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hezzabeth · 5 months

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There was someone singing in the greenhouse, someone with a pitch-perfect deep voice. Revati closed her eyes, pressing her ear against the glass door.

In a field where the paper daisies grow,

Underneath the sun's harsh glow,

I wander through, light and free.

Paper daisies, pink and white,

Your petals so bright.

I sing to you as the world beyond burns.

The smoke coils in the sky far above,

But your petals still dance around me.

Don’t be afraid; soon the rains will come.

Everything lost will grow again.

Paper daisies, pink and white,

Your petals so bright.

I sing to you as the world beyond burns.

The stars begin to rise,

My hands scooping your seeds.

Soon you will take flight

Towards the soft moonlight.

There was an old, prop piano in the abandoned Holly Bush Tavern. The only person who could play it properly was Mr. Gupta. During holiday festivals, he would coax melodies out of the sticky keys while Mrs. Gupta sang in a nasal voice. This was different. The singer’s voice filled Revati in a place she didn’t know was empty. The singing stopped abruptly as Revati’s weight caused the door to creak. Of course, the door creaked. The greenhouse was a wobbling claptrap box made out of welded-together old windows. Miss Grassroots, a tourist who had been dead for almost six years, had built it. Inside lay the heart of Baker Street. The heart had begun as a rose garden. Nanni was the one who began picking up the fallen red petals, drying them, and turning them into tea.

Revati only had vague memories of the first day of the invasion. Mrs. Grasston and Dusk had invaded the kitchens and gift shops. Together they managed to pool together seeds and cuttings in order to grow a small food supply. There was a wall of tomato vines, grown from several seeds found in old slices left in the bin. There were the garden beds where the potatoes and carrots grew. In fact, the potatoes were what kept Baker Street from starving to death. Next to one of the largest windows, the herb and weed boxes grew. Revati’s father was the one who ripped open gourmet tea bags in their home, discovering dried seeds inside. Bridgadeiro Bun was sitting under the lemon tree. “You’re a pretty good singer,” Revati said gruffly. “I was just trying to cheer up Deshia; she’s been feeling a bit depressed lately,” Bridgadeiro said, patting the tree's trunk. “Who’s Deshia?” Revati asked, faintly confused. “The lemon tree, of course! She said nobody's chatted with her for years,” Bridgadeiro said. Suddenly, the tree shook its branches, causing a fresh lemon to fall into Bridgadeiro’s lap. “Thank you for the gift, sweetheart,” Bridgadeiro said, patting the tree again. Revati stared at the lemon tree, not quite sure what to think. Could a tree really be depressed? It would explain why the lemons were so withered and small.

“All Buns speak plant; it's the same gene that causes our pink hair," he said. Revati glanced around, her eyes briefly falling on the giant pumpkin vine near the door.

"Are the plants talking right now?" Revati asked curiously.

"Most of them fell asleep hours ago. When they were awake, they just kept jabbering on about a golden lady," Bridgadeiro remarked.

"So, the lemon tree is depressed? I could get Aurora to come in here and read to her," Revati conceded.

"It's more than that. She misses the lady who planted her; she doesn't understand why she vanished and never came back," Bridgadeiro remarked. Revati found her hands stroking the book of fairy tales nervously.

"If she's talking about Mrs. Grassroots, she died," Revati replied flatly. Six years ago. Six years ago, there were over a hundred tourists living on Baker Street. Nanni, who had spent years living with mother, insisted on moving into an abandoned hat shop near the edge of the park.

The day the tornado hit was the same day Nanni decided to tell Revati all about her family history.

"I always carry the death stone in my handbag, along with everything else I'd ever need in an invasion," Nanni pointed out. Technically that was true; Nanni's giant handbag was filled with almost anything.

Outside, Revati could hear her father trying to roll down metal shutters. There was the sudden horrible roar, and Nanni's wall exploded in a cloud of rubble.

"A lot of people died," Revati finished, her voice trailing off. First came the tornado that caused a gap in the mirror walls. Then the trickle of automatic vegetable cleaners who decided to exploit the crack. Finally, the battle on Mansfield Park between the cleaners and a group of tourists.

