REVELATIONS

The sea view in front of us was breathtaking. The sky and the sea were perfectly discerned by a clear cut line. He sat down on the shore overlooking the dazzling view, and patted the spot beside him. My anxiety hasn’t deserted me yet. I let out a deep breath and sat alongside him. My nervousness steadily spiked. He looked at my face seeking my permission. I nodded not trusting my voice. He looked at the horizon and begun after a long pause.

“One thing those, fictional movies are right about is, ‘you are not alone’, do you think it is just the Terrans? I mean the humans who evolved victories in such a vast universe? The only species out there? Seriously, what are the odds? There are thousands of other planets out there, and among them, hundreds of planets has species very close to humans. They could be so identical, that they have the same genetic code except for a pair of extra chromosomes, that gives them few benefits or advantage over the others” he said and glanced at my face. My heart rate spiked.

“You are one of them?” I whispered, and waited for him to affirm my assumption. He nodded. I gasped loudly.

“You are not human!?” I cried, my eyes so wide. I sounded so stupid.

“Not exactly, like I said, I am from a different planet than yours. But, I still have the same genetic sequence, the same human body system, the same instincts, and evolutionary history as you, the only difference is the extra pair of chromosomes that gives us little advantage. Other than that I am precisely a human…a human carbon copy I would say” he said assuring me, but that doesn’t help my thudding heart or lower my peaking anxiety. He is not a human! I asked the first thing that popped my mind.

“Why are you here?” my voice barely audible.

“Our planet Jo-Haan is five times larger in size, and thrice larger in population than yours Ana, but few of us, a very few of us actually, find it hard to find the…the right partner in our planet. In Jo-Haan love between the cohabit is looked upon as something sacred, it is so cherished and valued to the extent that, people spend their whole life searching for it, it becomes the sole purpose of our existence. And once they do, they treasure it with their life. So, the regime of our planet permits its civilians to go to other planets, with the same genetic makeup as us, to find the love of their life. Almost all Jo-Hannians who couldn’t find his/her love in our planet has found it in Earth specifically, we don’t really know the reason behind it. And once we find him/her and if they accept our proposal we take them with us, back to Jo-Haan. If not we must go back without them and they will be liquidated of our memories” he said and looked at me troubled.

“Liquidated!?” my voice still just a whisper.

“We have to get back to our planet no matter what, Ana. We are not allowed to live in Earth. If the cohabit refuses our proposal, after we reveal our true identity, we have no other choice but to take away all our memories of togetherness. And the memories of all the people we interacted during the period of our stay, will be erased, each and every one of them, it will be like we never existed” he said looking at me uneasily.

“It’s not fair!” I retorted. “To tamper with the memories of the people, to invade their privacy like that” I said after a pause.

“I know Ana” he said softly and caught a stray of hair fluttering against my jaw and slowly tucked it behind my ear looking into my eyes cautiously. The trail left behind by his fingertips was so warm. A shiver ran through me. His chest rose and fell at an abnormal rate. He did not speak anything for, what it looked like an eternity. He was anxious about something. “We have to do it Ana, we can’t expose ourselves, you Terrans are not ready for it. It’s for your own good. The only reason, Earth is not evaded by various other planets out there, is your ignorance. Your ignorance is the only thing that keeps the other planetarians at bay, that’s your biggest advantage. And all the other planets out there, we have signed an accord to leave planet Earth alone until you people figure it out on your own. And we could never be the one to break that accord, ‘cause Jo-Haan is kinda of the supreme power who created it in the first place, if such a thing happens, it would bring a great chaos among the planets in its wake” he said cautiously.

I don’t really know how to respond to this. I dropped my head on my hands and tried to get the tension out of it. I have decided that it is enough for now.

“You okay?” Ethan gently placed his hand on my shoulder, hesitatingly. “Don’t sweat it Ana” he said anxiously. How could I not? Lately almost everything in my life is abnormal, and it aint getting any better.

“This morning you said you love me! I’m already having a very tough time wrapping my head around that idea! And now you say, you are an alien from outer space! What do you expect?” I challenged smug.

“Why is it hard to believe that, I love you?” Ethan murmured questioningly. Doesn’t he know? “Isn’t it obvious?” I retorted back annoyed.

“Not to me Ana, please tell me” he said wounded.

“Well, look at me…” I trailed off embarrassed. He frowned not getting what I was implying. As soon as the realization hit, shock flashed his face.

“Wow…you really don’t know your worth, do you?” he asked to no one in particular, shaking his head incredulously. “Maggie is right you don’t know who you are” he added disapprovingly. What exactly did Maggie say to him? For now, all I need is a break, my mind and heart needs a breather.

“You know what? I am gonna take a bath” I said and got up before he could impair me with his queer secrets. I headed towards the water, suddenly a weird thought struck my mind. He was so strong enough to fend off an elephant, then…

“Why dint you just put a tree across the cliffs as a bridge?" Anger and incredulity seeped in my voice.

“I shouldn’t use my advantages unless and until, it’s a life or death situation, where there is no other way I can make it” he replied instantly.

