She turned to Hannu and guessed the look on his face was mirroring hers. Turning back to Qwelby, she saw his face had changed back into that of a teenager and a big grin had appeared.
He had realised that she and Hannu were remembering that occasion, and the looks on their faces were telling him that they were totally mind-blown. What he was to discover later was that day had been the first time they had talked together. Girls at school had warned Anita that Hannu was “weird”. Seeing him talking to a snowman was a weirdness she liked. In spite of saying things they wished in that moment they hadn’t said, blushing and mumbling, they had eventually got into a serious conversation about space travel, exploring inner space and Extra Terrestrials.
Pointing to the other figure in the circle, Anita stroked her long hair. ‘Girl?’ she asked.
Qwelby nodded. ‘Yes, girl,’ he said in Finnish, to Anita’s surprise.
Hannu gave her a nudge. ‘He wants to learn Finnish. He’s good with names of objects but after that, it’s difficult.’
Qwelby had dropped to his knees, searching through the drawings on the floor. He picked up the one of a boy and a girl with joined hands, where both the names Kwelby and Tullia were written. He drew a taller man and woman either side of the boy and girl. He pointed to the female and raised his eyebrows.
‘Mother,’ Anita said.
Qwelby pointed to the stick man.
‘Father,’ Hannu said.
‘Brother and sister?’ offered Anita, gesturing between the two children and the adults.
Qwelby cocked his head to one side and gave her a long look. Taking a pencil he drew a line around the two children, then linked it to the mother and tapped his wrister.
Anita looked at Hannu, their eyes went wide and they cried out together: ‘Twins!’
‘Twins,’ Qwelby repeated. ‘Yes, Tullia, Qwelby, twins.’ He sat back down, looking both tired and happy, and as though he had done all he could.
Anita knelt down on the floor, looking through the drawings. As she found the one with all the circles, Hannu joined her on the floor bringing the book of the solar system with him, and explained how he and Qwelby had used it to confirm that their visitor was on Earth. He went on to try to explain the blue and red drawings.
‘I’m confused. You can’t think he means the two planets are in the same place?’ Anita objected.
Hannu shrugged his shoulders. He did not understand either.
They sat back on the floor, looking at Qwelby, wondering how to ask questions.
Qwelby joined them on the floor, searched and found the blue and red drawing. To the dotted red house and himself he added a stick girl and slowly wrote ‘Tullia’.
Anita and Hannu nodded, they had realised that.
Qwelby found a blue pencil and added a stick man standing on the rim of the planet, labelled it with his name and then joined it to the red dotted figure of himself.
‘That’s obvious,’ said Hannu.
‘Yes, but where is that the red planet?’ queried Anita.
‘Mars? It’s always known as the Red Planet,’ suggested Hannu.
‘But why broken lines?’ Anita asked.
The three youngsters sat in silence, looking at each other, puzzled how to proceed. The silence got longer. Anita was thinking of all the discussions she had with her father about the sort of work he did. She was sure he could help them. But. First we will have to teach the alien to speak Finnish, and that could take forever! Alien… Space travel… Teleportation…
‘Another dimension!’ exclaimed Anita. ‘The broken lines because we can’t see it?’
‘But how…’ asked Hannu.
‘Can we…’ continued Anita.
‘See him?’ they said together.
Qwelby laughed, or that is what they thought it was. It sounded like music, Anita thought like a trombone or an alto sax.
They watched his wild gestures and turned to one another.
‘That’s what…’ Anita started to say.
‘Twins do,’ Hannu finished her sentence.
Suddenly all three were on their feet, hugging and laughing, tears streaming down Qwelby’s face. Qwelby’s excitement and happiness flowed into the two Finns, binding them all together. It was to be some time before Qwelby started to realise the power of what was to him normal reactions, and that he had to be careful how he broadcast his thoughts and feelings.
As they quietened down and stepped apart and Qwelby bent down to the drawings scattered over the floor, Anita was remembering the day on the ski slope. How she had had a sensation she could not describe, that in the future they would meet the people from the ‘window in the sky.’ It was sort of like what she had just experienced. Someone else’s feeling coming into her. Feeling dizzy and disorientated, she sat on the bed.
