Vigneshvijaykk

Rabbit stayed where she was and the brothers decided to follow suit. They saw Luna greeting her family and hugging one after the other. Trekker noticed how her siblings resembled her closely. It was surprising to him because his own siblings were quite different from how he looked.

Luna whistled and called out the trio after a brief conversation with her folks. The three emerged and walked up to them.

The mother stepped forward and moved toward Rabbit. She held her hands and said “Thank you child! You have protected our daughter and kept her safe. We are forever indebted to you.”

“Mother. They let me stay with them. That’s all. There was no saving involved.” Luna said, looking at Rabbit with a grin.

“Your daughter needs a bit saving, yes. But mostly from herself.” Rabbit retorted, making Luna frown.

“These are my brothers, lady. This is Trekker, the good, boring one. That is Coconut, the shrewd silent one.” 

Trekker smiled warmly and Coco grinned briefly acknowledging the introduction. 

Luna then took her turn to introduce her family. “So this is my mother, as you would have guessed. Her name is Venera, after Venus. This is my father, Maho, after Mahogany. And my siblings. Sol, Mercury and she is Frangipani.”

Coco went “what is her name again? I didn’t get it.”

Frangi spoke up. “Frangi-pani. It’s a flower. Looks like a small, smooth star made of thick white velvet with a bright yellow center. It looks very pretty”

She probably expected Coco to say “so do you” but he didn’t. He simply nodded. 

Trekker had a question too. “Also, father? What does that mean?”

There was an awkward silence in Luna’s family. But Venera understood. 

“In our culture, we choose a partner and commit for life. We have a whole ceremony to celebrate the union. It’s called a wedding. Maho and I are wedded together. ” She explained. “These four are our children. He is not merely the man who helped create them. He is their father. He raises them with me.”

Luna looked confused. “You seemed to know what I meant when I mentioned my father the day we met.” she pointed out.”

“Maybe I didn’t register it properly the other day.”

“So, in your village, people don’t get married?” Mercury asked.

The trio shook their heads.

“So, what? Wait. you don’t know who your father is?”

“Nope,” said Rabbit. 

“Must be really nice.” Sol said and received a knock on his head from his mother.

The group started walking toward the village, as they continued chatting. 

Frangi kept looking for her namesake so she could show the new people. Sol looked at his father every now and then wondering what life without him would have been like. Each had their own preoccupations.

When they finally reached their village, Trekker asked Rabbit to go inform Ivy about their arrival, while Coco and him guided them to the common hut where important meetings happen. It was the one place large enough to fit everyone right away. 

Luna’s siblings were a bit surprised to see the humble huts. 

“Are these people poor, father?” Mercury asked Maho.

Luna smiled. “No. They have a different lifestyle. They like a simpler life.” 

“But wouldn’t stronger homes be safer?”

Maho replied. “This place would rarely face strong winds the way we do, son! Also, did you notice the bamboo fencing around the village? These homes are safe too. Not as sturdy as our walls and roofs, but quite safe.”

Trekker arranged carpets for them to sit on, while Coco fetched water. By the time they had settled down, Ivy and Rabbit joined them. They all sat in a circle and began eating the food Rabbit had brought with her.

She passed the rabbit meat to Luna’s father promptly and said with a teasing smile. “Your daughter said you love rabbit sir! I mean, who doesn’t!?” 

Everyone broke into laughter and Maho patted Rabbit’s cheek fondly. “I sure do love a rabbit. Cutest thing!” 

Frangi said, “And yet you kill, cook, and eat them”

After a bit of quiet eating Ivy spoke again.

“I would have arranged for a far better reception of our guests. We don’t get visited much anyway. But we are currently mourning the loss of my two sons, and it didn’t feel appropriate to make a big deal of this right now. I hope you don’t mistake it for a lack of joy in hosting your family.” 

“Our condolences, lady!” Maho said and Venera repeated a variation of that.

“Let’s pray for their souls to find peace” said Venera and they all performed silence for a moment. 

“What happened to them, if I may ask?” Venera spoke up.

“They were found killed in isolated areas. Looks like Maple Grove has a threat to sort out.” 

Venera nodded understandingly. “These are difficult times everywhere. Our friends from Pearl City wrote to us about a rise in crimes of late. We must all prepare to brace ourselves.”

“Where is this Pearl City? I have never heard of it” asked Trekker.

“It is far north from the dense forests. The forests are too dangerous to cross. But messengers often come through to Palm Grove for communication. We have tried to ask them the route they take, but they refuse to reveal.” He sighed. He passed the rabbit meat to Luna and she shook her head and refused.

