Science fiction. The crossing

Science fiction. The crossing

I saw two of them, yes it was two of them. At least that is what I saw in the vagueness of the night, when the Moon was completely hidden behind the clouds. And on the Earth, where I was right now and where I saw these two persons, it was dark.

But the dim light of a few glow worms made them faintly stand out in the darkness, where they were nothing more than two columns of black smoke moving in the darkness of the night. From this you could tell how identifiable they must have been. Anyway, there were two of them and they were walking with an unease of doubtful hurriedness. I could not tell this from the rate at which these two figures were moving away from me, but from the sound their footsteps made when they crushed the crisp and dry grass blades.

For some reason the glow worms followed them and made it possible for me to guess their location, which indeed was very far now, and if I followed them, they would not know. At least that was my guess. But I did not have any reason yet to follow the two strangers who were nothing more than two columns of smoke moving in the darkness of the night, with just a few glow worms that followed them to reveal their position.

So, I thought for a while to find the right reason to follow them, something that would justify my ambition like desire to follow them. However, there was something very strange about both of them and it had partially motivated me to follow them, I just needed the remaining motivation to pursue them in the darkness of the night. And when I looked at the glow worms swirling around their heads. And the pace at which they were moving with a demeanour that was unearthly and yet serenaded anybody who looked at them. I felt so at this moment.

Finally, after having stood there for almost 2 minutes or more, I too followed the trail of their steps. I was somehow convinced that tonight I was destined to know or see something very splendid and I felt deeply buoyant about it. So, I took every step carefully not to disturb the fireflies, because if they would fly away, I would lose their track, and then it was almost certain that they too would realise that someone is following them. And it shall be the end of the uncertain adventure and the desire to see something very exciting tonight. So, I was very careful with my every step and I tried my best not to disturb them.

I must have followed them for more than an hour when they reached a river. There both of them had a brief conversation, and they frequently moved their heads. As if they were trying to arrive at a consensus on whether or not to cross the river. Then one of them took out a baton-like thing and pressed it a couple of times, and it spread like a small and flat raft, then both of them stood on it, and it carried them across the river. Where the same person spread his hand over it and the raft rolled back into a baton like thing, and then as if by some magnetic energy, it left the surface of the water and before I could wink my eyes, I saw him holding it in his hand. And I am sure, he did not bend to pick it up, but something made it act against the gravity and in a moment it was in this person's hand.

Now their forms were more perceivable because the moon was no more behind the clouds and the glow worms were still circling their heads. Then they looked around to make sure nobody saw or knew the secret of their raft that was more buoyant than a fish and it carried both of them across the river although it was not thicker than paper. And now I was more drawn towards them and I wanted to know everything about them.

Alas, now there was not the darkness of the night that was separating us, but it was the river that was separating me from them and the glow worms, still following them. As if they too were keen to know about these two interesting persons, who now seemed less strange and more interesting to me, and I guess to the glow worms as well.

But right now, I needed to figure out how to cross the river. And I did not have anything at my disposal that would match the technological superiority of their baton raft. That perhaps floated with some particle based pulses being discharged by the raft that acted against the surface tension of the water and the surface of the raft, and managed to keep them afloat. And from the moonlight that sparkled its surface I could easily tell that it did not touch the surface of water, it was floating above it, and it could not be possible without the raft being able to generate some sort of particle based pulses that created this phenomenon that to me was a symbiosis of principles of levitation and buoyancy. And yes, they stood one after another and this had something to do with balancing the surface tension, and when they stood at their spots, their shoes seemed to get latched onto its surface. And I am sure, even if they would have flipped, the raft would have regained its position, and with it the two persons as well.