Day: VII

CHAPTER 4

10.

It's the beginning of the so-called observation day. I failed to take it easy yesterday, I already finished everything that I should be doing for this 2 day standby. Wrote a manual, assessed my own state, arranged my room according to the setup inside the manual. I thought there's a lot of things to do but it turns out to be not that much. Now I don't have anything else to do. I guess I'll just roam around!

I once again went outside to do what I normally do. When I finally reached the big old tree, I suddenly realized something. Everything naturally resets but our craft does not, does it mean manmade things here are exceptions to the rule? The resources will naturally come back while the craft made from those materials will remain as it is. It does make sense since we do have houses here but at the same time the nature stays the same. Not to mention, my writing strongly proves that.

If that is the case, would it be advisable if I create some placard or some sort? Like this way to the cave, or fireflies incoming?

Wait wait wait… There will be a greater risk of someone might see it then follow the placard, what was I thinking?

This boring day made me form ideas while negating it right after I formulated it. It's like a consistent argument made by yours truly. I am so bored, I have 12 more hours before this day ends. I can't take it anymore, I have to do something.

I once again visited Doku, the muscle man. I'm not planning on doing an interview, more likely I will try to learn what they are doing. Yes they, I'll visit every single adult today!

"Good afternoon!" I greeted.

"Oh good afternoon young lady, do you want to exchange some crafts?" Doku responded as he stopped chopping wood.

"Noooo, not really" I replied.

"Then why are you here?" he asked.

"I want to learn carpentry!" I energetically said.

"May I ask why?" he questioned.

"Aaaahhmmm… why not?" I said.

"Hmm… Good point. Come in, I'll show you around first" Doku said as he invited me to his working area.

The presentation was surprisingly entertaining. I never knew that carpentry also required this kind of finesse. I thought it's just muscling around, chopping, sawing, etc. Seeing Doku so passionate about his craft made me realize something. Maybe he devoted his life to this craft rather than finding a pair.

Of course I have to confirm it first. "Quick question, why don't you have an adult pair?" I asked.

"Do I have to?" he immediately answered.

"I guess not really. The Globules said that adults should take care of new births, it's easier to do it by pair right?" I replied.

"You can be right, that's why I did not take one. It will be a huge responsibility for me. Yes everyone is doing that, but it does not mean that I also should do it right?" Doku explained.

"But what about the order?" I reiterated.

"Aside from the 1st order (The system will declare who is considered as an adult), the remaining orders are more like moral choices, of course in my personal opinion. I mean we could not control when we are going to be an adult, the latter of the orders are like cause and effect type of things, which will show your morality" Doku added.

"I'm not following… What do you mean by cause and effect thingy?" I commented.

"It's like when you do this, then that will happen. For instance, I chose to not be inside of my house before 23:00, then the opportunity of sleeping comfortably inside of my own shelter will be taken away. Just like the order about taking a new birth, if I do not take care of one, the opportunity of having someone to bond with will be taken away." he responded.

"I think I'm getting it now, but how's that tests your morality?" I questioned.

"Well morality dictates what is right or wrong. It can be an universal thing, in which everyone knows that this is right while that is wrong. But when it is subjective, my definition of what is right from what is wrong may differ to the others. I believe that what I'm doing is right but there are other perspectives that they might think I'm wrong. That's where morality is being tested." he thoroughly explained.

I am actually impressed, this muscle man is also a philosophical one! It now makes sense, why this is the course of their actions. Though on the other side of the coin, their choice of freedom made others carry the responsibility that they should be doing.

Those pairs that have more than one child stood up and also made their choice. If they can take care of the new birth better than those who cannot fully commit, then it is not as irresponsible as it may sound.

Our discussion was way more fruitful than I expected. I did learn some of his tools but I was more fascinated about his ideology. With that said, I wandered off as I tried to test if the other single adults are on the same page as Doku.

Once again, From Doku's carpentry, to Sami's cooking, to Samuel's baking, to Jung's fishing, and lastly, to Minso's fruit carving. Originally, I was not going to interview them. I aimed for new skills as a form of entertainment and such. But it turns out that I'm still more interested in their choices. Some conversations like with Sami and Jung were not as detailed as the rest of them, maybe they are not as good as Doku in terms of explaining. Samuel and Minso on the other hand were more of a direct answer, they don't explain that much because of their straightforwardness.

The single adults may have different ways in expressing their thoughts though they all convey the same meaning beneath. They may have violated the rule about the new birth, but they are living the life that they wanted. I'm sure that if there is a punishment, they wouldn't even regret it.

This house to house visit surely took time and it is definitely worth it. I almost forgot about the time, good thing Minso reminded me that it was 21:00 already. I went home right after having all the chatter.

It was fun! I hope that I can do it again! Wait a second.. The question is should I write these down? Obviously I should since I learned a lot, but I won't be able to do this again if I remember. Hmmm.. What if I just write an order of visit in my diary then leave nothing else, in that way I could do all of these tomorrow again with more time for each visit! I guess there goes the pros on everyday reset, YOSHA!

11.

