There was a knock on the door and Zeke woke up with a start. He had finally gotten to sleep in the bed in the hotel room as Sarah had decided to sleep at the laboratory. "Just a minute," he called out as he pulled himself groggily out of bed. He pulled on his clothes and answered the door. 

Dr. Octavius stood there with a big smile on his face. "Rise and shine. It's about time to get going. You ready?" 

"Yeah, I guess." Zeke rubbed his eyes and yawned. 

"Excellent. Sarah's down in the lobby having a quick bite to eat. Are you hungry?" 

"Nah, let's just get out of here. I'm ready to go home." 

"We'll be there very soon now, son," Dr. Octavius patted him on the back encouragingly. 

They met up with Sarah in the lobby and headed outside where Bobby was waiting for them with his rickshaw. 

"To the Butter Moss Gardens, my good man," Dr. Octavius said as he handed him some floss. 

"Yes sir," Bobby saluted and began hauling them along at a brisk pace. 

"You know, in a weird sort of way I'm going to miss this place," Sarah said. 

"I have a soft spot for it myself," Dr. Octavius chuckled. "It does have a rather infectious quality. Don't worry, if you get the urge you can always come back and visit." 

"I think it'll be awhile before I'd want to do that," Sarah said. "It'll be nice to return to normality." 

"Ah, but what is normal?" Dr. Octavius pondered and trailed off in silence. 

"You're awfully quiet, Zeke," Sarah said. 

"Huh?" he looked up but avoided making eye contact. "Oh, I'm, uh, just thinking." He still felt embarrassed to talk to her now that she knew he had a crush on her. 

After a short while they passed through a gate into some sort of beautifully landscaped park. Small streams trickled through grassy meadows and large gem-studded fountains sprayed water into the air. Plants of every imaginable size, shape, and color were arranged in dazzling displays of artistry including hedges that had been sculpted into impossibly complex patterns such as geodesic domes and Moebius strips. 

"This place is gorgeous," Sarah gasped. "Where are we?" 

"It's called the Butter Moss Gardens," Dr. Octavius explained. "A huge park filled with countless specimens of natural and landscaped scenic splendor. It's one of the biggest draws for tourists. Trevor Mastodon probably would have torched it to the ground given the opportunity. Anyway, the pond that leads back to our world is just a short distance ahead."  

It was then that they heard the music. It was ethereal, intricate, and breathtaking... almost exactly what Zeke imagined a choir of angels would sound like. "Where's that music coming from?" he asked in a hushed tone, not wanting to miss a note of its elegant beauty. 

"Ah yes, those are the singing trees," Dr. Octavius said. "Lovely, aren't they? Our timing couldn't be any better. They're only in bloom for a couple weeks out of the year." 

"I've never heard anything so moving," Sarah said staring around her in wide-eyed astonishment. 

"Yes, well they release a recording of their entire performance every year once they're finished. They only charge a modest price for it as well. In the neighborhood of four or five strands. I own the greatest hits package volume 3. It covers the highlights from the past six million years. Quite an astonishing body of work, I must say. Sounds like this year's melodies are very nice, but who knows if they'll make the cut for volume 4? The cream of the crop tends to be simply exquisite." 

They listened in silence until they passed the main grove of singing trees and the music faded into the background. After a few more minutes Dr. Octavius told Bobby to halt the rickshaw near a small pond surrounded by green bricks. The water was dark blue and had several lily pads floating on it. A small stream trickled gently into it. 

"This is the place," Dr. Octavius said as he hopped out and ran his fingers through the cool water.  

"Well, I'd better be on my way," Bobby said as he gave them a nod. "I've gotta earn some floss so I can pay my rent and take Cindy out to a nice seafood restaurant." 

"Good bye Bobby," Sarah said as she threw her arms around his big furry body and squeezed him. "Thanks for everything." 

"No problem," he said as he returned her bear hug. He shook hands with Zeke and Dr. Octavius and then turned back the way they'd come from whistling to himself. 

"Well, here we go," Dr. Octavius said as he took a deep breath and dived into the pond. A minute later his head broke back through the surface. "Oh dear, it looks like there's been a rock slide. The tunnel's partially blocked." 

"Does that mean we're stuck here?" Sarah frowned. 

"No, no. It'll just take me twenty minutes or so to clear enough rocks out of the way for us to fit through. Just a slight delay is all." 

"Do you need us to help?" Sarah asked. 

"No, there's really only enough room in here for one person at a time. Why don't you two go look around the gardens a little bit? But don't wander too far. This is a pretty big place and it's easy to get lost." 

"All right," Sarah shrugged. "We'll check back in about fifteen minutes. You want to look around Zeke?" 

"Actually, nature calls," Zeke said as he walked off into some nearby bushes. "Go on, I'll catch up with you in a minute." 

He nestled himself in a thick pink bush with feathery leaves. He unzipped his pants and let out a sigh of relief as he went about his business. Just as he was finishing up he heard a rustling noise in a large thicket of shrubs off to the right. "Who's there?" he called out as he zipped up his pants. 

