Watcher - Short story F.A. Ludwig
With a sigh, Jennipher Black Fox lowered her glasses, carefully setting the binoculars back down on the coffee table in front of her before reaching over to turn the recorder on.
“10:20 hours, observed female subject exit house via rear door and enter garden with small basket. Subject then began to harvest fruits and other crops. 11:10 hours, subject returned to house via same door.”
“Subject observed wearing shorts, white in color, halter-top, light blue, with brown sandals. Hair braided down back. Weather is clear, little cloud cover, bright sunlight. No further observations this report,” she said into the microphone, trying to keep boredom from reflecting in her voice while gazing across the way to the structure that sat there among the trees.
“Excuse me, but I find it difficult to believe that you’ve had people sitting here for the last thirty years watching this go on day after day,” Jenni said, turning her head over towards Sasahara.
“Yes, since before we were even born Jen, back in the early ‘70’s,” Sasahara said from his position in the kitchen doorway.
“Oh, sorry. May I call you that? We’re going to be here together for quite some time, I meant to introduce myself properly before, when you arrived this morning but I must admit cute girls make me shy.”
“I have never met an American Indian before, and calling you by your last name is so formal to some, I’ve heard,” he added, giving her a little grin as he emerged from around the doorframe.
“Nice opening manner you have there, and it’s “Jenni”. What do I call you?” she asked, looking him over, “besides cook?”
“I’ll have lunch done here in a sec,” Sasahara said, sticking his head back out again, “I was outside taking a walk when you arrived, I was glad to see that you got my note and have jumped right into your work.”
“Let me start off first, I am Lee Sasahara, I was born here in Japan, graduated 3rd in my class at MIT three years ago. My major was quantum physics.”
“My parents wanted American name but I answer to just about anything,” he said walking into the living room to set her lunch down on the table.
Selecting a folder on the table in front of him, he slid it down next to her plate, “Read that for later, Jenni-san. It’ll take some of the boredom out of our job here.”
“I’ve been here almost two years now, it was just us guys until you showed up. Paul, the one who’s place you took, sort of got lonely and went walkabout. So that’s part of why you’re here.”
“I guess things have been disorganized back home lately, but you can blame me for the rest,” Lee added, looking a little uncomfortable as he returned to place a soda down in front of her.
“You didn’t mention apparent age of subject in your report,” he noted.
Picking up the mike, Jenni thumbed it on, “Additional comment, female subject seems to be fifteen to sixteen years of age, end of report.”
“There, happy?” she asked, reaching over for her drink, taking a deep swallow as she keep her eyes on him.
“I see you didn’t get the full briefing, did you, Jenni-san,” Sasahara said, sitting down beside her to take up the glasses, taking another look across the distance to the dwelling.
“I got sent here straight from home. What’s the deal with her age?” Jenni asked, picking up her plate with a nod of thanks towards him.
“Looks like your everyday average sweet looking Japanese teenager to me, I’ve seen pictures of them before, somewhere,” she added, before taking a bite of her sandwich.
“She’s in her late fifty’s,” Lee said, quietly, watching Jenni’s face with interest as she dealt with chewing and expressing her surprise at the same time.
“I see,” Jenni finally said, clearing her throat and finding her voice, “Your agency hired me to learn her makeup secrets?”
“Lee, I’m a twenty year old Cherokee from the Cherokee Nation, that’s Indian territory in Oklahoma, with a love of history and ancient cultures. My parents specialized in dissimilar cultures, anthropology, not DNA testing for the aged. Last month I thought I had a grant to study with the Sioux, this week it was supposed to be Japanese anthropomorphism. What’s up?” Jenni asked, her voice showing her opinion of her situation.
“Jenni, I’ve heard of what happened to Custer, please, I’m Japanese. I’m not even related to him. Listen, I read an article on your work, you study aliens. I like the way you think, your insights are surprising,” Lee said, holding a hand, “I have the magazine article around here somewhere, something on your parents work abroad, how they took you everywhere with them from dig to dig. One place in the world to another.”
“It was so very interesting, Jenni. I picked up the magazine one night a couple weeks ago and read the story of you and you parents, not sure why, bored maybe and when I woke up the next morning I had this notion to get you here. I can’t explain it further, other than to say the feeling faded as soon as I saw you had arrived this morning.”
“Actually, I had to ask for you a couple of times,” he added, looking at her with a sincere plea in his eyes. “Give it a few days, I can’t explain everything, but you’re needed here.”
“Relax, Lee. We’re not on the warpath these days, as far as I know, and that wasn’t us Cherokee’s,” Jeni let out with a sigh, “It took a long time to get here and it’s just jet lag. I’m sorry if I came off a bit touchy. My parents and I studied alien earth cultures, not UFO aliens, and their impacts on indigenous tribes. I haven’t got a clue on girls who don’t want to age for you.”
“It was mostly my parents work anyway, this isn’t my area,” Jenni said, a little exasperation showing in her voice. “I’m not one you want to lead an expedition searching for the fountain of youth, here in the mountains of Japan.”
“Lee, so far I don’t see much anthropomorphism going on here.”
“Yeah, well, you’re the one I need, Jenni. Sorry for this confusion you’re dealing with right now,” Lee said, lifting the folder and pushing it her way. “Nothing more is going to happen out there today, so chill out a little and take some time to read this,” poking the folder, “Then let’s consult again. Okay?”
“Her father is dying, and soon I think, we’re going to have to help her deal with that. You’re here because I believe she wants you here, and I don’t know what’s going to happen to her down the road.”
“The pantry is full, help yourself, it’s all just for us. There’s popcorn, cold beer and a movie at eight.”
Coming down the stairs and entering the kitchen for breakfast, Jenni tossed the folder down on the kitchen table, still tying to get her hair braid wrappings set.
“Morning, you read it?” Lee asked, turning away from the stove to just a moment. “Such long hair, very beautiful.”
“I skimmed over it,” Jenni said, giving him a smile at the comment, “Tossed and turned most of the night, I couldn’t keep the image of her out of my mind.”
“This reads like something out a bad movie for late night or something. Who wrote this stuff? UFOs? Time warps? Alien life forms? It’s all like something out of a cheap paperback, and why don’t I have a lock on my bedroom door?”
“Jenni, it was written over 50 years ago, okay? These things weren’t like we see them today; it was a real threat in those days. National security was rampant and everyone had radical ideas. Everyone thought things really did go bump in the night.”
“Nothing unusual on the doors, Jenni. No one thought ahead, so they could seek a peek of you naked. Wish I had now,” he added with grin. “It’s Japan, Jenni. The house is very old, no locks on any of the doors. You noticed they slide open and are thin; you could walk through the walls if you ready wanted to get in. They had responsibility and courtesy back then, no need for locks. You’re the only one upstairs, so go ahead and sleep naked. I have a room in the back with my own bath. We treat our women with respect here.”
“Alright,” Jenni said, sitting down at the table, “Let me suspend some believe here and go on the known facts.”
“First, someone found a car with this girl and her father in it, at the site of some suspected UFO landing one night. Right?
“Yes, about 30 miles from here, Keiko Ama, and her father Hira. She was three and he was in his twenties. Her father was a minor engineer, did lots of small projects. They were coming back from a Kendo demonstration. Apparently, he took her with him wherever he went. Her mother had died in childbirth.”
“Their car was found stalled on the side of the road in the vicinity of strange lights that had been reported to the authorities, and the American military showed up first. The interviews with the MP’s stated they thought the lights came from the car when they first arrived on scene.”
“Okay, so they found them in their car, and tested them… for what?” Jenni asked moving closer to the table as Lee began to set breakfast down before her.
“Everything, things like radiation levels. They took blood samples, hair, fingernail clippings, even clothing. Everything they could think of for the day. Remember it was the ‘50’s. It’s not like today with modern mobile labs and stuff.
“The results?” Jenni asked, taking bacon from the offered plate. “What happened to them?”
“Nothing,” Lee said in a low voice, looking thoughtful as he set the plate down, “and everything, I guess. It goes in both directions from there.”
“Well, my side wants to know about the tests, what did they indicate. There’s nothing in that report on them,” Jenni said, nodding over towards the folder on the table next to her.
“I know, everything was perfectly normal, I mean everything from what I’ve been able to find out. No signs of distress when they awoke, no marks, bruises or indications of external trauma. They simply woke up and couldn’t recall anything. They were just driving home like ordinary folks. The samples were ordered destroyed later.”
“Okay, how did we end up watching them for the next 40 plus years then?” Jenni asked with a slightly incredulous tone to her voice. “What happened, did they grow horns or something?”
“Someone in charge wasn’t happy with the results, paranoia, suspicion… whatever. Maybe it kept someone in a job, so we followed them for a while, on and off. Just minor checks. It was soon noted that the family members wouldn’t keep the child overnight, his friends faded away. It seemed odd enough that surveillance was kept up for a few more years.”
“Of course, it may have been that way since her birth, the father taking total care of her. With Japanese culture being what is, we couldn’t be sure. No way to get anyone on the inside, so we watched.”
“The father quit his job after about two years after the incident, had a large open spaced room built, used a lot of heavy wooden beams and open framing, most unusual for the time. It doubled the size of the house all by its self, being some 30 feet in size. It was just one story tall. Then it’s like he got in contact with Buckminster Fuller and added to it. When it was finished, he had a fully enclosed twenty-foot sphere built on top of the new room. After that, he worked from the house.”
“His room is on the other side of the house, I have pictures out in the other room you can look at. It was well designed. It’s either very Japanese, or it’s from a design he got from out there somewhere. You wouldn’t know from looking that’s all one room.”
