Intragalactic Frontier chapters 11 to 20

11

Gaining insight

Frank got up in wobbly legs and sat on the settee and he took some time to assimilate the entire thing that happened to him..

He realised that the library was bolted from inside and there would be a big problem if someone wanted to enter the library.. he said loudly , ' the library is closed from inside'

The raven flew and sat in the opposite settee and the grey sat on the coffee table between both the settees ..Re the raven closed its eyes and under one wing a glow appeared ..

Re opened its eyes and said, ' not to worry .. it is taken care '

Frank was beyond asking how or what.. he simply looked at them . Zo the grey told him , ' you asked Re, if we had killed the old man.. do you want to know'

Frank thought that was the last thing he wanted to know.. ,I like to start from the beginning not from the middle ..so tell me who are you people ? where did you come ..'

Re said , 'well , you should believe us.. We don't know who we are or where we came from.. Obviously you people are too primitive and your DNA can hold only the basic genetic instructions unlike ours..We pass our entire knowledge that gathered over the time from the parents to the offspring. In the sense our entire community is connected and knowledge transfer occurs internally..'

Frank was puzzled , 'if so you should know from where you had come ..'

Now Zo answered , ' but that memory had been systematically deliberately erased from all of us.. so we have all the other knowledge but not our origin'

Frank again was not satisfied , ' if you think the whole community is connected with the knowledge why you are not connected with someone other than you… You are calling us primitive, you could have connected with interstellar space or beyond'

Re was looking at him with its head to one side , ' true Frank but till now we were not able to connect... we do come across other intragalactic species but never our own..'

Zo continued , ' we have concluded that our home base is no more and we are the only survivors ... We have been waiting for some break through for almost our half life time that is more than 1000years of your time..'

Frank was curious to know how they transfigure themselves!

Re said , 'we can transfigure into anything and also we can be invisible to your eyes ...kindly don't ask how because even if I explain you would not understand…'

'But if you know transfiguration , it would be easier to become like human '.Frank asked with genuine concern.

Ro said ,' unfortunately we cannot transfigure into larger specimen ,only to our size.. Moreover already few intragalactic specimens in the form of human being are mingling with you human..we don't want to lose our identity like them . But good thinking on your side Frank and what you had seen in the den is not our original form. We took your dwarf form but now we are very comfortable and we may retain the form and pass it on to our next generation..'

Frank did not want to ask any more as he felt like kindergarten kid asking questions to the teacher. He remembered the old man and asked , 'why and how did the old man die?

Zo said the old man was killed because of the knowledge. The old man mentioned the Old Book to you and spoke to you privately. That triggered the search for him. There is a group called The Seekers ..have you heard about them.. ?'

Frank remembered something about them .. they were the treasure hunters and recently they found a treasure of gold worth several billion dollars in India..and disappeared with the whole lot …

'The treasure hunters' Frank said in awe..

Zo continued , ' yes . The Seekers were searching for this old man for so many years .the villagers believed that he was aware of a very vast treasure and had a crude map . They did not know that the map was a gift from us to him for services given'

Frank jumped from the settee and towered over the birds ..he recalled the pendant that was found with him and the old book that had information about Re and group ..

Ro said , ' it was a gift from us .. he was just a kid when we needed his help to get water. I remember that year.. the driest year ever ..no rain and no water anywhere .We need liquid to survive or we will automatically switch off and the term you use for that condition is coma and it takes years and years to revive and part of the knowledge will be lost after that..'

Ro continued, ' He was a loner and was very fond of roaming the mountains. We watched for few days then Re approached him like a monkey..like a talking monkey. We talk about it very often as he was not surprised to see a monkey asking him to get water .. he acted as though it was normal to find talking animals . He brought a pot of water or milk every day for 125 days . Whenever he told the villagers about all these strange things ,they did not believe as it was his habit to tell stories.'

'He was considered not so normal so to make him more enigmatic, we would predict him about death of people and animals … when it came true the villagers started to believe him and to fear him.'

Frank interrupted Ro , ' but how could you predict death ?'

Zo replied , ' we killed and the prediction came true'

Frank was taken aback to hear such a terrible thing in that emotionless voice.. he sat down slowly and asked ,

' you killed '

'We didn't want our friend to be disturbed or followed.' Ro said coolly … ' they believed that he had some kind of power given by monkeys as they had seen him with monkey.'

Frank thought that these are incapable of human sentiments or emotions . But they seemed to be very strong on loyalties ..

'What was that about a map? He asked without much interest ..he thought that the old man died because of that one thing!

Zo replied to him , ' we know that you give so much importance for a particular metal and we knew the place where a very big cache of them were hidden. So we gave a map which would be completely useless on its own without the background knowledge that the old man possessed '

'But the old man did not have a clue to connect am I right ? How did the seekers come to know of it?' Frank was annoyed.

Zo answered him.. ' Oliver.. that was the old man's name .. He was featured in a news paper some 50 years back. A local reporter came to know of Oliver and his power of predicting death ..during the interview he blurted out about the treasure . Oliver convinced the reporter that he had seen it and it made the headlines then'

'Did he see the treasure?' Frank asked in reflex

Zo continued , ' yes of course but we removed the memory … we thought of guarding the treasure as long as we stay here ..we needed a bargaining price for the future'

'So, what do you want?' Frank sounded impatient and he was told that they did not have permission to reveal ..

He was stunned to hear that he was not given all the information and only part of the information was given to him.

'Tell who ever is giving you permission that I would go open if I don't get all the information concerning you people .. I am not bothered about your so called treasure ..you can keep to yourself but other than that I must know everything and I give you one day time to get back to me .. Now you may go'

Frank sounded very decisive and he walked into his bed room without looking at them .He felt the birds flying out .

********

12

Doctor Redimita Josef Matthew

Doctor Josef Matthew was a third generation line of successful doctors and his chain of multispecialty hospital Redimita was world renowned. He wanted a son but when only a daughter arrived he accepted it as the will of God and baptised her as Redimita in the name of The saviour Holy Redimus, but vowed himself that she would be better than any man. So Redim as she was called become the son and tried her best to become better than any man ..

Redim was tall, fair and classically beautiful with dark hair . She underplayed her beauty and wore spectacles so that her striking eyes would not be noticed .She had a habit of wearing jeans and T shirt and many had not seen her in any other dresses .

if at all she attended any parties she had a top knot with minimum make-up and a straight cut gown in pastel shades that touched the ground or came up to her knees .

Redim and Frank were in the same high school . Frank had been the natural leader and teachers' favourite whereas Redim had been the rebel and a fighter . She could be tamed only by Frank even then.. He had treated her just like any other boy instead of giving her some special treatments..She felt that he was her equal in all the respect and he understood that she must be accepted as she liked . They were seen most of the time together . Then their lives separated as he selected Aerospace Engineering and she followed her ancestors and opted for Medical field ..

Again they met in an intercollegiate meet in their undergrduation and they had been inseparable since then . But their families never knew and they had never disclosed even to themselves about their intentions till Frank came out and bluntly announced their engagement.

Redim was furious and no explanation was accepted . But not so strangely her father accepted it in fact was very happy to know that Frank Timothy was the only son of Francis Timothy the business baron of FT Group .

But Redim was not ready to accept Frank's sudden proposal and did not help when she landed in the airport she was told that media was waiting and she had to escape in another exit and took a cab to Frank's place .

Only then she called Frank to inform him where she was.

Frank did not expect her but thought that she was the ideal person to share his thoughts and spoke to her enthusiastically.

Redim was puzzled because if she was rude he would not continue the conversation and would become silent.. whereas even though she was extremely angry he did not mind nor was he silent...Instead he was so happy and she could feel his enthusiasm .. Now Redim became silent and cut the call..

Frank told his mother that Redim was on the way and keep the guest room ready and ran out to get his car. His phone rang and it was Richard .

'Frank where did you go ? I have been searching for you ?'

Only then he realised that he had not told Richard and he must have searched for him in the library..He felt a little guilty and told him , ' I did not want to see the media so I slowly crept out of the library and I reached home .. I am going to pick Redim now I will give you a call later' and disconnected the call

He took his another car as his economy car was parked in the church parking lot and drove towards Tuticorin which was the nearest airport .

He met the cab on the way as the traffic was very less he could spot it. The cab stopped and Redim got down . She looked really gorgeous in that simple blue t shirt and blue jeans .. half her face was covered in a big dark goggles and the high wedge gave her some extra inches to her height . He could not read her face ..the driver brought the baggage kept it in Frank's boot of the car and he was paid handsomely .

Redim got in to the front without speaking a word and Frank did the same and started the car ,turned back to the way he had come .

He said tentatively ,' I have so much to tell you' She cut him short.. 'why did you tell the media about us'

'It was a long story ..but in short I had to tell that to help some aliens!'

Redim couldn't help but laugh , ' I don't want all these comic book themes .. I want to know the truth '

Frank drove the car to a shady lay-by and turned towards her...

'Redim what I am going to tell you would be hard to believe but you will be seeing all these shortly so you have to believe' He was very earnest and solemn that she took off her goggles and turned to listen.

Frank told her everything starting from the appearance of Re, the cyclone , the colony ,father's obsession with media, the cave drawings, old man's death, the treasure, The seekers and the their bargain ..

Redim's expression changed from one of disbelief to concern. She had never seen him to be indecisive. She admired him mainly for his coolness in any tight situation but now he sounded nervous and hesitating to make up his mind about something ..

Redim stopped him and asked , ' so what is bothering you? Is it the creatures from outer space ,or something else is bothering you..?'

