October 27
I woke up in the late morning. I was still laying in a gooey mess, and the thick cum on my face and frontside had dried to a flaky frosting-like substance. The smell was an intoxicating aroma of testosterone and masculinity. The dark t-shirt I was wearing had a large stain around the neck and chest area, but there wasn't much I could do about it now. I had to go find that mule to get my supplies back.
I stepped out of the room, everything was quiet. No one seemed to be home. "Hello?" I called out.
The daughter stepped out of her room.
"Oh, you're up. Ephine told me to help you look for your...remind me, what is it called?"
"Oh, my mule. Yeah. All my stuff is with it."
"Right, sorry, we don't have that animal here." She looked at my shirt and face and smiled. I turned a shade of red and quickly tried cleaning my face up.
"Heh, Khald said he had an accident. Looks like a big one. It happens. Makes mom so mad, she has to keep making new sheets for us."
Us? "Uhh, yeah. So his name is Khald? What's your name?"
"I'm Beller."
"Well Beller, your English is very good...much better than your father's."
"Thanks, probably since I spend a lot more time with Ephine than my family. She's taught me a lot about the outside, including other languages. Sorry I didn't talk much before."
"It's fine. Wait, I thought she said she was from the valley, a different village. How does she know about 'the outside'?" It felt weird referring to my world as 'the outside.'
"Yeah, she's from here, but she's ventured out a few times. It's her job to get sort of an update on the outside world, you know? It may not look like it but most of us are aware of your technology and your way of life. She's kind of our...liaison...to the rest of the world."
"I see. So you choose to live like the Amish?" She looked perplexed. "Uhh, I mean like, without technology?"
"Yeah, we see no need for it. Ephine's tried explaining it to me, but we have strong, umm, shoot what's the name, immane? Imm..."
"Strong immune systems?"
"That's it. We don't get sick like you outsiders. We already have long, healthy lives, and we see no need to corrupt it."
"Uh huh." I stood there staring. It finally struck me how beautiful she was. She had on a large, baggy sleeveless shirt. Almost a spitting image of her mother. I wonder if...
"So, let's go look for your mule, outsider," she said in a teasing tone. I obliged.
We stepped outside, and I noticed that although the sun was already about 30 degrees above the horizon, it just recently rose over the mountains to the east. I have to get used to the shorter days, I thought.
"Last I saw, he ran that way," I said, motioning southeast. We hiked to a tall, nearby hilltop to get a vantage point. The immensity of the valley blew me away. Green hill after green hill rolled to the distant western horizon like waves on an ocean. I couldn't even see to the far side of the valley through the atmosphere. The mountains there looked to be well over 50 miles away.
"No way is the valley this big. I thought it was less than ten miles across!"
Beller squinted at me. "Well I'm not sure how far a mile is, but Ephine has said that distances are....different here. Longer."
"That's impossible."
"Well, whatever the case, we have to find that mule of yours." We slowly turned full circle, scanning the nearby hills for any sight of him. Nothing but green.
"Shit, where could he be?" I said, frustrated.
"Hmm. It does get hot at midday, maybe he's at the Tromb."
"The Tromb?"
"It's a river. Lots of animals go there for a drink and to swim. It's over there." She pointed to a distant patch of trees that were nestled between two hills.
For the next hour we walked in silence over the gentle terrain, until I mustered up the courage to ask what has been on my mind since last night.