The Marilians

by Beth Worsdell

  Chapter 9

  Within a short time of boarding the craft and taking off, all of the kids were fast asleep. Christine was sound asleep against Anthony’s chest, Abigail was asleep against Harrison’s shoulder, and Holly and April were fast asleep on either side of Nalik. Poor Nalik looked as if he was afraid to move. I was leaning against James, who had his arm around me, and I could feel his arm getting heavy against me as he too began to fall asleep. For some reason, I found myself wide awake.

  Evest and Lindaz were sitting across from James and I, and they both looked so relaxed that I envied them.

  “Have you always been together?” I asked, looking from one elder to the other.

  Lindaz smiled warmly at me as Evest look her hand and brought it to his lips to kiss it softly.

  “Yes, we had always been together,” Evest replied with pride ringing in his words. “We were very fortunate to find each other while we were young.”

  “Did you know straight away that you were each other’s halves or soulmates as we call it?” James asked, surprising me.

  I hadn’t realized that my husband had stirred.

  “We both knew straight away,” Evest told us.

  “Evest could not stop himself from glowing when we met,” Lindaz said with a loving smile at her husband. I felt for him as we were healing a planet at the time. The race we were helping thought that it was a warning sign,” Lindaz explained. “It took a lot of convincing to make the Catara race understand that it was love that was making Evest glow.”

  “Wow, I bet you felt awkward, Evest,” James said with a knowing smile. “I felt like an idiot because my cheeks glowed bright red every time I saw Mel,” James admitted, “I don’t know how I’d have felt if I’d glowed all over every time I’d seen her.”

  “It did not affect me in a negative way,” Evest said with a humorous smile, “We angels all have the same reaction to love when we find our other half. I am sure you aren’t the only human to have red cheeks when in love.”

  “You’re right, Evest, I’ve noticed that Anthony’s cheeks like to glow red quite profusely. Like father like son,” I laughed.

  “Cheeky,” James said as he tickled my side.

  “We are nearly at our next location,” Christik said from the front of the craft. “Would you like to wake the children now,” she asked.

  “Will do,” I answered as I reached for Christine and Anthony.

  We gently woke the kids as Christik started to descend the craft. By the time we landed, the kids were all awake and were rubbing their tired eyes.

  “This is the last location; you will be pleased to hear,” Christik assured the kids, “we will be back on the main craft soon.”

  “Which country are we in now Christik?” I asked her as she detached herself from the craft and glided through between us to the rear door.

  “We are back in Egypt,” she said as the door opened, and the dry heat from outside rushed in.

  The elders waited patiently, letting Christik and all of us out first before following behind. It was surprisingly hot, considering the sun was quite low. The sky was full of warm colors that spread across the sky, giving the long grasses and trees a golden hue. Christik had landed the craft next to another river, but this river wasn’t fast-moving like the one we’d left in China. Yet again, Christik’s angels were waiting for us when we arrived, but this time, two of the six angels each had large water-filled containers, which was a surprise.

  “What on earth are those for?” I asked Christik, pointing at the containers.

  “You will see,” she answered with a smile.

  “I’m starting to think we’re rubbing off on you a little too much,” I told her.

  Straightaway, she looked confused, and so did the elders.

  “You have not been rubbing off on me, I would have felt it,” Christik said with a confused and serious tone.

  The kids and James found Christik’s response highly amusing, and I only just managed to keep a straight face myself.

  “I mean that you are picking up a lot of our human responses to things, Christik,” I told her, no longer able to contain the giggle that escaped me.

  “Ahh, I see,” she said with a smirk on her lips.

  She was getting very good at smirking at the right time too. As I looked around the area we were standing in; I could see lots of large abandoned houses and apartments built into the side of the riverbank on the opposite side from us. It seemed so weird to see buildings but with no noise of people or vehicles. It was truly surreal. The area must have been a bustling place at one time, probably busy with not only the residents but also plenty of tourists too.

  “Is this the Nile river?” Christine asked Christik as she pointed to the river that was shimmering with the sun’s warm colors.

  “Yes, it is,” Christik replied, “When we begin to release the animals, we try to make sure that they have a good water supply.”

  “That seems logical,” Anthony said. “You plan it all very precisely, don’t you.”

  “We have to, Anthony,” Evest told him, “The fate of planets depends on us.

  “That’s a huge responsibility for your race, Evest. Doesn't the pressure get to you sometimes?” Holly asked him.

  “No, it does not Holly,” he told her softly, “We have been healing planets for a very long time. If something does not go as planned, we have each other to get through it,” he added.

  “I really wish we humans were more like your race,” Holly said sadly.

  “Many races go through the same stages that your race has been through, Holly,” Lindaz told her, “It takes a very long time for a race to realize what is important and what is not. Some races never learn, such as the Marilians.”

  “I’ve got a feeling that eventually, the Marilians will end up destroying themselves,” James said.

  We all agreed with James. It was just a shame that the Marilians weren’t going to destroy themselves before they had a chance to get Earth.