“There’s one door that leads to the kitchen side of the home, no windows. It looks like it’s attached to the original home, but it isn’t, it’s a freestanding structure. There’s a covered walkway blocking direct viewing of the door.”
“The other thing in his life besides his daughter is his Kendo, his sword practices and demonstrations. Other than going to them they stayed home, or around the village after that. He has several acres of orchards on the far side; most of the crops go to the villagers. They keep the rest for themselves, she tends to that now.”
“The Kendo, was he any good?” Jenni asked, trying to follow the family history as she ate.
“Oh, very good, he was watched of course… followed around. A three times national champion, twice international medals were awarded, a true master of the art. During his later years, he taught classes to various dojos around the country, he was considered a great teacher. Everyone expected his daughter to follow in his footsteps, but she was never seen with a sword, other than carrying his for him.”
“What happened to the car?” Jenni asked, picking up her juice.
“What do you mean,” Lee asked, “It’s the one sitting over there by the gate, they still use it.”
“Does it run on gas or does it just go?” Jenni asked with a smile.
“Oh, so you’re getting cute with the story,” Lee said, “The car was checked, it uses gas, oil, it’s just a car. He doesn’t seem to have tinkered with it so far.”
“Okay, okay. When did he stop, he must be near his seventies now,” Jenni asked, sitting back at looking at Lee.
“He stopped twice, once when she reached sixteen, the age you see her at now, at least I call it sixteen, pick one, it doesn’t really matter. There was a pause for several months, and then they resumed going out again. Always together, she never left his side, and she never went anywhere by herself outside the village. She likes to walk through it from time to time.”
“While at home, he began to put out new work over the years, At first he would redesign plans, consult on valves, automotive parts, little things to keep the income going. Later, he moved up to solid-state electronics and more complicated and diverse circuitry, then aerospace industries, lasers.”
“He became a consultant for many major companies, each paying him under the table. They used his designs and concepts; he remained unknown, except to us.”
“The Agency started sharing a little on them once he started writing on quantum mechanics, which brought me into the picture.”
“My theory is that she’s the source. Hira couldn’t go beyond college level physics on his own,” Lee said, “and I know, it doesn’t make anymore sense that I think the daughter, who never had much formal education, is instructing her father in the interdyamics of quantum energy fields and spatial relationships.”
“No friends visited, no one over from school? Did she even go to school?” Jenni asked, thinking on it as they both moved into the front room.
“Yes, she completed the minimum standards and then stayed home, she rarely spoke, everyone we talked to commented on her oddness, she caused them to feel funny inside while she was around them, that’s how they described it, so her stopping school work was not raised as an issue in the village. She’s not unknown to them locally; she and her father help them out from time to time, the villagers, that is.”
“They donated all the funds needed for the new health clinic, and a couple years ago, the recreation center. Stuff like that.”
“He was always paid in cash, so I guess it gets in his way after a while and he spends some on the village. He also bought them a fire truck, and all the radios for civil emergencies, earthquakes, that sort of thing. He even paid for the training. He’s more than just a hermit; they think he has a telescope in his dome, that he spends his time looking into space.”
“There is an odd note, even for them. She always gives a donation to the Shinto shrine, every time she walks to the village.”
“He has a younger sister that still sees him from time to time, keeps him up to date with the village. His wife is buried here.”
“And the second time he stopped?” Jenni asked.
“Just two weeks ago,” John said, looking over to her. “She’s been preparing simple meals lately, I think he’s dying. He stopping writing his papers, just as interest was starting to really pick up.”
“Seems he was conceptualizing some kind of particle-matter related energy source with some folks at Stanford and MIT, something really radical, even to me. The Agency was involved of course and they want his notes. He hasn’t been seen for a week now.”
“You ever meet him?” Jenni asked as they once again moved back in to front room where they could view the house.
“Oh sure, when his income increased, all their shopping orders were dropped off there at their home, you know, the groceries,” seeing her expression.
“I once filled in for the boy who usually did the drops from the market soon after I came here. I was able to meet both of them.”
“What were they like? Jenni asked, getting comfortable.
“Oh, he was really nice, all concerned that something had happened to his usual driver, asking if all was well, he seems to know everyone in the village. He was like everyone’s favorite uncle. I liked him right away, a real nice guy.”
“And the girl?” Jenni asked, picking up the glasses from the table.
“I can’t remember,” Lee said quietly, looking over to her, “I know how that must sound like, but try as I may, I can not recall one thing about her. Its as if she erased my memory of that day, although I can still recall him in such great detail. All that remains is the idea that I gave everything to her and she took them inside. Funny, huh?”
“She’s the reason you’re here, Jenni. Let me express it in another way, one you’re more familiar with. We’re the indigenous tribe, and I’m one of the shaman who needs your help in assessing the impact of this alien culture into our world.”
“So, what’s so alien about it?” Jenni said, sitting down on the sofa and holding up her glasses, looking up at him, “Besides his sense of architecture.”
“You tell me, Jenni-san, our world is your new dig site, and there’s your alien,” Lee said, pointing out across the way towards the home on the ridge.
“Ok, other than the garden, which I understand she tends herself, the only other activity usually during the day is checking the mail and signing for deliveries?” Jenni asked, picking up a notepad and marking down her thoughts.
“Yeah, there’s a main gate on the other side. He fenced it in when the room was added, trucks come in and drop off stuff in front of two strange looking metallic looking panels that sit side by side in the yard.”
“Paul always referred to them as obelisks, sometimes items were large, they were off loaded with a mobile crane and set there, others just stacked with a fork lift, but come morning, everything is back as it was.”
“Any idea on what he was ordering?” Jenni asked.
“We’d stop the drivers over the years and asked them, usually they didn’t know but we traced some of the invoices. It seems that some of it was prototypes of stuff he was working on, others were things he had designed and ordered built, we never knew what they all were at our end. Just that the boxes came in, they sat there overnight and come morning, they were gone. It was like he was designing something big, and everyone only made a small part for it. Something he was assembling himself.”
“If it went on for years, as you say, there must be tons of equipment in that house. That’s not possible,” Jenni said, “Even with the additional room you’ve described, it wouldn’t fit.”
“I know. I’m not supposed to explain it, I just report it. The Agency has someone else working on that part of the mystery, that was Paul’s field mostly, physics… parallel universes… that sort of thing.”
“You’re welcome to try for yourself, but you can’t walk over there while they’re away and try to peek into the house. You just end up back here. You wake up here, as if you had taken a nap or something. No memory of what happened, I tried it twice, it makes my head hurt if I think on doing it again.
“Lee, you have an advanced degree in quantum physics from MIT, so tell me, where does she put everything? Please, I want to know,” Jenni asked, setting her notepad down and looking at him with a serious look, “If I’m going to solve our part of the mystery, I need all the pieces of the puzzle that you have on hand.”
“What I think, you’ll laugh. I almost got fired when I first suggested it in a report,” Lee said, sitting down beside her with a short laugh.
“I think that little sweet looking Japanese teenager as you’ve labeled her, comes out in the middle of the night and walks up to those obelisks. She waves her hands or something and they just open up, like a portal or a doorway into another dimension. Then she just pushes everything inside and closes those doors behind her.”
“When all else is considered, Jenni-san, the simplest answer tends to be the truth.”
“I tried to watch for that one night. I walked over there, all dressed in black, silent as a mouse. I sat outside the gates where I could see the boxes,” Lee said, quietly, looking at Jenni.
“So, what did you see?” she asked
“I can’t remember, I tried several more times, I made notes to myself while I was sitting there, I brought recorders, a video camera. In the end, she denied me everything, even static. It was as if the tapes had never been used. She never tried to interfere in a more direct manner, she knew I’d stop eventually.”
“As I said, the stuff came in for years, until two weeks ago. Everything stopped, that’s when Paul and I thought about going outside the Agency, when I got the idea to ask for you.”
“Maybe a little field work is what I need,” Jenni said, looking at the time. “She comes out at 10:20 each day?”
“Yeah, lately. She always came out five minutes earlier before I got the idea to ask for you.”
“You’re going to try and talk to her?” Lee asked.
“Might as well make the effort tomorrow, after all, you think she asked to see me. Can’t shake hands sitting over here on my duff.”
“You’ve watched her over the years, Lee, why do you think she comes out to the garden at the same time each day, at least while they are at home?”
“I mean think on it, she knows you watch her, so visiting the garden at a precise moment shouldn’t have any meaning, the time I mean. It doesn’t make sense.”
“Not unless she telling me she knows I’m watching,” Lee surmised, thinking on it.
“Exactly what I was thinking,” Jenni said, “She’s talking to us. She knows, and she’s telling us she knows, but why?”
“Well, we know what to expect, so what if it’s something we don’t expect,” Lee asked, giving her a perplexed look.
“You didn’t expect her to change the time by five minutes… what happened? Besides getting the idea for me I mean,” Jenni asked, getting a little excited as her mind raced. “What else happened that day?”
“Paul disappeared,” Lee said in a quiet manner, looking somber. “I woke up that day and his stuff was gone, him with it. Everything… even his notes. I thought he had gotten fed up, he often mentioned talking to someone else about her.”
“Okay, if we say everything was fine, she showed up when expected, but once she noted something different, she signaled you. As if you didn’t know something had happened.”
“But I already know he was gone, why signal?”
“Yes, unless she knows something we don’t, maybe it’s not that Paul went walkabout, it’s something else. It’s got to be something we’ve overlooked.”
“Why didn’t she go back to the regular time?” Lee asked, looking over to Jenni, “She stayed on the new time ever since then.”
“She knows something is still off, otherwise, logically, she would have gone back to the usual time, I think,” Jenni replied. “What is it?”
“She signaling us with spaces of time, maybe that’s part of the message, something is going to happen, it’s only a matter of time,” Lee said, throwing out a possibility.