"The lady that planted this tree was actually a member of the Lost Princess rebel army; she convinced a bunch of tourists to fight with her," Revati remarked, shaking her head. Then she firmly opened the book of fairy tales.

"It looks like some people survived," Bridgadeiro replied.

"I don't want to talk about it; I just want to read! Here, you can read with me; you might like this story," Revati replied.

Once long ago, in a lost village near the foot of Mount Raya, there lived a special little girl. She was known for her kindness and her deep love for nature. Everyone in the village called her Naisha. Naisha had a special gift; she could talk to plants. The villagers often saw her whispering to the flowers; they adored her magical gift.

One day, Naisha learned about a legendary tree called the Kalpavriksha. The old ladies in the village whispered that it had the ability to grant any wish. Drought, fearsome and terrible, had swept through the land. Flowers withered, no longer able to whisper. Trees forgot their songs. Naisha decided she must seek out the tree and wish for one thing alone: rain.

"Wake up," a voice screeched, and Revati's eyes snapped open, the book of fairy tales tumbling onto the ground. Aurora was standing above her, the bright morning sunlight making her hair glow.

"Morning," Revati yawned and then jumped when she realized Bridgadeiro was asleep next to her.

Bridgadeiro slowly awoke, smacking his lips together.

"Juniper said you were in here; she never mentioned the boy," Aurora remarked coldly as Revati slowly stood up.

"Anna made him sleep in here; I must have passed out while reading," Revati said.

It was then that Revati realized Aurora was holding a tray filled with fresh strawberries.

"Hmph," Aurora said, shooting Bridgadeiro a suspicious look as he also stood up, patting the tree trunk.

"Let me guess, Queen Victoria sent these with an apology?" Revati asked.

"Yes, and a request to fill her vodka order," Aurora said, placing the tray on the ground.

"If she was really sorry, she'd give us a strawberry plant," Revati pointed out.

"Oh, you don't need one of those! You have the fruit," Bridgadeiro remarked.

"You can't just shove a strawberry in the ground and hope for the best; it rots," Revati replied. Bridgadeiro merely leaned down, examining the strawberries. After a few moments of careful examination, he picked up the biggest, brightest berry.

"You can; you just need the right formula," he said. He vaguely walked towards one of the empty garden beds that was going to be turned into an onion patch. Carefully, he dug a small hole and placed the strawberry inside before covering it in earth. Then, he reached into his massive jumpsuit pocket and this time pulled out a small vial of portable perfume.

"One pump should do it," Bridgadeiro remarked before pumping a cloud of perfume onto the soil. The earth began to twitch and vibrate, and Revati gasped as greenery sprouted from the soil. The plants quivered and then twisted as white flowers bloomed. The petals then shriveled and fell off as the center of the flowers grew into green berries. A few seconds later, the berries blossomed into a deep red.

"They shouldn't be doing that! Strawberries take two weeks to grow," Aurora gasped.

"I suppose they would in the wild, but I just gave them a pump of my Gene Grow fusion serum!" Bridgadeiro said, leaning down to examine the strawberries.

"They should produce fruit every day, but only if you talk to them nicely," Bridgadeiro added as he picked a strawberry and handed it to Revati.

Revati sniffed it suspiciously before taking a tiny bite. It tasted just like a strawberry.

"Does that stuff work on all plants?" Revati asked curiously.

"It tends to go a bit haywire when you spray it on legumes; you end up with giant beans that have no nutrients," Bridgadeiro said.

"I saved your life; think it's only fair you spray all the plants in here," Revati said firmly.

"It would be better if I planted their seeds outside and created new crops; otherwise, the rapidly growing plants could burst outside the walls," Bridgadeiro replied. Revati nodded crisply.

"I'll be sending someone to check on your efforts later today; I'll be far too busy working," Revati replied with as much dignity as she could muster in a sleep shirt before marching out of the greenhouse. The book of fairy tales lay abandoned on the ground.

Revati carefully changed into her work uniform. When she was a child, her wardrobe consisted of souvenir t-shirts from the gift shop fashioned into dresses. Now that she was almost an adult, Revati had to get creative.

