Ahrric's Home in the Eternal Garden

The soft scratch of a reed pen on clay and the even softer hums echoed in the tall room. The fungi that grew sporadically over surfaces turned their attention to the vocalist, whispering to one another about the tune.

It was cheerful, a far cry from the somber drones they used to hear. After years of quiet—almost mournful—songs, the brighter but still soft melodies that filled the halls of the Eternal Gardens entranced them. Something so new and exciting, yet the familiarity of the voice that serenaded the Garden's inhabitants lulled them back into their hazy dreams where the murmurs of the ancestors communed with all.

Sitting at a table with Ahrric were two of his new friends. Lyris was engrossed in a book he'd lent her while Rei, for once, was sitting still with a cup of tea. He was quite pleased that the pair liked the brew; Ahrric had worked hard to make it sweet enough for their tastes. He preferred something less bright and more peppery. The sugar-favoring tastebuds they possessed made him cringe, but...it made them happy.

Lyris told them about the brambleberries her husband used to bring her in the mornings, along with coffee. She still got the distant, dazed look in her eyes when she talked about him, reminiscing about their time together before the Dross came. Her longing was infectious for all of them, a shared feeling, a shared dream.



Ahrric had quickly learned that coffee and tea do not taste well together, but the berries? He could do something about that. Adding a little juice from a citrus gourd gave it a sweet and tangy flavor that made Lyris perk up almost instantly when she first tried it.

"It tastes like the pie he used to make! But...earthier." Her smile was warm and sincere—if a bit watery—enough so that it made Ahrric's face warm and his beak itch in pleasure from the indirect praise.

"I'm glad you like it."



He smiled to himself as he finished writing his next haiku, this one comparing his friends to eternity. He wondered if, when their time was at an end, they would join him in the mycelium network. He would like to be with them forever, nurturing life through death together, although he would never force them to do so. Everyone had their own beliefs, their own eternity that called to them—if they believed in such things at all. He wondered where people went when they had no eternity...

"You don't even have lips and I can tell you're smiling, Ahri."

He glanced up from his tablet to find Rei watching him. There was a light playfulness in her tone, a teasing temptation to take the bait and banter with her.

"I am...content."

She smiled, the glow of her ghostly mane took on a more purple hue. "I think we all are now...or will be."

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