The following day, my diary tells me a certain flow of what I should do today. It's quite odd because why did I not put any further details in it. The flow contains; fishing first with Jung, cooking the seafood with Sami (will definitely eat as well), bring some for Samuel then bake there, afterwards give some baked pastries to Minso in exchange for a fruit carving, then finally trade the carved fruit for a wooden sculpture of me from Doku.

I don't know why I have this not so specific list but something tells me that this was the original plan yesterday. I just failed to do it, probably did a Q&A instead of actual experience in those fields. Hey, I may be a Goddess but I'm sure I did this on purpose. Anyway, time to check the cave then proceed as planned!

As exciting as it is, after touching the glowing blue thingy I immediately went fishing. Jung is a tanned guy with a happy go lucky vibe, I hope we can catch tons today!

The ugly sound of seagulls, the salty moist of the atmosphere, the never ending motion sickness because of the waves. Fishing is relaxing as f***...

HOW ON BUBBLE DOES JUNG CHILL ON THIS BOAT!

I can feel my spirit slowly slipping away, like abandoning my body in order to have fun elsewhere. I'm so bored, keep it together now, fishing requires patience and of course proper timing…

Hours later and the fishing rod is moving, I think there's a fish nearby. As I tried to look closely, the fish took the bait and instantly pulled me. I almost fell into the water. Good thing I managed to step on the edge of the boat. With all the strength that I have, I pulled back and rolled up the handle. It feels like I'm in Doku's form right now.

"Pull Pull PULL" Jung cheered as he watched me from behind.

"DON'T JUST CHEER THERE, HELP ME!" I yelled.

"Nah dawg, it's yo first fish. You have to do it on yo own" Jung replied. I swear I'm gonna push him off the boat after I catch this one.

The longer I pull, the easier it gets, maybe because it is harder for the fish to swim if they are in the shallow part. Down to my last strength and that instant a Tuna almost the size of me showed up! Jung took over and pulled it completely out of the water.

"Deeeemn dawg sheeesh, Congratulations with yo first catch! Not gonna lie it's way bigger than mah first catch right there foh real." Jung said.

"Tha…. thank you…" I responded as I tried to catch my breath. Lemme rest for a short while, I'm about to absorb the way Jung's talk if I stay here too much.

Moments later, I'm back at the land, who would have thought that I will miss the land this much. Keeping my mind on the track, I carry the giant tuna to Sami's house. It is already dead but it is still heavy, plus I smell like tuna as well. Sami was extremely shocked as I delivered the tuna.

"Let me clear things. You want this to be cooked by me while teaching you?" Sami asked. She is a very soft woman, it feels like she does not have anger as her emotion.

"I can help in basic chopping or stirring!" I energetically replied.

"Right… It will take some time to slice this fish, would you mind taking a bath first?" She worriedly suggested. It is actually a good idea since the tuna and I are almost identical at this point.

I immediately went home and of course took a shower thoroughly. Kari asked why am I smell fishy. She was worried at first but then she finally left me off the hook when she knew that I was fishing. Hehe fishing… Off the hook…

Anyway! Of course I rushed back towards Sami's house. As I entered once again, she already cut the fish in multiple portions. I wish I've seen her knife skills. So it begins, the cooking tutorial starts now!

"Since you want to learn how to cook. We'll do Tuna miso soup. It's perfect for starters." Sami said.

"Tumi what now?" I reacted.

"You're a jolly little girl~" Sami said as she chuckled. "Let's start cooking"

I am not little… Everyone is just oversized…

For some reason, the fishing was better than this one. It's hot, some ingredients make me cry for some reason, and it's hot, did I mention that it was hot here? Because it is. Salute to all cooks who constantly give us incredible meals! They are the modern blacksmith who forged weapons for the warriors in the form of our stomach. The unsung hero of our everyday battle…

"Aaahhhmmm Tanya, those ingredients won't be sliced if you keep saluting to air~" Sami softly said.

A couple of moments later, we are finally done. Of course we started to eat right away and daaaaang, this is good! I made these! Well technically she did but of course I'm part of it as well.

We have too many servings, the dish looks the same even after eating. As soon as we finished eating, I get some and delivered them to Kari and Nato. They loved it. Left some for Sami and off I go to deliver this dish to Samuel!

Samuel usually does not say a lot of things. He is a type of person who probably prefers answering everything in one word, or at least as short as possible. Regardless of how lifeless he is, he could not say no to this dish! with a irresistible trade, he finally agreed to teach me how to bake.

"Choco cookies, that's the easiest" Samuel said.

EVEN HIS VOICE SOUNDS TIMID!

We immediately started and I think this is better than cooking. Cooking is more of an instinct thing where you kinda adjust the taste whereas in baking it's very precise. It's like letting the oven do the magic compared to cooking, you need to carefully watch your dish.

"Quick question, why is it called cookies if it's baked? It should be bakies right?" I genuinely asked.

Samuel blankly stared at me. "Right" he said. He may look like a corpse moving without a soul, but I'm sure he is alive! I think…

Baking did not take long, it's like 10-15 minutes? It feels like an hour though. I am halfway done and so as of this day, better hurry since the wooden carving is the time consuming one, on to the next!