Most of the gift shop sweatshirts had been swiped long ago. Instead, Revati put on the top half of the cafe's old uniform. It consisted of a magenta and purple striped waistcoat with a navy blue blouse covered in tiny clocks. The bottom half should have been a matching bustle skirt. Revati switched it with the men's purple trousers. Revati then carefully redid her braid and applied some more soot lipstick. Aurora, still wearing the same clothes from yesterday, was waiting for her in the kitchen.

"You're wearing your second best outfit," Aurora remarked.

"I suppose I am," Revati replied as she grabbed her coat.

"I thought you said you were done with romance after that whole mess with Little Hardi last summer," Aurora said, and Revati stopped walking.

"I am!" she protested, and Aurora pressed her thin lips into a disapproving frown.

"You were sleeping with him."

"God forbid I fall asleep next to another human being," Revati said as she marched through the cafe past Nanni, who was sewing something.

"You kept him! You gave him a job," Aurora added knowingly.

"I didn't keep him! He's not a feral child; he can leave whenever he wants," Revati snapped as they stepped outside, and she put on her sunglasses. Olde Landon was always at its worst in the morning. Like all major tourist attractions and cities, Old Landon had an atmospheric blanket high above the park's surface. It meant that nobody in the park froze to death at night, but it also meant the morning light was far too bright.

"Is that Little Hardi and Queen Victoria standing next to the fountain?" Revati sighed wearily.

"They both arrived at sunrise; I told them you were busy, so your mother made them breakfast," Aurora remarked.

"Sunrise; of course, they sacrificed sleep so they could get here first," Revati remarked, marching towards the two other leaders. Queen Victoria was wearing one of the park's costumes, a stained white lace wedding dress. Little Hardi, on the other hand, was wearing a deep blue doublet with a ruff collar and matching tights.

"Little Hardi, is your brother still unconscious?" Revati greeted him.

"We took a vote last night, and he played Macduff," Little Hardi replied.

Revati, who knew fully well what that meant, had to stop herself from flinching.

"You killed him? That's a little harsh," Revati pointed out.

"It was for the best; we need a strong leader during a time of invasion," Little Hardi remarked practically.

"Time of invasion? Isn't that a little dramatic?" Revati had to ask.

"There must be another crack in the wall; thank Jane, it's probably not too big! You two would be far too young to remember the vegetable cleaner invasion," remarked Queen Victoria.

"I was twelve," Revati said dryly.

"I was fourteen; the tornado destroyed the Hamlet's haunted castle ride, and the appliances killed the actor playing Ophelia," Little Hardi pointed out.

"You're both still tiny children as far as I'm concerned; I can't believe this is who I have to work with," Queen Victoria replied, and Revati brushed past her with annoyance, heading to the dress shop across the street.

The shelves of the dress shop had long ago been stripped bare. All that remained were the three Penny Farthing Bicycles that had been part of the shop's window display. Revati wheeled her Penny Farthing outside only to see Queen Victoria having a heated discussion with Aurora.

"What do you mean she's going to ride to the wall by herself? All representatives from all towns should go!" Queen Victoria was screeching, slapping Aurora's shoulder with her fan.

Revati parked her bicycle and marched towards Queen Victoria, grabbing her hand.

"Slap my assistant again, and I'll break your fingers; you know I can do it," Revati growled.

Little Hardi, who was now sitting by the fountain, laughed.

"I was just speaking the truth! We have a treaty; during times of crisis, we unify," Queen Victoria said, her voice tight and a little frightened.

"I don't see Lady Morganna here," Revati pointed out, referring to the ruler of Medieval faire.

"You know perfectly well Medieval faire cut us all off after the tornado hit! They probably all died off years ago," Queen Victoria snapped back. Queen Victoria was right. Medieval faire was located in the center of a massive fake castle complete with a drawbridge. After the invasion, Lady Morganna had yanked up the bridge and refused to speak to anyone. Anna and Nanni had tried to visit several times with baskets of dried lemons. They were horrified when someone from above threw the contents of their toilets onto the streets.

