Page 19 of Orange Sky
I saw there are other houses but they are separated by fields for making those orange and yellow crops. I also saw some strange looking animals that could resemble a dog or a cow but they are not used in the fields. They use machines that are silent. I would think they are powered by water because of the steam coming out of the back. Still, there are few people around.
We went to probably the center of this farming town and I saw more houses or buildings but all are made of orange wood. No bricks though or concrete. Even the two floor house I saw is made of wood and the roof is made of long grass or leaves from a tree. I couldn’t tell.
Zirc saw me looking at it and he growled loudly. He dragged me by my arms. He looked angry but at least he is not touching me that it hurts. I have a feeling I kind of knew what that place was. Yet, I only saw men lurking at the front and at the balcony of that house. No women.
Speaking of females, I haven’t seen anyone around. I saw a kid though while Zirc dragged me along the street but his steps were slower. The kid is probably around ten. When I tried to look closer, an older man that looked a bit like him stepped closer and hurriedly took the boy inside their house. I felt Zirc stopped.
When I glanced at the big guy, he had that condescending look as if telling me it was taboo to approach a kid. His brows knit, forming a deep V on his forehead. But then he continued to walk. So on this planet, it’s not good to look at kids. But that kid was sooo cute. He had sky blue stripes although lighter in color than his father. Most of the people here had different kinds of shades of blue so much that Zirc stands out. And me though I had my gray poncho on so they probably couldn’t tell that I have no stripes underneath.
Then we continued to walk. Zirc has his hand firmly on my arm.
Okay, a thought just occurred to me. Maybe there are no females around but male species can carry a child? I’d been kidnapped by aliens, landed on this planet, met aliens who have stripes on their bodies.
Crazy thoughts for sure but who knows? So I possibly can’t get Zirc pregnant right with all the sex we’d been doing lately, right?
I sighed. Finally, we stopped in front of a huge house. Though there are many streets we took, I noticed that we were going uphill because I can feel shortness of breath. Zirc will stop every now and then but he won’t look at me. He just kept looking ahead of him.
Zirc finally tied the reins of our horse to a pole. I saw three other similar horses tied to it. They are all similar in sizes so maybe our horse is common.
Then Zirc took my arm again and we entered the house. Though it is made of wood, clearly inside it is different. Way different from what I saw or glimpse at other houses on our way here. The house is in fact situated at the end of this road. It is actually facing the road and situated almost on top of the town.
Maybe we are meeting the Mayor or something of this town?
I saw people with papers and some with books walking to and about from room to room but when they saw Zirc, they all stopped and followed him with his eyes. But Big Guy is made of sterner stuff so he just walked onwards to the center of the house, dragging me along. At least only one or two people took notice of me.
Then we reached the landing of a grand step that is made of stone! White, almost marble like. Hah, maybe we are inside the Mayor’s house or this is a rich man’s house. There are paintings, wall covers made of carpet. Others from a hide of some animal maybe but they were colorful enough for my eyes because it is red, orange and lots of blue.
I heard first before I saw a man running towards us from further inside the house. He had a very fanciful robe, multi-layered that is made of all hues of blue. Like all the stripes I’d seen today.
I looked at Zirc. He doesn’t look alarmed so this guy must not be an enemy.
“Zirc, Zirc!” The man called.
Big guy made a long sigh. Hmm, this should be interesting.
The man came forward. He is a big guy, almost as big as Zirc. Though he looked older because he has more lines on his face, he looked more handsome than Zirc. In my humble opinion.
“Where is my son?,” he asked.
“He’s not with me.” Zirc replied in his monotone voice.
The man sighed long and loud. “I figured as much. It’s been three months, twelve days, 4 hours and 7 minutes since I’ve last seen my son!”
“I thought you would count it by the second.”
Huh, who knew Zirc had humor?
The man bellowed with laughter. Just then, I heard someone coming down from the stairs. His steps sounded like thunder in the silent house. It was bustling before, but now I notice that people stopped and waited as if for some news about this man’s son.
“Here he comes now,” the man said with dry humor.
The other man who appeared is more massive and huge than anyone I’ve seen so far. He too looks almost the same age as the other man. They looked like someone into their early 60s by human age. But I bet they aged differently here. Plus they have lighter, almost grayish hair.
“AXAD?” he bellowed.
He really had a loud voice. I saw Zirc move in front of me so he blocked my view of the other man. Maybe this guy is more volatile than the other. And if I can warrant a guess, a relative of the son they are looking for?
“Pipe down Runax,” the man said and blocked himself in front of Zirc but I can still see the other guy because I moved a little to the left. Okay, yeah, he looks volatile enough that his veins are standing out.
