Chapter 1:
A Scent of Seduction
Footsteps echoing under the glass dome. Shoes with high heels of a faint shade of pink, the same rose’s petals take after spending day after day under the rays of the solar disc. Black shoes shined to the smallest plots of material visible, no flake of dust achieved to settle upon them thus far. Smaller shoes, images of running dogs projected upon the synthetic material.
There are so many of them… It’s like the sound of raindrops against the leaves.
One after another, they walk into the translucent cabins arranged in rows. The curved door slides against the white walls and in a blink of an eye the silhouette of a man flickers and crumbles into particles. He is gone. Whether he reached another city, whether he reached another country, I can’t guess.
This is the first time I set foot in Ōnomori. I can’t help to taking a look back at the Hall of Travellers, turning around in my ice tint ankle boots. Long strands of pristine white hair come to float lazily ahead of me, stroking my cheek.
Maybe I should have attached them… But… I prefer to feel them free.
As wishing to take the time to discover the city, rather than to take the thoughts’ stream, I choose to go by foot to the corporate headquarters. Despite Ōnomori’s blooming life, the streets aren’t crowded, they are even peaceful though not as much as winter. When the inhabitants want to go somewhere, they merely walk into paths spread throughout the streets, gleaming in a light shade of blue. As in the Hall of Travellers, each of them becomes a flow of particles and reaches almost instantly the place they wish to go to. That is what is called the thoughts’ stream. There are no other means of transports, since they would be useless.
At each of my steps, my ankle boots softly brush against the ground. It would be a shame to make a meaningless noise.
Hence, it is silently that my golden eyes glint at the sight of the verdant landscape over the building’s roofs.
“So… beautiful.”
Lost in thought, I consider with awe the green tuft laid upon the metallic and glass stems as green petals. I feel like I would be able to gaze at this for hours, though I continue on my way. Even along the streets there are numerous tree alleys adorning the city.
But their presence is not merely for aesthetical reasons.
I slow my pace when passing by a tree trunk, taking a look at its leaves. The energetic flux flow along the leaves’ nerves, intermittently glowing in blue. Bionic plants. That is thanks to the development of that technology that we have achieved to regulate the carbon dioxide level in the air. Its enhanced structure allows the plant to absorb more efficiently these molecules.
Naturally, they are not present solely in Ōnomori. Mostly every city has introduced them for about a century into their landscapes. Although finding such amount of bionic plants is unique to this place, to the vast town where is established the head office of the company at the initiative of this major creation.
Amahara Corporation.
Ahead of me, large gardens spread round a high building wrapped in garlands of ivy. I take a moment to commit that picture into my mind, slightly opening my mouth. My parents were right to support the growth of that corporation, as did the Andersen from generation to generation. And now that I eventually reached my eighteenth year, I can fulfil the expectations they left into this world along with me.
Without further delay, my steps guide me into the premises, keeping a peaceful pace.
“Hello Miss, how can I help you?”
A voice echoes while I thoughtfully consider the security gates preventing me from going farther into the building.
“…”
A hand lightly pressed against my chin, I turn slowly the head to face the greeter interface. A hologram that appeared by my side, casting a wide smile upon me. Facing my lack of reaction, the silence deepens until the voice resumes its questioning.
“Do you work here?”
“…”
“Do you have an appointment?”
“…”
I nod slightly, almost imperceptibly at her latest presumption.
“Alright! Let me check your identity.”
The hologram hence casts a bluish beam of light, large enough to scan my silhouette from head to toes. Consulting the data base, it compares to my visual imprint and soon replies in a hearty tone.
“Aurora Andersen! You indeed have an appointment with the director.”
Why does it say it with such a warm voice? I slightly lean my head to the side, not understanding the reason such a statement would need to be said with infatuation. Though… I suppose I may just not be able to understand.
“Please, proceed to the elevator. Mr Leafeyorb is waiting for you.”
As the security gate opens, I bow slightly to express my appreciation before reaching the lift. For a brief moment, I take a glance at my reflect as I step into the device. A white and light blue dress, matching the snowy fjords, crystals scattered along the translucent left sleeve. From the tips of my fingers, I brush the rim of my diamond-shaped earrings.
My silhouette soon flickers while the particles constituting my body flow upward along the glass tube. Passing easily through the gratings at the base of each floor, the living mist finally settles at the latest one, shaping back into my pale silhouette.
Passing a hand at the back of my neck, I dispel a lingering tingling feeling before stepping into the filtered corridor. The director’s office is here, beyond the door. Now that I come to think of that, I have never seen him before.
Raising gracefully a hand towards the door I hesitate to knock, unwilling to disturb the ambient stillness.
“Enter, please.”
A soft voice rises from the other side of the door although I haven’t made a single move.
Intrigued, I simply lower my hand and brush the door, the latter sliding to reveal a desk upon which one is projected a large screen. Seated in a green armchair near a low table, he’s there. His legs crossed, his hands are intertwined against his knee.
“Please, come in and take a seat.”
Approaching in silent steps, I gingerly sit across the low table. Two cups of tea are already prepared, the steam billowing lazily in the air above them.
“It’s nice to meet you, Aurora Andersen.”
Laying my blown-golden eyes on the director, I take a moment to observe his expression. A few strands of sand-blond hair fall back against his forehead, near his silver eyes. Somehow, his gaze catches my attention. It is particularly soothing, as if watching the fall of snowflakes from behind a window. His faint smile conveys the same feeling.
I bow my head quietly to reciprocate his greetings.
His silvery gaze lingers on mine as if trying to sight something beyond the visible. Then, he takes a sip of tea, closing a while his eyes as if to appreciate its aroma.
“Did you have the opportunity to take a look around? I hope that you appreciate Ōnomori as much as I do.”
I nod softly.
“Though I didn’t have yet the time to contribute to the company myself in a significant way, be sure that I would do my best to be worthy of the support the Andersen have always brought to Amahara Corporation. Thanks to your relatives’ patronage, lasting for centuries, we were able to extend our influence worldwide.”
Not yet the time he says… The director is merely twenty-two years old. I find it already commendable to lead such an important place, especially considering the young age at which he reached this position… It has been almost five years.
“It’s an honour for me to count you as a participant of the tests for our new project. Maybe you wished for some details concerning it?”
Despite the fact that my presence here is not unrelated to the said research project, I gently shake my head. This is not what I wanted to discuss. He seems to have no clue of the real meaning of my presence here today, so I know. I know it is time for me to tell him and answer the curiosity in his gaze.
“I have come… to tell you about my wish to marry you, Marygold Leafeyorb.”
My voice is soft, almost above a whisper. I don’t like to disturb the air by its sound. But even I can understand that it is sometimes necessary to speak.
For a fleeting moment, the director widens his eyes.
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