Chapter 8：My Space

On Sunday morning, I spent my time online buying boxes and containers in bulk. They should arrive at max in three days time. Then, I bought a ticket from Haikou to Tokyo using Cathay Pacific which will depart this Thursday. I should have ample time to finish any necessary matters by then.

Once done, I went into my space to start organizing. I bet you are curious as to how it looks like. I will describe it to you. You see, most Ho clan members gain their abilities at the age of 12 years old and that includes me. We somehow will know what our abilities will be. It is like having prior knowledge of our abilities and how to improve them. They come in active or passive forms. The usual active ones are like fire, water and many more. Mine is a passive ability. I did not have to keep using my space to improve my ability. Instead, it 'grows' with age.

My space was small back then. The exact measurement was 250 meters length across 250 meters width. There was only grass growing in it. Walking from one corner to another corner of the space, I noticed that the temperature seemed to change and at another corner was a small amount of snow. I conjectured that the space maintains four different types of seasons with each occupying different corners.

To check if I was right, I went out of my space and grabbed an analogue thermometer, the only one available at the time before reentering. I headed to the north corner and stood there for five minutes and found out that the temperature there was in the negatives which meant winter. I repeated the action at the other corners and the temperature readings there fall within the ranges of the three other seasons. Spring is to the east, summer to the south (which reminds me of the island I am living in) and lastly autumn to the west.

I was so happy of my new ability that I ran all the way to my grandmother to tell her about it. I wanted to show her my space but was unsure if any living things aside from me can enter it. My grandmother told me to try bringing my pet hamster into it. So, I ran all the way back to my bedroom and grabbed poor Mr Fluffy. I was not convinced with my experiment, so I grabbed my grandmother's cat next. They managed to survive entering and leaving the space. I then proceeded to tell grandmother of the results and looked at her with my puppy eyes indicating 'I want to show my space' to her. Grandmother was happy to oblige and entered together with me.

Inside, she told me how my ability was similar to one of our ancestors. The clan's grounds are in fact of a different space compared to the outside's. There was a huge war back then and his instinct to survive somehow triggered him an ability to create a space big enough for him and his family. He then slowly added other clan members as his space also grows.

We both left my space after adding markers to measure the space's growth. I would spend the next two months making, proving and disapproving different conjectures. Some of them are the weather is constant and that there is no end to the space. I could never find its end; as if I am trapped in an illusion that shows endless land. Luckily my ability was manifested during the school holiday. The two months were just enough to satisfy my curiosity until homework started piling up again.

At 24 years old, I saw a flowing river situated in the middle of my space. It starts from the north and flows to the south. I rushed to it upon seeing the river but was disappointed when I did not see any fish. The river is not too deep and its current is not fast; just suitable for swimming. The temperature of the river also depends on which corner you are on.

I only started to fill things into the space when I was appointed as a CEO. I planted different types of saplings like Chinese pistache to the north of the space where there is a slight elevation of the land, cherry blossoms for the spring corner, golden larch that are summer tolerant and ginkos to the west. Their growth rates range from slow to average but at my current age, some are already double my height.

Compared to the land, I put not much effort on the river. I added a few non invasive fishes like the silver carp and even the siamese algae-eater. I also intermittently added other suitable small animals that live in rivers be it tortoises or snails. I did not artificially provide food and would only check on them once in awhile to see if they can survive with food available at the river itself. After some time, I saw more animals at the river and to avoid from over population, I would catch some and release them into rivers by grandmother's house.

After I finished reminiscing of the past, I gathered some dried leaves to be turned into compost. I also checked if there are any abnormalities in the space such as tree diseases and dead animals. Seeing there were none, I breathed a relief.

I then dragged yesterday's items under a nearby golden larch tree before sketching out where to place them. The fruit saplings need to be planted at their respective corners. The animals will be placed at the summer corner while the mobile homes I plan to buy; at the spring's. This way, I can enjoy the constant flowering cherry blossoms. There will also be areas to plant vegetables on each corner.

Having done with the sketch, I started planting the fruit saplings at their corners. I also arranged the rabbit hutches neatly at the south corner. By the time I finished and got out of my space, the sun already started to set. I rushed to take a shower to get rid of the soil I managed to get on my body.

Before I went to bed, I added buying flower and herb seeds and pots onto my ever growing list of things to buy. I further made a mental note to get another four wheel drive for my space to make transporting things easy.