  “Can we have a swim in the river while we’re waiting for the animals to get to us?” Harrison asked, hopefully.

  “Yeah, can we, Mom?” Abigail added, “It’s so much hotter here; I bet the water feels amazing!”

  I turned to Christik, who was smiling again at the kids.

  “Is there anything in the water that’s unsafe for the kids?” I asked.

  “No, Mel, they will be perfectly safe,” she assured.

  I turned back to the kids, and they were already heading towards the water.

  “Don’t go too far out please, ok!” I called after them.

  The kids had heard me, but all I got were waved hands of acknowledgment as they started to wade into the water. Nalik and Holly were soon swimming together, while Abigail, Harrison, Anthony, April and Christine were splashing and trying to wrestle each other. It was good to see that some things didn’t change so quickly. Some sibling fun was just what they all needed.

  James came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, resting his hands on my bump.

  “It won’t be long before this little one is joining in,” James said.

  “It’ll be ages before she is able to join in,” I laughed.

  “Ahh, you say that now gorgeous, but look at how quickly they’ve all grown up,” he said seriously.

  “Mmm, you’re right, the time has flown by way too fast,” I told him as I watched our kids having a blast., “Why are you brushing against my leg?” I added.

  “I’m not,” he replied, clearly confused.

  I looked down at my left leg, and there sat by my ankle, rubbing its head against my leg was a sand-colored rodent of some kind and another sat next to it, which was looking at me.

  “I think we have our first two arrivals,” I said.

  “We were all enjoying watching the children to notice them arrive,” Lindaz stayed with a humorous smile.

  “For sure!” James told her with a chuckle.

  James released his arms, allowing me the
space to bend down and pick up the creature that had taken a shine to my ankle. It felt as soft as a rabbit and was roughly the same size as the rabbits our kids had kept at our home.

  “Mmm, what kind of animal are you?” I asked it as I lifted it to my eye level and watched it blink at me.

  “They are Hyrax,” Christik said, “Shall we get them into their containers quickly before the next animals arrive.”

  “Yes, good idea,” I told her as James picked up the other Hyrax.

  James managed to put his Hyrax into its box without any trouble. On the other hand, I had a bit of a nightmare because the Hyrax I was holding didn’t want to leave. Luckily, the angel with the container was quick to help, and moments later, both of the animals were safe and gone. The kids were all oblivious to the whole thing and were racing each other in the water, laughing and cheering each other on.

  After being surprised by the arrival of the two Hyrax, all of us were on alert waiting for the next animals to make an appearance. There was one thing that I was sure of and that was the fact that I was desperate for a pee. I didn’t want to go in the river, especially as the kids were swimming in it, although I was pretty sure that may have been why they wanted to swim. I also didn’t fancy going off into the empty buildings either. ‘Bushes it is then,’ I thought to myself.

  I turned to James, who was scanning the area for the next animals.

  “James, I need to go off and pee,” I told him quietly.

  He nodded at me and turned to the angels and elders.

  “We’ll be back in a minute,” he told them.

  Taking my hand, James led me away from the others and into a dense patch of long grass and bushes. I was so desperate to go that I didn’t even care that I had no tissue and was going to have to finish ‘Oh natural.’ After I’d been, I felt such a relief, until a rat decided to run up my dress that I’d just let down.

  “What the hell!” I screamed, “James, it’s a fricking rat, get it off meeeee…...!”

  Panic ran through me instantly. I’d never been a fan of mice, ferrets, rats or any other type of vermin, ever since I’d witnessed a girl at school being bitten on the neck by a ferret she’d been petting in our biology class.

  “James, quickly!” I screamed.

  James came bounding through the grass and bushes to get to me. I couldn’t stop myself from shaking as the rat hid under my hair and was rubbing itself against my neck. I was freaking out big time. James reached me, and I could see his eyes searching my body for the rat.

  “It’s under my hair, it’s under my hair James, get the little shit off me now. Please!” I pleaded.

  James quickly lifted my hair from the nape of my neck, and he plucked the rat off in one motion. I was relieved, and I staggered out of the bushes with my whole-body shuddering, taking a moment to steady my breathing. James followed behind with the rat held in his hands.

  “I swear James that if I hadn’t just gone for a pee, I would have peed myself when that little terror jumped on me,” I told him with a shaky voice.

  “It wouldn’t have hurt you, baby,” he told me gently.

  “I don’t give two shits James,” I said, still feeling very pissed off, “The little terror frightened the life out of me.”

  James started to laugh as he walked up to me and took my hand in his.

  “Come on, we’ll put it in its box quickly, so you can relax,” he said with a smile.

  “I don’t think I’m going to be able to relax James when I know there’s another one of those little terrors coming,” I told him seriously.

  “Oh yeah, well don’t fret, baby, I’ll grab it before it can grab you,” James said while laughing.

  He was clearly enjoying my discomfort, a little bit too much, but I knew he would try and make sure that the other rat wouldn’t jump on me.

  When we got back to the angels and elders, they were all clearly confused as to what had happened. James walked straight over to the small container one of the angels held, and he placed the rat inside. He then turned to Lindaz, Evest and Christik.

