Chapter 20: Chapter 20

Back to Tim’s Land

They slept for the whole day, woke up only to eat

something . The next day they felt normal . Frank met his

father and told him everything.. Only left out the part

played by Zo and group…

He sat in his room thinking of connecting with Re, when

Redim and Richard came and sat with him.

Redim could see Frank was indecisive about something , ‘

Frank what next? I never thought that Re and group would

be rescued by their own because thousand years is a long

time .. very long time..’

Richard felt Redim could do anything , ‘ If so ,are they

going to stay here forever!’

Frank replied , ‘ No .according to Re’s statistics they are

just adolescents You see, if their life span is 10000 years

and now they are less than 2000 years old .they are young.

When they had reached here they must have been just small

kids..But unlike us they get all the acquired knowledge of

their ancestors.. they have their vehicle intact, they all

know how to operate it,’

Redim was excited , ‘ I wanted to talk to you exactly the

same thing..You remember you said the speed of that

spacecraft is hundred times the speed of light.. I don’t

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believe it though.. but their spacecraft has a speed that we

can’t even imagine. If you Google it ,you will find it that

nothing can move faster than light unless, some scientific

jargons say it needs infinite amount of energy!

Contradictory statements from the scientists must give us

the hope!’

‘

Let us presume they can travel hundred times faster than

light and they have the fuel or whatever , they can actually

go to the nearest solar system which is just 4.37 light years

away.. we, humans at this present knowledge , cannot think

of travelling that distance but ..Re can!’

Re appeared beside her , ‘ Redim you are the most

intelligent and bold person in this world! I heard what you

did back in the centre and I am simply in awe of you..;’ he

looked like the exquisite doll ..Frank recalled the night that

he appeared for the first time. .

Frank smiled , ‘ Redim likes to collect fans . Now she

collected some here ..Her presence of mind is legendary!

Did you hear what she said about your options’

Re became little solemn , ‘ what she said is possible

theoretically but not practical .We do have the spacecraft

that travels hundred times the speed of light but we have

two very big problems. I came to discuss the same’

Richard asked , ‘ oh that is why you asked Zo to stay back

in USA! But I felt sorry for them.. leaving them like that

was not human thing you know!’

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‘Richard , Frank is very lucky to have friend like you and

Redim. I have been around the human being for generations

and I find you to be very refreshing. You people think first

about others and their welfare unlike the majority of the

human kind!’ Re said smugly.

Frank was amused , ‘ I think you had met all wrong people

until now ! We humans are good at heart and only

circumstances make them selfish!’

Redim was irritated, ‘ we are wasting the time .. Now we

have to find a way to help them.. Re you said you have

some problems .. tell us.. we can find a solution for it…’

Re thought for a while .. He did not want to tell them the

unsuccessful search for the missing gadgets. Ro and group

had searched the surroundings with fine tooth comb they

could not find anything.. They even searched the basement

in Frank’s house.

Finally he said, ‘ the biggest problem is to find how the

spacecraft came into our cavern .We have been trying to

find that for the past thousand years and unless we bring it

out ,there is no way of taking off! The mountain above the

cavern is solid rock… so no hope of breaking them!’

Frank was surprised, ‘ but you people have the capabilities

of digging a complicated tunnel under the water so why

you had not tried to make an exit?’

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Re smiled and said , ‘ the tunnel was already there ..it was a

natural duct . we found it when we had found ourselves

trapped in the cavern..we did not have the tools now we

made some tools out of the objects that we collected from

the villages but certainly we could never break the

mountain!’

Redim was decisive , ‘ Well one at a time.. so the first thing

to find an opening in the mountain.. Till now they all have

searched from inside the cavern but I am sure no one had

tried it from the exterior side ,on the surface of the

mountain. So we will take it up today!’

Re was delighted and said , ‘ yes ..we never thought of it..

Brilliant Redim’

Frank was happy that they have something to do to help .

Re told them they would meet them on the mountain in an

hour’s time and he disappeared ..

They got ready to go out for the whole day.. Richard had

more experience in mountaineering as he had been

wandering these mountains since his childhood. But both

Frank and Redim were trained climbers as they were very

fond of climbing .

