Continued... (More)

When last I spoke to you, it was of finding my way to my home. I will now tell you of my home, and why I must now leave. As I said, I was lying in what seemed at the time to be an endless black silence, smelling of the deepest parts of the earth. Slowly, I began to see a dim light appear, at first, I wasn’t even sure there was a light, but straining my eyes, there in the blackness I saw a miraculous site. Thousands of small ghostlike blue mushrooms began to illuminate, glowing softly, then brighter. These spectral mushrooms began to light up the chamber within which I lay. The ceiling was out of sight above me, somewhere in the darkness but the cave was filled with all manner of strange plants and fungus. Small gates and arches of wood supported the plants and led in and out of many rows. A garden, as unfathomable and strange as it seemed at the time, it was unmistakably a garden. My senses began to come back to me and I heard off in the distance the sound of feet softly padding along the earthen floor of the cave. Footsteps and voices, the voice of the unseen walker, and those same strange chirping melodious animal calls, they seemed to be talking back and forth. As the footsteps came closer I tried to move, and found the pain to be overwhelming. I lay still, my breath catching in my throat, my mind terrorizing me with images of the horrible things that could live in such a bizarre place.

As i struggled and grimaced in pain a single, low voice spoke out of the gloom.

“Oh I don’t believe that is a terribly good idea. Please lie still so you do not injure yourself further.”

The voice certainly didn’t sound monstrous, it seemed in fact to be attempting to soothe me. If this was a monster his behavior was very strange.

The voice continued:
“Of all the pits you could have fallen into and broken yourself in, I suppose you picked the right one. My name is Orlex, and you, by design or disaster, and I can only assume the former, have managed to stumble into my garden.”

This of course is when I met my master, Orlex, and it was there in that garden that he slowly tended me back to health with his herbs and plants and remedies. It was here that our friendship was forged through long evenings of discussion about my village, and the world. For a time, he was the only living thing I saw. There was no further trace of the small sprites or spirits that had rescued me.

It was not long before I was back on my feet. Orlex showed great trepidation in my healing and was very concerned about my return to the village. When I assured him that I would be alright he corrected my line of reasoning: “I am not concerned for you, you will make it home of that I have no doubt. My concern is with what will happen once you reach your destination, will you tell them of us? Will you bring them here to my garden? To my home?” I realized suddenly that Orlex was afraid, or more accurately deeply concerned, and wished very much not to be found.

I ensured him that I would say nothing of his cave, and his garden, and his location would remain secret. He listened, and thought for a time silently, pondering me before he spoke. “I have another proposition for you, I would like you to stay here. Stay with me and help me tend to the...” here he cut off and sighed heavily before continuing “I suppose theres no use in hiding it, you should follow me now, I will show you why the safekeeping of this place is so important.”
Here, I assume my readers will know of course what happened. It was at this point that I was introduced to the Meeroos, the nocturnals as I would come to call them. My new family.

Of course after meeting such miraculous and amazing beings, I agreed to stay. After all I had little to return to and so very much to do here, and so much gratitude towards Orlex, and these small, defenseless and precious meeroo. This is how I found my home, and my family.

I have spent many, many years here with Orlex, and the nocturnals, learning their ways, learning about the past, and what has happened, about the diurnal meeroos above and the separation of the species. I honestly cannot fathom how long I have been here, part of me is certain it has been several lifetimes. Orlex and his garden and the meeroos themselves have a way of prolonging longevity it seems. I have become so very attached to the nocturnals, even to the point I have taken the name for myself. Orlex has called me Noc now for at least a lifetime worth of years, I figure that, coupled with the fact I never recalled my name after my fall it’s my name now.

It was perhaps, only a few days ago, (time is difficult to discern and moves differently underground) that Orlex told me I must do the unthinkable.

“Noc, I must ask you to do something, and at first it will seem unreasonable and strange. I must ask you to go back to the world above, find your village, find people where you can. Bring some of the nocturnals with you so you are not alone. You must go, with them, and teach the world above about us, about the nocturnals and about the past. Our existence can no longer be kept secret, and so, we must announce ourselves in a way that shows the world above who and what we are.”

At first I protested, I was afraid, and unwilling to go, it seemed so very dangerous and different than what I had come to know and love. he reaffirmed to me that it was of the utmost importance for the safety of the nocturnals and I grudgingly agreed to the task.

So now, even as I write this I am finishing the last of my preparations. I must come to the world above, I must come to you. After what I have learned of the world above, I will admit I am scared, I am concerned for the state of the world, the state of people, and the state of the diurnal meeroo friends and family I have yet to meet.

I am however also filled with anticipation and excitement, I can’t wait for the world above to meet my nocturnal family, my friends, and know them the way I do, care for them the way I do. And afterall it has been so very very long since I have seen the stars.

-Nocturnal