Leaving Paradise, page 6
The man turned raised his arm and pointed at Zenan. He was a big man with a bushy beard and looked angry. From behind him another appeared who looked just as upset. He was shorter than his accomplice and beardless. The closer man was holding what appeared to be a weapon and he shouted in a deep voice, ‘back off animal!’
In defence Zenan raised his right arm palm upwards and sub vocalized the command, flinging his opponent off his feet. The other man looked confused and ran towards Zenan; he flung him backwards as well. He fell to the ground and didn’t move. Cautiously he looked at the 'something' the men were leaning over. It was a young woman. He went to feel her pulse but from the way her eyes moved he could tell that wasn’t necessary. The woman held the back of her head, looked at him and at the fallen men. ‘Animals,’ she said, ‘did you kill them?’
‘No,’ he carefully said. I hope not! He thought.
‘That's a shame. What are you, some kind of unknown?’ she said as attempted to stand up.
‘You were being attacked. I had to help,’ he slowly explained. He went to help her stand up.
‘Hey! I can stand up by myself. I'm not a reject.’
‘No, you are not.’
She was clearly agitated. ‘Maybe I do need some help.’
He put an arm under her shoulder and helped her pick up a small dark bag. She pointed back to the street and he supported her. Once on the street he was able to see more of her; she was a young adult and attractive with pale skin. She wore dark boots, bare skin was visible from her legs, and had a bright red top beneath a long dark brown jacket. She smelt pleasing. She noticed him looking at her and he smiled. She looked at him closely, he could see her studying his face and she smiled back. He looked towards the alley but neither man followed them.
She recovered quickly as they walked. There were few other people about. ‘Do you mind walking me home?’
‘I’d like to help you.’
‘Where are you from?’
From the library he remembered and said, ‘Kark.’
It was a distant land where there had been war, and many fled. There was sympathy within Semel towards such refugees. That satisfied her, and she explained what she was doing, ‘just walking a few streets from my friends to home when they tried to hurt me. Thank you very much.’
‘You were in danger. I had to help.’
‘What’s your name?’
‘Zenan.’
‘Strange name, I’m Kesh.’
‘A beautiful name,’ he said. He liked it because it was easy to pronounce.
‘Thanks,’ she said, her face flushed.
They walked together. He cautiously looked around; he had not witnessed an attack on another person in such a way before. He realised it was darker than at home, his eyesight was good but there were also many places people could be hiding.
‘Have you lived here long?’ she asked.
‘Only a few days,’ he replied.
Their conversation was slight and basic. He did not know if she was upset by being attacked or if such limited communication was acceptable. He did not want to be too inquisitive, so he asked only once if she was injured.
‘I’m not ill.’
‘I meant from the attack.’
‘Oh, they bruised my leg but not serious thanks,’ she smiled.
They passed under dark arches and into a courtyard. He was lost but it felt nice to be with a local. They passed an older woman who was so bent over he wondered if she was about to fall on her face. The courtyard contained a powerful array of smells and scents; some pungent, human waste he realised, and others were possibly strong foods which made him feel hungry. It was an unusual amalgamation of flavours both distasteful and delicious; he felt faint for a moment but quickly recovered.
They walked onto a narrow gap between buildings. He could see dim lights from some of the windows and it was silent apart from Kesh’s footsteps. They reached a dark wooden building without further incident and walked up stairs. She opened a door to a corridor, there were more doors with names on and hers was the fourth along on the left. It said K Vilenra. ‘Well, it's time to say goodbye. You might have saved my life,’ she leant forward and kissed him on the lips. Then she opened her door, looked at him, smiled, said ‘thanks’ and disappeared. He sat next to the stairs to decide whether to sleep there, in a building albeit in a corridor. He smiled at the sweet kiss from the pretty alien; it was his first in a long time.
The door opened, she smiled and asked, ‘would you like a drink?’
‘Drink? Yes.’
She put her hand up, facing him. He noticed how smooth and soft it looked. ‘If you attack me I’ll scream and lots of people will come to help.’
‘I won’t attack you’ he said. ‘You’ve screamed enough tonight.’
‘Come in and sit down. Hey, I need a drink after that. How about you?’ she asked.
‘Ah, drink? Yes.’
‘Anything special?’
‘No.’
‘Easy to please, huh?’
‘Yes.’
He sat. The room was smaller than ones at home and had lots of decorations and items; it was full of clutter. He didn’t know what the objects were, many were colourful and in different shapes. ‘Your place is unique,’ he said.
The room was lit with lots of flames at the end of upright tubes. He looked at her in the brighter light. She had dark hair covering her ears and was shorter than him. Her face was round and appeared to be painted. Her eyes were blue and her smile pleasant. Her red top was tight and far more flamboyant in its patterns than his plain looking clothes.
‘I haven't been here long. I broke up with my man ten decs ago. He turned out to be a fool.’
‘Aren't you lonely here?’
‘I'm out all day, working, I haven't got time to be lonely. Do you have a partner?’
‘No, I shared a place, with many people. I hope you are understanding me? I haven’t lived here for long. I am alone.’
