Eye on Orion (8 page)

We sat on the quilt for a few minutes, talking about nothing in particular. I was dying to ask them questions. Determined to show them I was trustworthy and they could tell me anything, I waited but feared I was going to have to be especially observant.

The sky wasn't completely dark yet. Only a couple dozen of the brightest stars were out. Soon, the deepening blue of the evening began darkening to near black.

“Watch this,” I whispered, leaning back on my hands. “I love how quickly day turns to night. Sometimes I almost feel like I could keep up with counting the stars, and then all of a sudden the sky is filled.”

We waited for about five minutes, watching the sky get darker and darker. Soon there was no blue left in it. Millions of stars blinked as they woke up for the night.

“Oh, there's one.” I pointed out a shooting star. “If we are seeing them already, this should be a great night for meteors.” I leaned over to Amira and squeezed her hand.

“This is fun.” Amira turned to me. “Thank you for inviting me. I have never been interested in the stars before, only learning what I must, but after Jai told me some of those stories about the stars the other night, I could not wait to come.”

I looked over at Jai, who was looking at Amira, and was caught off-guard at the expression on his face. For a moment I thought I saw tenderness there. Then he said, “You should tell her some of what you told me.”

We lay down and wiggled into position until the tops of our heads touched. When we could all see the same area, and they could tell where I pointed, I showed Amira the same constellations I'd shown Jai before. Amira seemed especially offended by the thought that King Cepheus had chained his daughter Andromeda to the rock as a sacrifice to the whale.

“What kind of king would do that to his daughter?” she demanded, as she slapped her hand down onto the blanket.

“It's all myth and legend, I think. It never really happened.” Her anger surprised me.

“But still, that kind of king would not be fit to rule.” She crossed her arms over her chest and looked toward a different section of the sky as if ignoring King Cepheus.

I glanced at Jai for an explanation. He shrugged and shook his head. “Tell us a new story.”

I looked around again for a moment to get my constellations straight in my mind and then pointed out the shiniest star high above us.

“See that bright star there. You can find it for sure by looking at the tip of the Big Dipper's handle and kind of following it in a slight curve. The brightest one is Arcturus. It is about twenty-five times bigger than our sun and one of the closest stars to us. Grandpa told me it was only like forty light years away. If you follow it around, you can see a triangle body and then kind of a lopsided head with a pointy hat and then a pipe. That is the herdsman. He just smokes his pipe and herds the stars through the sky.” I glanced back at Jai to see him looking where I'd pointed.

“Behind him in a curve is the Northern Crown. It looks like a tiara,” I added.

Amira looked when I said crown and calmly asked, “Where is it?”

I pointed out a few more stars and constellations, then we started seeing lots of meteors. We each straightened out so our heads no longer touched and got comfortable with our blankets. I tried to count them, but they started coming so fast and frequently that I stopped and just enjoyed the show. It was way better than I'd hoped for.

Occasionally an “Ooh,” or an “Ahh” would escape me, but I became so engrossed in watching the meteors that I didn't pay attention to Amira or Jai for a while. I looked over at Amira first and noticed she'd rolled onto her side and was asleep.

I turned my head to the other side. Jai was looking at me with his head propped up on his arm. I smiled at him and nodded my head toward Amira.

“She's out,” I whispered.

“Yes, she falls asleep anywhere. I do not know how she does it.”

“What do you think so far?” I looked back at the stars.

“I have been watching one of the loveliest sights I have ever seen,” he said quietly.

“Isn't the sky amazing?” I tried to sort through what he'd said and what I thought he meant. “I could watch it for hours and never get bored. Does that seem crazy?” I glanced at him.

“No.” He propped himself up onto his elbow to look down at me. “Not crazy, but not something I thought people did a lot of either. What is it about the stars and the sky you love?”

