Upon reaching the stranger's home, Sam took off his shoes. And, now that he did, he looked around and realized that nobody else wore shoes.
He placed them at the foot of the tree house and followed the lady upstairs.
Reaching the house part of the tree, he realized just how simple everything here was. It really was no different from Garlock's humble shed.
The only thing here was a wooden table in the center of the room, with a wooden bowl filled with fruits. There were three vine chairs around the table, and behind all that was a large bed made of vine, wood, and leaves.
Taking in his new environment, Sam stood awkwardly as he didn't know what else to do.
The lady turned around and approached him. "My name is Avena, my children Briar and Iris are still at the village park playing. Take a seat, feel free to eat those fruits over there," she said as she walked away.
Reluctant but still hungry, Sam picked up a fruit that had an uncanny resemblance to an apple.
He bit into the fruit, which had the texture of a banana, the taste of a mango, and the refreshment of a watermelon.
He looked at the fruit with suspicion.
"Why does this fruit taste like lgbt?"
"How would you know what that tastes like? Do you perhaps have other preferences that I don't know about, hmm?"
"Shut up, I wasn't talking to you."
"Well, I'm talking to you Sammy. Are you GAY? I'm telling Mom… if we ever see her again."
Sam rolled his eyes and continued to eat. Eating two more of these fruits, he realized that he was actually starting to feel full. He looked at the fruit in his hand, this time with bewilderment.
"What is this magical fruit?"
"Who knows? Maybe Diddy does."
"Dude, please stop, you're literally not funny."
Coming out of a room was the little green lady, Avena.
"Alright, young traveler, um, what is your name exactly?"
"Sam, Samuel," the two tried answering at the same time.
"Sam, Samuel?" She asked, confused.
"Just Sam is fine."
"Oh, ok, Sam. Your room is prepared for you, you can go take a look if you'd like," she said with a smile.
Getting up off the chair, Sam did just that.
"That room wasn't here before," Samuel communicated mentally.
"I know," Sam responded.
He went to the room and opened the wooden door. The door was strange. Instead of a smooth, solid, traditional door, it looked more like thick branches coming together to form the likeness of a door.
He pushed the door open, not expecting much, and for once his expectations didn't betray him.
Inside the room was a simple bed, nothing else. It was just like the bed he saw earlier, except it's only slightly smaller.
He wasn't complaining; at least he had a place to stay for tonight.
He looked out the window and realized that the bright yellow sun had long been set. What graced the sky was none other than… another sun.
Hold up, is he tripping? He went back out of the room and approached Avena.
"Hey, did that sun got smaller or is that a new sun?" he asked, feeling a little stupid.
"Oh right, you must not know. Our planet Verdalis doesn't have a moon like most nearby planets. Our skies are ruled by two great Suns. We have the Greater Sun: Ra, who rises in the morning and gives our people great nourishment and strength. Then we have the lesser sun Atum, who encourages us to rest at the lack thereof. We Verdalians are asexual, and phototrophs by nature. The fruits you see here are a byproduct of our world tree. Our loving and amazing queen allows us to go and pick a certain amount of fruits from the tree each year. Those fruits have abundant life essence and can expand one's lifespan by a few years; about 2-3 years per fruit. It does become less effective over time though as our bodies become used to the essence."
"WOW… Holy lore," Sam whispered aloud.
He had so many questions, but before he could even ask her, she answered them all. Well, maybe not all.
"So you're saying you don't need these fruits, right?"
"Technically no, we get our nutrients from the two Great Suns, allowing us to live for a long time. Those fruits," she said, pointing at the table, "are a bonus."
"So I can have them," Sam said greedily.
"Sure," she replied with a smile.
He picked up four more fruits and stuffed them in his vest. He wasn't greedy, no, he was self-sufficient; and totally not selfish.
With the four fruits in his vest, he took another from the wooden bowl and began chewing.
"Thwank you,"
He said with a mouthful of food. Avena said nothing and watched him silently.
After a while, she asked, "Do you perhaps live alone, child, or are you an interstellar traveler?"
"For now, I'm too weak to travel anywhere freely. I plan to make this world my home for the time being," he said, concealing nothing.
Not probing his situation any further, she instead offered, "If you'd like, you're welcome to stay with my family until you're strong enough to move on your own."
"What, seriously?" Sam thought aloud.
"You're way too kind, ma'am. I mean, you don't know if I pose any threat to you or your people. You don't even know how and why I was sent here," he said, looking down.
She looked at him and said, "I can feel the life essence slightly leaking out of you. Your heart is pure, and so is the energy you release."
"Then I will absolutely stay!" Sam smiled wildly.
He took the fruits out of his vest and put them back in the bowl; since he's gonna stay here, might as well leave them here.
After thanking Avena again, he went to his room to stare out the window, deep in his thoughts once again.
She probably only sensed my energy leaking and not that brute Samuel. I bet he has evil ki. Ki? "Oh my God, how could I forget about ki?" He facedpalm.
"Oh right, Ki," Samuel inputted sarcastically.
You've been using it this whole time, you one-brain-cell dumbass