Quantum Leap - Vol. 1 The Leap That Starts It All

C002 Right Way

I was wandering around the trail that leads through a plantation of pine trees. The dried cones and tinder were strewn carelessly on the ground as my feet, shrouded with the open tied leather sandals were slightly kicking at it and crushing them underfoot.

"This place seems to be desolate of people around. The beaches were white, clean and very powdery, unlike the other beaches that I had known previously."

I thought to myself as I walked on and observed my surroundings in case a predator would jump out and ensnare me.

This happened a lot of times in rural situation such as this before...! So it pays to be careful and furthermore I was really fumbled to found out about the clothes and the environment I am in right now.

The morning dew was quickly dissipating from the blades of grass as the heat from the morning sun was slowly evaporating it.

After walking around for some time, I discovered that the pine trees were rather planted by humans and was not grown freely and naturally.

This might be due to prevent soil erosion or simply to be turned into firewood or lumber for building projects. To me, this plantation of pine trees was evenly spaced out and not clumped together.

I wondered how long these pine trees would take to grow as I only knew these pine trees through our Christmas trees and it would be like from 2 feet tall right up to 7 feet tall.

For what I know, these pine trees would take years to reach this type of height which was more than 15 feet at the very least.

Not a bad idea for these people to be planting their trees in this manner since its more adaptable to sandy soil.

The plantation of pine trees soon gave way to plantations of young coconut trees. Dwarf yellow coconut trees were grown evenly and many ripe coconut fruits are ready for harvest.

The moment I laid my eyes on those dwarf coconut trees, I can't help but thanked the Lord above. These coconut trees would be a saviour to those thirst struck people like me since its a staple drink and could be drunk copiously without adverse effect.

The only thing is that the pee would somehow be smelling like coconut afterwards. Haha...!

Although the coconut trees were not tall unlike the green ones with thick whitish flesh within, these were mainly yellowish ones and slightly oval and the fruits can be easily picked by hand.

I grabbed the biggest one and twisted it off from the clusters of other yellow-skinned coconuts.

Having no knife or tools that barely adequate to stab a hole on top of the soft core of the coconut, I decided to hit it on its trunk to split the whole fruit instead.

After several attempts of throwing the hard-shelled coconut against a trunk, the shell cracked open and I quickly placed the end of the crack to my lips and slobbered on the almost colourless, sweet and slightly saltish juice.

I gulped it down as much as possible as some of the contents dribbled down from the sides of my mouth.

"My Goodness, this had never felt any better than plain water. It's a bit bitterish but it's got all the nutrients one need...!"

"Luckily this coconut was able to be split open in this manner or else I would have to use this so-called weird weapon in my hand to get to the contents...!"

A few moments later the juice had been drained and I felt that my thirst earlier had been slightly quenched.

It seems that these coconuts were planted by humans purposely for either consumption or act as a natural concoction of natural herbs or medication to cure fever, aid rehydration as well as for other medicinal uses.

I checked the insides of the coconut and found that it was empty it bate and there was an absence of the flesh it nata de coco inside it.

I disgustingly threw the emptied coconut shell away and continued with my journey. I was hoping to have something to scrape from the insides and discovered that I cannot choose the bright yellow ones but more to orangish-yellow kinds.

That types of coconuts would have little water in them but the flesh could be removed and eat along the way. Not only it replenishes the thirst, but it would also keep the stomach from grumbling too much.

After some 15 minutes of walking through the coconut plantation using the beaten trail that had been used by many, I soon reached a clearing with a wider path that was about 10 to 12 feet wide.

Right across the path was a natural shimmering pond the size of several Olympic swimming pools put together, with several water striders skimming peacefully near the edge of the pond and swarms of butterflies flitting around the flowers that grow along the edges of the pond.

A few crickets were making its sounds while being invisible to the naked eye. There's a buzzing of dragonflies around the area darting around and chasing mosquitoes as it's one of their sustenances probably and breaking almost the serenity of the peaceful scene as far as the eye can see.

