The sign above the entrance to the Park of Gaia was a minor miracle in itself. Every single visitor who passed through was treated to a sudden growth of flowers, plants and fauna which reflected the clothing they were wearing and even matched their makeup.


    A young couple walked through and had their mandatory photo taken by a series of green drones covered in living vines and flowers which were designed in the shape of bees and other pollen harvesting insects.


    ‘Nishi, we need to go again. I want to go again!’ said the young woman.


    She was in her early twenties but looked far younger and was thin with short-cut black hair and light brown eyes.


    The young man stopped his posing for a moment and put his arm around the young woman pulling her in tight for a final photo as the insect-style drone swarm pulled together into the image of a smiling face.


    ‘Uh...Cosette. We waited for a long time in the queue to even come here. I don’t think it’s a good idea that we take more than our allocated opportunity. I mean, we can just order the photos as soon as we actually enter the park. Besides, we literally just went through the entrance. We haven’t even seen anything yet. Or are you just looking for more credit from your professors for business opportunity loopholes involving a bunch of bee drones who take selfies for you?’ said Nishi.


    ‘I don’t like those costumes, they’re too real. Did you hear the rumours about how they have to sleep and even go to the bathroom in them?’


    The young man was holding on tight to the arm of the girl next to him as they passed through the front gates of the Park of Gaia.


    A staff employee appeared walking up to them in the form of a cute looking giant cactus complete with bright pink flowers.


    ‘Heya! Welcome to the Park of Gaia!’


    ‘Look! Let’s take a photo with Cathy Cactus. She’s so cute!’ said Cosette.The amusement park employee whose face and body aside from legs was completely hidden beneath the giant bright pink cactus simply moved towards them and stood in a posing posture ready for photos.


    As the young couple moved forward for a further photo opportunity as a nearby cute insect style drone hovered above their heads when the pink cactus shifted slightly and one of the spikes poked the hand of the young man drawing a drop of blood.


    He reeled back slightly and raised his voice.


    ‘That hurt! Why did you just poke me?’ said Nishi.


    Cossette glanced at him with mild surprise as she rolled her eyes. In her mind her boyfriend liked to play the victim card sometimes just to get more attention from her.


    ‘What? Quit making such a fuss, look the spines may look all pointy and sharp but Cathy Cactus is all fun and safe. Check it out.’


    She reached out her hand as the young man shuddered slightly but his face soon dropped in mild surprise as she grabbed a handful of the spines and clutched them in a closed hand. They bounced and released as she opened her palm and pushed against them a few times.


    ‘Sorry Cathy, my boyfriend worries too much about spiky things. Can we please touch your spines? You are so cute! So, so, cute!’


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    The pink cactus dressed employee simply nodded forward and then jumped into another pose for a photo. If the young man had excellent hearing and vision, he would have noticed the tiny slurping noise that the spine that had drawn a drop of his blood had made and how a patch of Cathy Cactus pink costume deepened in colour slightly.


    The young couple took the photo with the pink park employee before they decided to move on with their trip at the park.


    ‘See you, Cathy! Thanks for the chance for a photo!’


    The park employee Cathy Cactus simply nodded her form in a friendly manner before moving onto the next batch of park tourists who were entering the gate of the Park of Gaia.


    The young woman nudged her boyfriend who was scratching at his hand.


    ‘You got bit by a mosquito or something? Quit scratching. I grabbed Cathy’s spines and they were all bouncy.’ said Cosette.


    Nishi simply nodded his head..


    ‘Yeah, I got kinda worked up about nothing. Say, what ride do you want to go on first?’


    ‘Oooh, how about the Yggdrasil? If we get there early enough the queues won’t be too long. I heard that it reached the clouds and you drop all the way down to the ground. You can even see it from space!’‘Yeah, that’s got to be a myth. I mean the Park of Gaia is big and all but still. Kinda sounds like the one where the founders of this place are all buried under the rides.''


    ’Uh, ew. This is meant to be a fun date, not one of your creepy stories. I’m not your audience for your stories right now. You want to work on them you can go home right now and take your own time.''


    Nishi hesitated for a moment before he reached out, took both of Cosette''s hands in his own and gave her a kiss on her cheek.


    ‘I’m sorry. We’re here together right now. Hey, can you see that the show is beginning? I am not missing the opening. No way. Let’s go!’


    He grabbed the young woman''s hands before rushing forwards to a massive square surrounded by four different biome types where a large crowd of eager visitors was beginning to gather in anticipation.


    <Welcome! Welcome everyone today to the Park of Gaia! We will be presenting our first show of the day for all your newcomers and for those visiting us again, it’s truly a pleasure! Remember, Green is Beautiful!>


    Cosette wasn’t sure what she had been expecting from her initial visit to the Park of Gaia. She had spent time trying to track down those who had been interviewed and managed to talk to a handful of people who had actually agreed to meet with her. The rest said that they had no interest in sharing their personal experiences or showing off the fact that they had been privileged to visit. They’d asked for their privacy and directly or indirectly declined any further discussion on the matter.


    No. Her main issue for wanting to visit a Park of Gaia was for two reasons, firstly she wanted to find a good story, something with interest beyond rumours and the same recycled topics with a fresh perspective.


    Everything about the original Park of Gaia which had spread to four locations across the planet Belphus was largely restricted or informative at best.


    Namely, she wanted to find a way to directly contact and interview one of the higher ups who had taken over from the original founders when they had all died in a plane crash into the ocean more than fifty years ago.


    The second reason was that the handful of full-on interviews with people she had managed to secure were the same.


    All exactly the same, word for word and even the appearance and general physical health of the people was the same.


    Every single person had been rejuvenated and looked at least ten years younger than their actual age.


    She’d asked different questions about their experiences and even scheduled interviews at different times but they’d given her the same response, word for word. As though they had all been conditioned and indoctrinated to give a fixed response.


    ‘Cosette?’ came the voice of Nishi as a hand gently shook her shoulder.


    A plume of flowers bloomed in one corner as they floated up into the air and a seed pod exploded revealing shimmering lights.