumbs. She used to boil chicken eggs and chop them finely to feed those birds that visited her. Wouldn’t they realize that those eggs they devoured so richly were simply boiled fetuses of a different species of their own race? The thought gave Kaab the creeps, but she smiled as she was glad to know they had no idea. The birds for their part, delighted her ears with gurgles and lively songs at her window as she watched them as if she understood each tune. At times she would gaze at them with such a fixed gaze that they gave her granddaughter Kaab the shivers, the singing would envelop her gaze in nothingness and at times she had seen how at the end of the melody she would change completely, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. It was not known what effect the singing of the birds that visited her had on her, Kaab had wondered, but she only kept silent and began to whistle several of their melodies that were barely perceptible to the ear. It seemed as if she was fleetingly recalling part of her past, memories of people and places, and before she could bring them to light at once, they slipped away like tiny seeds between her fingers.

She ran her warm hands over the heads and faces of her daughter and granddaughter frequently. She would give them on every occasion, where she had the chance, kind smiles, and even occasionally endure the incessant prattling of what Kaab had learned that very day, the adventures she had had with her dogs over and over again, explaining in lavish detail any event. They played silly games learned with the many friends she had at school, and to all of it she always put on a good face.

She took her time with everyone, but Kaab loved to tell her endless stories while Rosh cooked. For some reason, she sensed that Rosh was doing more than cooking and listening to her talk.

In that house, lived grandmother Rosh, Yolochtl, and Kaab. Grandmother, daughter and granddaughter respectively, and finally Poloc and Fary, who were two dogs dedicated body and soul to protect the ruling family from any danger. They lived a fairly quiet life, although Yolochtl always seemed like a worker bee, always working tirelessly.Yolochtl also had an entire level of the tree house; there she had shelves full of gadgets and artifacts she had ordered other kingdoms to make, very rare plants, and lots of scattered papyrus. One was placed there, another supported only by the weight of another gadget, and others curled up on the floor. The only thing tidy enough to walk around was her bedroom area, for when she slept, she slept so peacefully that not even Poloc’s most insistent barking could wake her. She said that good sleep gave her freshness to dismember new mysteries.

She specialized in analyzing all those plants that for some inexplicable reason had perished, had dried up, or had definitely grown poorly. She also investigated pests and the use to which they could be put on other plants. In short, she was like a detective in search of the murderer who was killing the life and health of all those defenseless plants. Since she was a child, Yolochtl was fond of any plant that had flowers and produced honey, she made unique combinations of pollen to create hybrids, she was like a scientist obsessed with her multiple inventions, and the best thing was that she almost always hit the nail on the head in her multiple investigations since she had a very sharp intellect. She had a hard character, not that she was mean, but that she always loved everyone in her own way; she almost never smiled but did not hold back a laugh for something that would have occurred to Grandma Rosh, Poloc, Fary, or Kaab.

Yolochtl was strict in her education of Kaab, always demanding overtime in the study of Kaab’s own chosen discipline and pushing her and, to some extent, pressuring her that whatever she discovered should be; if not something spectacular, at least something that would serve the family or her community.

Yolochtl was the kind of mother who, when Kaab needed a caress when she fell out of a tree while climbing. She didn’t usually go to hug her and ask if she had hurt herself badly; she would just frown, get up and go to where she was, pick her up and say:

What hurts you and where did you hit yourself? Only to examine that there is nothing broken. Get up and shake the dirt off your clothes. Try to see where you failed when you tried, and when you do it again, try not to make the same mistake.That’s how Yolochtl was, she usually didn’t like hugs and kisses. But she always found a way to express her love for Kaab and her family in other ways. She always paid attention to what she liked to do or learn. She even defended the dogs that lived in her house which she knew Kaab worshipped, something that was not common in the Plantae kingdom, as they were believed to be animals that did nothing but ravage plants and were uncontrolled beasts from other kingdoms and did not belong to Plantae.

Although she received millions of negative comments for her decision to keep Poloc and Fary, she stood firm and simply trusted them.

I don’t know what Yolochtl saw in Kaab, but in all the decisions she made in her life, some wilder than others for most people in Plantae, she always supported, and trusted fully that any idea she shared with her would work. This was how she showed her unparalleled love for Kaab, so she never needed many kisses or hugs to feel deeply loved by her mother.

Plantae was a peaceful place, where famines never came, the sun was a gift to be thankful for every day, food was something not to worry about, and the most dangerous amusements were trying not to fall out of a tree while the little ones were stealing the fruits from their neighbor and the flight of a dragonfly was a spectacle worth watching until its final act.

The Plantae people had many classifications, but the two largest were Bryophytes and Cormophytes.

The village of Kaab was located in the south of the kingdom, far away from the highest mountains. The whole town bore the reflection of its village. In each of the kingdoms, as in any other city, there were a variety of characters that wandered the streets and gradually with the passage of time were making the history of each of these kingdoms.

With cotton clothes, simple costumes, with vivid colors given by the plants that were once squashed, dried in the sun, submerged in water, immersed in vegetable oils, wrapped or as they were, dyed with lots of color to his kingdom. Women used to walk through the streets with long skirts that dragged a little as they walked by, always with bright colors, as there was a belief that the dragging of their skirts was due to the respect they had for Mother Earth, as they were erasing the footprints, and left the earth as it was just before they stepped on it. Women also wore baggy pants tucked into the end of their boots made of plant bark to perform tasks where the dress would have become a burden instead of a tool.

The men generally wore white cotton shirts, where practically the only designs that differentiated one from another was the type of button they used, which were commonly made of wood and with designs that were a delight to observe, since they were engraved by hand, usually with the insignia of the family to which it belonged, or in their case, when the man or woman had done some feat worthy of being remembered, this was captured in the button. This way, when someone else looked at it, they would know a fragment of the history of the individual and the family to which he or she belonged.