“We are going through a tough time at Palm Grove ourselves and we really needed help. That’s why we tried to find our way to the city, but we lost a lot in this attempt. We almost lost our dear daughter.” 

Luna reached out for his hand gently and assured him.

“Luna has become dear to us as well. She has been helpful in our attempts to understand what is happening. She is a smart child. You should be proud.” said Ivy looking fondly at Luna. 

Maho smiled a bit but Venera looked sober.

“She is smart indeed. And that is one of our biggest burdens to be honest. She often leaves us wondering what dangers she is going to uncover next. You see Ivy, certain things are not meant to be observed too deeply or understood. They are meant to be ignored.”

Ivy didn’t rush to respond. She quietly nodded and ate. 

“Can you not talk like I’m not here Mother?” Luna frowned a bit.

“You will not understand our fears until you face them yourself. Imagine if Frangi gets lost somewhere and you have no idea what to do. Then you might get a hint of our anxiety.”

“Why would I get lost, Mother? Do you want me to?” Frangi asked teasingly.

Venera couldn’t help laughing and the others joined. 

They had finished eating and Ivy stood up to leave. “I will get back to my duties now. Please rest and we will talk further in the evening.” 

She turned to Trekker. “Make sure they are taken care of. Maybe ask Orange to stick around in case they need something. And meet me before sunset.”

Trekker nodded. 

Venera reached out to Rabbit then. “Dear, could you show us around a little please? We would like to take a look around the place?”

Rabbit offered to take Venera and Maho, and they left. 

Luna was busy catching up with her siblings. And Trekker went and sat with Coco. 

“Do you want to rest here? Or should we go somewhere else?” Coco asked. 

“Anything is fine.”

Coco stared and Trekker remained silent. 

“Fine then. Let’s go.” Coco said. 

“Why? You don’t like it here?” asked Trekker.

Trekker didn’t respond. He was looking at how Luna and Sol were pretending to fight each other, wrestling like little kids. 

“I thought the sun and moon were friends,” Coco said out loud enough for them to hear it. Luna ignored him. Sol said “yes, and friends fight.” 

“Maybe we should fight some time,” Coco suggested to Trekker. 

Something shifted inside Trekker. He got up quietly. “Come, let’s go out. We need to talk.” 

Coco noticed the shift and followed him. “Have fun, I will send up my brother Orange to help you out.” He said toward the siblings. 

“Thank you, very sweet of you,” said Frangi with a smile. Coco grinned back and walked out. 

Trekker and Coco went to find Orange first, and sent him over to the common hut and then they walked further to the pond.

Coco sat down and Trekker kept pacing back and forth. 

“Coco. We need to get serious. We have two dead brothers and we are here playing host. We should be doing something man!”

“We are! We were investigating and then the festival came up. We didn’t want to spook the villagers or Mother, so we kept silent. And then another dead brother was found. We had a funeral, and we discussed things with people. In the middle of another investigation we found Luna’s family and we are here. I know it looks like we are sitting on our asses, but it’s okay Trekker. Don’t turn this sadness into guilt.”

“Did you have a speech ready?” Trekker asked impatiently. He was restless and he didn’t like how calm Coco was.

“Trekker, listen. You are mixing up a lot of things into the recent events and making it all personal for you. That’s not good for you. And please don’t expect us to feel as agitated as you are. We’re grieving our brothers. You’re mourning something much bigger.” Coco said sharply.

“Like what?”

“Maybe what you have become.”

Trekker looked at Coco intensely. “And what have I become?”

“A version of you that you are not happy with”

Trekker breathed heavily. 

“Do you wanna hit me, Trekker?” Coco asked calmly.

“My hitlist is long and you are nowhere near the top”

Coco laughed. Trekker managed to smile but he stopped himself from giving in fully. 

“Trekker. You don’t have to prove your love for the dead brothers by forcing yourself to be sad. The jokes and the lighter moments don’t invalidate your care. Relax and live a little Trekker. We will sort this out and do what needs to be done. Doesn’t mean we need to pause our lives.”

Trekker shook his head. “I’m not able to accept that Coco. We have responsibilities. If I were dead, I would not like you to be so relaxed.”

“You do what feels right brother. But I’m not going to apologise for not being sad enough. If anything, I thank nature for allowing me to feel less sad right now. It’s a good thing.” 

Coco got up and patted Trekker’s shoulder before walking away. 

“I can understand trying to help someone. Trekker. If you were dying, I would do anything to save you. But hurting ourselves over what has already happened to others, I don’t believe in it. And if that makes you think of me as an ungrateful brother, maybe that’s your problem.”

Trekker quietly stared at the pond and threw a pebble at it. The ripples on the pond weirdly comforted him more than anyone else could.