I looked into his eyes for a moment while thinking about his question. “Hmm, I think it's because it's so amazingly big.” I tore my eyes away from his and reluctantly looked back at the stars. “The closest neighbor we have out there is the moon, and the planets of course, but it takes days to get to the moon with our fastest rockets. The planets out there would take months or years. The stars we can see would take us hundreds or thousands of years to get to. The sky has lots out there we don't know anything about, but it hasn't changed much. The ancient Greeks and Romans looked at the same stars and made up the stories we tell today.”

When I finally dared to look back in his eyes, I was surprised at his serious expression. He really didn't think I was crazy for my thoughts.

“Do you think there could be life out there somewhere on other planets?” he asked quietly.

“I do.” I rolled onto my side and propped myself up with my elbow to see him better.

“Intelligent?”

“Yes.”

“Green?” he asked.

“No.” I smiled.

“Really? What makes you think there are others out there?”

“Why not?” I shrugged with one shoulder. “Why would God stop here? Why not make more? And besides the fact we humans can be pretty terrible to each other sometimes, I don't think He would have scrapped this model completely when building those other worlds.”

“Hmm, I never thought of it that way. What if this world was patterned after a different world and was not the first?” he asked.

“I guess that could be the way it happened. It makes sense. What about you? Do you think there is life out there on other planets?” I asked.

“I do.”

“Green?” I asked.

“No. And I am sure they are intelligent,” he said with a small smile.

“And what makes you think so?” I asked, returning the smile.

He rolled onto his back and looked at the sky. “Because with so much space, there has to be something else like Earth somewhere. It is just too far away. You would never find it unless you knew where to look.”

“I wish I knew where to look.” I lowered myself onto my side and rested my head on my arm extended straight on the blanket. “The discovery of other worlds out there would be fantastic.”

“It would be,” he agreed, turning to face me again.

We looked at each other. I couldn't see him very clearly because it was dark, our only light coming from the stars and the lantern hiding behind the tire, but he seemed to be searching my eyes for something. I didn't know exactly what he was looking for, but I hoped he wouldn't find my falling for him in there too easily. Not until I knew how he felt.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw some meteors streaking across the sky, but my eyes never left his. He was so close. The warmth of his breath on my cool cheeks felt amazing.

I'd never kissed a guy before, but I wanted to. How on earth do you go about letting a guy know your interest or gauge his? The biggest relationship I'd been in was in seventh grade and it lasted less than two weeks. Now here I lay, next to someone I'd known for a week, and already I wanted to kiss him. As he watched me, I struggled to find something to say, hoping to sound mature and interesting, but nothing came to mind. At least he looked like he was struggling for words too.

He looked at my hand and reached for it. “I'm glad your burn is better,” he whispered.

“Thanks.”

“No, thank you. You are unbelievably good to us.”

He didn't let go of my hand and I felt a sudden tingle in my stomach. We intertwined our fingers and looked at each other.

Just then a terrified scream shattered our silence.

The Truth

Jai dropped my hand and shot off the blanket and around to the other side. He grabbed Amira as she continued to scream before I even had time to sit up straight. I looked around to see what could have caused her such terror, but saw nothing unusual. Amira started speaking, but her words were foreign to me. Jai placed his hands on her mouth and looked at me quickly before turning his attention back to Amira.

“Hush. Hush,” Jai said quietly as if soothing a child. He held her in his arms, rocking her back and forth. She started to calm down a bit but burst into tears again and sobbed against his chest.

“It is okay.” He continued to rock her. “Just a bad dream. You are safe here.”

“I will never be safe anywhere. He will come for me,” she said through her sobs.

“Shh.” Jai tried to cover her mouth again, but she shook her head, dislodging his hand.

“He won't stop.”

“He will never find us,” he said, rubbing her back.

“But Shander's been taking over the kingdom.” Amira shook her head. “He knows we are not on those planets they sent the ships to. He demanded to know where we went. He threatened to kill their families if they refuse him.” She started crying again.