The men’s pants were also loose-fitting, and they generally wore brown colors, in different ranges, printed, rough, and plain, but always faithful to the colors that resembled the earth. They were dedicated to cultivating, harvesting, and learning about all kinds of uses that can be given to all kinds of plants. In general, the families were divided according to their specialties. There were those who were dedicated to the deep study of ferns, of plants that were appreciated for their roots more than for their leaves, those who specialized in plants that were used to season excellent dishes, those who specialized in plants that gave them a beautiful spectacle with their flowers and seeds. But there were also other settlers like Kaab and her family dedicated to trees.

KAAB

That morning Kaab woke up especially curious. Any day she could wake up bored, she only had to go and steal one of the huge tomes in her grandmother Rosh’s colossal library, so that she could give free rein to her imagination, and fill herself with new questions and doubts about a lot of subjects that Kaab’s comprehension could not quite cover for her young age. She would then assail Grandma with a million questions, to which Rosh would always answer with infinite patience without omitting a single detail.

Every answer would be broken down to the last fiber while the grandmother cooked strange dishes, and hummed songs, while Kaab tried to memorize everything. Everything was an atmosphere of smells and shimmering colors, simmering stews, platters, and pots of the strangest kind. Big pots, small pots, tiny pots, glass pots, metal pots that were made in the Land of Fire, and a museum-worthy collection of clay pots that lent a certain magic to the ritual of cooking.

Grandmother kept all her books very well ordered, all of them had already been read over and over again by her.

There were copies that when she opened them, had a lot of scribbles in them, and Kaab constantly assaulted Grandma to teach her the different languages in which some of them were written. Her grandmother would tell her that what she needed was patience and that when she grew up she would understand them. She always thought that what she meant was that when she grew up she would have learned several languages like her grandmother and her mother, but what she said next seemed the strangest thing to her.

You won’t need to learn languages, don’t worry, you’ll understand everything someday.

They spent many years in the same routine which, although always the same, was very pleasant and cozy. Kaab had become a physically and mentally strong girl. She had already learned several languages so that she could understand her grandmother’s favorite books, and although she had studied hard, she still did not understand a word.

Every day she got up early, just at the best time to see the sunrise. The same practice she carried out for her thirty-one years of life. Nothing had changed substantially. She had only changed her height a little and had become somewhat muscular, since every time it was a question of risking her safety in village work, and regardless of being a direct line of blood and command of the matriarch of her Kingdom, she would gladly offer herself for such activity.

Every time she was exposed to danger, her heart beat with such an addictive frenzy that she even longed for the times when something went wrong, or there was someone in danger so that she could go and risk herself to save the situation.

She also transformed into a beautiful girl who was the protagonist of the most romantic dreams of many in her kingdom. The knights did not dare to approach her because they were more afraid of her than they wanted to be. Fear not in the sense of feeling like prey on the prowl, but of not satisfying someone like her on all levels, emotionally and physically.

Although she was much loved in her kingdom, most of her time was spent alone. Her two dogs followed her wherever she went. They were her friends and guardians. She had only Ikal as a friend.

Ikal lived in the Kingdom of Fungi, which was located to the east of the Plantae territory. Fungi was relatively close, he only had to walk about an hour and cross the suspension bridges to find a set of small tracts of land surrounded by water that allowed it to have enough moisture for the Kingdom of Fungi to develop to its fullest.

The friendly relations between peoples different from the Kingdoms were not very frequent and were even very strange, so it was not surprising that this relationship was most interesting to Kaab. Whenever she could, she would escape to the adjoining forest to visit her friend Ikal.

Ikal was four years older than her, but that was no obstacle to their friendship and even he felt strangely comfortable in her company. The two spent hours talking about their skills with plants and mushrooms, and how to make a few hybrids here and there. They invented new ways of cultivation. Their hours together were long, but the hours they felt they had been together seemed too few to share their novelties. However; there were some moments when each one opened up to tell the other about more personal things, topics like the doubts that assailed Ikal at night about the death of his parents because, although he had already told her a thousand times the way they died, he always believed deep in his thoughts and in his chest that something did not add up, something was not right with the description of their deaths.

Kaab talked mostly about the loneliness she always harbored, their living habits, and how much they both felt out of place in any situation, even though they belonged to the same family, the same neighborhood, and the same Kingdom. They could blend in perfectly in society, and both were well-liked in their Kingdoms, but the truth was that neither felt close to anyone. It was like being surrounded by people and still feeling alone.

In that impassable friendship, they understood and complemented each other. They felt they belonged to some world, even if its inhabitants were reduced to the shameful number of two.

They strolled commonly through the local flea markets, and their interaction with the stall owners became, on a few occasions, very interesting, as some merchants from other lands and even from kingdoms or towns so far away that neither of them had ever heard of would fleetingly arrive. There they would meet old men who brought the strangest spices, some of which seemed to move on their own, jumping, others looked like sunflowers, seeds, condiments, the strangest gadgets, and so on. In short, it was like a market that sometimes brought a great deal of knowledge and seeded ideas in Ikal and Kaab, and at other times was a great disappointment.

On that particular day, the mystery market had been a complete waste of time. They finished walking through it in a hurry and she decided to return home to laze around a bit.

Ikal, I think this day’s exhausting tour of the market has left me dead... bored to death, she said sarcastically. I think I’d better get back before it’s past my nap time.

Don’t worry, I also have to go see how some new grafts from my most recent experiment have progressed, so don’t keep taking up my time, he said as he gave her a huge smile and slapped Kaab on the head in farewell.

The way in which Ikal communicated with people who were in some way sentimentally linked was very strange, almost nobody understood him, while with most people he behaved as normal. No one could explain why he was like that,