It was with pleasure they got ready. Mary had packed a

sumptuous picnic snacks, lunch and even light supper .

Richard was happy to take care of the burden .

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Franks parents were happy to see them going for a picnic .

Francis thought his was searching for the so called treasure

and he was quite pleased at that…

Frank did not want everyone to know that their interest was

the mountain behind his house . so he took the car and

drove through the village and took another road that went

around the mountain .

The road was without any traffic as it came within Tim’s

land and private property.. the GPS tracker showed them

that they were exactly behind the house . Frank parked his

car under a tree and they started walking towards the

mountain . the mountain was not very steep but had very

thick vegetation .So they walked parallel to the mountain

slope when they found narrow pathway which had been

formed by people who had come to collect firewood .

Frank told , ‘ most probably the opening would be at sides

rather than at the top ,as Re told the mountain was solid

rock and there was no possibilities that they entered here

through the top..’

Redim said , ‘ yes .. but unless we check everywhere we

cannot tell.. so let us look around the slopes and then climb

the summit’

Frank wanted the three of them together, even though he

did not expect any trouble, he did not want to take any risk

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He was still worried about the Seekers.. Everyone would

think that they were hunting for the so called treasure that

the old man was talking..

Even the villagers might come to see and he was glad it

was not easy to come this far without transportation..

Redim started walking fast , tapping the slope now and then

with the stick that she brought from home.. Obviously it

was a walking stick..

They walked on the narrow path tapping to see if any

hollow area was there..

They encountered few deer and rabbits but nothing that

could be an entry point for the cavern with in..

Redim's energy was down after walking three hours.

So sat down under a tree, after clearing the undergrowth

.

Mary had packed very thoughtfully a mat too.

Frank spread it while Richard was checking out packets

labelled as lunch. He took them out and kept on the mat

where Redim was sitting there spent..

Both Frank and Redim were tired but Richard was in his

element..

He used to walk all these places alone, sometimes with the

old man. But now he had a mission ..to find the entry ..He

couldn't take rest after having lunch; he left them there as

both of them were taking a much needed breather ...

He walked further away where a big rock was sticking out.

It used to be their favourite place. The old man even

had kept a camp cot there and few items to eat..

But it was a long time ago...The cot was still there...rusted

but surprisingly intact..

The shelf that was there in the base of the rock totally

obscured by some creepers.

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He chopped them off, so that he could connect with the

past..A jar of jam and a blackened kettle were left..

He felt nostalgic ... The grey bird appeared on his side..It

started talking in that metallic voice..

Richard 'I am Ro.. I had my doubt about this place.. We

have been searching this place since morning ..

All the other places looked so natural except this rock . You

can see yourself here'

Richard by this time past any surprises.. He looked at the

rock .. yes it did look as if someone has pushed it into a

hole...it was sticking out at least three feet and four feet

above the ground.. Without touching anywhere except the

side of the mountain, moreover the ground below was

almost flat and gave an impression of a cave..But it had

only a shelter at the top and the three sides were open with

only vegetation covering the sides ..

Once again he checked the walls of the mountain,

especially the place where the rock was attached to the

mountain..But he couldn't find anything out of the

ordinary..

He told Ro to call Frank and Redim..

Even before he could tell him where they were, Ro left.

Richard climbed on the shelf like structure

and tapped using a stone on the juncture where the rock

was attached.. But there was no change in the sound...

He pushed at the rock to see if it moved but it did not budge

even a little... He cut few wild shrubs and the creepers that

were grown under the rock..

When Frank and Redim saw the place .. it was almost like a

cave ..

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Frank was surprised to see a camp cot and the jar of jam...

Richard explained about his childhood escapades with the

old man..

Ro told them about their inability to find any entry point

around the mountain and continued,' this place looked

promising as the rocky outcrop looked unnatural’

Redim was looking around, ‘But it looks so natural.. I have

seen like this kind of outcrops in mountainous areas.

Nothing special .. But nothing wrong in checking this out’

Frank was excited and thought this could be the place

where the spacecraft entered the cavern but on the other

hand the spacecraft couldn’t have landed here .. So it must

have landed elsewhere and then, when they found a cavern

they must have hidden it there… Even if they did not find

the entry point, they could find an exit hole big enough to

bring the spacecraft out..