"My new friend said he saw naked people in the wilderness dancing around a murdered television! Sounds like Lady Morganna to me," Revati merely replied, pointing to Bridgadeiro. Bridgadeiro, who was in the middle of taking several pumpkins out of the greenhouse, waved.

"Could be a coincidence; regardless, you are not going to the wall! We need to have a proper group committee meeting first! Then a vote," Queen Victoria's.

Revati just rolled her eyes and released Queen Victoria's hand, causing her to stumble and fall onto the floor. Revati then reached into her jacket, pulling out her stun gun, shoving it into the queen's stomach. The Queen made a faint whimpering sound as her eyes rolled backward, and she collapsed again. Revati then aimed the gun at Little Hardi, who held his hands up, protesting.

"I'm not going to stop you! I came here to propose marriage," Little Hardi insisted.

"Marriage? To me?" Revati asked dubiously.

"All kings need a consort, and I'm not interested in Big Hardi's husband," Little Hardi said, slowly getting down on one knee.

Revati stared at him and shook her head.

"I'm seventeen," Revati pointed out.

"Well, the wedding wouldn't be for another couple of years," Little Hardi replied.

"I thought we agreed to keep our relationship professional after the handkerchief incident," Revati pointed out, and Little Hardi held a hand to his heart.

"I told you dozens of times I had nothing to do with my brother's plot," Little Hardi insisted.

"He accused me of cheating on you using an old prop handkerchief as evidence, and you believed him despite it being the exact same plot of the play Othello," Revati pointed out. The entire incident occurred over a year ago and ended with Revati kidnapped and tied up on the stage in a white fluffy nightgown.

"I'm a very insecure person," Little Hardi pleaded. Dating while trapped in a fun park during the apocalypse was difficult. Before the feral children came along, Revati was the youngest person on Baker Street. All the teenagers in Whistleton were raised to be incredibly prissy. Most of them refused to do anything more than dance or hold hands. Little Hardi had been a fun, age-appropriate choice. Little Hardi was happy to do far more than hold hands.

"No," Revati said firmly.

"No? Really?" he asked, sounding faintly surprised.

"First of all, your legal system involves killing criminals on stage in the middle of plays, which is horrifying," Revati pointed out, and Little Hardi shrugged.

"Secondly, I'm not an idiot! You just want to marry me so you can take over our greenhouse," Revati pointed out, and Little Hardi gasped as if looking deeply insulted.

"That's not true! If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. I have seen roses damasked, red and white, but no such roses see I in her cheeks," Little Hardi pleaded as Revati climbed onto the penny farthing.

#nanowrimo #nanowrimo2023 #science fiction #speculative fiction #speculative worldbuilding #futurism #sci-fi #creative writing #scifi story #science fiction novel

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hezzabeth · 4 months

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Revati's eyes opened, and her hand instinctively reached for one of her pants pockets. The train had stopped moving. In Revati's experience, stillness was often dangerous. No one seemed particularly concerned, however. Brigadeiro and his cousin barely looked up from the game they were playing. Both of them were far too busy staring at the illustrations of classical insects on the plastic cards they were holding.

"Are we here?" Revati asked, her eyes moving to the train's windows. The train had stopped in the middle of a busy city street, and there appeared to be no platform in sight.

"No, the train always has to stop when Lady Mill wishes to cross," Brigadeiro remarked, barely looking up from her cards.

"Lady Mill?" Revati asked, leaning over Brigadeiro so she could see out the window properly. Revati had, of course, seen Queen Victoria try to hold grand parades in Olde Landon. Every year they got more and more depressing as the park's old decorations and floats grew shabbier. By the time Revati left, the carnival floats were covered in black mold, and the carriages had lost all their wheels.

Lady Mill didn't have carriages, or floats, or even fireworks. No, it was just her. A beautiful figure riding a strange silver four-legged robot. She floated past the train window as if completely surrounded by a serene invisible bubble. Periwinkle blue hair fell down her shoulders in glossy waves. She was wearing an elaborate pastel pink and diamond gown that was far more suitable for a ball. For a second, she turned towards the train windows, and Revati caught a glimpse of a sweet round face.

"Wow," Revati whispered as the Lady disappeared from view and the train began to move again.

