Tigress of the Shrubland (7)

Tigress of the Shrubland (1)

Tigress of the Shrubland (6)

I awoke to the rainlike hum of creatures murmuring, but the curious matter was that I understood them.

Public Domain: https://www.wikiart.org/en/leon-bazille-perrault/maternal-love

The conversations I overheard concerned metals, fabrics, and emotions of the heart — “rather than the mind,” someone emphasized. I lay in warm repose a moment longer before sitting up.

The cavern remained awash in a low glow. I asked a nearby thing with long ears, “How do you keep track of the days down here?”

It sneezed in offense. “Days? Days? Where are you from?”

“Earth,” I replied.

The thing shivered all over. “I don’t know why you are here.” It bounded or scampered away — I cannot recall how its body was formed.

I addressed another creature who was floating by. “Excuse me, have you heard of a human named Janice?”