Chapter 7: Chapter 7

Richard was walking slowly looking at everything around

him... The yellowish light looked dull not as hot as it was

there on Earth.

The fluorescent green seen in the flowering plants, the

peculiar colour of the flowers, the dark reddish green

colour of the trees, the dark pink colour rocks , dark pink

soil and light pink sand , the ever changing landscape, the

silence, yellow sky and cream like clouds floating so low,

the hopping plants and the huge trees that ran…He felt as

if he was in the middle of a Disney Fairy Tale…

He had his cell phone and he checked for any charge left.

He started capturing all these weird things in his camera.

He felt like the little boy who roamed Tim’s Land and he

thought the only difference would be missing humans.

He saw the plants following him dutifully… Who would

believe him if he told that plants followed him!! He smiled

at the thought!!

He could hear the waves and he walked towards the

direction. The plants now hopped little faster and he

looked at them. He could hear them as if they were

talKing in his own language…

‘Don’t go near the big water… it is dangerous …’

He sat down among the plants and all the plants pushed at

each other just like kids…

He, ‘Ok, why is it dangerous?’

One plant jumped on his lap and the flower almost

touched his face… ‘Very big beings and small beings are

there. They kill each other to eat and sometimes they

would come out and hunt us… they eat everything’

Richard thought of the aquatic animals in the ocean back

on Earth and he felt the beings, the plants were talking

must be similar to those…

Another plant continued, ‘They come out in machines

sometimes…’

Richard was taken aback, ‘what? Machines?’ Richard

was not able to comprehend what the plant was conveying.

He did not think that the any aquatic animals could be

capable of using a machine or manufacturing one!

He wanted to know about the land creatures…

‘

I don’t see any other animals or beings here on land…

where are they?

One plant replied, ‘what other beings you are talking

about? Only the trees were there at the beginning and

slowly all other plants like shrubs, herbs, rhizomes and so

on came into existence… I have heard the trees boasting

about it very often!’

Richard vaguely remembered his high school lessons on

Theory of Evolution and he thought the evolution started

from one celled to multi cellular creatures! But he did not

tell anything to the plants!

He simply asked another question, ‘what is the largest and

smallest being on land?

The plant replied immediately, ‘the largest is the big tree

that stands in one place… it has so many supporting roots,

which spread over a large area… But the tree stands in one

place like a giant…. We worship the tree as it is our

creator! Our queen! ’

‘The smallest is the endogens with bunch of roots and

small seeds. These seeds have high demand …’

Richard was totally confused, why would plants need

seeds? He remembered the tasty seeds that he ate and

thought of asking about the endogens later…

He got up and started walking again towards the ocean and

the plants stopped following him… He could see few

plants ran back…

He could see the ocean now and the golden colour sea was

so beautiful like molten gold. The beach had light pink

sand and the golden sea made the whole thing as a dream

land…

He walked down and stood on the shore. The water was

cold to touch and he bent down to scoop a little to taste…

It tasted salty just like sea water back on Earth. He walked

into the water until he stood knee deep in water and it felt

really good …

He didn’t know how long he stood when he noticed that

the water was churning in front of him...

He stepped back to see some dogs like creatures barking

and jumping in the water. They were all tan and white

colour and their behaviour were just like hostile dogs. The

hind legs were like flippers but the front legs looked

exactly likes that of the dogs. They were snapping at him.

He spoke to them as if they were his pets but they came

closer and closer to him. Now the numbers in the pack

were nearly in hundreds. They followed him to the beach

and it was kind of pathetic to see them dragging their

flippers along… he walked backwards as not to show the

back to the yelping pack…

Suddenly, he saw a tree snatching a dog and throwing it

down hard and all the dogs disappeared into the water

except the one lying there on the sand and whimpering.

The tree was about to pick the dog but he knelt beside the

dog and checked for and injury… He couldn’t see any

injury but one of the front legs was hanging in such a way

that he knew that the femur bone must have been broken.

It looked at him with terrified eyes and he remembered the

pet in Frank’s house. He picked it up wondering if it could

breathe on land. But the dog did not show any discomfort

in breathing but it was in pain.

He took his hand kerchief, a small piece of branch and

tied the broken leg gently…

It would be alright in a day or two …

He was wondering whether to leave it back or not when

the tree said, ‘No use … he will not be tolerated and he

will be killed by his own mates. Their rules of law do not

allow any physical injury. He is already doomed but what

are you doing? You said you will protect the land

creatures only!!’

‘

I will protect anything as long as they need protection!

But do you think it will survive on land’

The tree said,’ these would survive any where’ and turned

back and hopped fast…

When he heard the tree, he didn’t feel like leaving the poor

animal with the pack that would surely destroy him.

He looked down at the dog and it shook its flippers and

spoke to him… He couldn’t believe and he looked at it in

amazement!

‘The tree is telling the truth… Only physically fit will be

allowed to live in our domain. If the guardians find any

physically unfit beings in a community, the community

will be punished, so the community itself kills the unfit

beings before they are found. Leave me or you will be

punished too!

Richard understood it clearly and thought these natives

ability for telepathy seemed to be exceptional! Every

being in the Proxima showed this extraordinary skill just

like the Reans.

He scratched the dog as its fur was already partially dry

and it looked more like a dog than before. The way it

moved its flippers again reminded him of the wagging

tails…

He said, ‘I cannot leave you... I am not of this place and

our rule of law tells to take care of the weak and sick. I

will follow my rule of law and take care of you until you

can go back …Do you understand?’

He was so touched when it licked his hand and placed its

head on his hand and brushed against him!

The plants came hopping to him when he climbed the

ramp to go to the base camp.

They screamed, hopped around him and few ran to call the

trees.

He reached the camp and surprisingly the plants stopped in

the ramp itself as they had agreed to stay off the camp.

Re came to see him and when he showed him the dog, he

was happy to see the dog.

Re wanted to know its name but neither Richard nor the

dog could tell anything.

The dog thought they were asking about the community

and he said, ‘we are called as Ruf and we don’t have any

individual name’

Richard, ‘ok we will call him Buddy One as he is our first

friend’

Re said, ‘But your buddy one seems to be in pain. Bring

him in I will patch him with a pain killer.’

As he took him near the cave, all the Reans came to see

him and he kept him gently on the ground.

Buddyone looked so scared to see these small beings but it

was naturally spunky so it wagged its flippers and licked

whoever was petting him and stole everyone’s friendship!

Thus Buddyone became the centre of attraction …

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