What if the Earth was the other way...?

8. Adversus sapiens

Tony

Meeting a Homo sapiens was really an exciting event. Seeing Nathalia closely and interacting with her, only made me wonder where the boy was and how he was coping in Kliptora. 

Nathalia was energetic. She always used her hands when she talked. She would use her face to convey what she wants to say. She was really easy to talk to, although sometimes it was hard for her to stop talking. 

Tina had talked with researchers and they had assured that the boy and Nathalia were of the same species and Professor Sundae had mentioned their vehicles were similar. 

Nathalia was really a curious girl. She was excited to hear about Kliptora but the gleam of curiosity in her eyes was lost when she talked about Earth. She mentioned, she hated the chunk balls and how Earth had a rich palette of food. She was more excited to talk about Earth food than any other thing on Earth.

Tina had arranged a small facility for all three of us to spend our night in. It was one room inside the facility. There were three beds, all stacked up in a row. There was a desk and a chair facing a window and the window was covered with a white curtain. There was a washroom at the right-hand side of the room. The beds, we're covered with white bedspread.  

I settled down on a bed, and Tina rushed into the washroom. Nathalia walked towards the window and moved the curtains, revealing a lonely street with Helo shining brightly. She looked confused.

I walked towards her. She gave me a glance and then stared back through the window.

 " Your star is at its height now and you are calling it a night!" She questioned.

"We are nocturnal beings. Our eyes are not accustomed to bright light, so we stay indoors."

"I see."

"Get some sleep, we will be travelling back to Edbranch early the next day."

"Umm... Tony... will you tell me how the time system here is?"

"Gladly. I will put it in the form of a daily routine for a better grasp."

She nodded.

" Okay, our day begins exactly at the 0th hour when Helo completely sets. Almost every institution and business start in about the 3rd hour. Lunchtime marks the noon break and it is the 6th hour. At about the 13th hour, Helo rises and Zooie and Toriah set. That's the time every institution closes but some could be working. Then in the 16th hour, Helo shines so brightly as it is above our heads and at that part of the day Kliptorans are seen rarely outside. And about the 17th-hour, Kliptora is sound asleep.  I forgot to mention, there are 24 time zones in Kliptora although we use only 8 of them." I ended. 

Nathalia was calculating. Then after a few moments, she grinned.

"Okay done. And just so you know, if you were to visit earth, my friend, we would classify you as 'Adversus sapiens'. "

"What did you mean?"

"You would be called " Opposite beings!" Her grin was wider.

I felt offended.

"Um... I'm sorry. Didn't mean to offend you." She felt guilty all of a sudden.

I looked at her for some time and then walked towards my bed.

She didn't say anything after that. She just followed suit and headed for a bed and lay there.

The next morning, I was surprised to see her wide awake.