“Did it really hurt, Dad, when Kay threw you off the balcony?” Harrison asked his dad.
James looked very sad suddenly; he knew without being told what the kids had been through, seeing him so broken. He then looked as if he was undecided as to what to say.
“It did, son, I’m not going to lie to you, but it was only for mere seconds, and then I blacked out,” he answered calmly.
Harrison nodded in his head, clearly appreciating James’ honesty.
“Could you hear us talking to you while you were being healed?” Abigail asked, with hope in her voice.
James gave them the warmest smile, and his eyes lit up with love for them.
“Yes, I could hear you. Not at first but after a while, I could hear you all,” he said, “It was great to listen to you reminiscing about when you were younger, and I’m really pleased that you guys remember so much,” he told them. “Maybe you can tell April some of your memories and April; you could share some of your own.
April abruptly looked so put out that I wanted to hug her.
“What’s wrong, April?” I asked, feeling very concerned.
She looked at me with eyes that looked so sad and tearful they would have made anyone’s heart drop.
“I don’t have any nice memories apart from when I was with my girlfriend, and we weren’t together very long,” she answered.
“Why don’t you have any nice memories?” Holly asked gently.
“I was always in foster care, being bounced from one place to another,” she said quietly, “It’s only the little ones that really get looked after well and adopted. I couldn’t find my real parents or find out how I ended up being in care, so I decided running away was better than staying. That’s when I met my girlfriend.
“How long were you together?” I asked, giving her a warm smile.
“We were together for five months, and she was amazing,” April told us. “I met her when I was trying to find a job. She was older than me, and she already had a good job working in a cafe. She’d been working there since school and was basically running it for the owners. She gave me a job and a room to rent. We just clicked, and I loved her,” she added, as a tear ran down her soft cheek.
James reached over and pulled her chair, so it slid towards him, and the moment she was within reach, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
“You have all of us now, daughter,” he told her softly.
My heart seemed to melt in my chest as I watched our kids, one by one, get up from their seats and hug April. As I listened to her sob softly against James’ chest, I got up from my own seat and walked over to them.
“This has to be the best family group hug I’ve ever seen,” I told them as I wrapped my arms around the bundle of bodies before me.
When April’s sobs subsided, we heard her quiet voice.
“Guys, I think I’m cooking now, and I have snot running down my face,” she said with a nervous giggle.
We all released her and moved back to our seats, laughing. When she looked up, she did indeed look a little flushed with snot running from her nose.
“Ahh, what’s a little snot between siblings,” Anthony told her with a huge grin on his face.
At that point, we all cracked up laughing.
As we finished putting our cups back on the tray, I decided to tell James and the kids about saving the animals. We’d always been a menagerie family, so I knew they’d want to be a part of it. I touched my com at my throat and reached out to Christik. ‘Christik, are you busy?’ I asked.
As always, she answered immediately. ‘I am with my parents Mel, but I can talk with you. Is James alright?’ She asked.
‘James is great thank you, but I had another dream last night, and I think the baby... No, I know the baby wants us to save the animals that have already been released Christik,’ I told her.
There was a slight pause while Christik thought about what I’d said.
‘Meet us in the main meeting room when you are ready Mel,’ Christik said, ‘we will be waiting for you, and Mel,’
‘Yes,’ I answered.
‘Do not worry,’ she said, and then she was gone.
“Come on tribe; we’ve got a mission to do for your baby sister,” I said to my family as I patted my baby bump.
All of them looked a little worried, and I couldn't blame them after what happened with Peter and Kay.
“It’s going to be an adventure,” I told them with a smile.
There were lots of questions of who, what, where and when.
“Be patient family, all will be explained,” I assured them.
After waiting for Nalik and Christine to arrive, we all made our way to the big meeting room. James and I didn't mind Nalik and Christine coming with us as they already felt like part of our family too, and we knew Holly and Anthony wanted to be with them.
Christik and her parents were waiting for us when we arrived. The three of them in deep conversation were sitting at the large wooden table. All three gave us lovely smiles and dips of their heads as we entered, and we automatically reciprocated. After hellos and morning greetings, we all took seats around the table, and Christik looked at me expectantly.
“As I mentioned to you earlier, I had another dream last night,” I told her, “I haven’t told James and the kids about it yet as I didn’t want to waste time, especially as we don’t have a lot of it,” I added in a rush.
“I understand,” Christik replied.
I took a deep breath and then continued.
“I dreamt that I was in a forest, but I don’t know where, and I was watching a red panda, which was looking for food,” I explained. “While I was watching it, I heard a noise in the sky, which got closer and I realized it wasn’t one of your crafts. It was one of theirs, a Marilian craft.”
“How do you know if it was a Marilian craft and not one of the angels’ crafts you haven’t seen yet?” James asked.
I looked at my husband as I felt my heart sink in my chest. I knew he’d be upset when I told him.
