Our story begins in a frontier land. A family has made the arduous journey from the coast seeking a better life and the freedom of a small community of farmers in the unexplored lands. The husband and wife have made this trip with their adult son and younger daughter. As they pull into town and find a hotel for the night, everybody is exhausted and needs a good meal and long rest. However, come morning, Father and Mother have to go around town to find what plots are available and get the proper deeds and sign the proper forms.
A dream of freedom on your own land was shared by many, and thanks to this frontier land rush, the best plots filled up quickly. Why, the only place left to build is in the northern section where locals won’t settle. The land dubbed the No Man’s Land. Unhappy due to the conditions, Mother says they’ll take it anyway. The family won’t last a journey over the mountains to get to the next lands and they don’t have the means of passing the seas to the south, so they will tame the wild lands and make them home. Father nods to her courage and wise choices and adds his signature below hers on the deed.
Sharing the good news that they now own land, but leaving the rest of the information off so as not to spook their children, the family plans to pick up supplies and celebrate this night and then head to their land at first light tomorrow. They stock up on rations and supplies for themselves, all the tools they’ll need, and all the seeds of staple crops and local fruits they can fit.
They’re a hard working family and they expected the early days to be rough. But when the crops take too long to develop, worry sets in. The staple crops are small and low yield, just barely enough to sustain the family with nothing left over to sell for money. The only thing that seems to grow well are the local seeds, a bush that produces berries that shine purple and blue in the sun.
After weeks of the meager staples, the family gathers around the odd berry bush. The berries are plump and juicy, firm to the touch but bursting with a sweet juice if cut. Father and Mother murmur to themselves about what to do, when impulsive young Daughter reaches out and chomps a handful of berries right off the bush. The family gasps but Daughter beams. They’re delicious! Perfectly sweet and energizing. She feels better than she’s been since they left their home at the coast. The rest of the family pauses and then they all grab a berry from the bush too. Mother gingerly samples hers and agrees, they’re wonderful and she feels energized. Father and Son shrug and pop theirs. They both wince and reel back. The berry itself tastes fine but it has an overpowering aftertaste, like an electric metal.
As the weeks march on, the staple crops continue to disappoint, so the family supplements their meals with fresh berries and desserts made with them. Partly out of necessity and partly now acclimated to it, Father and Son soon no longer report the aftertaste as quite so severe and eventually don’t notice it at all. Now able to enjoy the sweets with Mother and Daughter, the family has the energy to keep working the land.
Winter comes and a sudden icy rain threatens the crops. The family all work to protect their small crops with Mother and Daughter working the day to cover the crops. Father and Son work through the night to finish the cover and to dig trenches to redirect the freezing water. Come morning’s sun, the crops are saved but Father and Son are sick in bed.
Showing no signs of fever or sickness, they seem to only want to sleep through the day and night, waking rarely to demand food to stave off an intense hunger. Mother worries but with the harvest so poor, the family can ill afford to send for a doctor. She tries her best to discuss it with sleeping Father and during his short periods awake, he tells her to stop worrying and not to waste the family’s money on doctors. Some more rest and he’ll be just fine.
The sleeping illness lasts for two more days before young Daughter rushes into the kitchen in the morning. There’s been a miracle and Brother is better than he’s ever been! She grabs Mother’s hand and yanks her upstairs to his room. Cowering against the edge of his bed, Brother is a brother no more. His hair grew wildly, now long and sticking out from the prolonged bed rest. His features have softened and he appears tall and lithe. But the most shocking developments are the two globes protruding from his chest, pressed tight against his nightshirt. Mother grabs his hand to comfort him but suddenly shouts that she has to check on Father. Telling Daughter to tend to her brother, she rushes off back downstairs to their room. Young Daughter happily cuddles up to Brother and with a hug, tells him how thrilled she is to have a sister.