Amala's Heritage

Fifteen

Isla ambled up to Amala's dorm room with a lightness in her step. The clock had just struck noon when Isla arrived in front of the familiar door. She followed her usual pattern, rapping on the door with a sequence of taps: "Rub, Dup, Rub, Rub, Dup." To her surprise, the door swung open, revealing Amala's roommate, Ronnie. Peering into the room, Isla inquired, "Is Amala around?" Ronnie shook her head, responding, "No, I haven't seen her since this morning. I thought she was with you."

Isla hurried into the bustling dining hall, scanning the crowd for any sign of her friend Amala. As she moved through the packed room, she looked from table to table. Isla's heart raced as she tried to call Amala, but the call wouldn't connect. She quickly approached her friends, asking them to help look for Amala. They split up and searched every part of the school, checking the classrooms, the library, the basketball court, and even the school's hidden spots where they used to hang out. As they searched the school grounds, their worry for Amala grew with each passing moment.

Isla hurried over to Ms. Resili and poured out the whole story. Ms. Resili gave Isla her undivided attention, her brows furrowing with growing worry as Isla described Amala's sudden vanishing. Without a moment's hesitation, Ms. Resili leaped into action. "We should head to the museum," Ms. Resili declared firmly. "Isla, Zephyr, we must move quickly."

Isla hurried into the grand museum entrance, her heart racing with concern, and quickly approached the reception desk. "Excuse me," she said to the attentive receptionist, her voice quivering with urgency, "My friend, Amala, arrived here early this morning, but we cannot  find her. Have you seen her?" The receptionist's expression shifted to one of concern as she listened to Isla's distress. She immediately summoned the security team and other museum staff, who sprang into action, meticulously examining the visitor logs in a frantic attempt to locate Amala.

The security team retraced Amala's every move, scouring every nook and cranny of the museum in search of any potential clues that might help shed light on her mysterious disappearance. Their focus shifted to the museum's surveillance cameras strategically placed throughout the building. With unwavering attention, they meticulously reviewed the surveillance footage, noting Amala's movements as she made her way to what appeared to be the lost and found section. They observed her following someone towards a secluded museum area.

The security team leader acted quickly, reaching for the communication device and dialling the number for the research team leader. With a sense of urgency, he relayed the crucial information about Amala's accidental entry into the highly secure chamber where the secret research project was being conducted. Meanwhile, as the research team began inspecting the equipment within the chamber, a feeling of dread washed over them as they made a startling discovery: the capsule, The automatic take off to Planet Kahani was schedule for today morning one of the researchers said.

As Isla received the devastating news that Amala had been transported her world shattered into a million pieces. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably as she struggled to comprehend the gravity of the situation. The realization that her dear friend might be in danger, possibly taken to an unknown location, hit Isla like a tidal wave of despair. The thought of Amala being separated from them, thrust into uncertainty, was almost too much to bear. Every memory of their time together flashed through Isla's mind, making the situation even more heartbreaking.

Amala found herself drifting into a peaceful slumber inside the snug capsule, the only haven in the unforgiving cold night of the alien planet. The weak sunlight filtered through the window, painting the peculiar landscape in a soft, ethereal glow. The rocky terrain outside seemed to come alive in the subdued light, creating an otherworldly scene that captivated her as she drifted off to sleep.

Amala woke up in the capsule, disoriented from her long sleep. She was relieved to see Karina and the Rover back at the base. Without wasting a moment, she approached Karina and urgently asked, "Can I send a message back to Iris to let my friends know I'm okay? They must be worried about me." Karina tried to send the message several times, but an annoying error kept popping up in the system. Frustrated, Karina rebooted one of the rovers to troubleshoot the issue. They reviewed the footage from the Rover, and the time displayed was 21 June 2057. Amala was taken aback and asked, "Isn't the time wrong? How can it be 2057 when it was just 2053 yesterday?" Karina patiently explained that the displayed time was based on Iris's clock.

Amala found herself in a state of total bewilderment. "I'm really struggling to understand this, Karina. Because of the gravitational difference, one day here is like 5 years on Iris. So, does that mean that when I return to Iris, my friends will be 15 years older than me?" she inquired. Karina responded with a solemn nod, "Yes, but you will still be 13 years old."