Frank was silent for sometime ' I am thinking about the ethical way of dealing with these creatures. If I reveal about them it would end up as a mega show and exhibition. Dad was not telling me something and I fear he was responsible for the old man's death..

Redim was alarmed , ' don't imagine things without evidences and don't conclude and build up evidences to suit it.. be open'

Frank continued as if she didn't speak 'moreover I feel kind of committed to Re and group because they came to me ..trusted me..They don't have any of our sentiments but I am human I don't want to abandon them …But don't know what they want . they had bargained with the old man using the vast treasure and now they are bargaining with me .. If only I could guess what they want ..' he sighed .

Both sat there ,immersed in their own thought for some time . finally Redim broke the silence . 'we must help the creatures ..must never tell the world ..the media and the scientists will destroy them….o let us bargain with the world using the treasure .This is all about the treasure nothing more nothing less..right'

she meant every word she said ..

Out of nowhere the grey bird Zo flew in and perched on the steering… the metallic voice rang out in the confined place 'Greetings lovely lady .. you are just like Frank ..beautiful from inside ..

Redim shrieked and looked at it with awe..

Frank asked, ' were you eavesdropping us?'

Zo nodded its head yes 'we were ..you are linked with us.. you have our link pendant

Frank did not know that they could set it to listen to his conversation …Obviously the old man Oliver was spied on like this ..

Zo looked at Frank sideways , ' Frank if the news of the treasure comes out the whole mountain range would be searched and we are really worried ..'

Frank couldn't answer Zo as it was true and the worth of the treasure will bring the entire world here ..

Zo continued, ' but you never asked how The Seekers came here on that particular day? You see ,it is your father who called them and informed them about the old man and the knowledge he possessed ..'

'But how would my father know of the treasure ? it was the Old Book that he wanted !'

Frank did not want to know of his father's hand in the old man's death even though he suspected it .

Zo said, ' definitely it was something that triggered this line of events.. Perhaps when you spoke to your dad you were not discreet enough and mentioned about aliens and that must have been the actual trigger. The Seekers tortured the old man to find about the aliens not about the old book and they were not for the treasure as they have been searching for the same treasure for a long time and they knew that no one has any map ..So your father had asked them to find about aliens..

Redim asked , ' did he tell anything ?'

Zo looked at her, ' I was there ,it was really pathetic..he was our friend and fortunately he did not understand the word alien and he never thought of us as an outsiders . For him, we were just talking animals ..'

Redim again interrupted Zo, 'did they take anything?'

Zo, ' They didn't get anything of value. They took some gold pieces that we had given him and the so called map . the map has no meaning ..it shows a place of a far off mountain..'

Frank voice showed his impatience when he asked , ' you are here to bargain with me ..so tell me ..what you want'

'silence ..nothing else .. no more indiscretion . We do want your help but not now …Now just lie low for some time. Don't tell anything to Richard very good soul but he is not clever ..If Redim here, reacted in a different way and asked you to go to the authorities ,she would be dead by this time …'

Both said, 'what?' at the same time ..But Zo took flight and disappeared …

They were silent for a long time and then Frank drove and reached home . His parents were genuinely happy to see Redim..she was given the guest suite in the second floor which was opposite to Frank's room. Both the suites were on either side the staircase.

Frank showed her the suite and asked her to refresh and left in a hurry. Philomena was with Redim chatting with her as if she knew her all her life ..

*******

13

Extraordinary exploration

Frank remembered the pen drive and wanted to check it out. He hid all the old man's things in his cot's cabinet .He took the pen drive and inserted it in his laptop . He waited for it to open and he wanted to recall if at any time he or Richard mentioned about these things that Richard had brought out from the old man's house .. He couldn't recall …

The screen showed only one file stored in the drive . He opened it.. It was a video that played for 3 minutes . The young Francis and another older man who was vaguely familiar were standing in front of a cave ,a very big cave opening . they entered the cave ,obviously the camera man followed them … the camera panned the whole cave ...

and it was not the cave that Frank and Richard visited earlier. The cave looked like an animal den not very spacious and with low ceiling.. The man next to Frank's father moved to a niche in the cave wall and took a box ..Frank paused the video , to see closely the box.

It was a big jewel box ..a beautifully engraved and embossed work on a wooden box .

The man was easily recognised as Oliver the old man now as he was facing the camera . His father gestured looking at the camera and the screen went dead..

Frank had not seen the box anywhere in the house and he made up his mind to search for it without talking about it..

Once again he watched the video keenly, pausing now and then.. In one frame he could see a monkey sitting on a tree near the opening of the cave .. He recognised another rock formation that he remembered from his childhood. He recalled that particular rock was in the mountain range that was towards the left side ,the western side of the house ..and much closer to the house ..just few metres from the house . there was a small orchard that separated house from the mountain which stood 6000 metres high above the sea level .. It was the highest mountain around that place ..

Frank was now very sure that somehow Re and group had been involved and he decided to ask Re. He decided to explore it further.

Mary came to call him for dinner and she reprimanded him for not having lunch or evening tea.

He smiled at her and asked her if Redim was informed and Mary gave a broad smile and said, ' such a beautiful lady and so friendly not a standoffish type.. I am so glad' and she left with a same smile ..

Mary had been the surrogate mother and had been serving Timothy's family for generations. now her son and two daughters were working in various positions in Tim's estate .

When he went down ,Redim was already there , making herself very comfortable and talking to his father . Frank was not surprised as he knew her to be a very social being..

He greeted everyone and sat . He served himself and asked Redim if she was comfortable

Redim laughed and said , ' better than any five star hotel'

She continued , ' what can we do tomorrow? I would like to explore a bit of the countryside Frank..'

Francis , ' I am sure you will have plenty to do.. Frank has lot of things to do..'

Redim asked him innocently, ' What kind of work uncle ?'

Francis did not take his eyes off Frank and their eyes met , ' An old man was murdered today in the village and the last person he spoke was Frank.. so Frank is interested in finding out'

Frank was very angry but coolly he said , ' Yes father I am certainly interested and feel it is my duty to find the person behind it.. I have some clues already!..'

Francis knew it was a bait but yet he took it , ' You didn't meet the police .. so who gave you some clues may I know?

'No dad.. you may not ask ..when I find it, you will be the first one to know But he was closer to you than me isn't it dad ?' Francis had a coughing bout and he gave him water..

Frank looked at his mother who understood there was an undercurrent so he changed the subject ..

He started talking about his plan to improve the village library and his plan to get a survey to find what kind of help could be given to the villagers to improve their life …

He asked his mother , where you keep all your old stuff mum.. I would like to see ..'

Mother was happy to be of some help , ' Why son.. you know the basement here .. We store all our antiques there.. generations of old things are lying there .. Not actually organised so if you need anything then you will find it or difficult to find..

Frank was happy to know and he thought he could start his search for the jewel box from there ..and then confront his father..

When they finished their dinner, Francis got up first and went into his room and closed the door..

The three of them sat for some more time and when his mother left he called Mary and asked how he could go to the basement as he had never gone down ..

She brought few keys and asked him to be careful as they cleaned it once in a blue moon . She showed him the door which was hidden below the staircase.

Redim was surprised that he never gone down to the basement …

Mary cautioned him..' you know Frank only your father goes there sometime .. Many precious things both of sentiment and value are there so be careful'

When she left Redim asked him, ' what was that between you and dad? I sensed something was not right.. Do you still believe your father had something to do with the murder Don't you think I should know!'

' I am sorry Redim .. I know that he has been involved with some shady dealings ..but I must have some material evidence … as you said I should not create evidences for the conclusion.. Until it is proved, I must keep an open mind ..'

Redim was troubled , ' when are you going to check the basement.? If you tell me I could help you'..

' The pen drive found in the old man's house has a video that shows my father's past association with the old man . They both found something or they were led to find something in a cave which was not the one that I have seen.. I want to know the box that they found is somewhere in the basement.. If it is ok with you, come after midnight ..I don't want anyone to know especially my father!..

Redim was still confused but she was ready to help him .

They left to their rooms..

Frank was dreaming ..his father was fighting with someone and he was watching helplessly …

Someone was shaking him up and calling his name . He jumped from the bed and switched on the light to see Redim standing there laughing quietly and it was 12 past 30 ...

Redim laughed , ' were you dreaming ? you were really agitated in your sleep .. Don't be like this .. We are here to help others whether they earthlings or some creatures .. Nothing personal.. Come ..let us go .. take the key…'

They stood for sometime on the second floor landing and checked if anyone is out in the hall below … Everything was absolutely muted..few dim night lamps were there here and there giving an eerie atmosphere ..They crept down slowly and knowing that the doorway to the basement was under the staircase .. They had to bend down to move under the staircase ..They could see the door with a lock on it. Frank tried with the biggest key found in the bunch when it did not work ,,experimented with the next one and it opened with a click .. He opened the door and to their disappointment the room was small and they could not see any other doorway..

Redim switched on her cell phone torch and checked closely the wall.. Then turned her attention to the carpeted floor.. Redim showed the carpet and asked , 'why is there a carpet? '

'Of course ,it covers the doorway to the basement… Amazing that I never knew ..'

They moved away and lifted the carpet.. As he guessed ,there was a door on the floor and the lock was embedded into the door . He lifted the lock and he could see it was bigger than the one outside. He used the biggest key in the bunch and it opened. He pulled the door from its handle and the door moved up and he slowly dropped it to the side…He could see steps below and he went down signalling to Redim to follow..

Redim followed him down and it was pitch dark ….their torch light lighted up only few metres around them. They could see all sizes of boxes …Redim was searching for the light switch on the wall nearby when suddenly all the lights were on.. Redim screamed and jumped to reach Frank and hugged him , he could feel her trembling ..