Qwelby picked up the paper on which he had drawn himself in blue standing on the outside rim of Earth. He drew with blue, solid lines a stick girl and wrote ‘Tullia’ alongside, pointed to her and looked all around the room with his hand above his eyes as though he was shielding it from the sunlight.
The two Finns understood. Tullia was on Earth and Qwelby didn’t know where.
What they could not know was that the big question in Qwelby’s mind was: was she on Earth? With the two pictures seen from the staircase, their casual agreement to explore one world each and his memory of their last few moments together as two passing comets, all made him both fear that she had arrived on Haven, and hope she was safe and well. The alternative reason as to why she was not in his mind was too terrible to contemplate.
Anita beckoned to both boys to sit on the bed, one either side of her. She did not want one of them on the chair. It felt right to be together. She did not know how important that feeling was to become in their lives.
They sat in a companionable silence, each lost in their own thoughts and interplay of conflicting emotions. Occasionally, one of them would raise their head as though about to speak, shake the head, or shrug the shoulders and say nothing.
Anita remembered how Qwelby’s face had changed, quite dramatically. Was it really his physical face she wondered, or was it some strange alien energy? Could it be that his feelings made it look as though his face was changing, working on the outside, sort of like how she had felt his happiness inside? She was about to ask Hannu what he thought when the silence was interrupted by the noise of doors opening and slamming, hearty greetings and many voices downstairs.
Hannu got up, looked at Qwelby, pointed downstairs and said: ‘Faa-ther.’ Then pointed to himself. ‘Faa-ther of Hannu.’
Qwelby nodded. ‘Faa-ther,’ he repeated.
Hannu smiled and pointed at Qwelby. ‘You say: “Goood ev-en-ing Faa-ther of Ha-nnu”.’
‘Goood ev-en-ing Faa-ther of Ha-nnu,’ Qwelby dutifully repeated.
‘And you shake hands,’ he added, holding his own out to Qwelby
‘Goood even-ing Faa-ther of Ha-nnu,’ Qwelby said, shaking Hannu’s hand, as they had done outside the house.
They looked so serious that Anita giggled and all three burst out laughing.
Anita felt a sense of relaxation once again coming from this interesting stranger.
Just then the door opened and Mr Rahkamo walked in. A big, solid man with blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing heavy, yellow coveralls, his face reddened from working outdoors. His energy seemed to fill the room. In spite of the puzzled look on his face, his whole demeanour gave the impression of a steady, practical man, not given to flights of fancy.
Hannu gestured to Qwelby who walked politely up to the new arrival and held out his hand. Paavo automatically took it in his big hand and was startled to hear a musical voice say: ‘Goood ev-en-ing, Faa-ther of Ha-nnu.’
‘Good evening, errr… Qwelby,’ Mr Rahkamo replied. Having heard from his wife about the boy who had arrived and who spoke no Finnish. ‘You do speak Finnish!’ he exclaimed.
‘No.’ Qwelby put both hands to his head and closed his eyes. ‘Not… yet.’
<
br /> Mr Rahkamo was so surprised that he did not move. Which was just as well as without warning Qwelby collapsed straight into his arms, was supported and helped to sit on the bed. The big man knelt down and looked into the stranger’s face. He saw drooping eyelids, pale eyes and a look of exhaustion. He put the back of his hand against at the youngster’s cheek. It was cold.
‘Hannu,’ he called over his shoulder to his son. ‘Call your mother. I’m going to put him in the spare bedroom. Anita. Come and help.’
As he picked the boy up in his strong arms, Qwelby looped one arm over the man’s shoulder. Paavo swiftly carried Qwelby the few steps into the guest bedroom. Anita pulled back the duvet. Paavo slid Qwelby onto the bed and they settled the cover over him. Qwelby’s eyes opened, still looking pale. For a brief moment they darkened, the large orbs changing to a rich purple and the ovals to a bright violet. Almost before Paavo could register what he was feeling, Qwelby rolled over, curled up and fell fast asleep. Paavo remained standing there holding his arms out, staring at them.