"Everyone says that when they first see her, but then you get used to how annoying it is when she shuts down traffic and causes massive bathroom queues," Pecan replied, slamming a plastic card down. The card had an illustration of a silver and purple spider on it. "There! Game over, you owe me fifty credits," Pecan laughed.

"I suppose I do," Brigadeiro smiled, and Revati grabbed his wrist. "No, you don't," Revati said, grabbing two of his cards and placing them on top of the spider card. "A wasp and a power-up card, very good!" Pecan smirked.

"Brigadeiro taught me how to play Buggle On the Way Down two years ago," Revati said with a small shrug. "Within a month, she started beating me," Brigadeiro said proudly, handing Revati the cards.

By the time they got close to Paprika station, Revati had beaten Pecan six times. "Here, you take over! I'm refusing to meet your family looking like this," Revati said, gesturing to her torn shirt and filthy pants.

"Oh, thank Goup, I need to win my money back," Pecan cried.

Like most forms of transport, the bullet train had toilets. Most of the toilets Revati encountered stank of farts and had suspicious puddles on the floor. The bullet train's toilet, however, smelled like chemically clean flowers. The entire cubicle was a pristine creamy pink, and the floor was dry. Revati placed her backpack on the floor and rummaged around inside, pulling out the red dress. Amma had explained to her that she would need to pack lightly but sensibly. A long shirt to sleep in, spare underwear, obviously, and the dress.

Revati carefully changed into the carmine red dress, feeling the soft fabric swish around her knees. Revati had done a very quick multiple choice GOüp colour theory test. According to the results she was supposed to wear red in order to balance her “cold spirit”. Revati had found the gown in an abandoned small village along with a bunch of mix

It flared out at the waist with a soft pleated skirt and puffed sleeves. If Revati had more time and actual access to a real shop she would have picked something different.

Something sleek and fitted with a sharp collar and fitted bodice.

Suddenly, her bangle beeped, indicating another message. "Answer," sighed Revati as she began to pack. The android, ghostly and transparent, suddenly appeared in the bathroom.

"You switched me off!" The android growled.

"You were being annoying," Revati snapped back as she examined her reflection. The space station's climate had flattened her hair a little. A massive bruise had appeared on her cheek. Still, it would have to do.

"Well, at least you're not dead. When you didn't answer before, I thought you were on the blown-up space station," the Android shrugged.

"Is it all over the news?" Revati asked.

"Oh yes, the appliances are, of course, claiming I was hiding a weapon of mass destruction on the station's beach! If I was going to hide a weapon, it would be better than a beach," the Android chuckled. Somebody knocked on the door.

"Are you ready, Revati? The train is pulling in," Brigadeiro's voice called, and the train suddenly stopped. The android cut their call, its image flickering away.

Half a dozen people were actually waiting on the train's concourse. Most of them had curly hair in variations of pink. Several of them were holding a glowing sign reading "welcome home, Brigadeiro and Rarity."

"Rarity? They couldn't spell her name right?" Brigadeiro whispered to Pecan with a tight smile.

"You know what your mother's like; she probably made the sign twenty minutes ago," Pecan replied as the only woman without pink hair pushed her way forward, grabbing Brigadeiro.

"Meu Bebe! Thank the lady Goup you are alive," the lady cried.

"I'm fine, Ma! It was just a small riot," Brigadeiro replied as his mother pulled away, examining him.

"You are not fine! Look at how pale you are! You have bruises all over your neck," she replied, and then she seemed to finally notice Revati. Up close, Brigadeiro's mother looked nothing like him. Her skin was a light tan, and she had long wavy black hair with a light blue streak at the front. Her very wide, very red lips parted into a welcoming smile.

"And you must be Rarity! You poor thing, look at the state of you! Bruises on your face and half your hair is missing," his mother said, her dark eyes softening. Revati instantly touched her hair blushing with embarrassment.

"Ma, I told you, her name is Revati," Brigadeiro sighed.

"Oh, you know I'm terrible with names! Don't take it personally! I called my brother-in-law the wrong name for six years," Brigadeiro's mother said with a wave.

