The centaurs

I knew I needed the energy I didn't have yet if I was going to start my journey to the city. I fetched around for wood and slowly piled the ones I found into one small chunk. Now the fire...I wasn't sure how to start a fire, back home I'd just use a match. Perhaps I could get two rocks and cause friction between them, eventually. I walked up to the clear river, which was still streaming nearby and dunked my hand in and grabbed two flat rocks. When I looked up opposite me, I saw a small hurdle of centaurs. They looked like a family, since there was two small ones a bigger man and women. I could tell their genders quite easily, since a part of them still resembled those of features found in humans. The little one was gawking at me, so I smiled in response. Though I didn't get one back, so I tried something else. I noticed that on their side, they had no fruit trees. The river had split it in such a way that my side had the agricultural and their side had none, just empty trees.

I jogged back and picked out as many fruits as I could. There wasn't any basket I could put them in of course but there were large castor leaves the size of blankets which curved slight at the bottom. So I pulled it out and took it along with me to the river. I layed the castor leave down on the river then placed the fruits inside. I gently pushed it across the river, and the man knew to come forth immediately so he could reach for it.

'.. Why don't you come over here?' I shouted across.

'It's forbidden for my kind.' He said carefully.

'Forbidden to eat from the fruits?'

'No, to be on that side.' He said in a barely audible tone.

'Then who is it planeted for..?' It made no sense.

'For the city.' He continued

'And are you not apart of the city?'

'Not my kind. We're seen as inferiors and are only allowed to live within this part of this forest.' He gestured with his hand at the area they were standing within.

It seemed that patriarchy was yet a practiced habit amongst the creatures that lived here. This would mean that humans like me must also have a rank.

The smaller centaurs quickly plunged their hands within the leaf to get the fruits out. They ate as though they hadn't had a meal in over a year.

'Thankyou.' A wise tone of a women spoke, it was the mother.

I smiled and nodded in response.

'Children, only eat what you need.. you know what happens otherwise.' The man timidly stared at them.

They looked up and nodded. He then took the left overs that they didn't need and threw them into the river. The fruits didn't float against the currant, they instead fizzled and dissolved as as soon as they hit the water.

'What would happen if you ate more than you needed?' I asked them.

The women responded to me this time

'This garden works on gluttony.'

Interesting, so if I ate the apple earlier nothing would have happened to me.. but would I have been able to stop myself. After-all, the centaurs couldn't come back for more so it

makes things easier for them.

'If anyone eats more than they need, the fruit will start to poison their pallets.' She continued.

'..and die.' I suggested

She nodded.

Veors words were slowly starting to come into reality. It only seems like a paradise.

'Do you perhaps know how far the city is from here?' I askes.

'Not more than five miles.' The man said.

'Thankyou.' I then waved my hand as a gesture of goodbye as I turned back round. They all bowed in response.