Chapter Thirty-two

Jiso had just finished his duties in the village. The community had expanded so quickly that each day his work led him further from the center of town. His chosen profession was an artist. He beautified the village by infusing the flora with energy. The plant life grew without his assistance, of course. However, with his aid, the flowers bloomed brighter, the stalks grew longer and the pollen burst from the center like fireworks. He spent hours a day walking the village, drawing upon the golden aura that surrounded him and channeling its radiance into the landscape, plant by plant.

He knew that he should have headed back to town hours ago, but he was too enraptured by his last task to consider the diminishing strength of his aura. The family of his prospective life-companion was to move to a plot of land nearby, and he wanted Nia to witness the most magnificent show of color from the bedroom window of their new home. It was a labor of the truest love.

He felt light, as if any moment he would disappear. The nearest fountain was only fifty feet away. He would recharge his aura by drinking the milk of the Earth that flowed from the spring, the essence of Mago herself. These fountains ran along the meridians of the Earth, and sprung up where the gridlines crossed. He had never tasted the milk this far from his home and was curious what hint it would carry—the river, the field, the honeysuckle-colored Earth. Each spring was imbued with the essence of the land from which it sprung. He licked his lips. Thinking about it made him that much more thirsty.

Jiso tapped his foot, looking ahead in line. There were five people in front of him. He felt impatient because his life force had depleted more than it ever had before. The line in front of him suddenly broke, and the people scattered.

“What’s going on?” he asked a woman who passed.

“The well ran dry,” she explained.

“Ran dry?” He had never heard of such a thing.

“Yes, they think something may have dammed the flow. There is another well two hundred feet that way,” she offered, raising a finger to point.

“Er, thanks.” Jiso turned his head in that direction.

“You are most welcome. See you there.”

Jiso felt weak. He sat on the edge of the empty well and tried to gather strength. He’d waited too long to reconnect with the Earth, assuming that he could pop by the well and replenish himself easily. But now, he was uncertain that he’d make it to the next well. He closed his eyes. Waves of light passed through his mind.

“I can do this,” he breathed.

Another wave of light passed through his consciousness when he stood, causing him to faint.

When he awoke, the sun had set. He tried to teleport himself, but didn’t have enough power. He tried to push himself up, but didn’t have enough density. He looked around, searching for someone, anyone, who could help him. The night was quiet.

He took notice of a grapevine that grew along the base of the well, one that he’d previously infused with the essence of his aura. It glimmered and shimmered with life in the moonlight. He reached his fingers forward and tried to pluck a plump grape from the vine, but his fingers passed through it. He focused his attention, channeling the remaining energy distributed throughout his body into his fingertips and pulled again. The grape popped free.

“I honor you,” he said. “I have imbued you with my life force and now I request that I may borrow it back.” He popped the grape into his mouth and bit down, uncertain if his plan would work.

“Oh, my God,” he breathed as his teeth broke the thin skin of the grape and its essence poured into his mouth. A tidal wave of moisture, imbued with the power of life, burst forth, stroking his tongue. His entire

field of awareness drew into a singular point: the sensation of the grape in his mouth. His body shivered in ecstasy.

“All of the power contained in heaven and Earth is within this single grape,” he whispered, breathless. The grape was so small, and yet its power flooded all of his senses at once. Sensations unfamiliar to him exploded through his body; a rush of heat and the gathering of molecules ricocheted through his every single cell. He felt the strength of a thousand men and his sensory system heightened to excruciating levels of ecstasy. He could smell, see, taste, touch, and feel in a way he had never fathomed. He leapt to his feet, compelled to run, feeling that, if he stopped, this surge of unfathomable power would consume him.

When he awoke in the morning, he felt immense guilt. He had ended the life of another living being. Intuitively, he knew that this went against the natural order of life. In order to dull the guilt that sliced through his soul, he tried to justify his actions. He resolved to never speak of it and never, ever, do it again.

As the weeks passed, he could think of nothing but the grape and the experience it had evoked. He was distracted, plagued by questions. Instead of communing with the mind of heaven and Earth, his mind began to speak with itself. He wondered if any of the other flora possessed the same power. With every plant he touched, he imagined what it would feel like in his body. He tried to control these thoughts, but they controlled him. He was obsessed.

As he infused a juniper tree with life force, curiosity got the better of him. He pulled one of the berries free.

“Jiso!” Nia called. “What are you doing?”

He turned quickly, clutching the berry tightly behind his back.

“Hi, Nia.” He hoped that she didn’t notice.

She did. “Jiso, why did you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Rip that berry off.”

“I didn’t.”

“You did, I saw the tree tremble,” she accused.

He knew he had been caught. He relayed the story of consuming the grape on the night that the well had run dry. “I was curious if the juniper would have a similar effect,” he explained.

“But, Jiso.” She looked around. “It’s wrong.”

“Who says it is wrong?” he asked.

“Well,” she said hesitantly. “No one specifically, but it feels wrong.”

“You should taste how delicious it is.” He held the berry up between two fingers. “Try half?” he suggested, tearing half the berry off with his teeth.

“No.” She looked from side to side, uncertain.

Jiso leaned forward and kissed her. The berry’s juice zinged on her tongue. She pulled back from his embrace and looked into his eyes, startled. He kissed her again, with a passion that they had never experienced before. He fed her the remaining half of the berry, and the two of them made love under the juniper tree, feeling every ridge, sensation and touch. A whole new dimension of perception opened to them both, a kaleidoscope of senses, and they were transfixed.