Out of all the single adults there, Minso is probably the weirdest one. She wears thick glasses with unusual clothing. Minso's response is like a few seconds delay. As a fast paced type of person, I could not keep up with her!

"Choco cookies…" Minso paused. "For me?" she added.

"Yes! I'll happily exchange this for one of your fresh fruit carvings!" I replied.

"My… Carving?" she asked. "Wooooo~" she reacted with zero energy.

This is probably the hardest out of all the activities that I tried. I actually sat on this one and watched her slowly carve the fruit. I know that I am not built for this. Minso is a slow human being but her attention to details is beyond comparison. I guess you can never truly rush an art. After some minutes, she presented a swan made out of watermelon! I'll call it swalon~

"Here you go~" she said.

"Thank you so much!" I responded as I carefully lifted the plate.

"No.." she paused as she took a bite from the cookies. "Problem~" she added. Honestly, I wonder how she is gonna have a conversation with Samuel. They're like the perfect pair. Anyway, let's go to Doku!

12.

With all of my patience, balance, patience, fortitude, and patience, I slowly deliver this plate of swalon to Doku's house. Upon reaching his house, Doku welcomed me as he picked up the plate. He is way more approachable than he looks like. I explained that it was a gift from me in exchange of a wooden miniature carving of me. With a bribery like that, he could not disagree at all.

Moments later, we started to create one. Doku instructed me to strike a pose that he will copy. Since I'm an adventurous one, I point forward as I step on a stone. It means on to the horizon!

After a couple of minutes…

Yeah… I should have chosen an easier pose. My arms are shaking, I feel like my leg cramps up, THIS IS INSANELY HARD! Maybe I'll forget the pain if I divert my attention.

I tried my best to look around and observe the surroundings. Maybe there's something here that will keep me distracted. Hmmm… Wait a second. If doku is living alone, then why does everything here come with a pair? Every wooden craft here has a copy… 2 wooden chairs, 2 wooden bears, 2 wooden desks. Even his tools are double!

With my undenying curiosity, I could not stop myself from asking. "You live alone right?"

"Yes" he responded as he continued carving.

"Do you have visitors who carved as well?" I added.

"People usually just exchange my craft for theirs" he responded.

Now I am way more confused. Why does he have twice of everything if he is the only one who is using those?

"Is there someone else who uses your equipment?" I asked.

"Hmmm.. I could not remember… probably no, I don't usually let others borrow my stuff. Besides, everyone seems to be afraid of me for some reason" Doku answered.

Well him being that big is actually threatening if I'm being honest. His response makes sense but his surroundings don't. This type of question would not give me answers, I'll just ask him directly.

"Why do you have twice of everything?" I questioned.

"What do you mean?" he replied.

"You are living here alone yet you have a copy of each wooden carvings or carpentry. Not to mention, you have an identical pair of each tool that you have" I explained in detail.

"I don't know…" he said in a low tone. "Deep inside of me, whenever I create something, I always create another one using the other set" he added.

He does not remember.. His voice sounds sad… What question should I ask next… Oh I know, he is an adult right? He probably remembers a core memory. I have a feeling that I should not ask this but I wouldn't know if I shouldn't.

"Do you have something that you clearly remember?" I asked.

"I'll never be with another pair again" He immediately responded with a melancholic voice.

In that instant, I fully grasp the whole situation. I finally understand everything that is going on with Doku. It breaks my heart knowing all of these while he is clueless, constantly doing a pair of everything. I could not help but cry.

"Wait wait, why are you crying? Is your pose that tiring? I'm almost finished, you can take a rest now" Doku said worriedly.

"Haaaaaiiii" I answered as I sobbed. I walked towards his work place and sat near to the second set of tools. As I looked around, I saw a name on the handle of the axe, Middy. That in and of itself confirmed that Middy is owner of the second set. They do carpentry together. And now Doku is the only one left, still making a pair like they used to…

It is true that you will never grief if you lose someone since you don't remember. Maybe Doku cried his heart out during that day, swore to never find another pair again, then woke up feeling nothing the next day. The real questions are; is he really not grieving? Is not crying equivalent to fineness and stability? Is this really okay?

It sucks, I'll rather grieve so I can accept and move on, rather than just simple forgetting. This world is messed up, this setup needs to end…

After Doku finished my miniature wooden sculpture, I requested him to please not make a copy of it. I could not bear to see him grieve like this. Doku thought that I was extremely tired, he does not want to but he left me this time.

I should pretend that I know nothing, explaining everything to him will probably make things worse for him. Eventually I'll help him, but this is not the right way of doing so. I put up an act to make him less worried. When everything was settled, I said goodbye and went home.

I did not expect this course of events, it made me more determined to fix this world. What would I do if one of my adult pairs dies…

Upon reaching home, I was emotional. I immediately hugged both of my adult pairs without saying a word. They don't know what's going on but I'm sure they can feel my sincerity. There are times that you don't need words in order to express your feelings, I know mine reached them. We will be free from this soon..

End of Day VII-VIII