  “Mel doesn’t do vermin,” he explained to them. “She has a fear of them.”

  “Why?” Christik asked, genuinely concerned.

  “It’s a long story from my childhood,” I told her, rolling my eyes.

  Christik quickly picked up on the fact that I didn’t want to talk about it any further and so she didn’t push it. The elders obviously knew better than to ask too. Trying to take my mind off my skin that was still crawling, I looked down the riverbank to check on the kids. They were all still having a brilliant time and watching them helped to distract my mind. Well, it did for a little while.

  “Mel, don’t move!” James calmly said behind me.

  I froze on the spot, knowing that the other large rat must have made an appearance. I did as James said and didn’t move; just the thought of another rat had my skin crawling again. Suddenly, there was a thud as James hit the floor behind me. I felt the whoosh of air against my legs and feet as he landed heavily on the ground.

  Turning my body around, I looked down to the floor, and James was now looking up at me with a huge grin. The other large rat was in his outstretched hands, looking around as if to say, “What the heck is going on?”

  “You are my hero, husband of mine,” I told him with a smile.

  The relief I felt knowing that the second rat couldn’t touch me was immense. James picked himself up off the ground, and he walked over to the waiting angel immediately. The angel was smiling as James quickly placed the second rat in the container. As soon as the box was closed, the angel disappeared.

  “I think you need to warn Mel next time she has to be near any vermin,” James said as he turned to Christik and the elders.

  “Yes, agreed,” Christik answered, giving me an understanding smile and nod of her head.

  “Should we get the kids out of the river before the next animals arrive?” I asked Christik while looking at the large water-filled containers.

  “No, the children are safe,” she replied, “I think they will enjoy meeting the last two creatures.”

  I was tempted to ask what they were, but I quite liked surprises, so I decided not to. I was feeling intrigued as to what the animals were. The containers were large in height and width. I was racking my brains, going over in my mind what water creatures could be in the river that were harmless, and my mind was blank.

  Christine’s shrieks shocked me out of my thoughts. She was standing in the water with both her arms raised in the air, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if she had been on her tiptoes too, trying to get herself out of the water as much as possible. Anthony was trying to calm her down while the other kids and Nalik were turning around, trying to spot something in the water. Harrison turned to face us on the riverbank while cupping his mouth with his hands.

  “I think they are manatees,” he shouted over.

  As soon as he said manatees, I thought, ‘Of course, that would explain the large containers and the fact that they were harmless.’ I’d always been fascinated with manatees or sea cows as some people called them. I turned to Christik, who was standing with Evest and Lindaz.

  “Are the animals manatees?” I asked her.

  “They are dugongs, a part of the manatee family,” she replied with a smile, “They are friendly. Hulaz enjoys spending time with them,” she added with a big smile.

  “I want to see them,” I told James with excitement in my voice.

  “Me too,” he said, sounding even more excited than I was.

  With a big grin, James took my hand and started to lead me down to the water. The kids seemed very relaxed swimming with the dugongs and as the mammals swam up to the kids, the kids would place their hand into the water to stroke them.

  Just as before, when I swam in the natural pool at the cruiser; the moment my dress touched the water, it began to shrink and turn into a swimsuit. James’ trousers and tunic reacted the same way and now clung to his muscles as tight shorts
and skintight top. It was hard not to admire my husband when he was wearing something so flattering, showing off his hard-toned body.

  On the other hand, I was feeling rather self-conscious. It had been a long time since I’d been pregnant with the twins, and my dress had shrunk and shaped around my now prominent baby bump. Not only that but my now larger boobs were more evident also. I knew it wouldn’t be long before I would start to look like a Buddha statue. Not that James cared, he seemed attracted to me no matter what shape I was, thank goodness.

  The water was wonderful on our hot skin, and I hadn’t realized just how hot I’d been getting until the water began to cool me down. I couldn’t stop the “Ahhh” that escaped my lips as I let myself sink down into the cool river water. Within moments of being in the water; the two dugongs swam over to join me.

  At first, I was quite startled as the first one brushed against my side. I wasn’t expecting them to be so big, but then I was sure as adults, they would be more than double their size. Considering they were big; they were surprisingly gentle. I was pretty sure they knew I was pregnant and could sense our baby, just as our baby could sense them. James was enjoying the contact with them just as much as the kids and I were.

  “They’re so gentle, aren’t they, Dad?” Harrison called over to James.

  “Yes, they are, son,” James told him, “and they are very graceful, too.”

  Holly and Nalik swam over towards James and me.

  “We’re going to get out now and dry off, Mom,” Holly said as she got closer to us and the dugongs.

  “Ok, darling,” I replied as one of them decided to literally kiss my belly.

  I laughed aloud and looked at my daughter, Nalik and James.

  “Did you all just see that?” I asked, completely surprised.

  All three of them laughed too.

  “Maybe they are similar to dolphins,” James said with a huge smile, “I’ve heard of dolphins behaving like that around pregnant women.”