“I knew because the craft shot out a beam of fire, which made the red panda burst into flames,” I told him gently. “It was so awful, and the blast from the beam threw me backwards in my dream, it was so powerful.”
I looked to Christik, Lindaz and Evest, who all had looks of horror on their faces.
“We need to retrieve all the animals that were released, or they are all going to die,” I told them desperately.
“We have only released animals in five locations, but it will take a lot of time to find the animals, Mel, and we don’t have much time before the Marilians arrive,” Christik said sadly.
“It does not have to take a lot of time,” Nalik said, surprising everyone as he was normally so quiet.
“What do you mean, Nalik?” Evest asked
We were all curious about his statement.
“As we saw at the pool in the holding structure, Mel is basically an animal magnet at the moment. All the fish and birds were drawn to her and the baby immediately.”
The realization hit all of us at once as soon as he said it.
“We just need to go where the animals were released, and I believe they will come to us, as long as Mel is there,” he added.
“I think you are correct Nalik. We will have to act fast as we already have much to do,” Christik said with strong determination in her tone. “I will organize the containment for the animals and angels to assist us. I will be back shortly.”
Christik left the room, leaving us sitting with her parents and a bit of awkward silence; none of us really knowing what to say.
Lindaz looked at the kids with a warm smile on her face.
“Are you all excited to meet your new sister?” She asked.
All the kids either nodded or said yes, politely.
“I have a question about our sister if you don’t mind me asking?” Anthony told her.
“Of course, Anthony, you may ask me anything,” she told him warmly.
“How come our sister has gifts and wings? He asked. “I mean, I know about evolution stepping up a notch after our planet nearly died, but how is she more like you angels, like Christik told my Mom and Dad?” He added.
We all waited for the answer; everyone one of us were just as curious. I know I’d thought about it a lot since Christik had told us and shown us our daughter.
Evest and Lindaz looked very thoughtful for a minute; then Evest leaned forward, resting his arms on the table.
“The relationship between Holly and Nalik is not that unusual,” Evest said as he glanced at Holly. “There are a few planets that we have visited on a regular basis, and your Earth is one of them. There have been angels before who have found their other halves within another race,” he added.
“There have been two angels who have found their other halves here on Earth,” Lindaz told us, “We have not had contact with either of them since the last time we were here. One of the Angels was in Egypt, and the other was in India.”
Evest leaned back into his chair.
“We believe that both angels married their other halves and had children. Which means,” Evest said…
“…that generations of humans may be part angel,” Holly said, interrupting the elder.
Evest dipped his head in acknowledgment.
“Yes, Holly,” he told her, “It is because of that reason that we believe evolution took the leap and made your sister more like us.”
“Wow!” James said as he looked at me, and I looked at him.
As the words Evest spoke sink in, I turned back to him, suddenly feeling confused.
“Why didn’t Christik tell us all this!” I asked.
Both Evest and Lindaz looked at us with sympathy.
“Christik did not know very much about what happened to the angels,” Lindaz said, “she was too young to understand at the time. If she had known more, she would have told you. All Christik knew was that one of the angels was her older brother.”
Deep down, I knew that she was right. Christik had always been honest and above board with us. Just as I was telling myself off for even doubting my friend, and James was about to ask another question, Christik glided back into the meeting room. When she took in all our faces, which looked shocked, she suddenly looked worried.
“What has happened?” She asked with concern in her voice.
“There is nothing to worry about, my own, my one,” Lindaz told her calmly, “we will tell you on the way,” she assured her.
Christik dipped her head.
“The craft is ready, and there are angels ready in each location to help us collect the animals,” Christik said, “Let us get this show on the road.”
When Lindaz and Evest looked at Christik with complete confusion on their faces, we all burst into laughter, which was a blessing as it certainly lightened the mood and made the shock wear off quicker.
Christik smiled and opened the door wide, allowing us to walk through. The kids were still chuckling as they passed her, and the elders got up to follow. James and I began to follow from the rear.
“You aren’t zapping us to the craft?” I asked Christik when I reached her.
“I thought you would appreciate not shivering on the craft,” Christik said as she smiled at me knowingly.
“Thank you,” I told her gratefully.
While we walked to the hanger where the craft was kept, Lindaz and Evest told Christik what they’d told us about the angels. She was just as surprised as we all were, although she agreed that it explained a lot.
“What my parents have told us is good news,” Christik said as we reached the craft.
“Why is that?” James asked as we started to get on board the waiting craft.
Christik followed James and glided to the front of the craft as we all boarded.
“It is good news because it means that Nalik and Holly have a wonderful future ahead of them,” she answered, as she smiled at my daughter, who was still holding hands with her angel.
Holly was positively beaming at Christik, and Nalik was glowing his shimmer profusely. Relief flowed through me as I thought about Holly and Nalik’s future together. ‘There’s hope for everyone now,’ I said to myself with a smile.
