Chapter 3 -- New Everything

First day free of the globe, ferrets are great friends...

A dream fades into the background as I wake to an unfamiliar space. Something smells amazing, I hear some noise coming from somewhere beyond my feet, and I feel something else in front of my stomach.

I open my eyes to find myself loosely curled onto my side, and a snow white ferret curled in front of my stomach. I notice a blanket covering me, and, when I jump at the sight of the ferret, my back hits a soft wall. My eyes swing sideways with my head, and I see that I'm laying down on a couch. I quickly sit up, and the ferret stands up and starts to stretch out. I keep my eyes on it as it crawls into my lap and falls asleep again.

I smell that scent again and hear my stomach growl. I then hear feet padding on floor, and look towards my feet to see Tahlna standing in what looks to be a kitchen. A smile instantly spreads across her face.

"You're awake," she says on an exhale. She then walks back into the kitchen, grabs something, and walks towards me with a plate in her hand. She sits at the end of my feet and hands it to me. I look down at it, then back into her face. "Please, eat this. It's French toast."

I grab the plate and tentatively grab a piece of the food and take a bite. The flavor was a salty sweet mix, and I instantly fell in love with it. I took the next bite and then the next until the first piece of toast was gone. I then notice that Tahlna isn't eating, so I try to pass the plate to her. She shakes her head and says, "No, I'm fine. Go ahead and eat it." I look down at it, then, after a slight hesitation, I rip it in half and hand her the second half. She chuckles, says, "You win," then takes it and starts eating with me.

After a few moments, we finish the toast, and Tahlna turns to face me fully, pulling her legs up onto the couch. "So, how are you feeling?"

I look around the room we're in, and think about my answer. I'm out of the globe. This is the first place I've been outside of it. It's both thrilling and scary. Like I'm dreaming and, soon, I'll wake up and find myself still trapped, still trading letters with Tahlna. But then my eyes find hers, and I see the affection in them. I see the tension in her shoulders. I see the concern and an un-nameable emotion on her face. So, I open my mouth for the first time in my life, and say in a voice I didn't know what sounded like, "I feel at peace."

Her face breaks into a huge smile and she leans forward, gets on her knees, and crawls towards me. She wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me close. The ferret crawls off my lap and onto the head of the couch. She then falls backwards and pulls me on top of her, still holding me close. I blink once, then bury my head into the space between her shoulder and neck. I hug her back and feel myself pulling deeper into the embrace. I feel so comfy and safe in her arms that I don't even notice that Pollis and Healon have walked into the room and have both sat down into the chairs on both sides of a coffee table in front of the couch. It's only when the ferret jumps onto the arm and licks a tear from my face, forcing me to open my eyes, that I notice them.

I lighten the hug, and Tahlna lets me sit up, before turning me around and pulling my back into her stomach and chest. She wraps her arms around me again, but lightly this time, and addresses the boys.

"How are things out there?" She asks them.

"Exactly as you thought they would be," Healon says.

"Since they haven't seen her before, they gave out a description of 'A human who can play musical instruments' or something like that." Pollis relays.

"A lot of people are fibbing it just to try and get the reward. But, for obvious reasons, they all get rejected. They say the Council knows exactly what her music sounds like, so they've been picking out fakers and liers left and right"

"Good. How's the new place looking? We can't keep her here forever. They may have been ignorant enough to overlook checking up on her, but they aren't so stupid that they won't ask me if I know anything," Tahlna says.

"It's finished and furnished. As soon as you're done dealing with the questioning, you can move right in," says Pollis. I look up at Tahlna, and looks down to smile warmly at me. The ferret then jumps over our shoulders and back into my lap. A chuckle sounds at the back of my head.

"This little guy is Rido. I think he likes you." I reach my hand out and start scratching the fur between his ears tentatively. He looks into my eyes with his warm brown ones and closes them slowly, falling asleep again.

"How's she doing?" I hear Healon ask Tahlna.

"She says she feels peaceful, so I'm going to take that as feeling happy despite the new scenery." I nod my head to this, and turn towards Healon and Pollis.

"Many appreciations," I say to them with my thanks coloring my voice and face. I then look behind them and spot a wide black screen. I study it so hard, my eyes hurt a little, but I can't figure out what it is. I feel Tahlna shift behind me, and suddenly the screen turns on to show moving colors and people. I yelp and jump off the couch, hiding behind it to protect myself from the sudden onslaught of noise and unfamiliar voices.

Tahlna fiddles with something in her hands, and the noises die down a little. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," she says around a laugh. Rido had landed on the other end of the couch, and was staring at the screen now. "This is a TV. You've read something about them, right?" And I had. I remember the description of one I had read about. This is a flat screen. I stare at the TV in wonder, and study the screen a bit longer.

Then I notice the slight warmth I feel on my bare legs, and turn around to see the sun for the very first time in my life.

Author's Note

Honest thoughts, please! My feelings aren't fragile and made of glass.