Then he saw them… two monkeys were seated on the last step and the switches were found on the sides of the steps..

Frank knew the story of the old man and he knew Re and his people could transfigure , he was terrified to see them there .. Then he felt Redim and told her that it was alright…

Redim heard Frank and lifted her head to look again at the monkeys and she recalled that the creature she met earlier was a bird ..she was furious ..

The bigger monkey said, 'I am Re..it is Ro here .. I am sorry if we had spooked you.. But we came to help you..'

Redim looked at them and said ,' this will be the last time you people come unannounced and uninvited .. I don't like this'

Ro said apologetically, ' yes madam, we thought it would be of some help if we came along.. You both are obviously trying to help us so it is our duty to help you .. If you feel you would be comfortable with birds or dwarfs .. we don't mind taking the form'

Grudgingly Redim replied , ' it is ok' and Frank had to laugh .. They both laughed and looked around them .The basement must be nearly 1000 square metres easily as their house and the whole lot was filled with boxes.. some cartons and many were wooden boxes.. he knew that without the help of the beings , they wouldn't have found it difficult to search.

Then he showed the picture of the box that he had seen in the video and saved a screenshot of the box.

Re looked at that box for sometime keenly and asked him why he wanted to find?

Frank had to tell Re that he needed some kind of evidences to link his father to the old man

Both the monkeys looked at each other and their eyes met Redim and Redim smiled and said, ' it is ok you can tell anything, Frank and myself are together in it'

They moved further down without replying.. Frank moved to one side and Redim to another side .. Most of the boxes were not closed with masking tape but few were secured well.

Redim opened a box to find some books and it was about black magic, ghosts and many more titles of thrillers. But she could see none was fiction …

In another box she could see some old female dresses obviously very expensive ones… She went on checking very systematically..

Frank did not know what to search.. because he knew the wooden box would be found by the monkeys..in fact he thought they already knew where it was kept.. he thought if he could get some diary or some old days' tales … he was moving through the boxes without checking the goods when he tripped over a box. He fell down and he could see all the things from the box around him.. The objects looked like some stone tablets ...thin rectangle pieces measuring about 10" x10".He took one and he could see a number ..looked like 3 ..and took another and could see 2.. he looked at the tablet closely … a picture was drawn at the centre ..it was rather engraved on the tablet . He couldn't decipher the meaning ..he looked from all the sides .. few people were looking up at something ..it looked like an arrow with wings ..

He collected all the seven tablets and placed them in the box and carried to the steps .Redim called him from somewhere and left the box there and went to her. He found her with a pile of what looked like old newspapers She took one newspaper and showed him news that was circled in ink..The heading was 'unnatural deaths continue' .He looked for the date ..only the year was visible 1910 . He told her to bring all of them so that they could read them all in comfort..

He couldn't see the monkeys anywhere.. He called Re…Ro.. no answer . he walked towards the other end of the basement.. there were many pillars so he couldn't see them ..he walked on and then he saw them .. there were not two monkeys but many.. at least he could count ten of them. Few were carrying a small cylinder like objects and running and hopping silently towards the steps and disappearing into the dark doorway..

He was furious.. he knew that these creatures did not have any sentiments and now he knew that no ethics too!

'Re, how dare you steal things from our basement? This is what I am getting for helping you ! '

Re came hopping from somewhere and said, ' We are taking what belonged to us .. We have been searching for the same for the past thousand years! We knew it was kept somewhere safe by us and then it vanished from the place where we had kept.. We had made a mistake of killing the person who had the information… Then we were searching for them vainly all over the world..'

'World?' Frank couldn't help but ask..

'yes all over the world ..we came here to help you but found them.. you seem to be our mascot and believe me we would remain ever so grateful forever..'

Frank was still angry , But you could have asked my permission before moving them.. we had them'

Ro now answered , we don't understand your logic.. we have taken the things that belonged to us not yours …so why is permission needed !.. anyhow we are so happy that our future generations will remain loyal to you'

Frank couldn't answer them…finally he asked ,' what could be so important ? '

Re jumped up and down , ' you are too primitive to understand and even if I explained , you wouldn't be able to compromise . I can tell you that these are important to our survival'

Frank then asked , 'what happened to the box that I asked you to find ? did you find them?

Re and Ro both started at the same time ..Then Ro said, ' we found the box and the box contained our things ..so we transferred them ..The box is over there '

Frank was speechless.. he understood the whole sequence ..Thousand years back some one must have found these precious things and kept them in the wooden box and hid them in such a way that it remained hidden for nearly a thousand years .. Then Oliver the old man with his peculiar behaviour of roaming the mountainside must have found them and gave to his father.. Another thing struck him.. , ' But Re , I saw one of your creatures in the video.. So why did you wait till now?

Re replied , ' yes Frank that was our failure . Zo was there but he did not see what was in it but he said that they found a treasure ..so we thought it must be the same shining metal that the human gave so much importance'

Redim came there and she told him about the monkeys and she saw those carrying things .. He said, ' he will explain later' and turned towards Re.. ' Re , I don't want you people coming down to this basement again and if you do I have to break my promise and reveal about your existence '

Re replied , we give you our word of honour.. we will not come here without your permission .. But we don't have anything of interest here .. So no need to worry .. now we take your leave'

They moved out of sight in a second..Redim was too curious to know and Frank told everything to her. Both of the stood for some time thinking about the strange events .

Frank broke the silence , ' come let us go before someone finds us here ..Tomorrow we will check what we have ..'

Redim laughed and said not tomorrow.. today ..it is already four past and both picked up the cartons and left after carefully switching off the lights and locking the doors behind them.

Redim came to his room and dropped the carton of newspaper and left to her suite..

Frank was too tired and sat for some time about the extraordinary exploration in his own house and he slept …..

*******

14

Interstellar communication

Frank got up very late …it was ten past and he was wondering how Mary had not woke him up .. then there was a knock and Mary entered with breakfast ..her cheerful good morning revived him and he said he would be with her in a minute .. he refreshed himself and sat to have the breakfast.

Mary asked him, ' did you find anything in the basement?'

Frank showed her the cartons and said, ' didn't get anything of importance ! I want to ask something Mary.. the villagers were telling me that they miss some small items and some eatables now and then.. have you experienced it at any time here ?

Mary was amused , ' Oh yes .. even today I missed a set of silver tea spoons and few packets of sugar . I couldn't even tell anyone as always some very small thins ... sometimes these spoons and cups and saucers would mysteriously appear .so I keep my mouth shut.. One day I will catch the thief red hand and then I will skin him alive and bring him to you.'

Frank laughed heartily imagining a monkey being skinned ..

He asked if Redim had her breakfast ad she said ,'she came early ..such a polite young lady .. had her breakfast and told me to tell you that she had gone to the village' Mary cleared all the things and left.

He was taken aback .. Redim had been always very bold , she would initiate things and would expect others to follow her..

He was worried because they were not dealing with something ordinary .. He called her number and got an answer back that it was out of coverage area.. Usually only near the mountain range the network failure would occur not in the village .. He called Richard and he came immediately on line and asked about his whereabouts

Frank, ' Richard , please do me a favour .. Redim is there in the village .. If she is there let me know ..I am not able to connect with her..'

Richard was happy to oblige but he said that he wanted to see him .. he needed to discuss something very important

He agreed to meet him anytime after Redim was found .. he disconnected .

Then he thought of connecting with Re..He touched the Link and concentrated.. Re came on .. he asked if he had seen Redim anywhere as she was missing since morning..

Re said , ' we have been following her .. don't worry ..she is visiting the cave that you had seen in the video..we are there but invisible to her . She seems to be searching for something along the wall .. we will take care of her …' He went off..

Frank was relieved.. Even though these creatures did not exhibit any sentiments, they gave lot of importance to their word of honour..

Frank thought it was prudent to stay at home ..he called again and asked Richard to come .

When Richard entered his room , he could see him completely immersed .. He waited for some time and went near him to see what he was so engrossed.. He could see some stone tablets arranged in the order of the numbers.. he could see the embossed depictions on them .. The stick drawings were not impossible to interpret ..

When Richard placed his hand on his shoulder he jumped ..

' oh Richard.. when did you come? Just look at these and tell me what you understand..what you see..'

Richard took the first stone tablet ,observed for a minute

' Few huts and people standing outside the hut….' He took the second one after keeping the first one very carefully on the table …'the second one shows people standing in a group and looking at something ..' he looked closely , ' a rocket with wings?'

'The third one was easy.. the same group of people looking at something with wings…. No I think something that is burning ..'

Frank was impressed and told him .. Richard swelled with pride ..

He looked at the fourth one without lifting it.. He bent down to observe ,then he took it in the hand .. he said , ' not very clear.. one man is standing at the edge .. others are down ..dead? and few lines are drawn from the object on the ground to the fallen people..

Frank said 'go ahead .. you are reading them well.. I wanted a second opinion..'

The fifth one shows a man behind a tree and the huts .. not sure.. may be burning….' The sixth one shows many people …and the seventh one has a box at the centre and two people are bending down touching the box.. no they have something in their hand..'

Frank went and sat on the couch and asked Richard to sit … Richard was puzzled and waited for him to tell something…Frank said, ' Richard I am thinking if it is safe to tell you.. No don't be offended ..I am thinking about your safety.. '

Richard laughed and said, ' Frank I had lost my family .. I don't have anyone . since my childhood I had been living alone. I had come along with other villagers just to see you… I remember your kindness when we studied together ..So don't worry for me and if it is a secret you don't want me to know ,it is ok .. But you can trust me .. I will never let you down'

Frank was so moved and he said , ' it is a long story .. yes of course we go back a long way.. come let us go out'

Frank removed carefully the link and kept it safely in his bed locker.