Watching Christik in action; flying the craft was just as impressive as watching Hulaz. Her actions were the same as she connected with the craft, and her flying skills were just as smooth. Everything the angels did seemed to be flawless, and at times, it was quite intimidating. The only thing that the angels weren’t able to do was to tell jokes. Although it was as funny as hell when they tried to come out with some of our sayings and Christik seemed to enjoy retelling them.
Like always, it was hard to guess how long we were flying for. Especially this time because we were all more relaxed, and we were all talking the whole time. It was like a Q & A with the elders. We were all asking them questions, and they were fantastic answering each one. They were especially patient with the kids, which made James and I like them even more.
I felt the craft beginning to descend, and my baby girl suddenly started moving around. I could sense her excitement growing as the craft got closer to the ground. I placed my hand on my bump and stroked her affectionately as her arm or leg pushed outwards, ‘Don’t worry baby girl; we’re going to get them,’ I told her. I winced a little as I felt either an elbow or a knee pushing against my hand.
“Are you ok, baby?” James asked with a worried look.
“I’m good; she knows we’re here, and she’s just pushed out a knee I think,” I told him with a reassuring smile.
James nodded in understanding. I knew he remembered what it was like with the other kids, and all of them had been active babies. When the craft connected with the ground, my heart began to thump in my chest, partly due to the unknown but also with excitement.
Chapter 7
When the door of the craft opened, it was like being slapped with a wet blanket. The humidity was so bad that I knew one hundred percent that my hair was probably looking as if I’d been electrocuted. It was strange because automatically I expected a lot of wildlife noise when the door opened, but from inside, all we could hear was one or two birds making a strange noise.
Christik began to disconnect herself from the craft, and the vines smoothly uncurled themselves from her arms and hands, melting back into the craft frame. As soon as she was free, she turned around, waved an arm and suddenly, we were all wearing shoes.
It was funny because I was getting used to not wearing shoes now and James, as well as the kids, never seemed bothered by having bare feet all the time either. Luckily, the shoes were so comfortable; they really were like the best slippers ever.
As the elders were closest to the exit, they disembarked first with the rest of us following behind. The air was heavy with the humidity, and it was even more stifling than the trip we’d taken so many years ago to South Carolina. Our trip was at the height of summer when it was a hundred and ten degrees and one hundred percent humidity. I had to assume that we were somewhere very tropical.
When we looked around at our surroundings, some of us turning on the spot, we were amazed at the sheer natural beauty of the place. There were tropical trees and plants everywhere, all moist from the humid air, and some leaves were dripping with their wetness. The foliage was so thick that we couldn’t see through it to see what was beyond.
The bird or birds made the weird noise again; only this time the sound appeared to be a little closer.
“I think the animals that we released here can sense you and the baby already, Mel,” Nalik said with a smile.
“How is that possible, Nalik? We’ve literally just landed,” Holly said.
“It is as if your baby sister is sending out a signal to them,” Nalik explained.
“Where are we exactly?” I asked as I continued to study our surroundings as my hair frizzed even more.
“We are in the Amazon rainforest near Madagascar,” Christik answered. “The rainforest is a large part
of your ecosystem, and we were saddened to see so much of it had been destroyed,” she added with the sadness evident in her voice.
“Humanity forgot over time that the rainforests, jungles, forests and oceans are the lungs for your planet’s oxygen supply,” Evest added, “just as your lungs keep your bodies alive.”
Christik stepped forward, and she reached for her com on her chest.
“Angels, we are here, locate and join us please,” she said aloud.
Within the blink of an eye, angels began to appear one by one until there were twelve of them surrounding us. All of them looked magnificent with their shimmering green hair and wings standing out from the backdrop of the rainforest. ‘Good job they aren’t the guard angels, they would have stuck out like sore thumbs,’ I thought as I smiled at them.
Each of the angels had a container box for the animals, and they were all various sizes. Two of the angels had two large boxes between them, making me even more excited to find out what animals were there.
The strange bird noise sounded again, and this time, it sounded very close. Immediately, we all began to look around for the bird just as another bird called from the other side of us.
“How many birds are there?” James asked as he scanned the trees and undergrowth.
“There are two birds of the same breed,” Christik said as her eyes stared at a very large tree behind me. “You call them Potoo birds, and they are normally nocturnal, but they are coming because of the baby,” she added, “they are masters of camouflage.”
The Potoo bird called again, and it was so close that I nearly jumped out of my skin. Its call was like nothing I’d ever heard from a bird, and it almost sounded as if it was squawking the word, War. My eyes caught movement and, as they focused, I spotted the Potoo bird as it gradually inched its way down the tree it was on.
If the bird hadn’t moved, there was no way that I’d have seen it. It was a stunning bird whose body looked more elongated than other birds I’d seen, and its feathers were mainly various shades of grey. There was the odd tufty feather sticking out from under the folds of its wings, so I assumed that it was still a juvenile.
The Marilians Page 7