So he started examining every inch of the place..Redim was

interested in the shelf .the top of the shelf was in right angle

to the outcrop... but there was no gap between them ..A bat

that was hanging in the rock suddenly started flying around

and Redim jumped out and moved further away.. The bat

was flying around and fell on the floor and disappeared ..

Ro flew to the same spot where the bat fell and Ro hopped

around to search for the bat . Redim came running and

knelt near Ro to check the base of the shelf ..Ro pecked the

base with its beak and suddenly few bats flew out and Ro

and Redim toppled sideways …Frank and Richard both

came to help Redim but Redim jumped to her feet , ‘ That

is it .. You see it was not the outcrop but the shelf that is

covering the hole .. Come let us push it..;

Re and many from their group appeared, Frank told them to

move away and the three of them pushed but nothing

happened.

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Re flew near them and screeched at them to stop ..

Frank it is definitely our work. I can recognise the work. It

‘

cannot be pushed but you have to slide it to one side. Just

check’

Frank remembered the tunnel’s opening and how the door

moved to one side when Re had pressed a lever…

Frank searched for a lever and Re showed him a round

smooth area a foot above the ground.. Frank pressed on it

but nothing happened and Ro flew near him and said,

‘don’t press but slide it to left or right ..' still nothing ..'

Then he slid it to the top and he could feel it moving

slightly and many more bats flew out. Richard came down

on his knees to help him and now both slowly manoeuvred

the smooth area to the top and with a grinding noise it

moved upwards revealing a hole beyond .. They kept

moving it until the shelf touched the outcrop ..

Re and group screamed in unison..Flapped their wings and

flew here and there and their happiness was so infectious

that Frank laughed and Richard picked up a nearby bird and

threw it up and flew with a scream… Redim came and

hugged Frank.

Re and Ro flew through the opening which was around 4

feet in diameter and behind them Richard stretched his

head in, to have a look..And pulled his head immediately

out..

He couldn’t see anything ..It was pitch dark.. He switched

on his cell phone’s torch to have a glimpse and he called

Frank to show him.. There was a narrow ramp or one could

call it a ledge that went down as far as they could see.

Redim pushed them to have look and she gasped..Re and

Ro were flying towards them ..

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Re was flapping his wings and stopped just above their

head

,

‘thank you so much.. we could never have found it.' We

had been searching for it for thousand years.. I take back

my words .. You people are intelligent and very soon you

may overtake in technology.. I have seen the tremendous

progress in space research in these past years .Frank, it was

really brilliant to think of the exterior side of the mountain ‘

Frank , ‘ but I don’t understand something ..If this ledge

goes all the way down, why you people had not found it ! ‘

Re replied, ‘Yes that was what I wanted to see.. The

brilliance of my people is seen in this .The ledge leading to

the cavern curves when it reaches the cavern and the curve

is blocked exactly like this from the exterior side ..So when

we had explored this ledge we could not find any exit. But

there are several holes all over the cavern… these bats

come through them .. So we never doubted it’

Richard asked if they could bring the spacecraft through

this hole

Ro replied to him, ‘yes we can bring it out. Our spacecraft

reaches its maximum speed immediately .It must be small

to travel in that speed’

Redim was thinking of the problem ahead.. The spacecraft

was ready and the coordinate of the location would be

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easily got as Dr Vasudevan had promised her to draft a

plan to reach the nearest solar system ..

‘Re your problem have almost solved .. So now it is the

celebration time ... Cover it once again, so that no one

accidently finds the opening ... Let us go home and plan ‘

Re landed on her shoulder, ‘sorry , the matter is not that

easy.. You people go home , we will cover it up. I don’t

know how to thank you.. But I will find a way...I am

waiting for Zo to come back...Frank I will come and meet

you tomorrow’...

It flew to him and sat on his shoulder and said in his ears,

‘a small problem is there ...I will let you know tomorrow..’

Frank petted the bird and it flew.

They left everything and returned home. When they

reached home it was dark

Mary was surprised to see the supper she packed was

returned untouched …she started preparing an elaborate

dinner. They had a sumptuous dinner and Francis did not

ask anything and they did not volunteer.

*

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