Just then Seija came into the room, gently pushed her husband aside and sat on the edge of the bed. She listened to and watched Qwelby’s breathing and gently felt his cheek and forehead. He appeared to be sleeping well, with slow, steady breathing. She took one of his arms out from under the duvet and felt for his pulse.
She sat up and looked at her husband. ‘His pulse is slow, but it’s steady and strong. He looks very flushed, but he has got quite a red hue to his brown skin, so I can’t really tell.’ She paused, letting his hand rest in hers. ‘I think he’s alright. Certainly he seems sound asleep. Wherever he’s come from and however he’s got here, he’s tired out. The best thing is to let him sleep and stay warm. But he’s going to get too hot with those clothes on, and he has been badly bruised.’
‘Okay. Downstairs you two,’ Paavo said to the children standing in the doorway. ‘We’ll be down in a moment, and then we’ll have a good, long talk.’
The two parents removed Qwelby’s sweater and tracksuit bottoms. Seija gently smeared cream over the mixture of red patches and darkening bruises. As she pulled the duvet back over him, Qwelby gave a little sigh, rolled onto his side and curled up again.
CHAPTER 22
MEETINGTHE MEERA
KALAHARI
As Tullia followed the two youngsters along the path they climbed the other side of the little valley. Emerging from a thick screen of trees she saw some way ahead, sheltering behind a tall fence made of a mixture of branches and bushes, a collection of small, conical shaped, thatched, grey huts. Through a wide opening in the fence she could just make out the glow from a couple of tiny fires, but no discernible smoke. As she stood there trying to take it all in, she realised that people were gathering behind the entrance, looking in her direction.
It all looked very peaceful. It was so very different from anything she had expected, yet there was a soft impression of an overall energy from the people that reassuringly felt a little like on her own world. Everyone was dressed as if for a cold winter’s day. The bright mix of colours was also reassuring, even if they were not as vibrant as hers. As more people clustered in the entrance, she realised with surprise that no-one was anywhere near her height.
Xashee said a few words and gestured with his arm.
By the time they reached the village, a large crowd had gathered. Two men stepped a few feet onto the track and stopped. Slightly in front was a stockily built man wearing brown trousers and a dark green jacket over a brightly patterned woollen jumper. No taller than Xashee, yet he had a commanding presence. She could sense an energy of leadership.
A slim man, about a hand’s-breadth shorter than Tullia, was standing a little behind and to one side. He was wearing grey trousers topped by a long, black overcoat buttoned up to the neck and a woollen hat. He had an energy signature that radiated kindness and concern.
Tullia felt a bundle of nerves. The clothes the two men were wearing were so dissimilar to each other and to anything worn on Vertazia that they gave her no clues. I have to rely on my energy sensing and Intuition.
She was aware of a faint smell of wood fires and cooking. Somewhere behind her the sharp, staccato call of a bird emphasised the silence in the village. Seeking reassurance, her hand slipped to her neck and she stroked the rich, purple Kanyisaya, set in her triple-coloured metal necklace.
The time she had spent discovering Xashee’s and Tsetsana’s names, followed by the exchange of formal greetings, had reminded her of Aurigan times. She swallowed nervously at the memory of history lessons. The difficulties that had accompanied some of her peoples’ “First Contacts”, when they had been forced to abandon their old homeworld of Auriga as their sun had started to show the signs that it was entering its terminal phase and eventually would turn into a white dwarf star.
She knew that what she was going to do in the next few moments was very important. As she tried to relax into her energy centres and allow her Intuition to guide her, a feeling came that the shorter man slightly in front was probably the village headman. She was not sure about the taller man on the left. There was something different about him.
Being in her fourth phase of exploring her roots, with family, race and the Multiverse, the village with all the meanings of home was very comforting and stabilising.
Everyone was still, waiting. Okay. I have to move. Once again she swallowed to settle her nerves, and steeled herself. She walked forward and stopped close to the two important men. Unable to repeat her previous greeting as she did not know their names, she settled for pointing to herself. ‘Thallangi Tullia Rrîl’zânâ Mizenatyr. Busana.’
