by Dane Bagley
“Mayor Palador, please come in.” A short and portly man with thick round glasses greeted Roloff warmly, and stood up from his desk. He attempted to button his dress coat around his obese mid-section, but quickly gave up after two tries. Instead, he waddled around his desk and offered his hand to Roloff.
“Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, Mayor Tinron.”
“My dear sir, it is always such a pleasure to see you, please sit down.” The two men took seats across the desk from each other. “I am so sorry to hear of the disappearance of your lovely wife. My wife and I always so enjoyed her company. I am sorry that I have not been able to come to you personally since the event. I trust that you received my note.”
“Yes, thank you for your concern.”
“I have my top investigator continuing to look into the mystery. I’m afraid that we have no clues, other than what you have been able to share. We have had no similar events to report within Plensen, nor in the surrounding areas. Still, we will continue to monitor the situation. I do hope that she is recovered soon, and in good condition. So strange, I can’t imagine why anyone would do this.” Mayor Tinron shook his head with genuine concern.
“I do thank you. If I may, I do have something to report to you.”
“Please, go on.”
“I have shared this with no else, other than immediate family; I’m afraid that it is extraordinary—rather unbelievable. I have personally seen an object rotating around our world. I have seen it now on two occasions. It looked, at first, like a falling star; but it was not a falling star: it lasted for too long. I saw it before Aspiria’s disappearance, and then I saw it again two nights ago. It was on this second occasion that I realized the nature of this object. I came into Plensen last night to discuss this with my brothers-in-law. As it turns out, my niece also has been a witness to this phenomenon. She saw it on a separate occasion from the two I mentioned before.”
Mayor Tinron leaned back in his chair and adjusted his glasses, and then while resting his elbows on his chair arms crossed his fingers with the two index fingers pointing up, and placed the two index fingers on his lips. He narrowed his eyes and continued to listen.
“I do not believe that anyone on our world has the capacity to put an object in orbit around our world, but there is indeed an object in orbit here. I believe that we have visitors here from another world. Furthermore, I believe that Aspiria’s disappearance can be traced to this. As I said before, I first witnessed this object prior to her disappearance. I was with her on this occasion, and we witnessed it together, just a few days before she was gone. I have gone over the tracks and clues, related to her disappearance, over, and over again. There are the tracks of four men coming from and returning to a rocky clearing not far from our home, and on the night she disappeared we found a deer that had been shot with a sleeping drug. One track, returning back, shows much greater depth, indicative of this man carrying what we all believe to be Aspiria. It would seem that they had drugged her, as they had the deer. From this location, there are no additional tracks—nothing leading into or away from the rocky clearing. We have searched over and over again. The rocky clearing itself appears to be the origin and the destination. This has baffled everyone, perhaps even your investigator.
“If men from another world have the capacity to travel from their world to ours, then they may have the capacity to bring their craft down to our world—the rocky clearance near my home—and then return the craft into orbit around our world. I am aware of how fantastic this story is; I hope that I do not come across as just a fool. It is true that I want my wife back, but I believe that my supposition is rational, none the less. With an additional pair of witnesses, my niece Miigal and her boyfriend Jeriyal, I am more convinced than ever.”
“Perhaps we can find additional witnesses of this orbiting object,” Mayor Tinron mused.
“Yes, we are indeed seeking that out now. We are not telling what we fear the object to be, nor our supposed connection to the disappearance of Aspiria; but we are simply looking for additional witnesses. I believe that you know Aspiria’s brother, Priori. He is discussing this with his colleagues in hopes that he may find out more about the nature of an orbiting object. He believes that by finding the dates and times of the observations, some of his colleagues may be able to calculate the nature of the orbit. We may be able to predict when it will be sighted again. This would confirm that it is an orbiting object. My belief that it is men from another world would not be proved, but I am at a loss to think of another possibility.
“Even if it is known that we do have this orbiting craft filled with men from another world, it would not prove a connection with the disappearance of Aspiria, but it would be worth considering. For myself, I know it to be true, for I have felt it. Still, for others, I want hard proof. I am not here in hopes that you will believe me—you may believe or not believe as you choose—but I hope that you will assist me in finding proof of this. Even if it is true, I do not know what we would have the power to do about it, but I must try what I can.”
“Roloff, I have known you, and respected you, I might add, for many years. You are a gem of a man, and I and my wife would do anything for you and your lovely Aspiria. I, for myself—I do believe you, though I find it mindboggling. I agree with you, it matters not whether I believe or not, or even if you believe or not; we have witnesses of a phenomenon that needs to be investigated. If these men have this power, and have used it in this way—to take your lovely wife—then they may have additional powers. We do not know their motivations, or their capacities. We simply know that they have come here, and have taken your wife, and seem to be cowering and hiding. I do not like the sound of this. We must seek as much information as we can, and prepare for what this could mean to our people, to our towns, and city.”
“I have shared nothing with the good people of Arkasia. I am afraid of how they may respond. Fear may cause more problems, than the circumstances alone. When we know more, we will need to share the information.”
“If they return to the surface and take another, we will be responsible if we have not warned the people,” expressed Mayor Tinron.
“I agree, but we have so little to go on,” said Roloff with concern.
“True. We must act quickly. We will get the science community and our investigators on this immediately. We must seek out witnesses from the communities as well.”
“I do thank you, again, Mayor Tinron. I feel a great sense of relief at having shared this with you. I know that with your help and advice, I am closer to seeing my Aspiria again. I will be at Priori’s home for a few days before I must get Caryell, my son, back to school. I will call on you again if I get any further information. Good day.”
“Please call again in two days. I will have more information, and we can collaborate at that time. I am at your service, my good sir. Good day.”
Chapter 36
