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.

"Hey morning." She greeted me.

I smiled at her and Tina entered with three glasses of hot tea. I took mine as Tina said, "Ready?"

"Yes," I said.

"Thank you. What's this?" She asked looking into the cup like it is poison.

"Hot tea." Time confirmed.

She sipped the hot liquid cautiously and then let out a sigh.

"This is tea on Earth too. You guys are so similar to us. If you didn't tell me more about Kliptora, I would have really thought I was on Earth itself."

"Good to know," Tina said as she sits down and drinks her tea.

I too finish my tea and then Tina leads our small group to port L-55, where we take a wagon to Edbranch.

As we arrived Edbranch, Nathalia sprinted around. She took a small round taking in the view. She was squinting a little. She mentioned that humans were not accustomed to the dark and their eyesight was not sharp at night. 

We took a mobile to the headquarters. Nathalia was sprinting and I really wanted to pull her towards me with something like a rope, so she doesn't go further from us. She took in her surroundings, again taking a slow circle around, looking around with awe in her dark brown eyes.

"This looks like a police station. I was expecting something like a huge marble hall, with an electronic throne and lots of people in rows just standing on either side." She whispered to me and Tina. 

I nod. Tina also nodded.

She was expecting a reply back, but I didn't understand a word she said. I had to acknowledge her. So, I once again nod. To that, she did something with her eyes that looked like she was drawing a circle shape with her eyes and her shoulders went up to her neck in a fast wholesome movement. We walked into Switch's office room. Switch was waiting for us and he was delighted to meet Nathalia. 

Nathalia whispered to me, " That dude looks a lot like an underworld don guy from the movies." 

I raise an eyebrow.

"Sorry. Forgot you were an alien, I mean Kliptoran." Nathalia apologised.

Sometimes, Nathalia doesn't make sense at all.

Switch was sitting down on his chair. He motioned us to sit down. Nathalia sat down first and I followed. Tina just stood behind me.

" Tina mentioned Nathalia can speak gamea. Let her stay with you, Tony. Likewise, you can teach her our lifestyle, more facts about Kliptora and also I will grant permission for her to visit each and every continent. "

At the last remark, Nathalia beamed.

"Sir," I replied.

"Tina, thank you. You may now return to your camp."

"Sir, " with that, Tina walked away without a glance back.

"Nathalia, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, sir?" She said Smiling and shaking his hands.

After chit chatting for some time, lunch was served. We had carrot and broccoli baked and served with the 'Edbranch dressing.' The sour taste of the dressing is so Edbranch. I am so happy to taste it again. The first time I tasted this was when Professor Sundae brought a little towards me when he came back from his visit to Edbranch.

But Nathalia clearly was not enjoying hers. She stared at the plate like the plate would swallow her if she stopped staring at it. She was eating less and I must remark, she uses all her facial muscles to nimble on her spoon!

After lunch, I walked towards the exit of the main building, looking at Zooie delighting the sky.

"So, this is Kliptora," Nathalia whispered.

"Yes," I whisper back.

"I am excited to travel around Kliptora. I mean this place is so awesome. Look at the streets, the sky. I really love it here." She beamed looking around and I saw a glimmer of curiosity in her eyes.

Earthlings really are fascinating. Their faces express a lot more than any words could put forward.

Kliptorans do not express emotions like her. We use very few words when we convey something. I wonder if all the Earthlings are like her. I wonder where the boy is now. Should I tell her about him? 

No. 

Maybe she will find out soon. For now, let her just enjoy the grand tour around Kliptora.