“Something to do with time, and Paul is involved, which means the Agency is involved, which means we’re involved. I think you’re getting a warning signal, Lee. She’s sending up a flare, perhaps in a manner she knows only we could figure out.”
“That doesn’t make sense either, it’s just us watching her,” Lee said, giving her a little shrug by lifting his shoulders.
“Ah… so… maybe that’s the warning then Lee, you just solved part of the mystery; we’re no longer alone. She’s letting us know, and at the same time, she asked for help. Me, someone outside the Agency. So one part solved, another opened.”
“You said Paul wanted to go to outside sources, and he vanished, I’m guessing his going wasn’t on a voluntary basis, he would have left a note or something. Yes?
“Yeah, only the Agency knew we were here, you think they took him away?” Lee asked, beginning to look a little nervously around the room.
“Well I don’t want to be bearer of bad tidings Lee, but I think you’ve seen the last of your friend. I tend to believe the message, even if I don’t understand the messenger.”
“Why would she do that? What difference would it make? We just watch, we’ve never interfered with her.”
“Lee,” Jenni asked thoughtfully, “if you had a dog bone on your plate and just watched it… and another dog came along, what would you do?” Jenni asked quietly.
“I’d grab it.”
“So would I… Lee, so would I. There more than one thing going one here, Paul was just one part if the warning is correct. Someone else is in the game now and the Agency is going to try and bring her in. It’s the only thing that makes sense. That’s what she is telling us.”
“Interesting, but why send us a message,” Jenni said, trying to take everything in, as she struggled to come up with something that made sense out of all this.
“Well, I guess it is my field after all, Lee,” she said, “She’s able to extent her influence an unknown distance, possible manipulation of matter at the sub-atomic level, perhaps of time as well. Extremely high level of intelligence… From everything you’ve told me, it sounds like you’ve got yourself some sort of demi-god living across from you.”
“No, I don’t think she’s even part human, Jenni, Paul didn’t either. I think she’s the real thing over there, more like a primordial spirit, something far older than I can imagine, like before humans roamed the earth. Maybe that’s why she wants you here, it’s something you can relate to more than I. I’m telling you, there’s an alien among us.”
“If I had those samples from 50 years ago, I’d be able to tell you more with modern testing. I could have had them carbon dated anyway.”
“You said they were all destroyed?” Jenni said, with a sigh, settling back against the seat cushion.
“Yeah, it’s all in the reports.”
“Reports from the Agency?” Jenni suddenly asked, looked over at him.
Senator Abrams flipped open the file, rapidly scanned the report, “We sure on this data, Phil? It’s awful extreme, no one is going to accept it,” he said, tossing the folder back down on the desk. “Those samples are pretty old, they’re going to argue they’ve degenerated. That alone might tell the tale on some of this,” motioning towards the folder.
“I think the samples show us enough to proceed, we have all the observed data to support us, too. The father’s data matches the daughter’s, in every detail. A mirror image, Dan.”
“We can see her, we can take pictures of her, we touched her when they were first found, we’ve always thought she was his daughter. Who would have suspected that once you take away everything of the fathers data away from hers, she’s nothing but a energy form of some kind, she shouldn’t exist.”
“We have to get fresh samples, Phil. 50 year old data and an unexplained energy field surrounding them isn’t going to be enough on this, it’s too big. We need them both right here for additional testing.”
“Well, that shouldn’t be too difficult to arrange, we’ve got someone new keeping an eye on her now, a smart kid, a girl.”
“Oh, you didn’t have her spend some time around your place, getting to know her? Like the other girls that pass though your doors?”
“Not this one,” Phil said, thinking her. “This one’s an injun, carries a long flint blade in her boot, so I heard from one of the aides. A little too rough and wild, yet. A pure blood straight from the reservation. I heard she got into a knife fight over a dig in Chile about five months back, someone trying to steal artifacts. That’s why she was cooling her heels back home when I found her.”
“What happened?”
“Well, she’s fast and lethal, like a snake, Dan, very fast. She got asked by the government down there to take a break from the site for a while. You might want to meet her parents, I took the trouble of inviting them to the party tonight.”
“Leverage, Phil? Are we back into that business?” the Senator asked, walking over to the open window, looking out towards the skyline of Washington D.C. “I heard what happened to that young fellow we had out there.”
“Now, Dan, he was told not to go outside the Agency. Accidents happen, it was out of my hands. He violated protocol, and you know that.”
“I’m just discussing a site grant with her parents later, that’s all, just keeping tabs on them. The President wants everything clean this time.”
“Well, send someone to retrieve the notes from the father, beg, borrow, copy them, steal them, just make sure it’s a clean as you say it will be this time and make sure that we get there first. They are just as important as the people are, maybe more. This gets out and it’ll be a free for all, a foot race for unlimited energy, and the girl’s the key to it all.”
“If this kid talked to others, they won’t be safe anywhere in the world, Phil, we all know that. I don’t want World War III beginning on my watch over this, treat them extra special, and with kid gloves. Then get them locked down, twenty stories down out at the Agency. Okay?”
“Lee, what are you doing here in my bed?” Jenni asked, trying to open her blurry eyes, “I don’t recall asking for company last night.”
“I went to my own bed last night, Jenni, I thought about it, but I didn’t ask to spend the night with you in your bed, this is my bed, I went into my own room.”
“Lee, I’m not on the pill or anything, I wouldn’t have asked you for sex last night. I’m not planning a family just right now, so what happened to us?” Jenni said, picking up the sheets, trying to cover herself.
“We had sex last night, Jenni?” he asked, looking confused at their situation. “Why are we in your room?”
“Oh yeah, a girl knows the signs, there’s evidence to support that theory here, Lee. We definitely did,” Jenni said. “But why?”
“Well, I like you, maybe that had something to do with it, I walked in my sleep?”
“No, I like you too but that’s not why we’re here. It keeps us together as a pair,” Jenni said suddenly, dropping the sheets, “Lee, she’s influencing us. By sexual bonding, we’re more likely to stay together. It’s a primitive human action, she must know that.”
“What makes you think that?” Lee asked, lying back down on the bed beside her.
“I can’t keep myself covered, I picked up the sheet to cover myself, and it felt like the wrong thing to do, I want to show off my sexuality to you.”
“You’re very beautiful, you know that don’t you,” Lee said, moving over against her, “Your breasts are perfect.”
“Lee, it’s her Lee. Oh, come here, I can’t help it, I can’t stop yet, it’s something in my head. The child is not here yet, it hasn’t happened yet.”
“What time is it?” Lee asked later, looking blindly around the room for a clock.
“It’s past seven already, I missed my appointment with her,” Jenni said, looking at her watch in the dim light. “She really messed with us pretty good,” lifting Lee’s arm off her, “It looks to me like we spent more than a couple hours together in here,” as she sat up on the edge of the bed. “Oh, my head hurts, bad.”
“You’re not looking at me with that look you had before, what was that child were you talking about, Jenni?” Lee asked, trying to understand what was happening.
“I feel funny, like something happened to me that last time, Lee. I don’t know what I was talking about, everything’s like it was before… only we’ve lost some time while we were in here together.”
“You have a date on your watch?” Lee asked, scooting over beside her and sitting up.
“Yeah, it’s the fourteenth, why?”
“It’s the thirteenth Jenni, I mean, I went to bed on the twelfth, it was Sunday. We watched that special on TV, remember? Why isn’t it the thirteenth?”
“We’ve lost a day, how is that possible, we didn’t eat. I didn’t even go visit the bathroom. That’s not possible, is it?” Jenni asked, giving him a confused look. “Let’s get washed up, I want to think this out over something to eat, boy do I have some strange things going through my head right now.”
“Jenni,” Lee said, setting down scrambled eggs and toast, “I’m sorry,” he said, looking distressed.
“What?” Jenni asked, her thoughts broken by his comment.
“I had sex with you and you’re having a child, it’s all my fault.”
“Oh, no Lee it’s not your fault, it’s not my fault, there isn’t any child. Is there? Why did I say something about one before?”
“It’s something she had us do, but why? Why would she do that? It’s not like she’s running a daycare over there.”
“Let’s work it like yesterday, we lost a day. What’s the message?”
“A day that I was supposed to meet with her,” Jenni said.
“So, she didn’t want to see you?” Lee asked.
“No, it affected both of us, she didn’t want us seeing something, or she didn’t want someone seeing us,” Jenni said.
“What would have happened if nothing happened? I would have left here and walked over to her gate at the usual time, what’s so special about that?”
“Well,” Lee said, thinking it further, “The both of you would have been standing there together, out in the open, in the daylight.”
“So instead, she gets me upset by having sex with you, makes me think I’m carrying a child now, and we’ve lost a day. Oh, I’m so irked.”
“How irked?” Lee asked, thoughtfully, “Enough to go have a few words with her right now?”
“Yes, exactly. Only now, it’s not in daylight, it has to be dark, like it is now,” Jenni added thoughtfully, looking at the clock on the stove.
“See anything yet?” Lee asked, guiding her over to the gateposts.
“No, it’s a new moon, how convenient. I can’t see my hand in front of my face,” Jenni said, holding tightly to his arm.
“Sorry, we only had one set of these goggles, we’re at the gate now. Ready to go further?”
“Yeah, you still think we should head for the doorway?”
“Yes, it’s out of view, no one will be able to see us, they might have goggles, too.”
“Okay, lead us that way. Boy I hope this is right,” Jenni said, as the gates opened in her hands and she slipped through into the yard.
“What now?” Jenni asked with a whisper, as they stopped moving. “We there?”
“Yeah, we’re at the kitchen door,” Lee said quietly.