They both went down and went out..

Frank looked at the western side where he knew Redim was doing some research.. Frank turned towards the same direction and as they were walking through the orchard , he told everything without leaving anything.. without adding his opinion just shared the fact..

Richard listened intensely and finally he said , 'Frank only the colony that you had visited is news to me.. Otherwise , I guessed that some extraterrestrial elements are involved here after talking to the old man. I had spent a lot of time with him as I felt sorry for him. He was considered as a taboo in the village as some elders remembered him as clairvoyant ..a mystic who could bring death..He used to foretell about all the misfortune so from childhood I was kind of obsessed with him.. He started confiding in me and the talking animals were not his imagination as he showed me one bird that spoke to him .I could not tell all these to anyone as I feared for his life .. He spoke of the treasure very often..and he said if I helped the talking animals , they would give it to me …But he never told me what they wanted.. What are you going to do?

Frank was so flabbergasted at this twist.. he thought of Richard as just a villager but he seemed to be so intelligent and caring..He was very happy to have him with his side…

'Richard , the stone tablets are easily decoded.. It tells us the story of some UFO that fell on earth… The people who had witnessed died except one .. and then they found a box ..'

Richard said , ' or they kept something in the box'

'Excellent Richard' Frank did not think of it .It all added to what he knew from Re..

Zo came flying and sat on a nearby branch and said

'go back to your room and wear the link.. go now…' the urgency in that metallic voice was so infectious ..he ran …The voice followed him … Redim is on her way… Switch on your TV'

He did not stop to see anyone took the steps two at a time and behind him Richard was doing the same..

He switched on the TV and took the Link and wore it . as soon it touched him it glowed . He closed his eyes and Re's voice clearly came through..' Listen to the news from NASA ..now..

He opened his eyes and heard the news..The newscaster was announcing with an excited tone, 'Interstellar communication has been received from some unknown source . It is pulsing the same message again and again… the astronomers are thrilled to get this repeated message which will allow them to make multiple observations and to home in on from where they are originating .. The signals seem to come from a distant spot in the universe ..and this time NASA is sure to get the coordinate points of the spot in the Universe..;

The radio signal could be seen as pulses of radio waves on the screen ..

Frank and Richard looked at each other.. then Re came on the link

'The signal is calling me to respond .. It is repeating my name' Re was shouting

What your name .. are you sure ? Frank was so thrilled . Redim came running and the link went dead as he lost the concentration…

Redim . ' did you hear from Re? he says he got a personal signal from space ! do you think he is telling the truth'

'But why would he lie?' Frank thought aloud… Richard asked, ' if so there is no doubt that they came from space ..Good to clear one doubt..Frank is it your doctor ? Doctor you are very beautiful.. I am Richard ..'

Frank smiled and said , 'my childhood friend .. Richard. But now formalities over , we should plan…' He typed something in his cell phone and showed them

'We are always eavesdropped … don't tell anything negative about the creatures'

Richard took the cue and told them, ' why don't you both do some research …? Redim ..may I call you like this.. tell us what happened today? where did you go?.. we missed you!

Redim had an instant rapport with Richard which was very rare for her.. 'Richard I went to a cave today ! you know the cave to the left of the house' Richard looked at Frank and he did not react .

Redim continued, ' You know ,years back the old man found a box in the cave and I wanted to know if anything else would be there..'

Frank told Richard , ' You remember the pen drive. This cave was there in a video .. Redim did you get anything? '

Redim showed them two small shining gadgets which was made up of some unknown metal.. Both Frank and Richard recognised it immediately as a similar one was found in the old man's house..

Frank was about to tell something, when Redim cautioned him not to speak… She gave him the gadgets and signalled him to hide the gadgets.

Frank thought the whole thing was moving too fast….

*******

15

The Seekers

Three of them sat and had some brunch that Mary brought. . Frank was hesitant to leave everything as it was.. He thought that it was dangerous to expose anyone else.

In fact, he was worried about Redim and Richard ..they could be targeted just for the knowledge they possessed.. he must warn them about the dangers and it was his duty to see that they were safe.

The police had not got even single evidence or a lead about the old man's death . Frank knew it was done by the mercenaries called The Seekers . But he could not tell that to the police because police would ask him his source of the information and he couldn't tell that the information was given to him by the resident aliens!!

His father could be implicated even though he would never have encouraged a murder.. His father had been unnaturally morose and ill-tempered for these two days since the old man's death. He thought he should warn his father too!

Redim and Richard were talking in a hushed tone about the course of action that they should take .. Redim was telling him that it was their responsibility to keep the secret of the creatures that they had seen. But everyday increased the peril of the knowledge becoming open..So they must find an alternative plan to keep them safe ..

Richard agreed completely and said the old man used to tell him that the monkey wanted to go home ..He asked, ' do you think these creatures have a home of their own somewhere..?

Redim could see that Frank was still deep in thought and replied

' Yes ..I am sure of it.. but unfortunately they had no idea from where they came and they were excited about today's news..That shows that it was the first time they had received a signal from space..But they don't have the means to find out the source unfortunately'

' Then why don't we find the source ? could we get this information.. from somewhere?' will it be available in the Net..could we Google it?' Richard was highly keyed up knowing they could solve the problem.

Redim laughed and his enthusiasm was infectious,' I don't think it would be available in the open sites but it was not impossible to get I suppose..? But how it could help them'

Richard said, ' we could connect with the people over there and they could come and get them..'

She asked him whether he read lot of sci-fi stories and Richard smiled impishly and said , ' yes since childhood.. I used to go behind the old man because I truly believed every thing he said..'

Redim was silent for a moment and said ,' your idea is the best one .. Yes , that would be the practical solution to this peculiar problem..'

Frank joined them.. 'what is the best idea?' Redim said, ' Finding the source of the today's signal and send a signal to come and take these creatures with them'

'How simple it sounds..! that kind of information would not be available to the general public.. We could never get the origin of the signal on our own.'Redim sounded determined,' but we could try' and there was a knock...

************

16

Flashback

There was a knock and Francis entered ..

Frank was really nervous and he prayed that both of them would be able to face him without blurting out the entire story..

Frank wanted to take the situation in his hand so he said before his father asked him a question . ' I was about to come and meet you dad …I need to show you something dad.. You see, we were talking about the old man's death '

Francis was easily diverted from whatever reason he had come to see them. He must know that by calling The Seekers he was directly involved in the murder. Frank felt really sorry for his dad .. For the first time he could see his father troubled .. He vowed himself that he must save his father ! His father had been always obsessed with publicity but he had never stooped to unethical means to run his business.

Now Francis demanded to know what was that he wanted him to know..

Frank said, ' When I met the villagers the old man told me certain things privately about a treasure..'

Redim and Richard did not expect this !

Francis became pale! 'what he told you too!

' do you mean that he told you!..but till now no one knows that he had met you or spoken to you . but he had an evidence... a very strong evidence that you both were close and your familiarity go back to your young age'

'Evidence ! what kind of evidence ..! Francis asked in a controlled manner . Frank brought him his laptop and told him to be seated in the settee and showed him the video of the cave ...

He sat there for a long time and broke the silence , ' well .. how did you get this? Did the police give you this? I will call my advocate.'

'Dad listen to me.. Richard brought it from the old man's house before the police arrived ..The police do not have this information.. But dad .. you know more than this.. you know some mercenaries or treasure hunters were involved .. Please let us know.. I don't want any negative publicity to come to us and we can prevent it before any damage '

Francis literally looked deflated.. 'well … it was a long story.. I have been trying to get fame and name as long as I remember .. Psychology may label me as a typical dictator with narcissist tendency.. When I was in my early twenties ,the village went through some unnatural death and all the deaths were predicted by Oliver ..the old man as you know.. Oliver became an overnight sensation ..I had arranged for the media here in our house and I was there with him in every interview he had given. I was not interested at first in what he was saying but in the spotlight..Then slowly it started sinking in me that I was sitting on a gold mine..It was not his prediction but his knowledge about a vast wealth or the treasure …He sometimes blurted out that the talking animals showed him wealth beyond imagination and he knew where it was .

So I stopped all the media attention on him but even otherwise the world did not believe in talking animals and branded him as fake.

Oliver was not bothered about it and then there were no more death. But I was with him all most all the time but I had never seen any talking animals ..But one day Oliver told me he had seen a treasure in a cave which he had never seen . I was curious and agreed to go with him.. But my obsession to publicity made me to call one of my camera man friend and that was my gravest mistake I had done in my life .. the mistake still haunts me and the death of Oliver was just a continuation of the consequence of my mistake..'

Francis was silent and Frank gently prompted him ,' dad what happened in the cave ? how many of you were there?'

'Frank, Oliver, the cameraman Brandon and I went to the cave .. It was a Sunday ,we met after the Sunday mass in the church and we walked to the place where Oliver said that he had seen .. As we were walking ,Brendon was nervous and Oliver kept on telling me not to take him with us.. They ended up fighting but I thought of the video .and the photo and reprimanded Oliver sternly.

Oliver stood for some time and then he said he forgot his chain he must go and get it.. But I thought he wanted to escape because I scolded him and I had to use all my coaxing technique to make him go further'

Frank had goosebumps listening to his father's tale .. He understood why Re and group never knew what was there in the box till today because Oliver had not worn the Link and must have left it elsewhere!

His father continued in the same melancholy tone.

' As we went near the cave , we could see the vegetation had been cut crudely just for one person to walk …we could see the vegetation was too thick and dark'

Redim asked, ' Uncle sorry to interrupt you , but where was the cave .. was it somewhere near or elsewhere ?

