53 Nothing and Everything (1/2)
'What exactly do you remember?'
Mina repeated Kino's words in her mind.
'What do I remember?'
'Should I tell him the truth?'
Mina eyed the orangutan who prompted her to say something with its eyes. Mina looked at her toes while trying to figure out how to start explaining or what to say. She wriggled her toes from the big toe to the little toe while trying to organize her thoughts.
”Hmpf!”
The loud sigh caught Mina's attention and she looked up to Kino who was shaking his head while looking at her.
Mina felt as if she was being skewered under Kino's intense gaze. The silence suddenly felt too much and she couldn't help but say something. Without thinking further, Mina said the first thing that came to mind.
”I think It's impossible to tell if the two little toes next to the big toe are moving without looking at it!”
Kino slapped his head in frustration and used the stick to hit Mina on the head.
”Hmpf!”
Mina knew she couldn't stall forever and she needed answers. Throwing caution to the wind, she found the courage to ask one question as she hugged her knees closer to her body.
”Where am I? What is this place?”
Kino's face lit up while looking at her and the monkey gave the stick an adoring look.
”Never fails.”
Mina couldn't help but hear the monkey's muttering. At that moment, she felt like one of those old, humongous, TV sets that had to be slapped to have a clearer display.
Using the stick, Kino drew a large circle on the soil inside the sandbox. Mina's whole face scrunched up while looking at Kino draw a small dots on one side of the large circle. Kino studied her for a while before pointing the stick to the small dot.
”Here. We're in this Deadend, er, Checkpoint Node.”
”The wha-at?” Mina couldn't help but ask again.
Everything was just too confusing -this place, Kino, and even how she seems to be ending up in the pod.
”This is the place where dead things go when they leave their shell, er, body behind. Where we are now is the Checkpoint Node.” The monkey emphasized his statement by pointing repeatedly on the small dot.
”This is where we monitor any irregular activities in the entry points surrounding this area.” Kino explained patiently while encircling the area surrounding the small dot.
”So,” Mina finally said after a long silence as she tried to grapple with all the new information Kino has been throwing at her.
”I am in the Checkpoint Node. This Egg Pod is the checkpoint node.” Kino beamed at her in the same way a mother smiles when their baby calls her ”mom” for the first time.
”What exactly are these entry points for? How many are there? Why is there a checkpoint?” Mina asked, this time more curious than confused.
Kino traced the big circle he drew earlier. ”This, this entire circle is the Meerkat Network. Souls travel to different areas in Existence through this network.”