In the middle of the pond, a fish had suddenly broken the surface of the water and jumped into the air and had snapped its jaws on an insect that had strayed within its target.

With a splash upon entering back to the surface, it created ripples across the pond.

Floating waterlilies adorned several parts of the pond while several cattails grew in abundance on some areas of the pond's edge.

A mist that had gathered in the night slowly lifted itself from the pond as the sun rises higher in the sky.

Looking upwards, I saw the clouds slowly parted away by the wind and showed the clear blue sky above.

Strangely enough, there wasn't a single soul around here for the past half hour; either by foot or animal-drawn carriages or even mechanized trucks.

At least there's something that could differentiate which era or period I am in.

There wasn't any sign indicating which direction to go, whether it is left or right of the path. "I guess turning into the right side of the way instead of the left is the 'Right Way'. Looks pretty decent to be heading to the right side instead of the left for now."

I thought to myself amusingly while chuckling. After choosing the right side of the path and walking for several minutes, I discovered a trail of greyish-white smoke rising to the air which meant "civilization" at last and hastened my steps almost into a trot towards it.

"By Golly...! If there's smoke, surely there's a settlement around here. There would be food and people around here and I am sure that they would laugh at the damn clothes I am wearing right now.

I guess those people who played a prank on me would soon regret their freaking actions. Gosh... Who would be wearing their pyjamas in the middle of the day, for chrissakes!"

I thought aloud, hoping to bump into someone that could tell me where I am and which era it is.

Being lost except for the peculiar clothes that shroud me in the beginning and the lack of civilization nor the void of modern technology around makes me guess if I am from out of this world or from another unknown warp of time or dimension.

I trodded on heading towards the thin trail of smoke that rose in the horizon...

The path that I had taken was natural since, after some months of usage, a balding patch soon was paved on both left and right of it. All that was left was the centre part where the long patch of grass was left untouched.

It was as if to indicate to everyone that one path was used to allow people to walk towards the settlement while the other was used to let people traverse to other parts of town, I suppose.

Whatever it is, the thin trail of smoke that was rising over the horizon was an indication that some people are preparing some food over their grill for either late breakfast or lunch.

The signs of smoke over the horizon make me hasten my steps a tad faster as i walked and nearly slipped out from my open-toed leather sandals.

As I trudged along on the path, the vast pond or should I call it a natural reservoir on my left and rows and rows of coconut trees on the right were slowly being replaced by other fruit-bearing trees such as jackfruit, mangoes and other trees that I cannot make out their types at all.

Numerous birds were either flocking around or flying with their companions in the clear blue sky casually with the indications that no predator or human had disturbed their dwelling.

There were birds of different species such as pigeons, mynahs and others that I could only name a few as they flocked in numbers and somehow looked at me with their c****d heads. I guess they were wondering if I am there to feed them with some titbits or not.

Looking at the plantation on my right, I strongly felt that humans on this era had painstakingly planted them in a very uniform manner.

Every row of trees of different types was planted meticulously and was even marked to indicate the tenderlings that were growing in the deeper parts of the plantations.

There were plentiful of unripe and ripe fruits within the plantations and surprisingly there weren't any dropped fruits or rotten ones on the ground. Most probably the settlers or those who tended to the plantation care for them.

The sun in the sky had risen to a nearly vertical position that indicates one thing; noon is coming.

As I continue to trudge on towards the "civilization", the reservoir on my left had passed by and now the path on my right was replaced by various trees thus provide a cooling shade with its umbrella-like foliage above.

The path snaked to the right slightly and now I saw fences made with bamboo with the thickness of a man's forearm and at the height of roughly 3 feet tall.

"Must be another part of the forest where they would plant these trees for firewood or something. Sigh... Hope these people do have a phone or something so I could get in touch with that outside of this place. I can't wait to get out of this place...! GOSH...!"

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