He looked at her , ' no ..it is to the left of the house , western side .. but now the vegetation is not as thick as before ..'

Redim gave a meaningful look…

He continued , ' Oliver found the cave with difficulty.. he had removed only a little of the undergrowth and we entered the cave . Brendon was shooting the scene and Oliver showed me the heavy and Brendon asked me to pose with the box .It was stuffy and smelly ..bats were disturbed .. I couldn't stay there anymore so we brought the box out and carried all the way to the house . Brendon wanted to take a photo of the interior of the box, but Oliver became so agitated and crazy that he started beating him .. I had to intervene but unfortunately the box couldn't be open .. Oliver showed such aggressiveness that I told Brendon to come later . we all took an oath that we would never tell about this to anyone!

'That was the last time I had seen him …he was murdered very brutally just like Oliver. The next day I was visited by a group of international thugs who called themselves as The Seekers or just treasure hunters . They blackmailed me to show the box….but Oliver inspite of all his abnormality , proved he was a genius that day. He had filled it with some crude stone statues and hid what was there inside ..in fact it was not known to me .. So when the box was opened I clearly showed the disappointment. The Seekers made an agreement with me on that day.. If I came to know of any treasure , they should be informed and it would be shared 50/50. If I cheated on this arrangement, my family would not see another day..'

'Since then , I would get a call once in a month from them for me to know that the agreement is still open..So the other day when I spoke to Richard and Oliver, I guessed it was about the treasure so I called them and they wanted to know the source of information..'

He was too emotional , with tears in his eyes he looked directly at his son and said ,

' I mentioned Oliver to them! so it was me who had sentenced him to his sure death… I am going to surrender to the police,'

Richard spoke , ' you didn't do it intentionally sir.. moreover we know now that it was The Seekers.. so many years you waited without telling anyone ..just give us few more days ..we will trap them'

Redim, ' Uncle just relax ..we will solve all the problems and believe me we have solid help from above' both Frank and Richard knew whom she meant ..

Frank intervened , ' yes dad .. we have already guessed most of the things ..give us the contact details of the group and this time you are not alone ..I want you to be completely away from this from now on as it may become ugly.. But be sure we will come out of this'

Francis was visibly moved and said , ' your mother doesn't know anything about it ..I have done lot of research on these treasure hunters .I will give everything to you..Come and collect the files from my room' he hugged his son impulsively and left .

Frank removed the Link and kept it in the locker as he wanted to keep the Re and group away from this new mess..

Frank wanted to have an action plan so they huddled together and planned ..One was regarding the so called treasure and another one was regarding the intragalactic visitors..The common point was that the treasure was used as a bait by Re . But they have not bargained with Frank..

So they have to create a bait for Re and group.

Richard was in awe of the way both Frank and Redim made plans.. They listed out everything that the space visitors might need..Richard asked , ' the treasure hunters are the rogues and what do you think of the aliens?'

Frank and Redim both said in unison , 'our responsibility' and they were happy that they both had the same idea

Richard was content to know the distinction between them It would be easier to work... He had been born for this kind of the work.. He had been going behind the old man all his life just because his imagination worked over time but it was all real and he was included in the plan..

'Frank and Redim I am there in this ..Especially I like your responsibility ..count me in'

They all laughed ..

Invisible Zo who was listening to all these, sitting with them on the coffee table , flew out…

*******

17

Confrontation

When Mary came to the room to call them ,they were laughing cheerfully.. She recalled Frank like this when he was young..

She was supplying drinks and snacks since morning but she used her stern voice and told them to stop everything and get ready for dinner and she expected them in fifteen minutes time …

Redim hugged her and said, ' Mary dear give me more time.. I must go to my room and get ready ..' she left

Mary looked at Richard , ' Richard I am sure you will not go anywhere ..I have prepared the guest room next door and don't disturb Frank unnecessarily here .. He has to finish his project.. Go get ready and come down'

Richard smiled and left .Mary was her neighbour in the village and when his parents died she almost adopted him and he never went and stayed with any of his relatives and never left the village ..He was so fond of her and he knew it was mutual ..He went to the guest room to get ready ..

Frank felt invigorated after talking to his friend and he thought it was blessing to get friends who thought alike..

When he came down it was late . All the others were already seated except for Richard , who was standing. His father said , ' what a loyal friend you have! He wouldn't sit without you!'

Frank slapped him jovially and said , 'dad he would be his usual self tomorrow.. Don't you remember his pranks.. '

Philomena laughed, ' yes.. I remember him as an adorable naughty kid .. But now he talks less and so far he has not broken anything' They all laughed once again

Mary was hovering over them to see if all were having enough the three youngsters ate ravenously whereas Frank's parents very lightly. They had their dinner and moved to the hall where they sat comfortably and were talking generally as they wanted to keep Philomena away from all the problems .

Richard wanted to talk to Mary so he excused himself and went to the kitchen..

Redim was looking at the piano and Philomena asked her if she knew to play when she nodded her head asked to play a number.

It was the most peaceful scene ever as the music floated around them all relaxed totally..

In a second everything shattered..the kitchen help who had come to remove the used cups and glasses , fell down with the scream..

They all got up when few masked men came from nowhere and surrounded them . They were dressed in black and all of them had guns .. They looked so menacing and the girl who fell down was writhing in pain …Redim moved towards the girl and was stopped so brutally that she fell down..

One man went and stood near the doorway and another one stood near the door that led to the kitchen ..

Francis asked in a loud voice , ' who are you people ? what you want? You will not find any valuables here in this house..'

One slapped him and said 'we are The Seekers ' Francis sat down heavily .Philomena ran to him screaming ..

Frank said , 'Leave him alone .. talk to me ..I am his son Frank who is in charge here'

The girl on the ground was quiet now.. Redim was beside her checking her pulse .. Another man pulled her by the hair and moved her away from the girl.. Frank shouted at the man and moved towards her when he was hit on the head with the gun..

He turned to see his assailant and to his amazement he fell down like a log and remained motionless..

The one next to him thought that Frank hit him so he rushed to assault him with the drawn gun… when he was just a foot away from him ..he stopped , his eyes glazed and he fell down … Frank tried to dodge the men who were rushing at him so he bent down when all their guns started flying simultaneously .above their head , out of reach. the masked men were running and jumping to get the guns .. if it was not scary..it would have been the funniest sight that anybody would have seen..

Frank understood that his intragalactic friends were here to help them .. But others looked frightened and Francis asked

'Frank what is happening.. Don't play with them.. these are dangerous international criminals'

Suddenly all the masked men fell down .. there was a pin drop silence.. but now they could hear babble of angry voices coming from outside . Frank ran out to see ,to his amazement he could see a sea of torch lights moving from the front gate ..from the village .Now he could see them clearly , leading the group was Richard.. he was running and when he saw Frank , he asked him loudly

, 'are you alright? Where are the burglars?'

Frank was flabbergasted as he did not know how to react.. He did not want these kind people to know more than the bare facts . He was thinking fast …Richard reached him ,panting heavily .. Frank said, ' one of our staff is hurt..others are down .. Redim ,how is the girl ? if any medical assistance is needed ,we can call the medical staff from the next town..'

Redim replied , ' Thank God .. the bullet had not gone in and only some superficial wound there on her forearm.. but it is bleeding profusely ..I have my first kit in my room .. I will fetch it..'

'Mary take care of her .. she has been more terrified than wounded..' she raced up the steps to get the first aid kit

By the time the villagers had reached ..The scene must have looked really bad…the masked men were strewn around the hall like a broken dolls and the girl was bleeding , Francis looked shocked and his lower lip bleeding and Philomena was crying …

Yes the scene looked really like the worst scene from a movie…Frank was very calm and he turned towards the crowd

,' Thank you so much for coming .. these must be the burglars who had come to rob us, but luckily we were awake and alert and prepared for these kind of eventualities..'

'Should we call the police ?' One villager asked earnestly. Frank looked at his father who nodded his head ..and Frank said

, ' definitely the police must be informed.. Let us see if we can find something from them'

He was hoping and keeping his fingers crossed that these men must be alive ..if not all hell would break loose and he had to come up with an explanation without telling them about the creatures' part in it

Richard ran to the nearest man and checked for his pulse.. he must have felt the pulse because he slapped him hard . he told the village men to tie their hand behind their back .. All of them started moving at once ..

Frank left a sigh a relief..

The girl came out of the shock and looking at the black clad men with rounded eyes ..

One young villager , ' sir if you call the local police ,they may harass us for a long time in the name of investigation… so please try to leave us out of this'

Francis smiled at him and said , ' good thinking son' He asked Frank to follow him so Frank went with his father to his office .

'Dad what are you going to do? These are international criminals so it is better to call the Interpol directly..'Frank could see his father coming back to his original self..

Francis replied , ' It is not good to go over the national police force but I can ask them to call the Interpol.. I know the Director personally ,let me ask him for suggestion..'

Francis took his phone out when it beeped.. Frank came near to see who was calling and to his surprise it showed 'seekers'

'Dad is it from the seekers? Give it to me I will talk to them..' and took the phone from his father and pressed . The voice was definitely western , American accent ..

' Francis, I think you have captured my men . I did not get any messages from them.. release my men .. if not I will send another group there and I know you don't have any security over there ..'

Frank ,' I am Frank Timothy , stop this.. I am telling you for the final time ..There is no treasure anywhere in our land .. we have checked it time and again .. the old man you killed was obviously a mentally ill person who used to tell about talking animals .. we would have found it by this time as we have been here for generations .. so stop this ..

