I took a deep breath, reinvigorated by the morning air, and went off to explore the area. I wandered along a stream before turning back towards the house. Over the past few days on this planet, I felt more energetic despite the long walks.

Half an hour later, I arrived back at the front of the house where I found Kyran and Koharu sitting and chatting together on the terrace that extended out to the stream.

“Good morning, Kyran! The air is so refreshing!” I said energetically.

“Good morning to you, too,” replied Kyran.

“I have never felt this active and energetic even though I’ve walked a lot these past few days, and also …eeehhh ….” I paused as I was about to specify the number of intimate moments that I had with Koharu, but then hesitated to say it out aloud.

“Ehm, well … I meant I’ve burnt more energy than usual,” I said hesitantly.

“There are three things you need to know,” Kyran answered.

“First, the magnetic field of this planet is stronger than that of your world. Besides making humans smarter, this also affects the body cells directly, allowing them to renew more quickly because each cell is made up of many electromagnetic fibers. And when they receive high quality electromagnetic waves, they can renew even better.”

“Secondly, the food. Fresh fruits and vegetables, aside from being rich in minerals and nutrients, also contain another substance which is even more important; it’s the energy of life, obtained directly through the process of photosynthesis. The plants store this life energy like a fully charged battery. This life energy cannot be measured since it doesn’t contain any chemical compounds; it’s pure radiant energy which is essential for our lives. We can’t live without it because our body cannot photosynthesise, hence, the only way to get this life energy is by consuming plants.”

“You are a living being created to exist on these two planets only because every plant grown here has been specifically created for your body,” he continued.

“You can’t live on any planet that doesn’t rotate around itself in twenty-four hours, otherwise, your biological clock wouldn’t function. Your internal organs have been designed to work in synch with the time on this planet. It has been specially designed to receive life energy from this sun and only at this rotational speed. If anything would change, you wouldn’t be alive.”

“Thus, the idea that we don’t depend on anything and that we’re able to live anywhere in the universe is wrong. We are dependent on the plants on this planet, under this same sun at this exact location in this solar system, so we have to stay in either one of these two parallel worlds.”

“Oh! If that’s the case, then all these projects initiated on Earth to explore outer space and find other planets where humans could live, for example, on Mars, are impossible to achieve then?” I asked.

“Absolutely impossible. You have undertaken such projects because your thinking is not connected. We would never undertake such missions because it would be mere suicide. Remember, human beings can only reside on either one of these two habitable planets, and while other planets may look somewhat similar, there’s nowhere else in this vast universe where we can thrive and live.”

“Third, it’s about the air. This world is rich in concentrated oxygen which is produced continuously by the explosions beneath the planet’s surface. And this high quality oxygen has a direct effect on your body,” said Kyran.

While we were talking, Kyran took Koharu and me to a small hut near the house. It only had one wall with the other three sides open. The first thing I saw was a pile of red rock, stacked as high as my head. The floor was made of hard clay. In the middle of the room was a small fireplace with a space at the bottom to insert iron bars. It had a cylinder at the side through which air would be pumped in. Above the fireplace was a high chimney that passed through the roof. Beside the fireplace stood a big anvil for forging knives and hammer. Next to it was a pile of wood, a small table, and a few tools to make the handles and the sheaths for the knives.

“Is this the place where you make all your knives?” I asked.

“Yes, why do you ask?” Kyran replied.

“I thought there would be many more tools. This place looks very simple, considering how many exquisite pieces you produce. I can’t believe that they all came out of these heaps and pieces of wood and rock,” I commented.

“I’ve been doing this for tens of thousands of years,” he answered.

“It’s so amazing that you can transform these pieces of rock into beautiful knives,” I said.

“If you love my knives so much, I’m sure you’ll appreciate seeing the process of making them,” Kyran said, visibly pleased.

“Yes, I would very much like to see that. Thank you.”

“It’s time for breakfast. Masada is calling us,” Kyran said, leading me out of the hut.

“Koharu, is the city far from here?” I turned to ask her while we were walking back to the house.

“Not at all,” she replied.

“How long would it take?” I asked.

“It’s only a two-hour walk, but it might take you three to four hours,” she estimated the time based on her experience of walking with me the day before.

“Where are we going to stay tonight?” I asked, always trying to plan ahead.

“Hmm, I don’t know yet, but I’ll let you choose where you want to stay,” Koharu said.

When we entered the house, breakfast was ready. There was a bowl of thick soup for each of us, and a basket with fresh bread in the middle of the table. The aroma of the freshly baked bread tickled my nostrils. The bread, made with several kinds of grains and salted butter on top, looked very crispy and it was so mouthwatering good, especially when eaten together with the thick soup that Masada had made. I was the first to finish all my food while the others were still on their first piece of bread.

“May I have another bowl of soup, please? It’s so heavenly delicious,” I declared.

“Of course, you can have as much as you want.” Masada beamed a proud smile as she refilled my bowl.

I ended up refilling my bowl three times and eating three buns while the others only had their first bowl of soup and didn’t seem to want more. Instead, they turned to eat fruits.

“Don’t you all want some more soup? I’m a bit embarrassed that I ate so much more than all of you,” I said with an apologetic grin.

“Where do you get your energy from if you eat so little, especially you, Koharu? When we were walking, I noticed that you’re much stronger than I am,” I told Koharu.

“This is what we talked about earlier. We normally eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. You might consider fruits more as a supplement after a meal, but for us they are our main diet. What you have eaten of course satisfies the stomach, but for us the most important form of energy is the ‘life energy’ produced by photosynthesis.”

“In this universe, fruits are the best food you can get, you know,” concluded Kyran.