“So what’s wrong? Knock or something, I think we’re expected.”
“She’s here, there no need to knock, Jenni. She’s standing right beside you,” Lee said in a strained whisper, as Jenni gave a slight gasp as a gentle warm hand took one of hers in it and pulled her further towards the house. With a slight creak of oiled wood, the door opened into a room, lit only by a single oil lamp on a central table, it’s wick turned down low. Jenni felt the door being closed behind them than heard any noise, as the touch left her hand, leaving her still clutching Lee’s arm.
Without warning, the light grew brighter, to be joined by others around the room, until the room was well lit.
She stood there, in the center of the room, her back to the table. She was simply dressed, sandals, shorts and a t-shirt, her hair flowed freely down in heavy waves to her waist, framing her face, allowing her dark eyes to stay in shadows from the light.
“Oh gosh, you’re beautiful,” was all Jenni could say, as they all stood there, looking at each other.
“I am Keiko, welcome to my world, a world where nothing is as it seems,” she said, in a quiet welcoming voice. “I know my words are understood. Please, sit there at my table,” gesturing with one hand, “There is much to say to one another.”
Setting a cold pitcher of cider down, Keiko added three glasses and a large plate of cookies. “I baked them today, please try them. I think I’ve done well this time,” she said sitting down across from Jenni with a slight smile.
“I have missed your people Jennipher, it feels good to be with you again.”
“You know my family?” Jenni asked in surprise. “You know me?”
“Yes, for thousands of years we walked together across the plains, the forests, the earth your people lived on.”
“Oh… that family,” Jenni said quietly. “Sorry… I don’t know where to start, maybe it’s best to let Lee start us out, I’m rather new to this entire situation,” Jenni said, reaching for a cookie.
“Ah, wow, I really don’t know what to say first,” Lee said hesitantly. “Are we safe here? We were concerned someone was after you.”
“You are safe for now, within my world. Once outside the probabilities will go into flux, others will end and you are mortal. It’s best we stay here for now,” Keiko said.
“Ah, Keiko-san, is your father home? I’d really like to ask both of you some questions if I may,” Lee asked, taking an offered glass of cider from Jenni.
“I watched you, watching me when you arrived Jenni,” Keiko said, taking a cookie herself. “I have learned much from you. You have a bright mind, so some of what I have to say will be understood. After all, both of you were able to get here with what little information I provided. Other things must wait.”
“We’re being watched ourselves now aren’t we?” Lee asked, joining Jenni in eating a cookie.
“Yes, they are there, out among the trees. Watching me, as you have done for so long.”
“What do they want?” Jenni asked, looking at both of them, “Who are they?”
“They want what they can not have, Jenni,” Keiko said, in her quiet manner. “They wish to control your world through their greed as human beings, they wish to control what they fear. Me… the unknown.”
“What are you?” Jenni asked, suddenly, “I mean I really don’t think you’re a sixteen year old girl sitting here talking to me of my family, thousands of years ago.”
“I’m kind of scared, Keiko, I know I’ve overlooked something important in what’s Lee’s told me about you so far, but I really want to know what you are before we go any further.”
“I’m a watcher like you are Jenni, my scale of operation is different, like my responsibilities and my abilities as I think you can imagine, but our function is much alike. I am here to watch your world.”
“Lee, let me start out with you. I do not have a father,” Keiko said sitting back and watching him digest that news with that same slight smile on her face.
“Wait a minute,” Lee started to say, raising a hand towards her. “I’ve met him, and I’ve seen him. I’ve got pictures.”
“His sister came to visit today, she found him passed away, here in the kitchen. An ambulance took his body away. The village will take care of him now,” Keiko said, still watching Lee.
“Was his sister real?” Jenni asked, listening to the conversation, looking at Keiko.
“Yes, Hira asked that I do something for him when we met that night. His was an old soul, and though it’s not my position to interfere, I could not deny him.”
“He never stepped out of the car that night did he?” Jenni asked, thinking back on the reports.
“No, Jenni, he didn’t.”
“The lights, what were they?” Lee asked, trying to understand everything.
“A discharge of energy, it happens whenever when I change the lines of probability in your world.”
“You changed something for him, and covered it up with what? Smoke and mirrors?” Lee asked.
“Yes, that is certainly one way of looking at it. I created a new probability for him, but in doing so, I had to work through others. This has been the result; it’s still in flux. I can change probabilities in your world, Jenni, I can make things happen or not happen. Everything you see is a probability.”
“Oh, this is getting deep,” Lee, said, “No one is going to believe us,” he said, looking over to Jenni.
“No, Lee. Your probability line ended this afternoon when they killed you, while you were alone in your house. It happened during the time when Jenni was to meet with me. They saw her leave and it confused them.”
“What? What do you mean, this afternoon he was in bed with me, I was... ah... we were... ah, you know what he was doing to me, we were together all afternoon. You made us do that.” Jenni said.
“Did I?” Keiko asked quietly. “Who do you think I am, Mother Nature?” she asked with a grin.
“Yeah, you kind of look like her, especially in the face,” Jenni said, keeping the conversation going, “You put Lee in my bed the other night, and that’s what got us thinking on how to get over here to see you. It was like you were keeping us safe from something, keeping us together.”
“No, wait, we missed something Jenni, we lost a day. Remember?”
“Did I miss getting killed?” Lee asked, looking at Keiko.
“You see how easy it is to get confused, there are so many probabilities, and one action causes others. I can not control all of them. Reality must continue it’s pace, but as it moves, I have some influence here,” Keiko said.
“Keiko, are those people out there real?” Jenni asked, looking at her.
“Yes, you are on a primary probability line, Jenni. They are as real as you are.”
“Ok, tell me what happens if they catch us.”
“The Agency thinks you have defected to another organization, they torture and kill your parents in an attempt to locate you and me.”
“What happens to Lee?”
“As before, Lee does not survive.”
“Ok, what has to be done to save Lee?” Jenni asked.
“His probability line has to be changed, somewhere before he is killed. That way, he is not present when they show up at your house,” Keiko said, looking at both of them.
“Changed to what? He gets a call from home and has to leave? An emergency, something like that?” Jenni asked, trying to think of a way to save him.
“That would work, it’s simple, highly probable, and his parents are not in good health.”
“Can you do that for him, I mean for us, save him like that?” she asked grabbing Lee’s hand.
“Yes, but what of you?”
“If the Agency has my parents in their slimy grip, I want you to help me save them. Okay? What happens to them if we allow the Agency to find us first?”
“They are safe, at least for now, the probability goes into flux later. I would think there is a level of danger to them as long as the Agency is around.”
“Is this what you both want?” Keiko asked, looking at each of them.
“Yeah, it works out this way see. Lee goes home and misses the attack, the Agency picks us up and no one gets killed,” Jenni said, looking at Lee. “We can find each other later, I’ll just go to your house.”
“This is what you want?” Keiko asked again.
“Yes, it’s what I want, it helps me with another problem,” Jenni said, turning her back on Lee to whisper, “I have this feeling he got me pregnant today, it was my time, I just know it. There was something in my head about a child, I can’t remember it all now, but I sure mated enough with him to make sure I would have one, so this way, that goes away too.”
“Am I?” Jenni asked, reaching out and taking her hand. “What’s the probability right now I’m pregnant?”
“100 percent, Jenni. You have a child, a beautiful daughter. This world has never seen one like her before.”
“Oh, I knew it, I felt something happen inside me the last time, Keiko. I couldn’t stop myself until I felt that, I couldn’t explain it, my head hurts when I think on it now. Oh, let’s do this thing now, before I change my mind,” Jenni said, turning back to say goodbye to Lee.
“Where did he go?” Jenni asked, looking around confused. “He was standing right here.”
“Probability moves quickly here, let’s finish our cookies, we don’t need to leave until dawn.”
“Oh, damn,” Jenni said, suddenly stopping and looking at the cookies and cider on the table, “I shouldn’t have eaten anything here in your world, right?”
“So some legends say, Jenni,” Keiko said with a smile.
“Keiko, I’m not up on all the mythologies of the world okay, so please, give me a break here, I have to pay you for the meal, for your help?”
“Hmm, in a manner of speaking, Jenni. I use a barter system, it more like you give me a gift, and I give you one back, it’s an exchange. You don’t really pay me.”
“Okay, can I owe you for now? I know I’m asking a lot, but I don’t know anyone else here, Lee was my only friend here. I guess it’s foolish of me to think you’d help me, I just sort of thought you would, something I felt from you when I first saw you when the lights came up.”
“I’ll stay with you Jenni, I’ll help. We can exchange gifts when we part, when the probabilities have run their course. Is that what you want?”
“Oh, yeah, that sounds great, thanks.” Jenni said with a sigh, sitting back down at the table. “I guess it alright to eat another cookie now? They are pretty good,” she asked with a smile.
“We’ll both have another,” Keiko said, sitting down beside her. “They’re much better than last time.”
“Can I rest here too? I’m feeling tired, it’s been a long day for me,” Jenni asked, yawning.
“Let me show you,” Keiko said, taking her hand. “Follow me, I have a nice room in here where you can rest,” showing Jenni another room down the short hallway from the kitchen. “It was Hira’s room, I’m sure he would wanted you to use it,” taking her over to the bed.
“Lie down, here, let me help you,” Keiko said, reaching down to lift Jenni’s feet onto the bed. “I’ll be here when you wake up. We’ll go visit the workshop.”
“Thanks, Keiko. You remind me of my mother when I was young,” Jenni said, struggling to keep her eyes open.
“We’re much alike, the mother of all things, Jenni,” Keiko said quietly, brushing the hair away from her face as she slipping in to a deep sleep. “I can hardly wait to see my daughter grow up.”
