Chapter 145: Ch-145: Why that
Morning arrived with a hush, not a herald. The orchard woke in its usual rhythm, dew still clinging to the blades of grass, petals curled like dreams just beginning to unfold. The Hearttree stood solemn and still, its silhouette painted gold by the newborn sun.
Feng Yin was the first to rise. He moved through the orchard in silence, as if to preserve the sanctity of the sleeping world. A small wooden basket hung at his side, and he plucked herbs with gentle precision—his fingertips brushing leaves as though memorizing their shape.
Tian Shen joined him shortly after. His hair was still damp from the stream, and the edge of his robe carried droplets that gleamed in the light. He said nothing at first, simply mirrored Feng Yin’s movements as they worked side by side, shoulder to shoulder, in that sacred quiet.
"I had a dream last night," Tian Shen finally said.
Feng Yin didn’t look up. "Tell me."
"We were fighting again," Tian Shen murmured, brows slightly furrowed. "But not together. Opposite sides. I didn’t understand why until I woke up."
Feng Yin paused in his gathering. "And why was that?"
Tian Shen exhaled slowly. "Because I was still afraid. Of going back. Of losing this."
Feng Yin looked up at him then, the sunlight catching his eyes. "Dreams reflect fears, but they don’t decide our future. We do that."
Tian Shen nodded, but the tightness in his chest lingered. It wasn’t the dream itself, but the echo of a truth he hadn’t fully faced. The peace they had built was delicate, like the skin of a bubble. And he had lived too long in a world where things burst.
Later that morning, they returned to the Hearttree with their gathered herbs and a new intention. Feng Yin laid the basket down and drew a small circle into the dirt, using a slender bone stylus etched with runes.
"We’re going to plant the new seed today," he said.