“What is the point of having it then?” I asked appalled.

“No, I am free to use it as I wish in Jo-Haan, these restrictions are temporary, just for the time being of my visit here” he said. I shook my head disbelievingly.

“I would like some privacy” I added over my shoulder and headed to the beach. As soon as the water touched my sneakers, I glanced back to find Ethan settled few feet further from the shore, facing the other way. I stripped down to my bra and panties. The cold water was surprisingly soothing at that moment, it appeased my chaotic mind. I tried not to think about the alien who is waiting for me out there. Not yet.

We took turns cleaning ourselves up and Ethan and I made a strong shelter to protect us from the fleet of rainfall threatening on the horizon. If it aint for the fire, we would have succumbed to the cold night.

“Are you cold?” I was concerned and guilty as hell for stealing his only jacket and leaving him exposed to the cold air.

“No, Ana. I’m fine, don’t worry about me” he said gentlemanly. I grimaced. I listened to the crickets and hooting of owl perched in one of the branches.

“So, you are strong…is there a limit for your ability?

“My powers grow as I age Ana, like, for now I can lift twice that elephant’s weight, and after a few months I could lift thrice its weight, and so on until I’m 50 years old”

“Powers?” I squeaked.

“In addition to the inhuman strength, I can mend any sort of illness or injuries of my body, on my own, my body system has the power to rehabilitate on its own, it doesn’t need any external treatment to cure, Ana. And I have the ability to sense every living creature’s feelings, emotions and alter it as I wish, like I altered the elephants anger into a friendly one” I tried to wrap my head around that possibility.

“Whoa…” I trailed trying to describe what I feel. “It’s… It’s so cool!” I said finally cried, my eyes wide. “You have to touch to… to sense that?”

“No, it’s just that it takes me a minute or two longer, with the Earthly creatures, as I’m not accustomed to it much. I have no trouble sensing the people of Earth ‘cause there are many Terrans living in Jo-Haan. I had to push the elephant back ‘cause, it was so disturbingly close to you, I dint wanna take any chances.

“You require a physical proximity to feel people?”

“Yes, for now, I can sense everything within two mile radius” I took me a moment to ponder over that.

“What exactly do you mean by feeling and emotions?”

“Like right now, I can sense your confusion, curiosity, your desperate wanton, not to believe me, but believing me anyway, your worry about Maggie, your concern over me that I might be cold” he paused for a second and added “I can feel everything” he said smiling. I gasped.

“You really can?” I can’t believe it. Man! This is too much.

“I can sense your feelings and emotions ten times stronger than I have ever sensed on anyone else, Ana, I have no idea why. From the day I entered the college I could distinctly point yours out from others, for two reasons, one, it’s very unique from the others, you have a very distinctive way of interpreting everything, and the other is, the exceptional strength your emotions, they are the strongest I have ever experienced in my life. And they seem to get stronger each and every day. I was so intrigued, the passion and the compassion you feel for each and everything is unnatural. I love to just sense you and watch the expressions flit across your face, especially, while you read. To feel the way you do…it gratifies me. I have watched you sitting in your car reading, sometimes you smile, occasionally you shed tears. You are so happy and content when you have a book in your hand. And you have no idea how much, the people around you desires to be that jubilant and content in their life, yet you have it in abundance without even trying to acquire it. I watched you at the park that day. I have never felt such an ecstasy, no matter what people acquire, be it a house, a car or a lottery, there is always a ‘want for more’ lingering in the background of their happiness. But you were brimming with happiness and contentment by just watching the sunset, reading your book and playing with that kid. You hold so much love. I tried to talk to you, but you simply refused. When every other student was so interested in the new arrival, you were so indifferent” he smirked “I could sense that you disliked me. I could sense the disgust you felt for me, when you found me, in the locker room with Jessica that day, you have no idea how much I loathed myself for it, though it was not my fault. I never cared what others thought about me, but, I wanted you to like me. The day, we had the accident, you risked your life to save your friend! I helped you with the full knowledge that I was so strong and somehow I will definitely make it. But you helped her very well aware of the fact that you will probably die too. From that point on, I realized that I have been drawn to you all along. I just want to feel your love. I have never wanted anything so much. I want to be loved by you, Ana. I would do anything and trade anything to just feel it, even if it lasts only for a minute” his eyes were so transparent threatening to engulf me into their depths. I was speechless with overwhelming feeling. I thought he was just kidding around. He has been following and has been paying close attention to me! I can’t believe someone like Ethan can love me. I couldn’t open my mouth.

“Ethan, I…I’m…” I struggled for words. I don’t know how I feel about him. Not now.

“It’s ok, Ana, you don’t have to say anything, I understand” he said with a smile. He tucked my hair behind my ear. My heart thumped harder than it ever had.

“You have such a beautiful hair, Ana” he said. I stifled a gasp, butterflies fluttered in my stomach.

“You should rest, Ana” I slowly laid down, closing my eyes. So much has happened in a single day. All his revelations have changed my perspective towards him. I can say that, I would unquestioningly trust him with my life…