The Nature of Predators - Star Crossed (13/13)

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Memory Transcription Subject: Kelvanis, Terran Resident

Date [standardized human time]: January 13, 2150

When Chloe regaled me with details of local flower gardens, she was speaking my language. Her idea for a honeymoon was delightful; after Bram’s inquisition, it would be a welcome change of pace to learn more about the plant life on Earth. I’d picked out a notepad, which Elsje assured me would be no problem to take. This would be the perfect opportunity to start a fresh nature journal, bringing back the traditions I’d shared with my father many years ago. While my wife slept, I’d stayed up into the later hours of the night reading about various Terran plants. For that reason, I’d snoozed most of the ride to the town of Lisse.

The place that we were visiting was the second-largest flower garden on Earth; I’d landed in the right nation, if the Dutch shared my love of all that bloomed under the sun! Despite my lack of sleep, I was alert when Chloe jostled me awake. I’d looked up Keukenhof’s gardens briefly on the internet, but tried to avoid seeing any photos so that I could experience it live. Something I had noticed was job postings for tulip gardeners. If I liked the place enough, perhaps this would be a nice landing ground until I could join an interstellar expedition. It could grant me hands-on experience with Earth’s flora, which I could combine with my xenobotany qualifications.

The history of this place was fascinating. Not too long ago, it was a seasonal attraction open for only eight weeks in the spring. However, advances in botanical engineering allowed the humans to harden their tulips against frost, and expand their lifespan and growth speed. The fact it was open for our viewing was a miracle of science, born of a simple desire to prolong the time that onlookers could enjoy its beauty. The tickets had been procured already, thanks to Elsje’s funding, and I was all but bouncing on my feet as we entered Keukenhof; this was what I dreamed of seeing. Chloe and I walked the path with her hand fitted in my grasp, earning looks from several passersby. However, I only had eyes for the perfectly-manicured rows of flowers in vast arrays of color.

Imagine what Volani would think if she could visit this place, and see that predators curated botanical gardens, on the scale of The City of the Flora. This is resplendent! Humans are artisans with an eye and fondness for beauty, there’s no doubt.

In an instant, I forgot the cold wind biting through my coat. While nature journaling was supposed to be about stillness and reflection, I couldn’t help but write down everything I saw in this place. Many humans flocked to this attraction to marvel at the vibrancy of life; I felt alive in a way that I hadn’t on Aafa, as I clawed to stay afloat back there. This place should take the moniker of “City of the Flora,” since it had much more beauty than the crumbling capital of the Federation. I didn’t know if they’d hire me here, since there were no aliens in sight except me…and I was a Kolshian. All the same, this was love at first sight just as much as Chloe was; I was in awe, swept off my feet! Sending in an application was a no-brainer.

“There’s not a more romantic place that I can think of. Like what you see?” Chloe asked, mirth in her voice.

I made a point of staring directly at her, something those of us graced with side-facing eyes didn’t take to by default. “Sure do. Oh wait, you meant the tulips?”

The human chuckled. “You’re a silly goose, Kelvan. I see a bench over there that we could huddle close, and take it all in. This isn’t quite a place of solitude, but it’s a hell of a vista. We can let all of our troubles slip away.”

“That’s probably a good idea. I’m getting carried away, but I can’t help myself. I haven’t exactly seen alien flowers in decades!”

“Best of all, it’s local. We have all this in my hometown’s backyard…an hour away. I know you might go somewhere on a survey, and I wouldn’t take your passion, but when you…or we come back…um, we could always visit here.”

“I do need to get a job going; we both do, if we’re going to support our lives together. Your mother was charitable enough to give us funds for a honeymoon.”

“I’d say you earned it for putting up with Bram.”

I laughed, sliding my arm around her waist as we settled onto a bench. “There‘s lots like those kinds of humans, I wager. I guess when I came to your station, I wanted to change how people viewed Kolshians and bring light to what’s happening with Aafa; there’s a lot to work toward, but we can’t change things alone. It’ll be enough to win a few over to see me, and just me, differently. Like at first, the Feds thought humans were an exception.”

“We are an exception. You’re the one who called us nature’s weirdos.”

“Ha, but I mean it quite seriously. I don’t know if Bram will come around…but I doubt it’ll be overnight.” She’s not calling him Dad anymore; using a parent’s given name didn’t seem to be the human custom. “We need to depend on each other, and for that, we have to stick together. I can’t go whisking off to the other side of the galaxy after everything that you’ve done.”

Chloe tilted her head, concern in her brown irises. “That was your dream, Kelvan. I don’t want to make you feel guilty, or trapped, for following it. What I want is for you to be happy.”

“I am happy, Chloe. You are my dream in the literal sense; the first night we spent together, I dreamed of us gazing at the flowers on Earth, just like we’re doing now.”

“That’s too sweet. For what it’s worth, I want to be wherever you are. You make my cares melt away, even without any nature meditation involved. You’re a beautiful vista to gaze at all on your own.”

“That’s poetic. I feel like you could’ve thrown a flower metaphor in there somewhere.”

