Chapter Twenty-Four

 We stepped outside once again, the purple clouds greeting us. Nina helped me climb the ladder and I turned away as she rearranged the bricks and boards over the door. The cloak she chose for me was big enough to hide everything, even with the few holes spread around. I had a cloth mask around my face, and my arms and legs were covered in bandages. Over my school uniform, I wore a pair of old curtains, fashioned into a dress. The new clothes were lighter than they looked, not adding anymore weight to an already heavy body. I followed behind Nina, knowing that our pace for today would be a lot slower than yesterday.

We walked in the opposite direction this time, heading towards the open lands away from the mountains. The terrain was unchanging, and I only knew we were moving forward when I looked back and saw the broken walls behind us getting smaller. We were a lot quieter this time, not being able to find the right words. I expected that much out of myself, but Nina’s silence was new to me. Right as I tried to say something however, Nina spoke first.

“Since we’re looking for the merchant, I guess that means that we’ll be focusing on the food,” she said with a reassuring cheerfulness. “I don’t think those merchants even know what a beach is.” I thought about what her plan was going to be. I didn’t know how trade works in this world. Was there some sort of currency that was accepted everywhere, or did we just have to be lucky and have the one thing someone else needed? Nina watched as my steps became slower, and she turned to me.

“You still aren’t very good at hiding things from me,” she said walking backwards while facing me. “If I had to take a guess, I’d say you’re worried about how we’re going to get what we need?” I returned to my previous pace and Nina laughed again. “Right on target.” She turned back around and continued walking forward. “It’s no problem. It’s true that everything has a price, but I’m usually have something that persuades people to exchange for the things I need.”

“Trade often?” I asked.

“It’s been a while since the last time. I don’t really need much.”

“Food? Water?” I realized that I hadn’t seen Nina eat or drink the entire time I’ve been here.

“I have to thank Dr. Sayako for that, yet again,” she responded, and she reached for one of her many pockets. In her hand was a small, white capsule with a light blue band around the center. “She developed these ‘nutrient pellet’ that contain everything my body needs to survive.” I looked at her, choosing not to believe such a miracle of science. Nina looked back confused. “Don’t you think that makes sense? I’ve read a lot of those books back at my place, and even books about the exact same subject have different facts about them, always followed by the words ‘recently discovered’. If we’re always learning new things about everything around us, then eventually someone would make someone would make something like this.”

“Too good, to be true,” I said, still questioning the capsule in her hand.

“Then how am I still standing in front of you?” I couldn’t find the response I was looking for so I placed my hand over my mouth. Nina’s expression made me question whether I should’ve remained silent, but I chose to laugh instead. “But speaking about eating, what about you? I haven’t seen you eat anything at all. You haven’t asked for anything either.”

“No hunger,” I said, pointing to my stomach. “No thirst. No need.” She stopped.

“Are you still able to taste?” Her words stopped me, making sure I understood what she said.

“Not sure. But correct. Might be pointless.” Nina tried to find something in her pockets to give to me. I stopped thinking about food when I got here, and it seems that the thought of tasting something went along with it. Nina found something in her front pocket and held it out in front of me. It was a small vial with a white, grainy substance in it. The label, written in Nina’s crumpled handwriting read ‘salt’.

“This will tell us with certainty,” she said, opening the vial. “Have you ever tried this? I found a whole container of this in the cabinets I back at my place. There were a lot of other powders and liquids back there too, but I’ve thrown a lot of them away. But I can show you when we get back. This salt thing is incredible. If I eat too much of it, I get sick, my eyes start watering, and my mouth gets unbelievably dry. But, if I take just a little bit of it, I get a wonderful feeling. It’s a very fulfilling sensation, just on its own.” I couldn’t help but smile at Nina’s experience with salt. It was something that was everywhere back then, to the point that many people were getting sick from eating foods filled with it. I didn’t know whether to play along with her or share my experiences with it.

“I remember reading that people would use salt to enhance the things they ate. Often times, things would taste bland or even unappetizing if they didn’t have this on it. I wonder if it really made that much of a difference.”

“It did,” I said, deciding to jump into her conversation. “Difference, night and day.”

“That doesn’t seem that different,” Nina said, raising her eyebrow. “Oh, but I remember the sunlight.” She let out a short gasp. “No, that’s an incredible difference. Do you think the merchant will have something that goes well with salt?”

“Possible. Don’t know foods here.”

“I’m not much help either. But I think you can help with that. If you see something that you remember from your past, point it out and we might be able to get it. Some things might have changed but I’m sure you’ll find something that stayed the same.” Nina started to walk again, and I continued to follow her, wondering if she was ever going to let me try the salt, vial still in her hand. I smiled as I stopped myself from saying anything, knowing I could bring it up sometime later. Nina remembers a lot of things she’s read and done, but it seems that even someone like her can forget the little things from time to time.