“Sleep deeply Jenni, you will awaken to a new day.”
“10:20 hours, observed female subject exit house via rear door and enter garden with small basket. Subject then began to harvest fruits and other crops. 11:10 hours, subject returned to house via same door.”
“Subject observed wearing shorts, white in color, halter-top, light blue, with brown sandals. Hair braided down back. Weather is clear, little cloud cover, bright sunlight. No further observations this report,” she said into the microphone, trying to keep boredom from reflecting in her voice while gazing across the way to the structure that sat there among the trees.
“Excuse me, but I find it difficult to believe that you’ve had people sitting here for the last thirty years watching this go on day after day,” Jenni said, turning her head over towards Sasahara.
“Yes, since before we were even born Jen, back in the early ‘70’s,” Sasahara said from his position in the kitchen doorway.
“Oh, sorry. May I call you that? We’re going to be here together for quite some time, I meant to introduce myself properly before, when you arrived this morning but I must admit cute girls make me shy.”
“I have never met an American Indian before, and calling you by your last name is so formal to some, I’ve heard,” he added, giving her a little grin as he emerged from around the doorframe.
“Nice opening manner you have there, and it’s “Jenni”. What do I call you?” she asked, looking him over, “besides cook?”
“I’ll have lunch done here in a sec,” Sasahara said, sticking his head back out again, “I was outside taking a walk when you arrived, I was glad to see that you got my note and have jumped right into your work.”
“Let me start off first, I am Lee Sasahara, I was born here in Japan, graduated 3rd in my class at MIT three years ago. My major was quantum physics.”
“My parents wanted American name but I answer to just about anything,” he said walking into the living room to set her lunch down on the table.
Selecting a folder on the table in front of him, he slid it down next to her plate, “Read that for later, Jenni-san. It’ll take some of the boredom out of our job here.”
“I’ve been here almost two years now, it was just us guys until you showed up. Paul, the one who’s place you took, sort of got lonely and went walkabout. So that’s part of why you’re here.”
“I guess things have been disorganized back home lately, but you can blame me for the rest,” Lee added, looking a little uncomfortable as he returned to place a soda down in front of her.
“You didn’t mention apparent age of subject in your report,” he noted.
Picking up the mike, Jenni thumbed it on, “Additional comment, female subject seems to be fifteen to sixteen years of age, end of report.”
“There, happy?” she asked, reaching over for her drink, taking a deep swallow as she keep her eyes on him.
“I see you didn’t get the full briefing, did you, Jenni-san,” Sasahara said, sitting down beside her to take up the glasses, taking another look across the distance to the dwelling.
“I got sent here straight from home. What’s the deal with her age?” Jenni asked, picking up her plate with a nod of thanks towards him.
“Looks like your everyday average sweet looking Japanese teenager to me, I’ve seen pictures of them before, somewhere,” she added, before taking a bite of her sandwich.
“She’s in her late fifty’s,” Lee said, quietly, watching Jenni’s face with interest as she dealt with chewing and expressing her surprise at the same time.
“I see,” Jenni finally said, clearing her throat and finding her voice, “Your agency hired me to learn her makeup secrets?”
“Lee, I’m a twenty year old Cherokee from the Cherokee Nation, that’s Indian territory in Oklahoma, with a love of history and ancient cultures. My parents specialized in dissimilar cultures, anthropology, not DNA testing for the aged. Last month I thought I had a grant to study with the Sioux, this week it was supposed to be Japanese anthropomorphism. What’s up?” Jenni asked, her voice showing her opinion of her situation.
“Jenni, I’ve heard of what happened to Custer, please, I’m Japanese. I’m not even related to him. Listen, I read an article on your work, you study aliens. I like the way you think, your insights are surprising,” Lee said, holding a hand, “I have the magazine article around here somewhere, something on your parents work abroad, how they took you everywhere with them from dig to dig. One place in the world to another.”
“It was so very interesting, Jenni. I picked up the magazine one night a couple weeks ago and read the story of you and you parents, not sure why, bored maybe and when I woke up the next morning I had this notion to get you here. I can’t explain it further, other than to say the feeling faded as soon as I saw you had arrived this morning.”
“Actually, I had to ask for you a couple of times,” he added, looking at her with a sincere plea in his eyes. “Give it a few days, I can’t explain everything, but you’re needed here.”
“Relax, Lee. We’re not on the warpath these days, as far as I know, and that wasn’t us Cherokee’s,” Jeni let out with a sigh, “It took a long time to get here and it’s just jet lag. I’m sorry if I came off a bit touchy. My parents and I studied alien earth cultures, not UFO aliens, and their impacts on indigenous tribes. I haven’t got a clue on girls who don’t want to age for you.”
“It was mostly my parents work anyway, this isn’t my area,” Jenni said, a little exasperation showing in her voice. “I’m not one you want to lead an expedition searching for the fountain of youth, here in the mountains of Japan.”
“Lee, so far I don’t see much anthropomorphism going on here.”
“Yeah, well, you’re the one I need, Jenni. Sorry for this confusion you’re dealing with right now,” Lee said, lifting the folder and pushing it her way. “Nothing more is going to happen out there today, so chill out a little and take some time to read this,” poking the folder, “Then let’s consult again. Okay?”
“Her father is dying, and soon I think, we’re going to have to help her deal with that. You’re here because I believe she wants you here, and I don’t know what’s going to happen to her down the road.”
“The pantry is full, help yourself, it’s all just for us. There’s popcorn, cold beer and a movie at eight.”
Coming down the stairs and entering the kitchen for breakfast, Jenni tossed the folder down on the kitchen table, still tying to get her hair braid wrappings set.
“Morning, you read it?” Lee asked, turning away from the stove to just a moment. “Such long hair, very beautiful.”
“I skimmed over it,” Jenni said, giving him a smile at the comment, “Tossed and turned most of the night, I couldn’t keep the image of her out of my mind.”
“This reads like something out a bad movie for late night or something. Who wrote this stuff? UFOs? Time warps? Alien life forms? It’s all like something out of a cheap paperback, and why don’t I have a lock on my bedroom door?”
“Jenni, it was written over 50 years ago, okay? These things weren’t like we see them today; it was a real threat in those days. National security was rampant and everyone had radical ideas. Everyone thought things really did go bump in the night.”
“Nothing unusual on the doors, Jenni. No one thought ahead, so they could seek a peek of you naked. Wish I had now,” he added with grin. “It’s Japan, Jenni. The house is very old, no locks on any of the doors. You noticed they slide open and are thin; you could walk through the walls if you ready wanted to get in. They had responsibility and courtesy back then, no need for locks. You’re the only one upstairs, so go ahead and sleep naked. I have a room in the back with my own bath. We treat our women with respect here.”
“Alright,” Jenni said, sitting down at the table, “Let me suspend some believe here and go on the known facts.”
“First, someone found a car with this girl and her father in it, at the site of some suspected UFO landing one night. Right?
“Yes, about 30 miles from here, Keiko Ama, and her father Hira. She was three and he was in his twenties. Her father was a minor engineer, did lots of small projects. They were coming back from a Kendo demonstration. Apparently, he took her with him wherever he went. Her mother had died in childbirth.”
“Their car was found stalled on the side of the road in the vicinity of strange lights that had been reported to the authorities, and the American military showed up first. The interviews with the MP’s stated they thought the lights came from the car when they first arrived on scene.”
“Okay, so they found them in their car, and tested them… for what?” Jenni asked moving closer to the table as Lee began to set breakfast down before her.
“Everything, things like radiation levels. They took blood samples, hair, fingernail clippings, even clothing. Everything they could think of for the day. Remember it was the ‘50’s. It’s not like today with modern mobile labs and stuff.
“The results?” Jenni asked, taking bacon from the offered plate. “What happened to them?”
“Nothing,” Lee said in a low voice, looking thoughtful as he set the plate down, “and everything, I guess. It goes in both directions from there.”
“Well, my side wants to know about the tests, what did they indicate. There’s nothing in that report on them,” Jenni said, nodding over towards the folder on the table next to her.
“I know, everything was perfectly normal, I mean everything from what I’ve been able to find out. No signs of distress when they awoke, no marks, bruises or indications of external trauma. They simply woke up and couldn’t recall anything. They were just driving home like ordinary folks. The samples were ordered destroyed later.”
“Okay, how did we end up watching them for the next 40 plus years then?” Jenni asked with a slightly incredulous tone to her voice. “What happened, did they grow horns or something?”
“Someone in charge wasn’t happy with the results, paranoia, suspicion… whatever. Maybe it kept someone in a job, so we followed them for a while, on and off. Just minor checks. It was soon noted that the family members wouldn’t keep the child overnight, his friends faded away. It seemed odd enough that surveillance was kept up for a few more years.”
“Of course, it may have been that way since her birth, the father taking total care of her. With Japanese culture being what is, we couldn’t be sure. No way to get anyone on the inside, so we watched.”
“The father quit his job after about two years after the incident, had a large open spaced room built, used a lot of heavy wooden beams and open framing, most unusual for the time. It doubled the size of the house all by its self, being some 30 feet in size. It was just one story tall. Then it’s like he got in contact with Buckminster Fuller and added to it. When it was finished, he had a fully enclosed twenty-foot sphere built on top of the new room. After that, he worked from the house.”
“His room is on the other side of the house, I have pictures out in the other room you can look at. It was well designed. It’s either very Japanese, or it’s from a design he got from out there somewhere. You wouldn’t know from looking that’s all one room.”
“There’s one door that leads to the kitchen side of the home, no windows. It looks like it’s attached to the original home, but it isn’t, it’s a freestanding structure. There’s a covered walkway blocking direct viewing of the door.”