There was silence in the other end and Frank kept his cool…Then he came in a more conciliatory tone , ' yes .. I am forced to believe you ..we have been targeting Tim's land for a century and we have lost more here than anywhere .. Well! Release my men .. I will not trouble you again'

'It is too late ..the whole villagers are here and they have arrested your men.. So that is it.. I don't like my land to be invaded again .Hope I make myself clear!' and he switched off ..

Francis was simply staggered .. He used to think his son was not tough enough for business ,but his son took the leadership so effortlessly from him within minutes. He was proud of him now as never before ..

Frank told his father to call the Police .Francis called and his friend was happy to oblige and he said he would move the Interpol as The Seekers were implicated in a treasure hunt in Spain and wanted by many other countries . He advised him not to call the local police but later he would send a report to them..

In few minutes another international call came , Now it was from the Interpol ..

Next day by early morning the men would be transported for enquiry and there was no need to worry about anything anymore.. If he wanted any security they would arrange it and Francis declined it politely ..

That is it .. the matter was taken care of ! Francis was in his element now..he kept his hand on Frank's shoulder and said with a smile , 'one day you will tell me how these men were outsmarted' and he left to tell the villagers of the decisions taken..

He was telling them about the plan of action and told them that they had to guard these burglars till morning .

Another young man came running , ' sir a helicopter is there behind the church'

Richard asked if the pilot was there and when the man said that he did not see he asked few persons to go get the pilot .. Frank was really glad to see his friend taking charge of the locals..

Richard had already moved the criminals to the staff room and placed few villagers to guard them . Mary and her staff had already started preparing tea for all .. they all knew that it was going to be a long night..

Redim was happy that there were no causalities. The girl who was wounded, volunteered to help in the kitchen but was send home with her parents..

Redim quietly came and stood near Frank .. Frank smiled as they had kept the secret intact till now and she said 'so far so good'

He told her to take rest but she shrugged and went into the kitchen. He wanted to thank Re but he had left his Link in his room ..He excused himself and went up his room and picked the Link and placed it around his neck and waited .

It started glowing immediately ..Re came on , even before he could thank him..Re thanked him profusely and only humanity could act like this .. They would never give priority to others like how Frank had done but they were learning ..

Frank was amused and said how they came forward without asking to attack the criminals..

Re agreed and said we had been with the humans and perhaps few characteristic features were rubbing it on them .. Frank acceded and once again thanked them for saving the day.

The glow went off the link …

Frank thought that the Seekers would not trouble again …

********

18

Brain storming

The colony of intragalactic visitors was a bee hive of activity. Re had called all of them for a meeting and in thousand years they had never gathered .. the whole cavern was lit with the floating lights..

The rock elevations were lit and looked very festive .. The furniture was arranged in front of the spacecraft in a circle .. Most of the seats were already occupied except for few ..

The community was excited as they had been waiting for thousand years without knowing the reason for the wait. They did not know from where they came and they did not know how they found the perfect place to live in or they had no idea how the spaceship parked under a mountain..

They remembered everything else though! They could remember how they looked originally.. Their body was just the brain and eyes like a blob of jelly and could change shape or become invisible. But they were so very small compared to the earthlings. They were unlike earthlings and knew within days that they were far superior to them but their size was enormous .. They tried initially to transfigure like the earthlings but however they tried they couldn't get their size . The result was the beautiful human like dwarfs and they thought the human shape was much more useful when it came to mobility. So they transfigured and remained as a replica of human but for the size..

They had never mingled with the giants for a long time nearly thousand years..But they killed or frightened them and got what they wanted. They understood that the human beings were incapable of seeing from whole of their body and they feared what they couldn't see..

Once they knew the human's weakness, it became easy to live .. But they maintained a distance from the human until they met the boy Oliver.. He was not like any other human ..he took them for granted ..he liked being with them as they took the form of animals that were indigenous to this place and imitated his dialect .

They were surprised to know they died like insects..lived less than 100 years and died ,when they could live for 10000 years.. so killing the humans were like killing the insects.. They used him to forecast the death and killed few humans to make Oliver popular and through him they got what they wanted .. But the man called Oliver taught them the emotions .. whenever someone died , the entire community mourned and Oliver lamented for a long time whenever someone died .. They understood a little bit of sentiments of the human and stopped killing the humans

They had roamed freely as invisible forms ,throughout the planet to find their origin.. but all they could find was that these primitive beings did not have the knowledge of space travel as they used a heavy liquid fuel and the vehicle was so cumbersome..

They moved from country to country in search of their origin..

Finally they concluded that they could never move from this place or find a home of their own..

But the radio signal they heard changed everything..If their ethnic group was somewhere there in the vast universe ,they could get help… But Re was confused so thought of discussing with everyone as they had all roamed freely through this planet and knew all the resources available..

Re was with Zo and Ro. Re wanted to know what they think about the radio signal and if they had any knowledge of connecting to the source . He told them this was their last chance to find their origin..

Zo said, ' it wouldn't help as all the females want to find their origin whereas the male want to go anywhere ..they just want to move out.. usually the females win in any arguments ..

They laughed together and Ro said, ' this should not be the last time we laugh together'

They were highly apprehensive as after so many years , they got some lead.. Re went out where all were seated ..

There was a festive mood as everyone laughing .. The sense of humour and other emotions came easily to them..The best gift of humanity..

Zo asked them if they knew the latest development..

One of the females replied, ' you mean the radio signal?'

'Yes and the implication of it ' Re answered .

Another male asked , 'if we could trace the signal , we could send for help .. but these primitive giants don't have anything to trace the signal..!'

'So the signal is of no help' Re looked around.. Now they were little subdued..

A female , ' no , we have the knowledge which they lack.. so we can get the work from them'

They were arguing among themselves and Re let them squabble for some time .

Re asked them to listen, ' you were all discussing about the signal .. it was obvious that it would be difficult to trace the origin with the available resources of the earthling . Even if we could trace it ,we have to wait until we get a reply.. It becomes an useless exercise..'

'Do you have a suggestion then' one female asked

Re looked at all of them 'Well , we have the spacecraft as well as the fuel and the speed is hundred times that of the speed of light .. we know to manoeuvre it , we have enough space for all of as in the craft.'

Another one intervened, ' But we knew all these all along but yet we never tried to use it because we could not find how to take it out.. '

'Yes, was it the only reason that we had not tried earlier?'

Ro replied , ' we lost the starter key , superluminal particles emitter and the location fixer . so without all these we cannot move on our own. Now let me know our action plan'

Zo replied immediately,' we found recently the life support that is needed while transiting.. so the possibility of finding the other lost gadgets is high .. I would propose to search for the lost gadgets;'

They argued among themselves and finally one female said, ' What Zo tells makes sense as the gadgets must have been lost here . So the area of our search is less .. we can go for it'

Re laughed and said . ' we have been searching for it for the past thousand years ''nothing has changed '

Zo replied, 'the situation has changed when we have found the life support which had been lost and we had been searching for the same for so long now this discovery gives us a hope'

Re was pensive for sometime.. , ' yes Zo ..now the situation has changed true.. we have some friends among the humans , and in this past thousand years the humans have come a long way in space research ..so we will keep both the options open.. one group can search for the lost gadgets in and around Tim's land and another can go around the world to important space research stations and trace the signal .'

' I will be with the group who stay here to search for the gadgets and Zo and Ro can take the others who would like to go around the world in search of the source of the signal .. we start tomorrow 'Re left

Zo and Ro remained there to sort out the group..

Re left and he wanted to connect with Frank and then he thought better of it . He could go and meet him in person ..

*************

19

Transformed Francis

Francis Timothy was in his office waiting for the long night to be over ..He was thinking about how cleverly and swiftly things were taken care . He had underestimated his son all along…His attraction to publicity had already placed him in a very dangerous situation and he thought he had not learnt any lesson from his experience . He was almost certain that he would have called the media ,if he had not warned about the problems..

He was wondering who would have hit the masked men .. he did not see anyone but yet all of the armed men were assaulted in no time .. If his son and friends had not done it, who would have done it! Was it some kind of witchcraft…? He knew witchcraft was something that was not so uncommon in this part of the world.. He had experienced these kinds of abnormal activities while he was with Oliver..

Perhaps ,his ancestors were still around this place and protecting him.. he looked at all his ancestor's photos hanging on the walls ..and he was certain they were smiling! He averted his eyes and moved away crossing himself..

He recalled that his son was not very astonished about this abnormality.. to think of it Redim did not make any remarks about this when they met afterwards .. so they knew something that he did not know! Only his wife was so shocked and still had not come out of the shock..

Then he realised , his son was capable of dealing with any problems.. He decided to help him all he could and for a change take a back seat.. let his son tell him in his own time ..if there was something to be told , he would tell him . he would not pry it out of him..

There was a knock and Frank entered . Francis was happy to see his son and he asked about the villagers ..

'The villagers are in the hall and in the guest rooms ..' he said and continued , ' dad I need to talk to you but father no media… No one should come to know of this as my word of honour was given '

Francis was alarmed if his son was involved in any criminal activity and thought better of it .. ,

'Frank , I really don't want to know anything.. I trust you completely and if you have given your word of honour that you would keep a secret , then I advise you to respect it' Just ask for any help without giving me any explanation ,I will help you ..I can understand your dilemma'

Frank was so touched..and he went and hugged his father ..

' dad it means a lot to me .. I need to get some information about the recent news from NASA regarding the radio message from space.. I am planning to go there personally to find more about the possibilities of connecting with extraterrestrial species . But I need to go tomorrow and if you could arrange me to meet someone there and ask your secretary to make my travel arrangement to USA….'

