Chapter 1: Green is the color of rebirth, of new beginnings
You appear at the gate of a garden.
Before you, as far as your eyes can see,
is the wondrous abundance of green.
And in that green, you see splashes of new life,
the growth of new beginnings.
Careful, but eager,
you stay to witness your own rebirth.
She took careful steps on her way back down the stairs. Her arms could barely grasp the railing and her legs wanted to give out at any moment. A few hours of lugging up her belongings to the dormitories, and she was completely over materialistic goods. Each box made her grumble and think to herself: was it really worth it?
Of course it was, she'd answer with resignation. To make her new home feel more like herself, she absolutely wanted whatever few belongings she had left with her. Born in the mountains and raised cities away, Maka had traveled far to get to where she was. She was a fighter from the start, someone who was never given their good fortune, who always had to work for whatever rewards she could earn.
The Kingdom of Clarines was a large and successful country, one whose throne had recently exchanged hands from father to son. Despite having the youngest king in centuries, Clarines had never been more successful. Its cities became beacons of light and innovation, and there was an overhaul of corrupt politicians who were brought into the public eye, exposed for who they were.
In the midst of the change, Maka sold her small shop and rented out her home, using her savings to travel to the capital where her parents met long before she was conceived. In her little town secluded in the woods at the edge of the country, she felt that her growth became stagnant. There was only so much more she could gain from staying in that place, and so she left for the place where the best pharmacists were trained: the royal castle.
After being given a temporary room during her application process, and after crushing her entry exam, Maka was given the job and a more permanent dormitory. Though after being told that she was responsible for moving her belongings from storage, she decided that it would be her most difficult challenge yet.
Like the rest of the castle, the open-air corridor was surrounded by lush grass and flower beds hung from well tended baskets. Small puddles from watering them spotted the floor, and Maka struggled to remember to look where she was going while lost in her own thoughts. She was never the best at meticulous labor, but the sooner she could finish, the faster she became free.
There was only one more box to handle, she assured herself. Only one more trip that she needed to take in order to begin her new journey.
As she walked down to the storage wing, a part of her wished that there was a less conspicuous pathway to her room, one preferably just as short and but a little more hidden from the rest of the castle. Maka slowly became an expert of navigating the immediate area, but the more she went back and forth, the more attention she felt following after her.
It began with a few whispers behind covered mouths and averted eyes, then morphed into openly critical staff and pointing in her direction. The talking, she could care less of, but the rumors that she knew were spreading deeper into the castle were her worries.
Though she could pretend that it was because she was a new face amongst the staff, the fact remained that they were staring at her, or rather, her long red hair.
She never made an effort to hide the color, and how could she? It was a brilliant shade and so very clearly seen- there was no point. Instead, she tied them up into pigtails, framing her face and keeping it from bothering her neck during her more relaxed hours. While she worked, she kept it braided in a fishtail hung on her back to keep the ends from dipping into fine powders and becoming a hazard.
Twirling one of the ends in circles around her finger, she felt more prideful of her hair than usual. If the palace go-ers were going to keep watching her, perhaps later, she'd give them a show.
Successfully arriving, Maka squatted down and pulled the final box closer, testing the weight and cursing at her lack of foresight. She saved the heaviest box for last, and as unfortunate as it was, Maka truly did need all of the notes and journals that she'd accumulated across the years, if not for their content, then for their sentimental value. Most of them were gifts from her community, who believed in her and who sent her on her way to the castle, and a larger chunk of the books were given to her by her late grandparents, her only family who remembered her passion and supported her wholeheartedly before their inevitable passing.
Gathered from odd times and even questionable sources, Maka found that the contents also saved her on multiple fronts. Old wives tales and accounts from a dying generation were a bountiful treasure, at least, once those cryptic messages were figured out. It was a task that Maka felt she could never finish in her own life time, but one that she wanted to trouble herself with.
Drink apple juice to help with diarrhea. Rub turmeric on skin to reduce scarring. Aloe makes a healthy soup. And don't ever forget: never let someone else plant your parsley.
But reciting these tibbits was a mistake- rather, not paying attention to where she walked was a mistake. On her way to her room, past the sheds and into the corridor, she remembered too late that the ground was covered in water. She slipped too quickly to regain control, and Maka felt her body betray her, pulled backwards by gravity and the weight that she carried.
Though not soundless, her landing was softer than she expected, soft but firm. Strangely enough, she still felt like she was floating, like her mind hadn't registered the fall. Box still in her hands, she adjusted it until she felt the surface under her shift.
It was no ground at all. Instead, it was a young man who was under her, supporting her.
They locked eyes for the briefest second, his looking down at her with the ghost of worry while she had enough time to register her embarrassment. She was too vulnerable in her position, too exposed.
Maka pulled away before she could get another good look at his face, thanking him roughly for his rescue. Not hearing an answer, she looked back behind her shoulder to see that there was no one there.
Strange guy, she shrugged, resuming her last trip to her new dormitory. She hoped that not everyone she was going to meet would be the same way.
Perhaps later she will give her new supervisors a quick visit, but only after a very long nap.
Reverb 2018 / Happyisahabit and L0chn3ss collab
Take a look at the artwork by Happyisahabit on Tumblr!
Listen to Podfic by fynneyseas at the same titled work on Tumblr or AO3!
Thank you to Psychadelicrose for betaworks
Review