“The other thing in his life besides his daughter is his Kendo, his sword practices and demonstrations. Other than going to them they stayed home, or around the village after that. He has several acres of orchards on the far side; most of the crops go to the villagers. They keep the rest for themselves, she tends to that now.”
“The Kendo, was he any good?” Jenni asked, trying to follow the family history as she ate.
“Oh, very good, he was watched of course… followed around. A three times national champion, twice international medals were awarded, a true master of the art. During his later years, he taught classes to various dojos around the country, he was considered a great teacher. Everyone expected his daughter to follow in his footsteps, but she was never seen with a sword, other than carrying his for him.”
“What happened to the car?” Jenni asked, picking up her juice.
“What do you mean,” Lee asked, “It’s the one sitting over there by the gate, they still use it.”
“Does it run on gas or does it just go?” Jenni asked with a smile.
“Oh, so you’re getting cute with the story,” Lee said, “The car was checked, it uses gas, oil, it’s just a car. He doesn’t seem to have tinkered with it so far.”
“Okay, okay. When did he stop, he must be near his seventies now,” Jenni asked, sitting back at looking at Lee.
“He stopped twice, once when she reached sixteen, the age you see her at now, at least I call it sixteen, pick one, it doesn’t really matter. There was a pause for several months, and then they resumed going out again. Always together, she never left his side, and she never went anywhere by herself outside the village. She likes to walk through it from time to time.”
“While at home, he began to put out new work over the years, At first he would redesign plans, consult on valves, automotive parts, little things to keep the income going. Later, he moved up to solid-state electronics and more complicated and diverse circuitry, then aerospace industries, lasers.”
“He became a consultant for many major companies, each paying him under the table. They used his designs and concepts; he remained unknown, except to us.”
“The Agency started sharing a little on them once he started writing on quantum mechanics, which brought me into the picture.”
“My theory is that she’s the source. Hira couldn’t go beyond college level physics on his own,” Lee said, “and I know, it doesn’t make anymore sense that I think the daughter, who never had much formal education, is instructing her father in the interdyamics of quantum energy fields and spatial relationships.”
“No friends visited, no one over from school? Did she even go to school?” Jenni asked, thinking on it as they both moved into the front room.
“Yes, she completed the minimum standards and then stayed home, she rarely spoke, everyone we talked to commented on her oddness, she caused them to feel funny inside while she was around them, that’s how they described it, so her stopping school work was not raised as an issue in the village. She’s not unknown to them locally; she and her father help them out from time to time, the villagers, that is.”
“They donated all the funds needed for the new health clinic, and a couple years ago, the recreation center. Stuff like that.”
“He was always paid in cash, so I guess it gets in his way after a while and he spends some on the village. He also bought them a fire truck, and all the radios for civil emergencies, earthquakes, that sort of thing. He even paid for the training. He’s more than just a hermit; they think he has a telescope in his dome, that he spends his time looking into space.”
“There is an odd note, even for them. She always gives a donation to the Shinto shrine, every time she walks to the village.”
“He has a younger sister that still sees him from time to time, keeps him up to date with the village. His wife is buried here.”
“And the second time he stopped?” Jenni asked.
“Just two weeks ago,” John said, looking over to her. “She’s been preparing simple meals lately, I think he’s dying. He stopping writing his papers, just as interest was starting to really pick up.”
“Seems he was conceptualizing some kind of particle-matter related energy source with some folks at Stanford and MIT, something really radical, even to me. The Agency was involved of course and they want his notes. He hasn’t been seen for a week now.”
“You ever meet him?” Jenni asked as they once again moved back in to front room where they could view the house.
“Oh sure, when his income increased, all their shopping orders were dropped off there at their home, you know, the groceries,” seeing her expression.
“I once filled in for the boy who usually did the drops from the market soon after I came here. I was able to meet both of them.”
“What were they like? Jenni asked, getting comfortable.
“Oh, he was really nice, all concerned that something had happened to his usual driver, asking if all was well, he seems to know everyone in the village. He was like everyone’s favorite uncle. I liked him right away, a real nice guy.”
“And the girl?” Jenni asked, picking up the glasses from the table.
“I can’t remember,” Lee said quietly, looking over to her, “I know how that must sound like, but try as I may, I can not recall one thing about her. Its as if she erased my memory of that day, although I can still recall him in such great detail. All that remains is the idea that I gave everything to her and she took them inside. Funny, huh?”
“She’s the reason you’re here, Jenni. Let me express it in another way, one you’re more familiar with. We’re the indigenous tribe, and I’m one of the shaman who needs your help in assessing the impact of this alien culture into our world.”
“So, what’s so alien about it?” Jenni said, sitting down on the sofa and holding up her glasses, looking up at him, “Besides his sense of architecture.”
“You tell me, Jenni-san, our world is your new dig site, and there’s your alien,” Lee said, pointing out across the way towards the home on the ridge.
“Ok, other than the garden, which I understand she tends herself, the only other activity usually during the day is checking the mail and signing for deliveries?” Jenni asked, picking up a notepad and marking down her thoughts.
“Yeah, there’s a main gate on the other side. He fenced it in when the room was added, trucks come in and drop off stuff in front of two strange looking metallic looking panels that sit side by side in the yard.”
“Paul always referred to them as obelisks, sometimes items were large, they were off loaded with a mobile crane and set there, others just stacked with a fork lift, but come morning, everything is back as it was.”
“Any idea on what he was ordering?” Jenni asked.
“We’d stop the drivers over the years and asked them, usually they didn’t know but we traced some of the invoices. It seems that some of it was prototypes of stuff he was working on, others were things he had designed and ordered built, we never knew what they all were at our end. Just that the boxes came in, they sat there overnight and come morning, they were gone. It was like he was designing something big, and everyone only made a small part for it. Something he was assembling himself.”
“If it went on for years, as you say, there must be tons of equipment in that house. That’s not possible,” Jenni said, “Even with the additional room you’ve described, it wouldn’t fit.”
“I know. I’m not supposed to explain it, I just report it. The Agency has someone else working on that part of the mystery, that was Paul’s field mostly, physics… parallel universes… that sort of thing.”
“You’re welcome to try for yourself, but you can’t walk over there while they’re away and try to peek into the house. You just end up back here. You wake up here, as if you had taken a nap or something. No memory of what happened, I tried it twice, it makes my head hurt if I think on doing it again.
“Lee, you have an advanced degree in quantum physics from MIT, so tell me, where does she put everything? Please, I want to know,” Jenni asked, setting her notepad down and looking at him with a serious look, “If I’m going to solve our part of the mystery, I need all the pieces of the puzzle that you have on hand.”
“What I think, you’ll laugh. I almost got fired when I first suggested it in a report,” Lee said, sitting down beside her with a short laugh.
“I think that little sweet looking Japanese teenager as you’ve labeled her, comes out in the middle of the night and walks up to those obelisks. She waves her hands or something and they just open up, like a portal or a doorway into another dimension. Then she just pushes everything inside and closes those doors behind her.”
“When all else is considered, Jenni-san, the simplest answer tends to be the truth.”
“I tried to watch for that one night. I walked over there, all dressed in black, silent as a mouse. I sat outside the gates where I could see the boxes,” Lee said, quietly, looking at Jenni.
“So, what did you see?” she asked
“I can’t remember, I tried several more times, I made notes to myself while I was sitting there, I brought recorders, a video camera. In the end, she denied me everything, even static. It was as if the tapes had never been used. She never tried to interfere in a more direct manner, she knew I’d stop eventually.”
“As I said, the stuff came in for years, until two weeks ago. Everything stopped, that’s when Paul and I thought about going outside the Agency, when I got the idea to ask for you.”
“Maybe a little field work is what I need,” Jenni said, looking at the time. “She comes out at 10:20 each day?”
“Yeah, lately. She always came out five minutes earlier before I got the idea to ask for you.”
“You’re going to try and talk to her?” Lee asked.
“Might as well make the effort tomorrow, after all, you think she asked to see me. Can’t shake hands sitting over here on my duff.”
“You’ve watched her over the years, Lee, why do you think she comes out to the garden at the same time each day, at least while they are at home?”
“I mean think on it, she knows you watch her, so visiting the garden at a precise moment shouldn’t have any meaning, the time I mean. It doesn’t make sense.”
“Not unless she telling me she knows I’m watching,” Lee surmised, thinking on it.
“Exactly what I was thinking,” Jenni said, “She’s talking to us. She knows, and she’s telling us she knows, but why?”
“Well, we know what to expect, so what if it’s something we don’t expect,” Lee asked, giving her a perplexed look.
“You didn’t expect her to change the time by five minutes… what happened? Besides getting the idea for me I mean,” Jenni asked, getting a little excited as her mind raced. “What else happened that day?”
“Paul disappeared,” Lee said in a quiet manner, looking somber. “I woke up that day and his stuff was gone, him with it. Everything… even his notes. I thought he had gotten fed up, he often mentioned talking to someone else about her.”
“Okay, if we say everything was fine, she showed up when expected, but once she noted something different, she signaled you. As if you didn’t know something had happened.”
“But I already know he was gone, why signal?”
“Yes, unless she knows something we don’t, maybe it’s not that Paul went walkabout, it’s something else. It’s got to be something we’ve overlooked.”
“Why didn’t she go back to the regular time?” Lee asked, looking over to Jenni, “She stayed on the new time ever since then.”
“She knows something is still off, otherwise, logically, she would have gone back to the usual time, I think,” Jenni replied. “What is it?”
“She signaling us with spaces of time, maybe that’s part of the message, something is going to happen, it’s only a matter of time,” Lee said, throwing out a possibility.
