“Yes,
my lady,” We snap our
safety belts and look ahead to our future.
“This
is cozy for two of us. I
agree that it’s better to be together, though. All the pods are
programmed to
follow our lead.”
“Let’s
get going. I hope the
old space can holds it's orbit. If she doesn’t she will make a mighty
big hole
someplace,” he answers me with a slightly melancholy tone.
“If
she falls, I’ll miss her
too,” I say.
----------------------------
The
pods follow our lead as
programmed. We
circle the planet and
choose the same spot at the same time to set down.
“Hey, handsome, are you reading my mind? Or,
are you manipulating me?”
“Ha,
neither one could ever happen,
but I’d love to try,” Ardel pokes me in my rib and laughs.
We
descend with all pods in
order. “There is the spot where we’ll fit. We
can set up a place to live near those large
rocks. How does that sound?” I look at him, smile and blink my eyes
rapidly in
a fakey flirtation. He ignores me, for now.
“I’m
glad the meadow is large
enough to hold our equipment. The pods make it look like a cozy
village,
doesn’t it? Everything worked smoothly. After all the adrenalin rushes
of the
past several days we can take a deep breath and smell the clean fresh
air. Oh,
gosh, the roses…Ardel, I smell roses!”
“Hey,
girlie, I do, too. How
about that! What a change from our recirculated oxygen.”
Ardel
had pointed the nose of
our pod toward a large rock formation when we landed. “I think you’ll
be happy
to be near the lake.“
“Oh,
I love it. Hey there,
sexy, do you want to join me in a bath and swim around before we get to
business? The sun is still high. I’m anxious to get into the water. It’s so much more
beautiful in person, here.
Oh, Ardel, my eyes are watering. I am relieved and feel safe. I can’t believe I’m
standing on solid ground.
It feels so…well, so right,” I believe I said everything in one breath.
He
answers, “In circling the
planet we had many choices that stood out and were inviting. The
mountains,
rivers, oceans, green areas of trees and desert areas with washouts all
show a
healthy planet. It’s amazing. Don’t you think this place called to us,
somehow?”
With that said, we hug.
“Oh,
yes. Look around us. The forest
is healthy and rich with undergrowth. The flowers are blooming in so
many
colors. Look how the deep purple flowers fade into the reds, pinks, and
yellows
further along that creek. There
seems to
be an abundance of berries and fruit trees. I loved seeing all the
ponds,
lakes, rivers and creeks close by our landing choice.” We walk toward
the tall
rock formation,” Do you feel the thick moss under your feet? It’s soft
to walk
on. I’m glad we
haven’t seen any predators
yet,” I say.
“GRRAWHHHHH!”
The sound scares
me to death. My timing was lousy; did the thing read my mind?
“Get
behind me, woman, back to
back. I’m not seeing anything yet, but that was some threatening roar
it let
out.”
“Ardel,”
I grab his arm, “look.
Let’s go there. It is a huge house that seemed to appear out of
nowhere. How
can that be? I could have sworn it was only a huge rock formation,” I
am out of
breath as is Ardel.
“Running
is not in my job
description,” He adds, “Hey, we’ve been in space too long to be strong
on this
gravity. We need a few days to recover and get used to this.“
“The
House is beautiful. I know
you are not seeing what I am yet. Just wait until you check it out,
babe,” I
climb up the steps, walk across the porch and open a carved wood door
with a stained
glass window boasting a design of intricate flowers on the upper half. I enter while Ardel backs in
behind me,
looking all over. I
watch as his head
swivels around like a toy as he searches for the source of that awful
sound. Fortunately,
we only heard it once. I say, “I didn’t knock. I
feel like an intruder. Do
you think it’s OK?”
“Sure.
This is under
pressure, wouldn’t you say? Oh,
wow. This place is
fantastic. Look at
all this, Jurnee.”
I
shut the door behind Ardel, “Hey,
look into the entry. That
is a genuine tapestry
hanging on the wall at the right of the entry, and it looks like a hand
carved
umbrella stand and seat. It’s
so
beautiful. Don’t
the lights make it feel
warm and inviting? Hello, is anybody here?” I
raised my voice.