‘Well, you seem a little bit shaky, but who am I to criticise? It must be tough learning a new language. Listen, I'm going to wash. I won't be long.’
‘Good.’
‘Put some music on if you want.’
He took a sip of the drink in the wooden cup he was given. It tasted sweet, but there was a sharp aftertaste he didn't recognise. He had seen how the music machine was switched on in one of the shops. He utilised the hand controls and put in one of the small boxes of music. The drink appeared to be a narcotic. It relaxed him. Except for exercising, debating, or the more exciting games there was little pressure or stress on his home world. But being alone, having weapons pointed at him twice, and only having limited understanding of the language (though that was in improving all the time) was a stressful experience. An immensely satisfying, exciting one as well, which he had no regrets about. The music was peaceful and happy. He liked it.
Kesh came out of the shower, and sat on the chair opposite him, dressed in a long yellow gown. In the lights of the room, away from the darkness of the alley and looking relaxed she looked even more attractive. ‘I'm hungry. Do you want to eat?’ she asked.
‘Yes. I would like that.’
‘Good, you got any preferences? Unknown? Unknown?’
‘No animals, only plants please.’
‘Sure. That's easy.’
Kesh went into a separate area to get the food. ‘I'm so annoyed. I did all of these self-defence classes, but those fools just came out of nowhere and took me by surprise.’
‘Awareness is the key to defence,’ said Zenan. He thought that sounded reasonable.
‘So, are you a displaced person?’
‘I don't understand.’
‘From the war.’
‘Yes.’
‘I’ve never been to Kark.’
Good, he thought. She brought through food and while she was out of the room he quickly tested it with the analyser; it was safe. He enjoyed most of it, despite the strangeness of some of the flavours and textures. She appeared to work in a financial job. He was unclear how to proceed. He presumed that in the unlikely circumstances he met a creature and tried to communicate with them, he would be recognised as an alien. He didn’t like deceiving her, but it was too early to be candid. He answered her questions and smiled a lot. She smiled back but seemed apprehensive. He stayed well back and said nothing he thought might cause offence.
‘You can stay the night here.’
He thanked her for her kindness.
‘I’m tired, you can wash in there,’ Kesh said, pointing to a dark door. ‘I’ll get you a mat to sleep on.’
He opened the dark door and was confused. She appeared with a colourful, patterned mat that she placed on the floor, gently pushed past him and turned a handle; water appeared, and she told him to stand under it. She showed him how to adjust the temperature of the water and to turn it off. He started to undress; she wished him peaceful dreams and quickly disappeared. He washed and dressed. He went back to the main room and sat on the mat. She had turned off all the flames but for one which illuminated little. He sat up lost in thought. He heard noises from outside of her home, voices and other unrecognised sounds. He smiled and felt excited and happy. Kesh seemed a good person. He had finally made contact though he was not yet ready to reveal where he really came from; if his friends and fellow people could see him they would be amazed! He thought about contacting Idhouri but decided that would wait. If Kesh heard him talking to someone she might be afraid or too curious; there were no devices for communicating over distance.
He lay back on the mat which felt harder than he would have liked but better than the ground. He was going to have a great story to tell which would surprise and stagger his people. He shut his eyes missing Yudia, Dertuisc and so many. He intended to stay for a few days at most.
8. Kesh
He awoke the next morning, ran his hands through his hair and stretched. Had eventually slept well. She came out of the shower room wearing beautiful and strange clothing with wondrous intricate designs in a glorious array of bright, brash colours. It started just below her neck and covered down to her ankles. It looked so utterly alien and amazing. It outshone in colours any costume or dress he had seen before on the world.
‘Hello Zenan. I hope you have rested well?’
‘Hello Kesh. … I am rested, thank you. Where are you going to?’
‘Thank you. I have to dress like this for my work.’
‘Have you slept well? I've got something very important I want to tell you,’ he replied calmly.
He awoke with the desire to tell her the truth.
Kesh looked concerned. ‘I slept well. What is it? Can it wait?’
‘Well, it's not easy to tell you.’
‘You helped me last night, and you seem really friendly, can't you tell me what it is tonight?’
‘Yes.’ It could wait as he didn't know how she would react or whether she would be in trouble for being with him.
‘There's food in the kitchen... will you be here when I get back?’
He smiled, and replied, ‘I will wait for you to come back - but I wish you weren't going to leave me.’
Kesh smiled. ‘I’ve got to work. Anyway, it's only fourteen dets and I'll be back. It'll pass really quickly.’
She walked over and kissed him on the lips, ‘it's not often I kiss goodbye to a near naked handsome man in my house!’ she turned around and left, while waving her hand across her body.
He returned the gesture, though he was unsure of its precise meaning. It had the desired effect and she left looking happy. He thought of using the shield the previous night and wondered if any of the men would be looking for him. Here he was safe, with a beautiful, friendly woman and she was happy for him to stay in her home. Of all the circumstances he could imagine, this seemed to be the safest one in which to break news of who he was. He wished Yudia or Dertuisc was here to share the experience. He was going to have the best real story to tell his people in hundreds of years!