“Something to do with time, and Paul is involved, which means the Agency is involved, which means we’re involved. I think you’re getting a warning signal, Lee. She’s sending up a flare, perhaps in a manner she knows only we could figure out.”
“That doesn’t make sense either, it’s just us watching her,” Lee said, giving her a little shrug by lifting his shoulders.
“Ah… so… maybe that’s the warning then Lee, you just solved part of the mystery; we’re no longer alone. She’s letting us know, and at the same time, she asked for help. Me, someone outside the Agency. So one part solved, another opened.”
“You said Paul wanted to go to outside sources, and he vanished, I’m guessing his going wasn’t on a voluntary basis, he would have left a note or something. Yes?
“Yeah, only the Agency knew we were here, you think they took him away?” Lee asked, beginning to look a little nervously around the room.
“Well I don’t want to be bearer of bad tidings Lee, but I think you’ve seen the last of your friend. I tend to believe the message, even if I don’t understand the messenger.”
“Why would she do that? What difference would it make? We just watch, we’ve never interfered with her.”
“Lee,” Jenni asked thoughtfully, “if you had a dog bone on your plate and just watched it… and another dog came along, what would you do?” Jenni asked quietly.
“I’d grab it.”
“So would I… Lee, so would I. There more than one thing going one here, Paul was just one part if the warning is correct. Someone else is in the game now and the Agency is going to try and bring her in. It’s the only thing that makes sense. That’s what she is telling us.”
“Interesting, but why send us a message,” Jenni said, trying to take everything in, as she struggled to come up with something that made sense out of all this.
“Well, I guess it is my field after all, Lee,” she said, “She’s able to extent her influence an unknown distance, possible manipulation of matter at the sub-atomic level, perhaps of time as well. Extremely high level of intelligence… From everything you’ve told me, it sounds like you’ve got yourself some sort of demi-god living across from you.”
“No, I don’t think she’s even part human, Jenni, Paul didn’t either. I think she’s the real thing over there, more like a primordial spirit, something far older than I can imagine, like before humans roamed the earth. Maybe that’s why she wants you here, it’s something you can relate to more than I. I’m telling you, there’s an alien among us.”
“If I had those samples from 50 years ago, I’d be able to tell you more with modern testing. I could have had them carbon dated anyway.”
“You said they were all destroyed?” Jenni said, with a sigh, settling back against the seat cushion.
“Yeah, it’s all in the reports.”
“Reports from the Agency?” Jenni suddenly asked, looked over at him.
Senator Abrams flipped open the file, rapidly scanned the report, “We sure on this data, Phil? It’s awful extreme, no one is going to accept it,” he said, tossing the folder back down on the desk. “Those samples are pretty old, they’re going to argue they’ve degenerated. That alone might tell the tale on some of this,” motioning towards the folder.
“I think the samples show us enough to proceed, we have all the observed data to support us, too. The father’s data matches the daughter’s, in every detail. A mirror image, Dan.”
“We can see her, we can take pictures of her, we touched her when they were first found, we’ve always thought she was his daughter. Who would have suspected that once you take away everything of the fathers data away from hers, she’s nothing but a energy form of some kind, she shouldn’t exist.”
“We have to get fresh samples, Phil. 50 year old data and an unexplained energy field surrounding them isn’t going to be enough on this, it’s too big. We need them both right here for additional testing.”
“Well, that shouldn’t be too difficult to arrange, we’ve got someone new keeping an eye on her now, a smart kid, a girl.”
“Oh, you didn’t have her spend some time around your place, getting to know her? Like the other girls that pass though your doors?”
“Not this one,” Phil said, thinking her. “This one’s an injun, carries a long flint blade in her boot, so I heard from one of the aides. A little too rough and wild, yet. A pure blood straight from the reservation. I heard she got into a knife fight over a dig in Chile about five months back, someone trying to steal artifacts. That’s why she was cooling her heels back home when I found her.”
“What happened?”
“Well, she’s fast and lethal, like a snake, Dan, very fast. She got asked by the government down there to take a break from the site for a while. You might want to meet her parents, I took the trouble of inviting them to the party tonight.”
“Leverage, Phil? Are we back into that business?” the Senator asked, walking over to the open window, looking out towards the skyline of Washington D.C. “I heard what happened to that young fellow we had out there.”
“Now, Dan, he was told not to go outside the Agency. Accidents happen, it was out of my hands. He violated protocol, and you know that.”
“I’m just discussing a site grant with her parents later, that’s all, just keeping tabs on them. The President wants everything clean this time.”
“Well, send someone to retrieve the notes from the father, beg, borrow, copy them, steal them, just make sure it’s a clean as you say it will be this time and make sure that we get there first. They are just as important as the people are, maybe more. This gets out and it’ll be a free for all, a foot race for unlimited energy, and the girl’s the key to it all.”
“If this kid talked to others, they won’t be safe anywhere in the world, Phil, we all know that. I don’t want World War III beginning on my watch over this, treat them extra special, and with kid gloves. Then get them locked down, twenty stories down out at the Agency. Okay?”
“Lee, what are you doing here in my bed?” Jenni asked, trying to open her blurry eyes, “I don’t recall asking for company last night.”
“I went to my own bed last night, Jenni, I thought about it, but I didn’t ask to spend the night with you in your bed, this is my bed, I went into my own room.”
“Lee, I’m not on the pill or anything, I wouldn’t have asked you for sex last night. I’m not planning a family just right now, so what happened to us?” Jenni said, picking up the sheets, trying to cover herself.
“We had sex last night, Jenni?” he asked, looking confused at their situation. “Why are we in your room?”
“Oh yeah, a girl knows the signs, there’s evidence to support that theory here, Lee. We definitely did,” Jenni said. “But why?”
“Well, I like you, maybe that had something to do with it, I walked in my sleep?”
“No, I like you too but that’s not why we’re here. It keeps us together as a pair,” Jenni said suddenly, dropping the sheets, “Lee, she’s influencing us. By sexual bonding, we’re more likely to stay together. It’s a primitive human action, she must know that.”
“What makes you think that?” Lee asked, lying back down on the bed beside her.
“I can’t keep myself covered, I picked up the sheet to cover myself, and it felt like the wrong thing to do, I want to show off my sexuality to you.”
“You’re very beautiful, you know that don’t you,” Lee said, moving over against her, “Your breasts are perfect.”
“Lee, it’s her Lee. Oh, come here, I can’t help it, I can’t stop yet, it’s something in my head. The child is not here yet, it hasn’t happened yet.”
“What time is it?” Lee asked later, looking blindly around the room for a clock.
“It’s past seven already, I missed my appointment with her,” Jenni said, looking at her watch in the dim light. “She really messed with us pretty good,” lifting Lee’s arm off her, “It looks to me like we spent more than a couple hours together in here,” as she sat up on the edge of the bed. “Oh, my head hurts, bad.”
“You’re not looking at me with that look you had before, what was that child were you talking about, Jenni?” Lee asked, trying to understand what was happening.
“I feel funny, like something happened to me that last time, Lee. I don’t know what I was talking about, everything’s like it was before… only we’ve lost some time while we were in here together.”
“You have a date on your watch?” Lee asked, scooting over beside her and sitting up.
“Yeah, it’s the fourteenth, why?”
“It’s the thirteenth Jenni, I mean, I went to bed on the twelfth, it was Sunday. We watched that special on TV, remember? Why isn’t it the thirteenth?”
“We’ve lost a day, how is that possible, we didn’t eat. I didn’t even go visit the bathroom. That’s not possible, is it?” Jenni asked, giving him a confused look. “Let’s get washed up, I want to think this out over something to eat, boy do I have some strange things going through my head right now.”
“Jenni,” Lee said, setting down scrambled eggs and toast, “I’m sorry,” he said, looking distressed.
“What?” Jenni asked, her thoughts broken by his comment.
“I had sex with you and you’re having a child, it’s all my fault.”
“Oh, no Lee it’s not your fault, it’s not my fault, there isn’t any child. Is there? Why did I say something about one before?”
“It’s something she had us do, but why? Why would she do that? It’s not like she’s running a daycare over there.”
“Let’s work it like yesterday, we lost a day. What’s the message?”
“A day that I was supposed to meet with her,” Jenni said.
“So, she didn’t want to see you?” Lee asked.
“No, it affected both of us, she didn’t want us seeing something, or she didn’t want someone seeing us,” Jenni said.
“What would have happened if nothing happened? I would have left here and walked over to her gate at the usual time, what’s so special about that?”
“Well,” Lee said, thinking it further, “The both of you would have been standing there together, out in the open, in the daylight.”
“So instead, she gets me upset by having sex with you, makes me think I’m carrying a child now, and we’ve lost a day. Oh, I’m so irked.”
“How irked?” Lee asked, thoughtfully, “Enough to go have a few words with her right now?”
“Yes, exactly. Only now, it’s not in daylight, it has to be dark, like it is now,” Jenni added thoughtfully, looking at the clock on the stove.
“See anything yet?” Lee asked, guiding her over to the gateposts.
“No, it’s a new moon, how convenient. I can’t see my hand in front of my face,” Jenni said, holding tightly to his arm.
“Sorry, we only had one set of these goggles, we’re at the gate now. Ready to go further?”
“Yeah, you still think we should head for the doorway?”
“Yes, it’s out of view, no one will be able to see us, they might have goggles, too.”
“Okay, lead us that way. Boy I hope this is right,” Jenni said, as the gates opened in her hands and she slipped through into the yard.
“What now?” Jenni asked with a whisper, as they stopped moving. “We there?”
“Yeah, we’re at the kitchen door,” Lee said quietly.
“So what’s wrong? Knock or something, I think we’re expected.”
