Chapter 5: The morning of the missing

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Hutu had been nervous that day, as he had waited for the children at the park on Westmere Point. It had been many years since the tree deva had intentionally interacted with humans. As the Guardian of the Way, he used to meet with their kind all the time, but the doors had been unused for many years now. He rolled back and forth on his bristled feet, until impatience overcame him, and he went looking for the children.

Hutu expanded his senses, down through the roots of the Pohutukawa tree next to him, into the earth. He reached out and merged with the consciousness of all the Pohutukawa trees in the area, until he sensed the type of energies he sought. Focused on the location, Hutu moved his consciousness into the closest tree, up its trunk and into the overhanging branches. He looked out through the surfaces of the leaves, to ascertain if the movement belonged to the children he was expecting.

A child's battery operated car, with an open top, was driving along the concrete footpath heading towards his reserve. The children in it matched the descriptions of Ezzy and Marcus that Rehua had given him. He listened to their voices chattering in the darkness, and transferred his consciousness along the trees in the street, as the car went by.

Suburban family homes lined the street they drove down, all surrounded by well tended gardens behind white fences and sliding gates. The air was a little cool and Hutu could see, as they passed under the streetlights, that it had nipped their noses, turning them red.

"So what should our mission be?" the boy Marcus whispered.

"I've got a good one." The girl Ezzy whispered back. "Reports have been received that UFO's have landed in this area." She paused and looked at the sky above. "We have been posted to the Westmere Reserve, to observe if there is any extra–terrestrial activity, or unusual signs that might alert us to their true purpose in Westmere." She frowned a little and looked with all seriousness at her companion in the car next to her. "You may have noticed these new shoes on my feet?"

The boy nodded.

"These were taken from one of their kind, and I believe, they may lead us to a hoard of gold. Our research tells us that the Aliens come here to acquire gold, which they use as fuel to run their ships. These shoes will lead us to it."

The boy seemed satisfied with her reply. Hutu however was not. She did not mention an angel, Angela or Hutu at all. As far as he knew the shoes were a gift from Angela. A useful way for him to recognize the right children, just in case others had ventured out that morning. There had definitely been no 'star people' in the area that week. He would have known. He made a mental note to check the star grid entry memories after he had met with the children.

The boy seemed happy to go looking for extra terrestrials and gold. He must be a brave one of his species. In Hutu's experience, humans were usually terrified at any encounter, to the point of paralysis.

The slippers on the girl's feet were silver, but radiated a yellow energy, and appeared to be humming. Her hair was standing up and out from her head, like electricity was going through it. His eyes were drawn back to her feet. The slippers are so pretty. He looked down at his bristled rollers. Pity they aren't red. He tried to distract himself from the allure of the shoes, as he was a compulsive collector of things. I really need three shoes not two, he reminded himself.

The car slowed down as they came closer to the reserve. Hutu retracted his consciousness and pulled it back into the form he used to interact in the third dimension. The Westmere Park reserve a small, corner section of the peninsula that rose into a hill. From the top there was a fence line, and looking down you could see the small beach, rocks and mudflats below. The path at the bottom led to the mudflats, or the sea, depending on the tides. There were only a few large trees in the reserve itself - a Willow, an Oak and a Pohutukawa tree. The rest was grass edged with native flax and bushes. Beyond the fenced edge of the reserve, many Pohutukawa trees, large and ancient, lined the cliff, growing up out of it, hanging daringly over the seabed.

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