The whole village gasped. The shorter man pointed to himself, said ‘Ghadi,’ and gave a slight bow of his head.
Tullia noticed a slow smile spread across the face of the taller man. There was something about him that made her think of Great-Great Aunt Lellia. ‘“Click” amab’ was what Tullia heard.
Ghadi beckoned to Xashee and they exchanged a few words. He then turned back to Tullia and with words and gestures invited her into the village.
The crowd of villagers stepped back with a mixture of politeness and just a little fear. They were accustomed to speaking with their ancestors. They were used to seeing them. But to find walking amongst them a Daughter of the Goddess Nananana was something that never had happened before.
As Tullia walked through the two lines of villagers, on her right hand side she saw the shorter man speaking to a woman with intricately plaited hair. She gestured, and two women accompanied her as she walked away.
That was rather nice, Tullia thought. If someone arrived at her home and asked to stay, her mother would ask her to help, perhaps to make sure the guest room was ready. What was happening looked very normal and made Tullia think of food, drink, and somewhere to rest.
At the same time she felt pleased with herself. She was managing to communicate before the compiler had created a database in her brain. If Xashee thought she came from the Moon, well it wasn’t that far from the truth.
By this time they had arrived at the entrance to a hut. Although she did not understand their words, their gestures were clear. The hut was a place she could rest. There was a short piece of tree trunk by the door to sit on. More gestures indicating food and drink. She nodded vigorously and in a few moments two women appeared with a plate of food and a pitcher of cool, clear water.
She looked at the food. Some of the items looked like foods she knew, but would they taste the same? She was fairly certain there were raw vegetables or possibly fruit. Cautiously, she nibbled. Oh, good. A different texture and taste but that was nice. A fruit, sweet and juicy. Then something that tasted like a raw potato, but a sweeter flavour and very juicy. The water was cool and delicious.
With a gesture, the tall man, who her Intuition was suggesting was a sort of Wiseman, asked if he might leave and she nodded her agreement. The other man who she felt certain was the headman, had taken Xashee on one side and it seemed that he
was about to send Tsetsana away. Tullia called out and with a gesture asked that the young girl should come and sit beside her.
She smiled at Tsetsana’s response of half fear and half excitement. Tullia did not know why her smile had such an effect on people. Whatever it was, it had the right effect as Tsetsana came up a little nervously and sat down on a log on the other side of the doorway.
As she ate and drank, Tullia felt herself slowly relaxing and the tensions slipping away. She was returning to being what she was, a very frightened youngster, not an Ambassador from another planet. She was also aware of a headache starting. It was not so much an ache but lots of little pinpricks inside her brain.
She was feeling hot, tired and sleepy. For a moment she sagged back against the wall of the hut. Immediately Tsetsana got up and spoke to her. Tullia saw the girl’s aura radiating concern, and spread her hands in a gesture which she hoped would show she did not understand. When the girl’s gestures clearly asked if Tullia would like to go into the hut and lie down, she nodded and smiled.
Tsetsana rushed off to return a few moments later with three women. Later Tullia learnt that one was Deena, Tsetsana’s mother, and the others looked after the guest huts.
The women were speaking and gesturing. The gestures Tullia understood and she chose a simple garment to sleep in. As they left the hut she sat on the bed with relief. Whilst they had been talking, her head had been increasingly filled with little stabs of pain. Slowly they disappeared. With an effort, she got her clothes off, put the robe on and slipped into bed.
Her sleep was not an easy one. Her mind seemed to be chattering to itself. She asked it to stop but it ignored her. She rolled onto her front and tried to lever herself up out of bed. A hand rested gently on the top of her head. The chattering eased, then stopped. Oh! That was blissful. She relaxed as she felt soft, cool energy flowing into her head. She felt another hand gently travelling down from the back of her neck to the base of her spine. The two hands remained there until her whole body was full of a beautiful, soft energy. She gave a great big sigh, curled up into a ball and fell into a peaceful sleep.
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