He got a drink of water from the kitchen confident his body would cope with any local bacteria and listened to the gentle music playing. He quickly became restless. He thought about speaking to the ship but decided to be independent for the day. Idhouri was only going to insist that he return. Aside from his journey, the last time he spent an entire day inside a single room without his entertainment and research technology, he couldn't remember. Kesh had only a few books, he looked at each one and was fascinated to find one about the creatures he saw yesterday. He sat and looked at the drawings of the Kralls; they varied from ones that would not reach to his knee, to the largest type that approached him. It was a giant one and used for guarding property. They were considered dangerous and could easily kill a person. He swallowed hard at the memory; he was right to be cautious! There were wild Kralls and tamed ones across nearly all the world. He listened to music for as long as he could but felt restless and wanted a walk.
He closed the door as he left, as appeared to be the local custom. He was careful to remember where exactly her home was. It smelt strange and looked unclean; it looked better in the poorer light. It appeared to be all made of wood. He walked onto the street. It was busier; there were many people walking about including older people. A few had furry small quadrupeds on chains, one had a smaller Krall. There were words written on the side of the building which said, ‘Sunny Days’, he noted this and walked for some distance until he reached a park. He sat on the brown spongy ground and watched the people go by.
He lay on the ground and watched a small group of insects going about their lives. He picked up a blue and golden winged creature with some difficulty as it was unwilling to climb onto his hand. It scurried about, tickling him. He shivered. It was a whole new creature unique to this world. There might be millions of new species, he realised now only the humans were familiar; he recognised none of the other animals or plants, as if humans had been put on this world in some way. He let the insect run off his hand to re-join its kind and it darted off at a remarkable speed for its meagre size. He looked up at the closest star. The mighty orb was bright and strong now. He felt its warmth and watched it as it rose higher in the sky. He looked at the buildings which seemed ubiquitous. He watched people talking to one another in occasionally animated and verbally loud ways.
He smelt the air, which was full of sometimes plainly distasteful and ultimately many indescribable odours. She said she would return in fourteen dets, but he was unclear how long a 'det' lasted. Feeling hungry he took cake from his bag and ate it.
He thought about the creatures he had first seen yesterday and tried to speak to and laughed. He now wondered about the Krall guarding the grazers and what might have happened if he had touched them or spoken aggressively. His shield would have held it off but the thought of the large animal attacking him made him shudder. If that had happened, he might have gone straight back to the ship and would not have helped Kesh.
As he thought who he could contact on the world except for Kesh or if he should just observe, he saw children coming out of a large building. He guessed it was a school or temple from his reading. He had only seen two younger humans the previous day and wondered where they were hidden. He smiled at seeing so many children.
He walked back, and retraced his way until he reached Kesh’s home. He tried to open her door with the handle, and found it was stuck. He wondered what he was doing wrong until he realised his naiveté - the door had a self-locking mechanism! He thought to himself how obvious in a land of property and laughed.
He waited and tried to imagine what he would say to Kesh and her reaction. Several times people left their homes and walked past him, some of whom stared, while others seemed to be unaware of his existence. He found a better position across from the building where he could watch for Kesh’s return.
She was very attractive and liked him. He thought about sex with her and was sure they would have fun if she was willing; there was no risk of him making her pregnant as he was fitted with a contraceptive. He discounted any idea of sexual contact with a little sadness. He suspected the risks were far greater; of emotional stress, and cultural misunderstanding. He would have to leave and that might upset her, if she was found to have been intimate with an alien she might be ostracised. He wished her no harm from his contact. A long time passed, until she came back. He followed her up the stairs; she turned, smiled and said, ‘you could have waited inside!’
He laughed. ‘I seem to have activated the self-locking mechanism.’
‘You mean you locked yourself out?’
‘Yes.’
‘Oh, I'm sorry; I should have given you a key,’ she apologised. She put her hand on his shoulder and kissed him on his cheek. ‘It's nice to have someone here for me when I get back.’
‘I missed you.’
She took her key and opened the door. ‘You are most kind.’
‘Can I explain to you the really important information I was going to tell you this morning?’ he asked her, as she shut the door.
‘Hey! Give me a chance to get in, and relax, will you? The first thing I need is a long hot shower.’
He looked at her.
‘Alone,’ she said, grinning.
Kesh took off her beautiful outer clothes, kicked off her shoes, and said, ‘would you pour me a drink of water?’
She thanked him and he patiently waited for her to freshen herself. When she'd finished, she came through, wearing a beautiful coloured blue and green gown with a towel in her hands. She sat next to him on the couch, and said, ‘what did you do today?’
‘Oh, I read and thought, and went down to the park.’
‘I was working hard all day,’ she sighed.
He stood, walked slightly away, then turned to face her. ‘I've got something important to tell you.’
‘I remember you said you wanted to say something this morning. Well, you can't be a thief, as you would have left with my money. I was in such a state this morning. What did you want to tell me?’ She beckoned him to come closer and put her hand to his face, and stroked. ‘You have such soft skin and no hair on your face. It’s so smooth. And you smell so fresh, not like so many people here!’