A beautiful woman in a leopard skin bikini stepped out and brushed her dark hair aside. "Hello, Zeke," she said in a sultry tone of voice. 

Zeke squinted at her for a second. "Hey, I recognize you. You're that jungle princess that was chained up to that tree. What are you doing here?" 

"I tracked you down because I never got the chance to thank you for rescuing me from the Klexitaur." 

"What, that big old scary spider thing? That was nothing. I do that sort of thing every day." 

"I was particularly impressed with how you pretended to be afraid of it so it would be distracted and I could make my escape," she said as she reached forward and stroked his arm. 

"Yes. I 'pretended' to be afraid of it," Zeke said as he shifted his eyes back and forth.  

"That was very brave of you to risk your life for me," she said stepping closer and staring intently into his eyes. "If you come back into the jungle with me my father would grant you my hand in marriage. He was extremely grateful to see me alive and would feel compelled to reward you." 

"Aw, gee," Zeke stared at the ground and scratched the back of his head. "That sounds great, but the thing is I was just about to go home. Say, why don't you come along with me? There are lots of things in my world I'd love to show you. Like, um, television! Do you have TVs out there in the jungle?" 

"I would go anywhere with you, Zeke, were you my husband." 

"Oh, you're old fashioned, huh? Don't worry, we can get married in my world! We'll go to Vegas or something." 

"It's the law of my people that my father must give me away in marriage. Please. Come with me back to the jungle that we may be joined in eternal bliss." 

"Damn, this is a tough choice. I mean, you're a total babe, the likes of which would never talk to me in real life. But on the other hand, I'd really like to go home, at least for a little while. And I'm not sure I'm ready to go traipsing off into that jungle again right away. But you know, I don't have to leave this place forever. I can always go home for a bit and then come back here again." 

"I understand," the jungle princess said as she smiled sweetly at him. "Go to your homeland. But promise me you'll return and pledge your eternal love to me." With that she leaned forward and planted a long passionate kiss on his lips. 

"Wow," he said when she finally broke away. "That was unbelievable! Don't worry, I promise I'll return and, you know what? I'll pledge my eternal love to you right now, baby." 

She kissed him again and then turned around and disappeared back into the thicket. "I'll see you soon, my love," she called out and was gone. 

Zeke remained standing there staring after her in a state of utter speechlessness for several minutes when he heard footsteps approaching from behind him. 

"There you are, Zeke." 

"Oh, uh, hi Sarah," he said as he turned around to greet her. 

"Can we talk for a minute?" she asked. 

"Uh, yeah," he said still floating in a reverie. 

"I've been thinking a lot lately. Max told me all about how you feel about me." 

Suddenly Zeke crashed back to the ground and he felt extremely self-conscious again. "Oh, er, you know that Max. Such a kidder." 

"You don't have to be embarrassed, Zeke. It's okay. Anyway, I've been locked in an unhealthy relationship with Vance for so long, I've forgotten what it's like to have fun with a sweet, caring individual." 

"That's true," Zeke conceded. 

"So anyway, I was thinking maybe after we get back to Earth, you and I could go have a couple drinks. Maybe catch a movie?" 

"Are you asking me out?" Zeke crinkled his nose in confusion. 

"Yeah. I guess I am." Sarah looked at him and smiled. 

"But... but... my jungle princess," Zeke stuttered.  

"Who?" Sarah asked. 

"I kind of just pledged my eternal love to this jungle princess," Zeke explained. Of all times for Sarah to return his interest, why did it have to be now? What the hell was going on anyway? Maybe there really was something to that female repulsor ray business after all. 

"I didn't realize there was somebody else," Sarah said, suddenly looking downcast. "I... I'd better go." 

"Wait, let's not be hasty here," Zeke said. "Think, Zeke, think. Maybe the jungle princess would be interested in hooking up in a threesome?" 

"Look, forget I mentioned it. Let's just go see if my uncle's got the tunnel cleared." 

"But... but..." Zeke stammered after her as she walked away. "Aw, man!" He glanced over his shoulder in the direction of the thicket where the jungle princess had disappeared to and then followed after Sarah. 

He returned to the pond to find Dr. Octavius sitting on the edge of it breathing heavily. Sarah stood a few feet away staring at the ground. 

"Ah, there you are, Zeke," Dr. Octavius panted. "Good news! I've got the tunnel all clear! We can go home!" 

"Okay," Zeke grunted inattentively as he stared pleadingly at Sarah.  

She refused to make eye contact with him as she held her nose and jumped into the pond, disappearing completely under the surface. A few bubbles appeared but she didn't re-emerge. 

"Zeke, would you like to go next?" Dr. Octavius asked. 

"No, go on ahead, I'll follow in a minute." 

Dr. Octavius shrugged and leaped into the pond.  

Zeke watched the trail of bubbles disappear and then let out a sigh. He turned around and sat for a minute by the edge of the pond. He gazed all around him and took a deep breath of the warm fragrant air. A slightly cool breeze started up and tousled his hair. "I'll be back soon," he vowed and launched himself head-first into the deep blue waters of the pond.