Mystery Solved
Matthew felt betrayed he couldn’t understand how she could treat him like that. This wasn’t the Linda he had fallen in love with. That Linda had died 3 years ago along with everything he had ever dreamed of doing with his life. Matthew watched as Linda and Temal disappeared around the corner as soon as they were out of sight he slid down onto the step and put his head in his hands trying to hold back to tears. He inhaled sharply and then exhaled loudly trying to steady his breathing.
The door opened behind him and he turned to see Alita. She looked surprised to see him sitting there and it took her a couple of minutes to be able to speak. “Matthew what are you doing here?” She asked looking around nervously as if afraid Linda could come around the corner at any minute.
“I came here to see Linda” He took another deep breath. “But she didn’t want to see me.”
Alita lowered herself down onto the step next to him and wrapped one of her many arms gently around his shoulders. “I’m sorry Matthew. We tried to warn you that she had changed but you didn’t want to listen.”
“When did the change begin?” Matthew didn’t like thinking about the new Linda but he had to know.
Alita sighed and scooted back so she was leaning back against the building and Matthew turned so he was facing her. He watched her for a couple minutes as she sat there contemplating the last couple years and trying to remember when it had all begun.
“It’s hard to know where to begin.”
“The beginning is usually a good place to start.”
She smiled slightly, leaned her head back against the house and began: “I’m sure you know her history, how she came to be on earth in the first place and was brought to Imaginess and eventually earned her place as our Zotac.”
Matthew nodded.
“You also know about her quest.”
Matthew nodded again.
“Not many people knew about it. Pretty much it was me, Adan and her cousins. People began getting upset with her for leaving so much but she insisted. Her father had told her to go to college and meet you so she did. We tried running the planet without her but we just couldn’t do it and so we called her all the time. But it never really bothered her. At least I didn’t think it did. Then you left.”
“So it was because of me?”
“No, the change didn’t come right away. She was sad and depressive for about a week and she kept asking if anyone had heard from you. She called her sister nearly everyday to see if you had visited.”
“And after 3 years of waiting she slowly moved on.”
Alita shook her head. “I wish it were that simple but I’m afraid it’s not.”
Matthew waited for her to go on.
“It was so sudden. One day she had her head in the clouds and the next...”
“She’s an evil task master.”
“She’s not evil…just really serious.”
“What about Temal?”
“No body’s ever met him but she just recently been talking about him in the last day or two.”
Matthew sat quiet, thinking over all he had learned that day.
“If you ask me – not that anyone is but still – I think that something happened something she won’t admit to anyone.”
Matthew still didn’t know anything.
“I mean this stuff doesn’t just happen. I just can’t believe she won’t even tell me – her best friend – about it. I mean seriously what kind of friend is that.”
“Or she can’t”
Ali stopped and looked at Matthew “What?”
“Maybe she hasn’t told you Ali because she can’t.”
Ali looked at him slightly stupefied not quite comprehending what he was getting at. “Ali I think I might know how to fix this.”
Matthew stepped inside the building and looked around. Sure enough Linda and Temal sat in the corner. This was Linda’s favorite restaurant; she and Matthew had gone here many times in the weeks he had stayed on Imaginess 3 years ago. “Matthew?”
Matthew turned to see a young girl in front of him. It took him a couple seconds to realize who she was “Rona! My how you’ve grown. You still work here?”
“You better believe it. This is the Zotac’s favorite restaurant and I’m the Zotac’s favorite waitress. The tips are great. Should I tell the Zotac that you’re here?”
“No! But you can help me with something.”
Leena sat across from Temal. “So who was that guy that you were talking to earlier?”
Leena sighed and rolled her eyes. “He’s no one. Just someone I used to know and then who disappeared off the face of the planet 3 years ago –“
“Let me guess he showed up again today asking for money?”
“Something like that!”
“Here comes Rona with the drinks.”
They both turned to see the young girl coming toward them two glasses of water and two glasses of hamma on her tray. The girl neared their booth and made to step up the single step but the toe of her shoe caught on the step and she fell forward spilling the drinks all over Leena.
Leena jumped to her feet “What on Imaginess Rona!”
The girl was on her feet already and pulling a couple napkins out of her apron she began sponging off Leena’s shirt and face mumbling her apologies over and over again.
“Just go and get something to clean this mess up with and get us new drinks…and don’t let it happen again.”
“Yes Zotac.” And she disappeared around the corner.
Leena sat back down “Is she always such a klutz.”
“This would be the first. She’s usually better than this.”
Rona rounded the corner to the kitchen and grabbed the extra drinks that Matthew had prepared and set on the counter. “Well?” He asked coming around the corner.
“Nothing! It just made her angry.”
Matthew looked slightly shocked by this “So if she’s not a Martian then –“
“Maybe she really has just changed.”
“These things don’t just happen Rona.”
“Yeah! Well sometimes they do.” With that she grabbed the last of the drinks and slipped out of the kitchen.
