Joel stared in amazement at the rows of tall green stalks. He'd never seen vegetation so green and healthy looking. He didn't even know that corn could grow so tall. Joel reached out and touched one of the leaves. The ears of corn had already been harvested, so he plucked the leaf from the stalk. So many people on earth had starved to death and here on Gliese they had row upon row of life saving sustenance.
Turning furiously toward Rydir and Adryn, Joel snarled out, "If you could bring me here, why couldn't you have brought food to earth! People are starving! Children! Children are dying!"
"Joel," Rydir said in a mixture of compassion and sternness. "Earth is gone. There are no more people starving there."
"Not now," Joel shouted. "But a year ago, ten years ago, this would have saved so many people."
"By the time we knew what was going on, it was too late. The earth had had enough," Rydir explained. "Think about it, Joel. The lack of food was just one of many catastrophes. The earth was tired and had been used to its breaking point. Take a breath, and think about it."
Joel saw the pleading in Adryn's face. Joel's outburst had unsettled the older sub. Taking a deep breath, he nodded to Rydir, a discreet signal to give him a few minutes to calm himself. When Rydir gave a slight nod back, Joel turned and stared out to the horizon. As his mind calmed, he remembered the volcanos erupting, the earthquakes that were too large to register on the Ricter scale, tornados that devasted miles upon miles of land and he knew Rydir was right. Any food that Gliese could have sent wouldn't have stopped the destruction on earth.
"I'm sorry. That was uncalled for," Joel apologized.
"I'm sure its quite a shock to see so much growth," Rydir said softly.
Joel swallowed his sorrow. He knew that the sorrow and loss would always be a part of him, he just needed time to come to terms with it. The first step would be learning all he could on how to grow food on his new home planet. "The corn has been harvested, so what happens next."
"Some of the other farmers grind the stalks up for feed for the cattle," Adryn said. "But I have family up north, so we've made an agreement with the village council. The men that come down stay in the lodge we built and help us harvest both the corn and the apples. Then after the apples have been picked they bundle up all the dried corn stalks. They bundle the stalks and process them in some way so that the bundles can be burned through the winter. The winters up north are really harsh so it benefits everyone."
Joel looked around but didn't see anyone. "Where are these men?"
"Most are at the market," Rydir said. "We'll start harvesting the apples tomorrow, giving the corn stalk time to dry. It'll take about a week to get the fruit and then the men will cut the dried stalks. After everything's done, we usually have a celebration."
"Come on," Adryn called out. "Lets go to the orchard, the trees are still heavy with apples."
Joel followed the two men pass the house and the lodge that they'd built for the men, and after a mile or so, they were standing at the edge of the orchard. Joel wandered in amazement through the orchard as Adryn and Rydir talked about the planting and harvesting of the fruit. Trees on Earth had long ago stopped producing fruit. The soil had no nutrients left to give; acid rain burning the leaves; drought in other areas stopping the growth of the trees. But here on Gliese, the trees were so green and big and giving of fruit. Joel reached out and touched one of the big red apples. Plucking the fruit off the branch, he brought it to his nose and inhaled deeply.
"They're ready to be picked. You can eat it," Rydir told Joel.
As he took a bite, Joel couldn't help but groan in delight at the delicious taste of the fruit. The apple was crisp and sweet. He grinned when some juice dribbled down his chin. "I think this is the best thing I've ever eaten."
"Course it is, I grew it!" Adryn said and then laughed with Rydir gave him a playful swat.
"See the cheek I have to put up with?" Rydir said to Joel as Adryn stuck his tongue out at the older dom. Such a fun and ridiculous sight to see, the older sub with his tongue stuck out like a child.
Laughing at their antics, Joel commented, "yes, I see how hard it is on you."
"Lets head back to the house, and we'll make some lunch," Rydir said.
Looking out through the trees, Joel didn't want to go inside just yet. "Would you mind if I just wandered around here a bit? I won't take long," he assured the two men. He knew that Rydir understood that he needed just a bit of time alone when the large man nodded and took hold of his sub's hand.
"Take as long as you need. I've soup that's just slowly simmering on the stove." And with that Adryn and Rydir walked toward the house.
Munching on his apple, Joel turned and started wandering through the rows of trees. The trees had been pruned so that they didn't grow very tall, but the branches grew thick around the trunk. Right now the branches were heavy with the bright red fruit and hung just at shoulder height. After wandering down one row, Joel turned and headed back up the next one. The sun was starting its descent and late afternoon shadows made him aware that he needed to be heading home. He was sure Archer and Trey would start to wonder where he was.
Just as he started to walk a bit faster, suddenly someone fell out of a tree.
"Omph," the man groaned as he laid sprawled at Joel's feet.
Startled as he was, Joel couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. "Nice of you to drop by," he said cheerfully.
The young man looked up at Joel and grinned back. "Nice day for a walk, eh?"
"Well if you are on your feet it is," Joel laughed.
"Um, yeah. Well, if you'd give me a hand up, I'd be on my feet."
Joel held a hand down to help the man up. Once his hand was clasped in the other's, Joel pulled. The man stood, almost stumbling into Joel. He was the same height as Joel and their eyes met.
"Thanks. I'm Teegan. I don't think I've met you yet," the man said. "Who's your mate?"
Joel was entranced by the man's twinkling eyes. "Mate?"
"Yes, your sub," Teegan repeated slowly. "You have to have a sub. I've met all the available doms already. And I'd have remembered meeting you."
"Um, I'm new. I mean, I've not met you," Joel stumbled over his words. There was something about this man that made Joel feel tongue tied. But when Teegan started to chuckle, Joel pulled himself together enough to state, "Unless you are from Earth also, we've not had a chance to meet."
"Earth! No, no, I'm from Tarvos. I'm here to help with the harvest. It's my first time and I didn't think I'd meet any of you!" Teegan voice was full of excitement.
"Well, lets make it official," Joel said and then held his hand out again. "I'm Joel. It's nice to meet you, Teegan."
End chapter 6
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