CHAPTER
3
“We’re what?” Fiddle now had a very
intense look on his face. “Princess, we’re night risers. Your upbringing tells
me you consider yourself human, but you’re not.” I went blank. Fiddle
continued. “Don’t worry, you’re not a vampire, or ghost, or werewolf! You’re similar
to humans, but you’re not exactly from the Homo sapiens species. We’re aliens…”
I was pretty sure that Fiddle was
kidding, but the look on his face said otherwise. This was too much. Was he
denying me being human? That was… Ridiculous… “This is impossible” I spat.
“See princess, a long time ago,
about 60 years back, me and my wife, we were bought here from Prisma. Prisma,
our home planet. A spaceship was sent to our planet, from earth. A young man,
Pikshtra, was the one who landed. At first, communication was difficult. He
only knew English, and we only knew Pris; Pris is our mothertongue. But
somehow, he managed to communicate with my parents. My parents, the king and
queen of Prisma. We didn’t have democracy there. It was a small place with less
than 1000 population. I was from the royal family, I was the prince. I got
married to Fiona when I was ten. Child marriages were common. We had enjoyed
about seven years of a well-settled happy life. Well, now Pikshtra somehow
convinced my parents to learn the world of each other. He wished to leave two
of his men in Prisma, and take me and my wife along with him. My parents
denied. That was when he used explosives and kidnapped us. I wasn’t even given
a last chance to say goodbye to my parents.”
“I think I should be leaving sir”,
I stood up and said. I think old age was getting to this man. It was all like a
fictional story. I had never believed in fairy tales, or in ghost stories. And
now he was telling me I was a part of something I never even believed. This…
this was absurd. I was about to leave
when Fiddle started singing,
Moon oh dear moon, the stars shining so
bright
Oh night, you are so beautiful, can’t have
you out of sight
Help me find the answers to all the
questions that lay ahead
Night oh beautiful night, stars start your
parade, talk to my heart
And help me find the answers to all the questions that lay ahead
How on earth did he know this song?
This was my song. I’d been singing this right from the start. I stared at him,
astonished.
This is our local anthem. It’s not
just a song that you know. It is a lock that opens many doors for you. It is
divine. It is something that every night riser knows right from his/her birth.
I sat down. Whether or not I
believed him, I decided I wanted to know the whole story. Fiddle continued like
there was no interruption.
“When Pikshtra kidnapped us, he
didn’t notice Evan hiding in the spaceship. Evan was my Stor. Stor is similar to a personal servant, assistant or helper.
Evan and I were good friends as well. He had always not only done his duty
faithfully but had also been there for me, all the time. When we were brought
here, we were taught English. We were tortured to obey them. Pikshtra liked
Evan’s presence. Now he had three people to experiment with. Pikshtra forced us
through many tests. Our blood samples were forcibly taken, patches of our skin
were harshly removed, bunches of our hair were uprooted. We were given many
kinds of electric shocks to test our resistance. We almost faced death for
Pikshtra’s secret experiment. We were already aggressive, and this only added
fuel to the fire. Pikshtra knew about the connection.
One day, we realized that Fiona was
pregnant. I felt so miserable. We awaiting this day so badly in Prisma, and
when it finally arrived, we were in no position to handle the situation
appropriately. We decided to make a plan. We used as much as strength as we
had. We ran away at the first chance that we got. Pikshtra got hold of me, but
luckily, Fiona managed to escape. So did Evan. After three more years of
torture, I couldn’t even stand straight. Pikshtra thought I was dead, and left
me then and there to find the others. I somehow gathered myself, and decided to
find my Fiona and Evan. None of us could stand the heat. So I waited for the
night. I got to them alright through the connection, but so did Pikshtra. He had three others with him.
We fought belligerently
that night. Evan sacrificed himself in order to
save me, Fiona and Frosty, my son. I still can’t forget that day. I had
committed a murder. A murder of a monster, Pikshtra, but a murder nevertheless.
After searching for years, we found the team who invented the spaceship which
could take us to our homeland. But Pikshtra’s mission was a secret. Nobody
believed that we were from Prisma since we appeared and talked like all the
humans. And going back to Prisma was impossible anyways. The spaceship no
longer existed. We decided to stay on earth. My knowledge about the outer space
and interest made me a renowned astronaut and geologist. The sun was never a
problem in my job. We felt tired during the day, but could survive the sun as the
days passed. We spent most of the day sleeping. We thought this was our happy
ending. Frosty fell in love with a human. He had two beautiful daughters.
Two days since they were born, we
were attacked. It was those three men who accompanied Pikshtra the day he found
us. My son was murdered in front of my eyes. I helped Fiona and my daughter in
law escape. So did I. But under the given circumstances, the three of us got
separated. A few days later I got the news of my daughter in law being dead. I
thought my grandchildren were dead too. I could feel Fiona alive, but even the
connection didn’t help.
The connection now is randomly
active. It told me about my granddaughters being alive. Somewhere far away from
me. I came to this country and here you are, in front of my eyes. I’ve waited
many years to see you Lunette. It was me who named you Lunette. The people you
live with, are very kind. They’ve adopted you. A source told me that your
mother left you outside their house with a letter. I don’t know what was
written in the letter, but I can see that she mentioned your name.”
I couldn’t let the conversation
die. I asked him “What’s the connection you keep talking about?” in a blank
tone. My brain wasn’t ready for reactions or expressions yet. “There were four
of us from Prisma. Me, Fiona, Evan and our son. The four of us could read each
other’s minds, when the moon was up in the sky. This is called the connection.
It helped us stay in touch. Pikshtra’s intended to implant this connection in
human’s too, but never succeeded. The connection has weakened with time. I
haven’t been able to contact Fiona all these years. I wish I knew where she is.
Tell me, haven’t you ever felt the connection at any point Lunette?”
I did. On the day of the incident
which Marsella had covered up with a lie. “Be careful princess, Pikshtra’s men
know me. They have been after me since a long time. I don’t think they know
about you, but if they do, you’ll be in trouble. Take care of yourself, don’t
wander off alone. Keep close to whom you trust.” Out of the thousand other
questions that stirred in my mind, I was surprised that the one I asked was
“Who is my sister Fiddle? Is she alive?” Fiddle was already in tears. He wiped
some of them with his hand and replied, “Marsella”…