Jai looked over Amira's head at me as if wondering what to do, but asked, “Was it a nightmare, or a Vision?”

“A Vision.” She wiped her tears with her jacket sleeve. “I had been dreaming of that awful king chaining his daughter to the rock to sacrifice her to the whale. That was a stupid dream. All mixed with images of the stars and real people and whales, but then it shifted. I could feel the cold my father feels. He is in a dark prison cell, and they are feeding him nothing more than broth and pillian.” She paused and shuddered.

“Shander sat on my father's throne. I did not recognize the people surrounding him, but he gave orders. Then it shifted again to the Hall of Science, and he demanded the head scientist find a way for him to find us.” She choked back a sob. “He had just ordered one of his soldiers to…” Amira shook her head.

I sat there stunned, watching Jai hold her as she cried. She's having visions? Did she say she's from another planet? I must have heard wrong. I studied Jai closer. He appeared distracted as he tried to calm her again. Like he was making plans. He lifted his head and saw me staring at them. The shock on his face was obvious.

I met his eyes and waited. I would not rush them, but I would find out everything. I already knew so many secrets. I wanted the rest of it.

After a while, Amira's sobs turned to sniffles, and she sat up straight. Jai let go of her, and she gracefully slid off his lap. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Looking at me, her eyes flew open wide, and she whipped her head back to Jai. “I gave us away?” she asked.

“Yes, you did.” He nodded.

“Why didn't you stop me?”

Jai stared at her. “I tried. You wouldn't listen.”

Amira ducked her head as if ashamed, then lifted her head and looked at me. She brushed her hair away from her face then wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and straightened her jacket. “Well, perhaps we should fill Holly in on all the details.”

I looked between the two of them, hoping they wouldn't suddenly change their minds.

Amira took a deep breath and let it out slowly through pursed lips. “Holly, allow me to introduce my personal bodyguard while here. Jai-M'ien Tennen. He is my mother's brother's son, my cousin and my friend.”

I looked at Jai, and he lowered his gaze for a moment, hunching his shoulders as he sighed. Jai straightened up slowly. “I am sorry you are involved in this. There is danger in knowing of us. I should have been more careful. I have forgotten my duties and have made many mistakes, but I vow to do what I can to prevent any harm or distress from befalling you.”

I felt my mouth drop open and shut it. I had no idea what to say.

“Jai,” Amira said softly, resting her hand on his arm. “You are not allowed to take this on yourself. I ordered you to ease up and allow me some freedoms here.” She paused, looking at me thoughtfully. “There is something special about Holly that makes us feel comfortable around her.”

I looked at the two of them as they regarded me calmly. “So let me get this straight,” I said, hoping they'd stop staring at me. “Your father ruled a kingdom? Are you a princess?” It wasn't really a question; I just wanted her to admit it.

“I am Princess Amira Chan'Leeter Oreon. Next in line to rule my father's kingdom.” Amira sat up straight as if the title were forcing her to change.

“Where is your father's kingdom?” I asked. “It can't be close.” My heart pounded as I thought of her comment about other planets. It was impossible, but I still wished desperately it was true.

Jai moved in front of me, our knees touching. He reached for my hand then stopped and placed his hands in his lap instead. “What we are going to tell you may be hard to believe. I know you are intelligent, and you are also trusting and trustworthy, so please listen to all we tell you and ask any questions you have of us while we are here. Once we leave this mountain, we must never speak of it aloud again.” He stared in my eyes as if trying to read my intentions.

I nodded my understanding.

“We are not from here,” he said, picking up my hand. My heart stopped for a moment at his words and then a second longer at his touch. “You would not be able to see our home even with the most powerful telescopes they have on Earth. You may be able to see light coming from our galaxy, but you could never find our planet in it with your technology. Our galaxy is on one side of the universe, while yours is on the other side. I did some research on the Internet when we first got here. Thus far, your scientists have discovered little about the universe.”