His father laughed , ' you don't come and ask for simple things .. well I do know one of the scientists in NASA whom I had helped in his earlier years .. I don't want you to go alone .. Why don't you go with your friends .. Dr Redim seems to be a level headed girl and Richard has already proved his loyalty to you .. take them with you.. I will make arrangements' ..He picked up his phone and Frank thanked his father and left..

Frank went in search of Richard and as he guessed Richard was there in the kitchen. He was sitting there with Redim and Mary and having tea .. He joined them ..Mary brought him some snacks and she excused herself.

Frank asked , ' Richard ,do you have your passport..?'

Richard looked surprised and he said, ' yes Frank , few years back my uncle found me a job in Singapore and got my passport.. Only I never went anywhere..'

Redim asked, ' why ? all of this interest in his passport?'

' not only Richard , but yours too.. Instead of sitting here and trying to solve a puzzle, why don't we go there and find about the source of the message'

'But it would take at least a week or more to arrange visa to go to USA .. I cannot hang around here for so long..'

Frank smiled and said, ' I am talking about tomorrow.. dad has offices in USA and the standard procedure to travel for the personnel is simple .. the office takes the responsibility of inviting anyone as they have been given the permit to bring their workers .So I expect to get through the embassy formalities in record time . but let us wait for Dad's confirmation'

Redim was enthusiastic, ' I am ok with this then.. Only I had to see if I had packed everything or need anything '

Frank and Richard both had to laugh..

'I thought ,only Richard will be worried as he didn't come prepared ..but of course a lady would think of it first..Richard you need not worry ..I will ask Mary to pack something .. You go get suitcase from the guest room wall cabinet..'

They both left laughing… Frank wanted to do some research before going there .. He thought it would not be difficult to get the details of the radio signal but getting the exact coordinate and other details would not be so simple ..

He must have a plan B…He thought of Re and really wanted to help them.. But they had not asked for any help so far ..the Link glowed and he could feel the slight vibes. He climbed the steps two at a time and entered his suite and locked it..

He sat on his bed and concentrated ..Re wanted to come and see him in person .. he agreed and asked him to come as soon as possible..'

Re was in front of him even before he could finish the sentence Re transfigured himself like a colourful macaw and preened himself delicately.. Frank was amazed at his ability to appear in seconds ..

Re said without any preamble , ' I have a proposition for you.. you know we are in transit to unknown destination .. if you find us a destination , you will be the richest man on earth .. the treasure we have been guarding for the past thousand years would be yours '

Frank was little annoyed .. He was ready to help them for nothing but he reminded himself that they were not humans .

Frank said simply , ' yes of course … but you know I have already decided to help you..'

' We know it… we would like our team to accompany you.. to wherever you are going .. they may come up with the answer easily if you give them the direction.. We have been visiting places that you call as China, America, Europe , Russia and of course this country's space research centre as well the world research organisation in Switzerland . But the set up was very primitive . We had even visited the space station along with Russian space craft Soyuz and stayed there ..'

Frank thought for a while.. It would not be difficult to take them ..They might come in handy in the time of need.. Moreover they would know what exactly they require . Frank was about to agree to him when there was a knock on the door.. He looked at Re and he disappeared in a fraction of a second…

He went to open the door . His father looked excited and entered his room and said . ' everything is taken care of ..you three are going to USA tomorrow from the nearest international airport via Dubai .. You will be received by our PRO ArulRaj at Orlando international airport. He will take you to your accommodation and help you in all the arrangements..Later you will go to the NASA branch in Florida where you will meet Dr. Ashwin Vasudevan..he has been briefed about your visit. Well ... I think I have done what you have asked.. you will be met and given with all the necessary papers in TRV airport and you people are expected by noon tomorrow…'

Frank was impressed , ' thank you so much dad .. it is amazing that all these have been arranged by few phone calls in a remarkable time '

'Son , it is not what you know or what you have matters..It is who you know matters .... don't worry about The seekers anymore ..I will make arrangement for the captured men to be taken by the Interpol .. Well. now you take rest' He left. After giving him all the contact details .

Frank felt as if he was in the middle of a cyclone .. He locked the door after his father left and again Re appeared .

Re said, ' a group led by Zo will accompany you and don't search for them as they will not be seen .I will be in touch with you so don't leave the link here'

Re left ..

Frank was wondering if it his misfortune or his fortune that brought him these responsibilities. He and friends had to be in the airport by noon if so they have to leave here by nine in the morning after breakfast as the airport was only three hours drive ..he got his favourite carryall and filled it with the entire essential ,hoping the other two would have done the same . he had a disturbed sleep ..

***********

20

Redim's contribution

Frank got up by six and immediately called both Redim and Richard and reminded them they had to be ready by nine in the morning .Both said they would be ready by eight and come down for breakfast..

Frank got ready and came down before eight .. Surprisingly, he could see his father talking to the villagers .

When Francis saw his son, he said , ' Frank , the Interpol came early at around 3 and taken the men in their custody. They had brought along with them the IGP too.. so we need not worry about the local rules of law..'

Frank wished that he was called but he thought it was for the better as he didn't want any publicity nor have any interest to work with the police ..

Philomena was still confused and she warned them not to take risk when he told her he had to go USA to finish his project. She was happy to see Richard ,as she thought he would keep her son out of danger..

Frank spoke to his father few words and thanked him once again .

The drive to the airport was a tedious as they got caught in the morning traffic. The driver took them through a short cut and they reached the airport in record time..

Frank was wondering if he had to connect with Re and decided to do so. He moved a little distance and closed his eyes ,thinking about Re…The Link came to life .. he told him that they were in the airport and Re said, they had been waiting for an hour and not to connect with him again ..

A young boy was looking at Frank and asked him ,'are you talking to yourself or God .. It was funny' Frank laughed with him ..

Their travel went on smoothly. The transfer in Dubai was a bit dreary but flawless.. the duration of the flight was about 16 hours ..a very long trip. They knew they would experience jet lag when they landed as the time difference was nine and half hours ahead .

When they reached the Orlando airport ,they met Mr. ArulRaj ,the PRO of FT Group in USA. He was a very cordial and it was clear that he was a highly influential person ..

He told them that they have been allotted the FT guest house which was just less than thirty minutes drive from NASA Kennedy Space Center. The appointment to meet Dr .Ashwin Vasudevan was for the next day morning as they need time to acclimatise and come out of the jetlag.. But if they wanted to go out ,they could call him. He would at their disposal during their stay ..

Richard said , ' do we cook there in the house?'

ArulRaj laughed , ' sorry sir, I should have told you ..you can order and get anything you want from your apartment.'

Richard , ' by the way ..who is Sir here?'

All of them laughed and Frank said , ' don't mind him Mr Arul'

They were actually more than satisfied at the arrangements ,especially to know that the appointment was only the next day made them perky as they were tired ..

They reached the apartment in no time . It was in the 30th floor , and the apartment occupied the entire floor .It was more than adequate .. furnished like a five star hotel with well stocked refrigerator . ArulRaj had been already informed that all the guests would be teetotallers and the refrigerator was filled to its capacity with soda ,ice creams and many more items

ArulRaj left them and said that he would be in the office which was in the next building and they could call him at any time. He said lunch and dinner had been ordered for today and asked them to change the time to 3.15 am ,the time difference was nine and an hour behind..

They were finally left alone . Richard was overjoyed to see the Refrigerator and served them whatever they wanted . Redim slept on the hall couch itself and Frank picked her up made her sleep on the bed in her room .. he told Richard to go and sleep as they had a full day to adjust and Richard said he was too excited to sleep and he would watch TV for some time .

Frank slept immediately .. His sleep was disrupted by Richard's scream. Frank was disoriented ,could not focus for some time ,then he realised where he was and the scream was coming from the hall ..when he entered the hall he saw Richard standing on the couch and looking down with horror and revulsion Frank could see why he was so horrified ! He remembered his reaction when he first met Re in a dwarf form!

Now he could see four of the dwarfs , two males and two females standing beside the couch. They were smaller than Re and so exquisitely lovely.. In the bright lights in the hall, they looked like wax models ..One male moved towards him and said ' Hello Frank' and he recognised the voice.. It was Zo.

Frank bent down to shake hands of Zo ..

Richard opened his mouth ,but no words came out and Frank laughed at him , ' come down Richard ..I will introduce them to you .. Zo and his friends . Zo could you introduce your friends to us?'

Zo so elaborately curtsied to remove the fear from Richard .He called his friends and introduced them. The females were Nass and Sass and the male was Da. They all nodded their head and finally Richard got his voice ..

'Frank who are they? Did they come with us?'

Frank smiled and said , ' Yes … They may need something to eat ..they are here to help us..Show them the kitchen and fridge .. Zo you can have something to eat and take rest .. I am glad you were not birds , birds are not allowed here in the apartments'

Da said , 'we had come here several times previously ..we used to be invisible all the time and that made us lose all our energy . Now knowing some giants really is so helpful'

Richard was offended, ' giants !'

Nass replied in a musical voice , 'He means that we are very small ..no offence'

Richard couldn't believe his eyes and he squatted to have a look at these beautiful creatures and Zo and Da jumped on him asking him to take them to the kitchen…Frank could see Richard had become so engrossed and friendly with those lovely beings and it showed in the way he picked up all the four to go to the kitchen..He completely forgot that Frank was standing and watching.. he vowed himself that he must help them to lead a happy life.

Redim got up earlier than others and got ready . She thought she could use some strong coffee and went the kitchen o prepare when she saw all these little ones huddled on the coach.. She remembered Frank describing Re so vividly that she was not surprised to see them here .. She admired them for some time and then prepared a coffee . She took her cup and turned and there standing and watching her was Zo.. She coolly said , 'good morning'

Zo was wondering how this lady was so cool when all the others would be either afraid or surprised !