“She’s here, there no need to knock, Jenni. She’s standing right beside you,” Lee said in a strained whisper, as Jenni gave a slight gasp as a gentle warm hand took one of hers in it and pulled her further towards the house. With a slight creak of oiled wood, the door opened into a room, lit only by a single oil lamp on a central table, it’s wick turned down low. Jenni felt the door being closed behind them than heard any noise, as the touch left her hand, leaving her still clutching Lee’s arm.
Without warning, the light grew brighter, to be joined by others around the room, until the room was well lit.
She stood there, in the center of the room, her back to the table. She was simply dressed, sandals, shorts and a t-shirt, her hair flowed freely down in heavy waves to her waist, framing her face, allowing her dark eyes to stay in shadows from the light.
“Oh gosh, you’re beautiful,” was all Jenni could say, as they all stood there, looking at each other.
“I am Keiko, welcome to my world, a world where nothing is as it seems,” she said, in a quiet welcoming voice. “I know my words are understood. Please, sit there at my table,” gesturing with one hand, “There is much to say to one another.”
Setting a cold pitcher of cider down, Keiko added three glasses and a large plate of cookies. “I baked them today, please try them. I think I’ve done well this time,” she said sitting down across from Jenni with a slight smile.
“I have missed your people Jennipher, it feels good to be with you again.”
“You know my family?” Jenni asked in surprise. “You know me?”
“Yes, for thousands of years we walked together across the plains, the forests, the earth your people lived on.”
“Oh… that family,” Jenni said quietly. “Sorry… I don’t know where to start, maybe it’s best to let Lee start us out, I’m rather new to this entire situation,” Jenni said, reaching for a cookie.
“Ah, wow, I really don’t know what to say first,” Lee said hesitantly. “Are we safe here? We were concerned someone was after you.”
“You are safe for now, within my world. Once outside the probabilities will go into flux, others will end and you are mortal. It’s best we stay here for now,” Keiko said.
“Ah, Keiko-san, is your father home? I’d really like to ask both of you some questions if I may,” Lee asked, taking an offered glass of cider from Jenni.
“I watched you, watching me when you arrived Jenni,” Keiko said, taking a cookie herself. “I have learned much from you. You have a bright mind, so some of what I have to say will be understood. After all, both of you were able to get here with what little information I provided. Other things must wait.”
“We’re being watched ourselves now aren’t we?” Lee asked, joining Jenni in eating a cookie.
“Yes, they are there, out among the trees. Watching me, as you have done for so long.”
“What do they want?” Jenni asked, looking at both of them, “Who are they?”
“They want what they can not have, Jenni,” Keiko said, in her quiet manner. “They wish to control your world through their greed as human beings, they wish to control what they fear. Me… the unknown.”
“What are you?” Jenni asked, suddenly, “I mean I really don’t think you’re a sixteen year old girl sitting here talking to me of my family, thousands of years ago.”
“I’m kind of scared, Keiko, I know I’ve overlooked something important in what’s Lee’s told me about you so far, but I really want to know what you are before we go any further.”
“I’m a watcher like you are Jenni, my scale of operation is different, like my responsibilities and my abilities as I think you can imagine, but our function is much alike. I am here to watch your world.”
“Lee, let me start out with you. I do not have a father,” Keiko said sitting back and watching him digest that news with that same slight smile on her face.
“Wait a minute,” Lee started to say, raising a hand towards her. “I’ve met him, and I’ve seen him. I’ve got pictures.”
“His sister came to visit today, she found him passed away, here in the kitchen. An ambulance took his body away. The village will take care of him now,” Keiko said, still watching Lee.
“Was his sister real?” Jenni asked, listening to the conversation, looking at Keiko.
“Yes, Hira asked that I do something for him when we met that night. His was an old soul, and though it’s not my position to interfere, I could not deny him.”
“He never stepped out of the car that night did he?” Jenni asked, thinking back on the reports.
“No, Jenni, he didn’t.”
“The lights, what were they?” Lee asked, trying to understand everything.
“A discharge of energy, it happens whenever when I change the lines of probability in your world.”
“You changed something for him, and covered it up with what? Smoke and mirrors?” Lee asked.
“Yes, that is certainly one way of looking at it. I created a new probability for him, but in doing so, I had to work through others. This has been the result; it’s still in flux. I can change probabilities in your world, Jenni, I can make things happen or not happen. Everything you see is a probability.”
“Oh, this is getting deep,” Lee, said, “No one is going to believe us,” he said, looking over to Jenni.
“No, Lee. Your probability line ended this afternoon when they killed you, while you were alone in your house. It happened during the time when Jenni was to meet with me. They saw her leave and it confused them.”
“What? What do you mean, this afternoon he was in bed with me, I was... ah... we were... ah, you know what he was doing to me, we were together all afternoon. You made us do that.” Jenni said.
“Did I?” Keiko asked quietly. “Who do you think I am, Mother Nature?” she asked with a grin.
“Yeah, you kind of look like her, especially in the face,” Jenni said, keeping the conversation going, “You put Lee in my bed the other night, and that’s what got us thinking on how to get over here to see you. It was like you were keeping us safe from something, keeping us together.”
“No, wait, we missed something Jenni, we lost a day. Remember?”
“Did I miss getting killed?” Lee asked, looking at Keiko.
“You see how easy it is to get confused, there are so many probabilities, and one action causes others. I can not control all of them. Reality must continue it’s pace, but as it moves, I have some influence here,” Keiko said.
“Keiko, are those people out there real?” Jenni asked, looking at her.
“Yes, you are on a primary probability line, Jenni. They are as real as you are.”
“Ok, tell me what happens if they catch us.”
“The Agency thinks you have defected to another organization, they torture and kill your parents in an attempt to locate you and me.”
“What happens to Lee?”
“As before, Lee does not survive.”
“Ok, what has to be done to save Lee?” Jenni asked.
“His probability line has to be changed, somewhere before he is killed. That way, he is not present when they show up at your house,” Keiko said, looking at both of them.
“Changed to what? He gets a call from home and has to leave? An emergency, something like that?” Jenni asked, trying to think of a way to save him.
“That would work, it’s simple, highly probable, and his parents are not in good health.”
“Can you do that for him, I mean for us, save him like that?” she asked grabbing Lee’s hand.
“Yes, but what of you?”
“If the Agency has my parents in their slimy grip, I want you to help me save them. Okay? What happens to them if we allow the Agency to find us first?”
“They are safe, at least for now, the probability goes into flux later. I would think there is a level of danger to them as long as the Agency is around.”
“Is this what you both want?” Keiko asked, looking at each of them.
“Yeah, it works out this way see. Lee goes home and misses the attack, the Agency picks us up and no one gets killed,” Jenni said, looking at Lee. “We can find each other later, I’ll just go to your house.”
“This is what you want?” Keiko asked again.
“Yes, it’s what I want, it helps me with another problem,” Jenni said, turning her back on Lee to whisper, “I have this feeling he got me pregnant today, it was my time, I just know it. There was something in my head about a child, I can’t remember it all now, but I sure mated enough with him to make sure I would have one, so this way, that goes away too.”
“Am I?” Jenni asked, reaching out and taking her hand. “What’s the probability right now I’m pregnant?”
“100 percent, Jenni. You have a child, a beautiful daughter. This world has never seen one like her before.”
“Oh, I knew it, I felt something happen inside me the last time, Keiko. I couldn’t stop myself until I felt that, I couldn’t explain it, my head hurts when I think on it now. Oh, let’s do this thing now, before I change my mind,” Jenni said, turning back to say goodbye to Lee.
“Where did he go?” Jenni asked, looking around confused. “He was standing right here.”
“Probability moves quickly here, let’s finish our cookies, we don’t need to leave until dawn.”
“Oh, damn,” Jenni said, suddenly stopping and looking at the cookies and cider on the table, “I shouldn’t have eaten anything here in your world, right?”
“So some legends say, Jenni,” Keiko said with a smile.
“Keiko, I’m not up on all the mythologies of the world okay, so please, give me a break here, I have to pay you for the meal, for your help?”
“Hmm, in a manner of speaking, Jenni. I use a barter system, it more like you give me a gift, and I give you one back, it’s an exchange. You don’t really pay me.”
“Okay, can I owe you for now? I know I’m asking a lot, but I don’t know anyone else here, Lee was my only friend here. I guess it’s foolish of me to think you’d help me, I just sort of thought you would, something I felt from you when I first saw you when the lights came up.”
“I’ll stay with you Jenni, I’ll help. We can exchange gifts when we part, when the probabilities have run their course. Is that what you want?”
“Oh, yeah, that sounds great, thanks.” Jenni said with a sigh, sitting back down at the table. “I guess it alright to eat another cookie now? They are pretty good,” she asked with a smile.
“We’ll both have another,” Keiko said, sitting down beside her. “They’re much better than last time.”
“Can I rest here too? I’m feeling tired, it’s been a long day for me,” Jenni asked, yawning.
“Let me show you,” Keiko said, taking her hand. “Follow me, I have a nice room in here where you can rest,” showing Jenni another room down the short hallway from the kitchen. “It was Hira’s room, I’m sure he would wanted you to use it,” taking her over to the bed.
“Lie down, here, let me help you,” Keiko said, reaching down to lift Jenni’s feet onto the bed. “I’ll be here when you wake up. We’ll go visit the workshop.”
“Thanks, Keiko. You remind me of my mother when I was young,” Jenni said, struggling to keep her eyes open.
“We’re much alike, the mother of all things, Jenni,” Keiko said quietly, brushing the hair away from her face as she slipping in to a deep sleep. “I can hardly wait to see my daughter grow up.”
“Sleep deeply Jenni, you will awaken to a new day.”
