Zondomini Part 1

"My story goes like this. When I was a little girl my father tried to kill me. I have now killed him. The end. Such is the forest!"

Silence rose between them.

"So did you like?" Zondomini asked batting her golden eyes.

"Uhh, Why did your father try to kill you?" Marcus replied with strained voice.

"You're interested in my story? It's a bad story."

"Bad story? I guess so. I just want to know why your father would try to kill you. That's not a father thing to do."

"What is a stone man to know about what a father does?"

"I'm not a stone man."

"Yes you are, you are made of stone. I smell it."

"You can smell it, and you can't smell my human side?"

"Human? What is a human?"

Silence rose between them.

"You are aware that you are a mob in a dungeon right?"

"Mob? I don't understand. I am Zondomini." She said tilting her head to the side.

"A mob is a native to a dungeon. Are you not a part of the dungeon?"

"Dungeon?"

"Yes, the dungeon, it's where we are right now."

"I don't understand this dungeon you speak of. This is the land of Xylophones."

"I thought this was the dungeon of Zambama. That's what those runners said anyway."

"Zambama is not the name of the land. It is Xylophones. Zambama is our- You are not of this world correct?"

"Yes, that's correct. I'm not part of this world."

"You are human, correct?"

"Yes I am human."

"So why are you stone?"

"I don't know! I was just sitting on my couch with my babysitter."

"Wah wait, you have someone sit on your babies in your world? How strange. Tell me more of the practice," her eyes glowed up.

"It's not like how you think. Why would you think we sit on our babies?"

"Because that is what you said, baby sitter."

"No I mean, damn. Sorry. A babysitter in my world takes care of the child while the parents are away."

"Mhm."

"Since sometimes your parents might have to go to work to get money, and they don't have time to actually care for you. So they get someone else to do it. Caring is like, she watches movies with me, feeds me, helps me learn how to cook, gives me a tablet to learn from more than just school, etc."

"Mhm."

"Do you understand?"

"Yes, so you sit on the babies for the baby to learn to lift the baby sitter, yes?"

"What? No that's not what I was saying at all."

"From what you tell me it is about learning and moving. Learn to move with someone on you. My father did it to me all the time, he is a fine baby sitter. Such is the forest."

"What did you misinterpret movies?"

"Misinterpret movies?"

"Yeah, watch movies."

"Yes, my people watch movies too."

"What does that mean? How do your people watch movies?"

"We watch people move from one place to another, with their father on their shoulders or older brother. Most people call it a woman's sport. So the men's division is not that popular. I'm sure you probably might have some fun with your babysitter in the sport. Even compete with some of the men. I don't know about the women. Our- Sorry is that too much information? My father told me that people hate long stories. My people love stories, but life is not long, we must keep it short to survive. Such is the forest."

"I love long stories. Whatever new information you can tell me I'll welcome it don't worry. My mother used to tell me to always be inquisitive and open minded. And besides, movies in my world isn't a sport, it's a video with a long story. They last from an hour long to like 3 hours."

"Stories that last an hour to 3 hours? Zambama, that sounds wonderful!"

"Zambama, what does that mean?"

"Wah, I don't know if there is a word in your native tongue that can accurately describe it. Perhaps a series of words, but not a single word. It is a celebration, like Zambama a child has been born and can already see raindrops. It is also a comforter, like Zambama you have lost. I don't know, it is like a neutral time, because of the future consequences and the amount of future hardships may come from the neutral time, but because of it you will be happy in the long run because you get to live to that future. It has a very long history and I could list some examples from history of it."

"It's fine I guess I kind of get it." Marcus said coughing, "Shit, I'm running out of mana."

"I can tell your lungs are emptying quickly. Wah, before you completely run out and this translation spell ends. I am going to free you as I promise, but you have to help me, with two things now. Number one, a story, I recently left the village I was residing in to meditate and be one with the forest. This is my favorite spot to do it in and there were other humans here. Those other humans with you said that they were going to burn down what I assume to be the exact same village. Personally I don't care if those people die. Such is the forest, we live by it and die by it. However my father's body is buried in that village, and I want to retrieve it. Do we agree on this companionship? I, Zondomini will say yes."

"I- Marcus Aeon, will say yes?"

"I also wish to watch one of these movies you talked about. We don't have to play movie in my world. We watch your world's movies. I want to watch as many as possible. I love long stories, my mother used to tell me a lot of them as a child. What is the name of the first movie we are watching."

"Uhhh," Marcus's mind flashed the image of Sam's head being exploded by a piece of the stone pillar he found himself in. "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. It's a cowboy film. Spaghetti Western."

"Jukla nahmi danor." Zondomini said backing away from Marcus who desperately tried catching his breath.

<Translation spell ended>

"You," he gasped hurling and inhaled as much air as he possibly could while his lungs seemed to squeeze together and puncture his chest from the inside. "I can't speak," Marcus thought as he watched Zondomini twiddle her thumbs together. She took a deep breath. She trembled as her breath became jagged, she whispered to herself as her whole body twitched. She shook her head and Marcus felt the stone within him fall deeper into the ground below him. He felt like some Giant had pushed his body down into the ground, or his heart had fallen out of his body. A light glowed from golden eyes with swirling black pupils.

<"Honey, a mob nearby has been detected to have a passive magical core output that crosses the dungeon boss threshold">

"Wha-"

<Would you like to initiate boss music?>