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Bun," Revati said with a small nod.

"And such nice manners! Much better than that Margarine; she kept calling me Cocoa," Mrs. Bun muttered darkly. An older man was now hustling towards them, an older man who looked like a Brigadeiro who had been left out to wrinkle in the sun.

"Sir," Brigadeiro said awkwardly with a small nervous smile.

"So, this is the new one then?" His father replied before slowly walking around Revati, examining her from all angles. "She's tall, that's always useful, and she has good posture!" His father said gruffly.

"Dad!" Another family member protested, and a skinny man with a shaved head ran up to Brigadeiro.

"Barley! I thought you were working the maze today," Brigadeiro asked, moving on to hug the skinny man.

"I was, but all the tourist attractions got shut down when the attack happened! Ma called the family, and everyone ended up here waiting for you," Barley explained.

"Of course she did! Revati, this is my brother Barley," Brigadeiro smiled.

"I've heard a lot about you," Revati admitted as Barley casually shook her head.

"Really, such as?" He asked, sounding vaguely interested.

"Well, Brigadeiro said you work for a plant attractions division? I have no idea what that is... He also once told me that the two of you had a rock band once," Revati recalled.

"Really? He didn't tell you that I died for six minutes? Usually that's the first thing he mentions," Barley remarked.

"He might have mentioned it once or twice, but it seemed rude to mention," Revati blushed.

"You could have just waited at home," Brigadeiro pointed out as another person joined Barley.

"Everyone's already arrived at the house for Apple day! The house was heaving, and I had to escape," the other person explained.

"This is my brother's spouse, Vanilla," Brigadeiro explained. Vanilla had the same pale lilac coloring as Dusk. As they extended their elegant white hand, their features softened from sharp masculine angles to feminine curves.

"Pleasure to meet you, I'll be adopting you during the holidays so you don't get overwhelmed by the Bun family," Vanilla smiled.

"I've faced legions of killer toothbrushes and wastelands raiders... they can't be that terrifying," Revati said with a chuckle. Much to her horror, her voice trailed off with a squeak.

"There are over two hundred of them attending, and they will all want to ask what you do for a living and which rock best suits your personality," Vanilla replied with a sinister smirk.

"Over two hundred?" Revati asked Brigadeiro with a forced clenched smile.

"Oh good, the clone branch is coming! They couldn't attend last year," Brigadeiro smiled.

"Everyone hurry up! Pecan has the travel carts ready, and we need to get home before nightfall," Mrs. Bun's voice called.

"Clone branch?" Revati finally asked Vanilla as they traveled to Brigadeiro's home. The travel carts turned out to be a bunch of hovering metal buckets. The journey home seemed to involve a shortcut through a tranquil forest. Revati thought it was best not to ask questions about clones until she was sure everyone else was busy in their own conversations.

"The Mill family loved great-great-Grandpa Bun's roses so much they had him cloned nine times.They then had the clones sent off as gifts to other space stations," Vanilla explained to Revati. The forest they were riding through was filled with elegant pink blossoming trees. Distant music filled the air, and a cool breeze made Revati shiver.

"They gave people away as gifts? That's terrible," Revati whispered back.

"Clones weren't recognized as people on the space station until a hundred years ago," Vanilla said with a small shrug.

Revati suddenly spotted a flash of blue hair as two trees parted slightly. "Look! That's the lady from the telehub," Brigadeiro called over his shoulder from where he was sitting with his brother.

It was Pauletta, marching through the forest, her boots trampling the undergrowth.

"The lady from the telehub?" Asked Mrs. Bun.

"The one who pushed me into the shop during the stampede," Brigadeiro explained.

"And you're letting her walk! Hey Miss! Come over here! We're giving you a ride!" Mrs. Bun shrieked at the top of her lungs.

Pauletta suddenly stopped and turned to look at them. For a fraction of a moment, her face had the sinister edge of an exterminator. And then she smiled.

#comic #nanowrimo2023 #nanowrimo #science fiction #life on mars #speculative worldbuilding #speculative fiction #scifi ya #saying farewell to armageddon #ya dystopia #ya scifi #ya fiction #science fiction novel

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