She swatted me playfully on the wrist with her good arm. “Take the compliment! What do you want me to say? ‘A Kelvanis by any other name would smell as sweet?’”

“Er, what? I…I like my scented aromatics too.”

“It’s a reference to roses and…never mind. I tried. Just…what is it that you’ll do, if you don’t pursue xenobotany? I want to be sure that you find something fulfilling.”

“I was thinking I might apply for a job here, at this garden. Stay Earthside for a while, and get to know more about your home. I know how to market myself, and xenobotany is a young field on this world. Perhaps a few rows of alien plants could add even more pizazz.”

“What about discovering something new? The chloeflower?”

“I don’t know what the future holds. Having the real Chloe is a lot better than naming a flower in your remembrance. I can discover a bounty of novelties right here in the Sol system.”

The human snuggled up closer to me, as we fell into a comfortable silence. Her binocular eyes studied my writing, as I traced sketches of the tulips; I spotted shades of red, white, yellow, orange, and two hues of pink, lined by a different flower bordering it in purple shades. It was an interesting arrangement, like a river of petals that leapt off the canvas in color, with the calm violet evoking nighttime shade with its darker tone. There were seas of single shades—stripes elevated from the smooth grass. Further back, windmills turned as an iconic symbol of days long gone. Trees climbed toward the cerulean sky, which was a similar color to my skin. Chloe chuckled as I noted that fact. 

“There is so much color around us. It pops,” I mused aloud. “The world should be dead, much like Earth as a whole, but it stands the test of a winter—through your love and ingenuity.”

Chloe tapped the paper with a finger. “Write that down. That was a good line.”

“Maybe I will. Aafa’s gardens usually had poetry engraved on plaques near its most beautiful places. A number of our great poets would do live readings there too—sometimes commemorative ones when a new exhibit opened.”

“I never understood the appeal of poetry; I thought it was boring in school, to be honest. The way you see things and describe them is beautiful, though.”

“I’m only appreciating what’s already around us. I’m right at home in a sprawling garden like this.”

The human sighed contently, though her pupils were moving back and forth, as if debating whether to say something to me. “Not to be like Bram, Kelvan, but I’ve had a genuine question in my mind for a good few hours. What…what do you think of carnivorous plants?”

“I have read about those, just since the idea of plants eating meat defies the whole ‘bloodthirst’ notion of carnivory. They can feel only on the most elementary level, so I think it shows scientifically that there’s nutritional, evolutionary reasons to develop such a diet. Not to belabor the point, but I do wonder how much trouble the Feds went to to uproot them. I’ve not seen it talked about.”

“The Federation went and killed all carnivorous plants?”

“I’m not sure. Their focus was the large animals, since they’re the most notable. However, it’s strange that nobody in the xenobotany field ever saw such things. I read Terran literature on them a while back, when I was acclimating myself to you. It’s all I could find on the subject.”

“Perhaps someone should spearhead a xenobotany survey to find other examples of them.”

“You’d have to target areas with nitrogen-deficient soil specifically. Much like…well, I imagine…animal meat-eaters: it happened when they couldn’t get their nutrients from the soil. Nature finds a way.”

“Glad you seem so academic about it. Do you really think carnivorous plants are predators?”

“Yes, by definition. And I don’t give a shit.”

“I wish more aliens had that attitude. Whatever Bram thought, you’re clearly not worried about predators. You’ll make it just fine living on Earth.”

I gazed out at the flowers, finding my heart in full agreement with that sentiment. “It won’t always be easy. But as long as we’re together, I know I can make it through anything.”

The love we shared was special: a kind of instantaneous bond that some people never found in their lives. There were so many concerns that we’d have to grapple with: getting accepted into new jobs, putting down roots here on Earth, managing the displeasure of Chloe’s father, and dealing with the judgment of other humans. However, with such a gorgeous field of flowers stretching out before us, and the girl of my dreams in my arms, I felt at peace. I wished Volani, Mother, and Father could see me now, and come to understand the path I’d chosen to walk. As was the point of nature meditation, I let my troubles roll off my shoulders.

If Lisse was this gorgeous, adapting to Earth’s customs couldn’t be that difficult. This was where I belonged, much more than quarantined Aafa had ever been. I felt that it was destiny that brought me to this moment—to the one person who would’ve seen me for who I was—and let me glimpse beauty of alien worlds anew.

A/N - Star Crossed ends! Chloe and Kelvanis enjoy a day together at a massive tulip garden, which can bloom year-round thanks to genetic engineering advances, and stop to smell the roses. Our couple still has much to figure out, and might not have the support of their full family, but Keukenhof gives Kelvan some ideas on what his purpose could be on Earth. Hopefully, my research on Dutch culture and places in Netherlands proved an accurate depiction, I certainly tried to do an earnest showcase—and I hope you enjoyed this series.

As always, thank you for reading and supporting! I hope the five updates were something special, but since I’m afraid it’s a bit too much for me to be a regular occurrence. This series wound up being longer, but I wanted to start Gress close to Chapter 28; and now, I have one more of his cases to tell before a Western series (you read that right) is on the way!