“They
are certain to hear that,
my girl,” Ardel says.
“We
didn’t see this House at
all while looking for a place to land. It
seems it would be impossible to have missed this gorgeous structure. The porch looks like it
could go all around The
House. I saw tall
chimneys, and a turret
when I scanned the House while we were hurrying to get here. I am most impressed at the
condition. It is
not weather worn at all. Everything
is bright;
the windows are actually clean and polished. Who
is taking care of this place and who lives
here?”
Ardel
states the obvious, “It’s
not hot in here like it is outside. Let’s
check the rest of the rooms out.”
I
agree, “This is a beautiful
place. Look at the
rich real wood and
carvings around the door we came through. Oh,
Ardel, I’ve only seen old images of windows
that have stained glass. These
glimmer
where the sun shines on them. Look
across
into the large furnished room. The
furniture
appears to be hand crafted. There
are soft
upholstered, comfortable looking chairs I think I could melt into. Beyond them is a grand
stairway, the central
focus of the room, most incredible of all, a piano is in an alcove. I have only read about
pianos. This one is
real. Look on
the table in front of the couch. There
is a book. We
should check that out.
Lets see what language it is in and try to read it.” I nudge Ardel as I
talk
fast.
He
looks patiently at me and
says, “It is easy to read. How
could it
be in our language?” We
are awe struck.
“This place is old. I
can’t put an age
to it at all. Even
with these hints.” Ardel
keeps his nose in the book, fascinated. I
read over his shoulder.
Breaking
the mood I say, “Well,
I’m going to get food. We’re
both starving.”
I go to the kitchen
the book described
and find it airy and fresh. I
look at
the buttons and the smooth counter and push a couple of the food
picture
buttons while trying to decipher the instructions again in my head. I
say, “I
wish I could ask for a walk through on this.”
“What
would you like me to help
you with first?”
I
jump right out of my skin
upon hearing a deep smooth voice penetrate the air. I
can’t see anyone around, “Are you talking to
me?”
“Yes,”
“Who
are you?”
“The
voice of The House. I
offer you safety and comfort as long as you
choose to live here, and answer questions you may have. Two rules
apply. You must do
good deeds and be kind and helpful
to others.”
“Others?
Are there others?” I
am completely speechless.
“I
detect others,” The House
voice responds.
“Does
anybody live here now?” I
ask.
“No,
I have remained on standby
awaiting your arrival,” The House says.
I
try to evaluate what was just
said to me. “Were we expected? How does a House know what is going on?”
I ask, “Will
you repeat this when I bring my mate his food? I
know he will want to talk to you, too. We
have a lot to learn, and right now we are
hungry and tired.”
The
House offers, “ Of course. There
is no hurry.”
I
stop turning in circles, as I
now know this voice has no body but is part of The House. “Thank you,”
I sound
trite to myself. The
meal smells out of
this world, tempting, and looks even better as it slips out of a door,
magically simple. “Ardel, come and eat. Our dinner smells and looks
better than
anything we’ve had for years. I think your wishes have been granted.”
I
set our food on a yellow table
with four matching chairs in front of a big bay window. My eyes wander
out and
follow the thick forest that graces the edge of a lake and meadow. “I
love it
here,” I grab Ardel’s hand and we sit down.
“This
smells and looks
wonderful. My mouth is watering. How
did
we ever get this lucky? And
that view is
breathtaking. Honey,
have we died and
gone to heaven?”
“Well,
it seems so, except for
that horrible growling roar we heard,” he says.
“First
of all, Ardel, The House
has a voice. I am in shock. I
was
standing near that cabinet,” I point, “when the voice spoke to me. I
jumped out
of my skin, no kidding. Would
you
believe it is willing to share information with us? Imagine
that?”
“If
true, it will save us a lot
of time and research. We can only benefit,” he says.
“
We have found a puzzle here. I
want to check the upstairs after we eat. OK
hunk-a-hunk? We
probably should
investigate the House together. I’ll
feel better with you at my side, big boy. We
are a good team. I
love you.”
“I
love you, too, partner.”
And
with that, we investigate
the beginning of our new world.
Outside, a few yards
away, a
small form moves.