'Good morning I am Zo'

Do you want coffee? She asked and thought how heavy the cup would be in their hand !

No we don't drink coffee but milk .. Love to drink cold milk.. I will help myself don't mind us!

She laughed and said, ' Frank had prepared me well to meet you…in this form and your voice was very familiar Zo..

They both laughed together …

The day went off quickly and none of the wanted to go out including Richard . He was happy to be with people whom he cared as he lost his parents when he was young and he did not want to stay with any of his relatives. He had stayed alone and the villagers took care of him. Parents had left money and property so he never had to do any work and dropped out from the school. Now he understood the need of the family..Even Zo and group followed him everywhere …

In the night they formed a strategy. ArulRaj said he would be arriving at nine in the morning to take them to Kennedy Space Centre .

They slept peacefully for sometime as the jetlag was wearing off and the next day morning all woke up fresh.

ArulRaj came on time and they all were taken to the Kennedy Space Centre . They had not seen Zo and group since morning and they thought they would have gone on to the centre ahead of them.. They listened carefully what they were planning but they never volunteered any information to them…

They could see that they were travelling on SR405 and sign boards were there . It was cold and they had to wear their jackets . ArulRaj was telling them , ' we will not go through the regular tour operators but Dr Ashwin Vasudevan would meet them in the visitors' area and would be taken in . You had asked to see only the Research and technology wing and Dr Ashwin works in the technology section where they keep tracking the signals from space'

When they arrived in the visitors' area ,ArulRaj went to the helpdesk and asked for Dr Ashwin Vasudevan. They asked them to wait while they checked ..

After few minutes a person in uniform came out and called up ArulRaj name and when he introduced himself he checked their identities and took them to meet the scientist ..

Dr Ashwin Vasudevan office was in another block .and they met him in the office . He was very happy to receive Francis Timothy's son Frank and after all the niceties were over he asked their intention , Frank was expecting it but before he could answer Redim said , ' I am doctor Redimita doing my double graduation MD and MS in UK.. I need to collect some information about the possibilities of life on our Milky way and especially to check out the nearest solar system Alpha Centauri . Frank is my fiancé and actually he wanted to come here for his Postgraduates project in aerospace engineering but I came along with him'

Frank was speechless.. He didn't know that Redim could tell lies in a believable manner..But he took the cue ,' yes doctor .. my interest is in the radio signals that come from the space . I heard about the recent signal that came from space and I am actually trying to find the location and the type of the signal'

The scientist was beaming , ' you have come to the right place .. I am happy to see youngsters showing interest in space as we know the future progress is in space. Frank you are actually lucky because the signal still coming through even though it is not as strong as before. We believe it is specific signal for someone lost perhaps .. I will take you to the radio control area just now..'

He continued , 'But doctor your project is not so easy.. It is an ongoing research as Alpha Centauri is 4.37 light years away .. but we are interested in Proxima Centauri as it has two planets of which one seems to habitable .. But we could never go there unless we have vehicle that travels at the speed of light..'

Frank blurted out , ' we are still very primitive in space travel and still we use liquid hydrogen as fuel..'

The scientist looked at him strangely…, ' Primitive ..I wouldn't call it so.. Well anyhow I will take you the control room now'

Dr Ashwin called someone to inform them that he would be bringing visitors and when got the affirmation he took them to another block.

It was absolutely silent in the control room other than a some beep sound and humming … The scientist took them to one particular area from where the pulsing sound being emitted …The young technician was recording the sound, he was eager to see some visitors and he explained how the signal was different from other signals..

He took to nearby console and the beep that was emanating was short and repetitive but the first one was long and pulsing non-uniformly .. Frank asked whether it could be tracked…

The technician replied , ' it is so strange ..it has been coming for weeks but yet we could not pinpoint the area … We believe that it must be emanating from a spaceship which is on the move'

Redim asked , ' it may come from some nearby solar system'

He smiled at her and said , ' yes ..even if it is from a planet ,we could have the same result ..

Suddenly all hell broke loose! A peculiar sound came from the radio ..The technician and others could see the send message indicator light was on .. and in the nearby computer the cursor was moving randomly here and there ..

There was an absolute silence and then some staccato of noise started coming .. and there was a big blast that threw all of them some feet away.. Redim was the one who was standing close to the technician and she could see Zo ,now partially visible was thrown further away from them .. She immediately picked herself up and walked up to the slightly visible Zo , She picked and placed him inside her jacket inner pocket and went back where others were fallen ..

All of them came running and stood around the radio ..few securities started checking for intruders and Richard was visibly upset . Frank and the scientist moved away when a security stopped them. He asked them what happened and the scientist replied with conviction . He told them , ' the technician was explaining when it started acting up ..definitely it must have been a faulty circuit..Check it out.. I am taking my guests out'

The security was reluctant and he said , ' Sir we need to check you before letting you go'

Dr Ashwin agreed to that as it would be first thing anyone would ask..

Redim was nervous..if they checked her ,Zo would be found. He was visible but unconscious ..there was no movement from him ..she couldn't leave him anywhere as the place would be thoroughly checked ..she quickly thought as in front of her the scientist was being checked and next Frank was there.

Redim tried to wake Zo up but there was no response. She went and stood behind Richard .. Nothing was found on anyone..

It was her turn now and she prayed for some miracle.. The security found Zo and Redim gave one of her most beautiful smile and said with her most girlish voice as if she was very ashamed..

' Yes sir..I bought this doll and I couldn't leave it in the car ..so carried it along with me.. don't you think it looks so life like .. I have never seen such a beautiful combination of colours nor the texture .. do you like it?..

The security couldn't help but to smile.. he gave it back to her and immediately she placed Zo in her inner pocket..

The security told her , ' since you accompanied the scientist the doll escaped from confiscation because any belongings are forbidden'

Redim smiled again and apologised for her foolishness.. Richard was watching all these and he almost pissed on his pants out of fear.. If the security had to give one look at him , he would have understood that there was something was amiss.

Frank and the scientist moved further away and she walked quickly to catch up with them.. She did not look at Richard as she could see he was in a breaking point.

.Now she was worried about the security in the entrance … If the same security was there , he would remember that she did not have anything with her as he checked meticulously..They were going through the same way as they entered and the scientist was talking to the security .. It was the same security. Redim's heart sank and Richard touched her on the shoulder and said , ' give him to me' but she refused and gave a warning look and told that he should relax..

Frank was being checked and Redim was almost paralysed out of fear when suddenly she felt her pocket lightweight. she touched her pocket and it was empty ..she looked down to see if she had dropped him.. The security noticed her and asked her, ' why Ma'am, did you leave anything behind ? You look worried'

Redim replied with the nervous laugh, ' I am not sure sir.. I thought I brought my passport with me but my pocket is empty'

Frank heard her and said, ' No Redim you left it in the apartment along with mine '

'Thank you Frank ..for a minute my heart stopped ' She allowed herself to be checked and walked fast , passing Frank and sat on a bench . Richard came and sat with her and said

'God, Redim you are amazing.. I could never do something like this'

Frank was looking at them both weirdly as if they have gone barmy. On the way Dr. Ashwin told Redim, 'doctor your interest in the nearest solar system comes under my department..take my card and send me your queries .. I will do anything for Timothy's future daughter in law ..'

She thanked him profusely and said ,' sir you have already helped me . It would be easier to concentrate on Proxima Centauri . I may require the exact coordinate on space and perhaps even an imaginary route drawn from earth to Proxima Centauri'

He laughed and said , we can never ever reach the nearest solar system in our life time .. but it would be fun I guess.. I will help you'

ArulRaj had left them once he had introduced them to the scientist and now he was waiting in his office .. So they thanked Dr. Ashwin Vasudevan and left..

Redim gestured Richard not to speak anything and Frank was talking about what happened there and no one would have expected in one of the sophisticated research centres of the world to have a problem of short circuit..' Redim looked at him strangely!

ArulRaj charted their itinerary for the day and they decided to follow it. Finally they were left in the apartment after dinner.

As soon as ArulRaj left, Richard ran to Redim and shook her hand

' Redim you are awesome .. simply awesome ..'

Frank looked at them both as if they have gone bonkers ..Redim told him everything and he was really shaken.. he asked her , ' did you really gave Zo to security and pretended it was a doll?'

Richard enacted the whole scene so perfectly that it was so funny.. they were laughing when Zo and group appeared!

Zo ran to Redim and climbed on her lap and kissed her on the cheek , ' I have learnt these show of affection from the human.. thank you so much.. I am not sure what I would have done in your place !most probably I would have betrayed you…you were simply marvellous and we are indebted to you'

Frank said, ' but you had placed all of us in jeopardy .. there was no need to break the radio..''

Sass replied, ' No sir it was not intentionally done . we deciphered the message and it was a shocking message so we tried to reply but couldn't .. It was purely an accident ..'

Frank was curious, ' shocking news?'

Zo was very sombre when he replied , ' Frank the message was 'Re don't come back' The same message was repeated again and again ..My guess is that it was a recorded message and activated because it must have come closer or activated for some reason after all the time ..'

They all sat thinking about everything that happened ..

Frank asked , 'did you inform Re?' What did he tell you?'

Zo , ' we don't have the permission to tell you Frank .. We will not go back with you when you returned tomorrow.. We have few things to do'

Richard said, ' Tomorrow, ArulRaj said he would be coming by 10 in the morning.. we must take rest…

The return travel was dreary but they reached back home after travelling nearly 20 hours almost one full day.

**********