Quhziy

Prologue
He was running home while the sun was setting. All he could think of was that he had to get home as soon as possible, but there was only one thing that was in his way. Like most all the forests, it unexpectedly pours down rain. He could have stayed at the neighbor’s house, which is about an hour from his home, but he just had to get home. It was quickly becoming darker and he could barely see the trees ahead of him.
He came to a decision. To take the path or to cut through the woods. The only thing mysterious about it was that it had never been explored before and it was a part of the Meclera Woods, a deep forest that no one dares to explore.
Since the big move from Earth to Quhziy, a highly vegetated planet, people dared not to explore the woods for what may live in it. The Meclera Woods has the biggest and strangest trees and plants. Anyone who has explored it had never returned.
He looked at the path and thought it would be best to run straight though and he’ll be home in half the time. That was the last we have ever heard of Malvery again.
- - - - - - - - Six years later - - - - - - - -
Nothing much has changed for Tocera, a girl that’s 10 years old. Her birthday is coming up and she can’t help but to think that it’s her fault that her brother disappeared. Thinking back to when she was 5, when her brother was her hero. They would go and play in the yard, discover new creatures, he would walk her to school, and he was making her a tree house. He was everything to her.
She dreads this upcoming week. It’s going to be her birthday and she will be 11, but it will also be the 6th year that he had gone missing. All she can do is think that it’s all her fault.
It’s just another day playing on the playground to the other kids but to Tocera it was a day that she will always regret. Six years ago on that playground it was another day for Tocera. She would play on the playground with her brother about once a week. That very day
Malvery asked, “So sis. Do you have anything on your mind for your birthday?”
Tocera thought for a moment and replied, “Well, I have always wanted a doll. I see the other girls with dolls and how pretty they are. Big Bubby, can I have a doll for my birthday?”
Here in Qhuziy there are barely any toys. Mostly what people do is that they work from the age of 11 until they are unable to. The reason why they start working at a young age is because it’s a new planet and they need to have people working in the trees and make tree houses, or they work in the schools, or they work for other people to do their yards or clear out the woods for more land.
Malvery worked in the trees and got some money for his mother, his sister, and himself. He had a little money to spend and he wanted to get his sister something special. The night of his sister’s birthday was the night that their order came in and that was the same night that he disappeared.
For the past few years Tocera would sit on a swing set in the Higud Park on this day and just think of what if she hadn’t asked for the doll. Today she sat there and noticed a boy sitting there next to her on the other swing.
He said, “Hey. I’m Jake.”
“Hi, I’m Tocera.” She replied while looking away.
“Why aren’t you playing? People at this park are supposed to have fun, not mope.” He got up and started to push the swing that she was on. She tried to ignore him but he was really good at getting her mind off of things. He swung her higher and higher. She started laughing and looked back, but who she saw was her brother. She stopped the swing and looked again and saw only Jake. She remembered how her brother would push her on the swing. With that thought she turned around and started to walk away.
Jake ran up to her. “Hey. I’m sorry. Was it too high?”
She replied, “No, I just don’t want to swing today.” She knew she could have kept swinging and have fun but she wanted to go. She was excited to see her brother but don’t want to get her hopes up again.
She decided to leave and go home. Like a gentleman, Jake walked her there. He said, “You know. There’s supposed to be a big magical tree that only appears only when it rains. It’s only supposed to appear in these woods.”
“Really? Who found it?”
“I don’t know. The only people that know about it disappeared when they discovered it.”
“Then how do we know of it?”
“It’s just old stories. How should I know?”
- - - - - - - - - - - -
It’s her birthday and she didn’t get anything. Her mom didn’t work and often don’t earn much anyways. All she wanted was to see Malvery again.
Tocera didn’t want to be stuck at home while her mother cries about her lost son. Tocera decided to go to the park hoping to find Jake so they can play on the monkey bars or on the slide or something to get her mind off of things.
Tocera finally arrived and Jake wasn’t in sight. She had nothing better to do so, as she was walking home she took the path next to the woods. All of a sudden she saw Jake walking the opposite direction.
Excited she walked faster and as soon as they approached each other it started to rain softly. Tocera and Jake had nowhere to go so they ran under one of the nearby trees.
Her curiosity got to her and she asked, “So. Where exactly is that tree supposed to appear at?”
“I don’t really know. It’s supposed to be somewhere inside of this forest but no one knows for sure.”
“Well let’s find out if it’s true or not.” said Tocera.
They were walking and admiring the woods. There were so many flowers and plants that they have never seen before. Tocera was getting nervous because the rain went from a rain to it barley sprinkling.
Tocera decided to head back when all of a sudden they saw a huge tree. It was massive compared to the others. The only odd thing about the tree was the fact that it had a big hole in the middle of it.
“Wow! What kind of tree is that?” said Jake. “Let’s look inside of it.”
Tocera was amazed. The tree was in fact big but the inside of it was enormous. It looked like it was three times larger than the outside of it. They looked in and all they saw was water. Jake took a flashlight and turned it on.
“Wow! It looks so calm. I’ve never seen water so calm and peaceful. Let’s swim in it.”
“What if we can’t get out?” Tocera didn’t want to risk diving and drowning in the mysterious tree.
“I’ll get you out when you want to.” Jake said before jumping in.
Tocera decided to try it. She didn’t want to leave him in there and she didn’t see any harm. She jumped in.
The tree was in fact calm at the top but in the lower layers of the water were currents that were wild and rapid. The tree only appears when it rains because it absorbs lots of water. It disappears when it quits raining and reappears when it starts raining. When it disappears it doesn’t grow or change and nothing inside of it does change or age until it reappears.
Jake was strong enough to fight the currents but Tocera was wearing a dress and couldn’t reach the surface. She lies there at the bottom of the water while being pressed down by the currents. She looked around but didn’t see anything but the flashlight. The flashlight moved and she saw something familiar. It was Malvery. She reached and grabbed his hand. For once, she got what she wanted for her birthday.