Chapter 2 - First Friend

The next few months seemed to go by too quickly for Kamilahs liking without much progress to her main goal. However she did have progress in other aspects of her life that were going to help the process she was sure!

For weeks after Nature had left Kami roamed around the surrounding areas near her tree searching for bits of plants she could take back and begin to grow. Early mornings seemed to be her favorite time for gathering as everything was quiet and she could enjoy the fresh air and nature in all its glory.

 She found a few small things, carrots and herbs mostly which she immediately planted in order to get a food source going since hunger seemed to be a big issue for her now. She was a bit weary of the carrots she had found at first but it had to do until her own carrots from her garden could grow. Soon though she even had a couple lemon and cherry trees!

Some stones that she dug up had some hidden treasures inside such as fossils and gems which she figured may help out later on.

She had even liberated a small frog that had gotten stuck in an abandoned well, the poor thing!

At first Kami wasn’t sure she wanted to leave her tree alone and would spend all day tending to her new plants making up the excuse that she needed to give them extra attention. The last time she had been outside of her tree this area had been lush and some of her sisters had been here and now suddenly everything was gone, it scared her a little. What if she left and when she came back her tree was gone?

It had taken several days for her to get over that thought and mustering up as much courage as she could, after all she had to get herself out there sometime, she finally left her tree and began to explore the town a bit more. The first thing she noticed was there weren't very many people around, not like she remembered anyway. She could see people, mostly kids, sitting in their houses in front of the televisions as she passed by and she peered up at the brilliant blue sky and felt the warmth of the sun on her skin and wondered why they weren't outside.

As Kami passed by businesses in town she could feel people staring at her as they looked out the windows. She wasn't sure what it was though she knew that her human guise was very convincing of being one of them so wasn't sure what was bringing their attention to her. Not watching where she was going she nearly ran into a dark haired man right outside of the gym. "Oh, hi there," he said with a smile and Kami laughed lightly as she stepped back, "Sorry! I was lost in thought!" she said quickly tucking a bit of hair behind her ear.

  

The man gave her a strange look for a moment as he glanced down then back up, "Are you okay?" he asked and Kami tilted her head slightly finally able to confront someone giving her that look she had been getting all day. "Of course, why? Do I look not okay?" she questioned glancing down at her attire and smoothing her hands over her shirt. 

"Ah, no you look... f..fantastic," he said with a catch in his voice but then he pointed down quickly changing the topic, "You don't have on any shoes," he blurted out rapidly then blinked looking up at her lifting a hand up as if surprised by his own outburst. 

Kami burst out into giggles, "Oh! Is that why everyone is looking at me?" She asked and smiled at him brightly. "I just .. well, I don't usually walk around on the sidewalks." She said honestly glancing up at him, "I like being as close to nature as I can be when I am home and I guess I just forget not everyone doesn't like shoes." He nodded in an understanding fashion which surprised Kami, "Ah, so you are with the barefoot movement? Well good on you. I'm Cohen by the way," he said finally introducing himself. "Kami," she replied back with a smile.

Cohen questioned about her being new to the neighborhood and after finding out she was offered to show her around some of the different places. The gym had been where they had met of course and he motioned towards the library but told her that not many people went there anymore unless it was to use the computers. He then took her past the local restaurant and bar and then one of his favorite places the museum.

It wasn't long after the tour that Kami realized how late it was getting and so she thanked Cohen for the tour and said her goodbyes. She realized how sad she was to actually part from him, the first nice person she had met, but she missed her home and she was sure she would see him again around the town.

Cohen surprised her a few days later by stopping by unexpectedly and the look on his face as he stood on the lot with just her tree, a pond, and her small garden worried Kami for a moment before he excitedly began to talk about his love of the outdoors. Surprised, Kami felt as if she had a lot more in common with him as they talked for what seemed like hours about gardening and fishing and hiking. He was charming and easy to talk to and since Nature had left over a month ago it was the first time she truly didn't feel lonely. "So you don't have a house on here yet?" he questioned and she shook her head. "Is that .. strange?" she asked not sure if the humans were finding her odd which could hinder her finding potential mates in the future. "Ah, well, it's not the norm for sure. Where do you sleep?" he questioned and she pointed to a bit of grass near the base of her tree. He ran a hand over the back of his head as he scoped out the surroundings and then he changed the topic to something else quickly.

The conversation turned a bit serious for Kami though as Cohen let out that many people didn't share her love for nature and being outside like he did. Kami was saddened and shocked as he talked about how most people stayed indoors and watched television or worked long hours and couldn't do many things outside, children also didn't play outside any more but played on their computers and gaming systems all day. He had moved here a few months ago and had been surprised at the lack of outdoor activities that he loved. She felt curious now, was this why everything had died? Why her sisters were now gone?