Matthew slipped out of the restaurant and began walking not quite sure where he was going. He had to find a place where he could think properly. The woods had always been a place where he could go to think. No one went there and he could be alone for a while. So he turned onto the road heading out of the city and out into the woods. He reached the giant fence that surrounded the place but he didn’t care. He climbed the gate worked his way carefully around the barbed wire and jumped over the other side.
A little while later he was walking along the wooded path enjoying the weather the woods really were pretty it was a shame that the people didn’t come to the woods that often he came to a small spring flowing into a beautiful lake I bet the people could have a beautiful lake town here if they weren’t so afraid of the woods. Why are they afraid anyway? Something nagged at the back of his brain something that caused them to be afraid but what? That’s when he heard the laugh. Oh no! he thought I forgot about the laughter. He had been so obsessed with finding Christilone over the last 3 years and then with his Linda problems he had forgotten. He turned around and started walking back to the city then he began to run. After some time he stopped and realized he had lost the trail he started to walk looking for the path then he heard the laugh again quite close now, to close for his liking, in fact it was right behind him.
1 week later
Sira pulled her hover car through the large gate of the palace she parked it in front of the mansion and climbed out and went to the door. A maid answered the door “I’m sorry but Leena isn’t available right now.” She said beginning to close the door. Sira stopped the door with her foot. The maid opened the door back up and peeked her head out “What is it? Leena is busy and the funeral isn’t until this afternoon.”
“I know and I’m not here to see Leena.”
The maid opened the door wider. “You aren’t?”
“No, I need to see Alita.”
“Oh well then come in.” She opened the door all the way making room for Sira to enter and then said “Alita’s in the office but I think she’s in a meeting with someone right now.”
“That’s OK I can wait.”
“I’ll tell her you’re here.”
“Thank you.” The maid disappeared around a corner leaving Sira to wait for her return.
A couple minutes the maid returned. She motioned for Sira to follow her. Sira followed her down the hallway and into a sitting room outside the office where Sira could faintly hear the voices of Alita and her guest.
Sira had only been sitting there for a moment when the door opened and a man walked out followed closely by Alita who shook his hand as he left. As soon as he was out the door she looked over at Sira and summoned her inside the office.
Once inside Sira sat down and Alita turned to her “how are things with you Sira?”
“It’s been OK all things considered. Mella asked me the other day about her father I tried finding a picture of him but couldn’t find anything.”
“I’m sorry. It must be hard raising a little one all by yourself?”
“It can’t be any easier for you.”
“No but I’ve buried myself in my work here. Leena makes it easy. She’s such a hard taskmaster and covering for her to her family fills most of my free time.”
“That’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. Has anyone told Linda what happened to Matthew?”
“Of course we have. But she doesn’t care.”
“See that’s the problem Linda has never been that careless. She may not care about Matthew but why is she being so flippant about his death?”
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t you see Alita? There’s something wrong with Linda. For the last 3 years I’ve been willing to admit that maybe she really has changed maybe she really isn’t the Linda we once knew. But this, this is going too far.”
“I agree but there’s nothing we can do about it.”
There was a commotion just outside the door and the two women jumped to their feet and ran to see what was making all the noise. When they got there both woman froze for they found Tidwit who had somehow escaped his courtyard prison and was now jumping on a man and yanking on his nose which happened to be very long, pointed and hard. Suddenly there was a snap and the man screamed and crumpled to the ground “No, no you can’t do that to me, now I can never return. They won’t accept me now.”
As he sat there ranting and raving Tidwit ran up to Leena who had just entered the courtyard with a frown on her face but it wasn’t the frown she had had normally that said ‘stay out of my face or except the consequences’ this frown showed complete confusion. “Has anyone seen Temal?” Just then Tidwit came and dropped something in her hand. Leena took one look at it and dropped it on the ground. “Eww what is that?” she asked wiping her hand on her pants. Alita went over and looked at it then suddenly back at the man “It’s his nose, Tidwit broke a Juptan nose.”
“Of course,” said Sira, “that would explain everything” then she turned toward the Juptan hands on hips. “Would you mind explaining what a Juptan is doing on Imaginess? And how and when you got here?”
“Do you mind telling me what’s going on?” asked Leena.
“This man,” explained Sari, “has mind controlled you for the last 3 years and caused you to ignore everything you cared about including Matthew and now he’s dead”
“He’s dead? But…how?”
“He went into the woods and never returned. That was a week ago and now Tidwit has found the cause of it all and broke his nose so that he cannot mind control you anymore.” Then she turned back toward the Juptan “Now mister if you will tell you’re story.” The Juptan – whose name was Jatar – cleared his throat and then began.
“It all began nearly 4 years ago our planet was at war with Uranus.”
4 years earlier
“Don’t let them get away, Krell watch that ship. We’ve got ‘em now they aren’t going any where. This war is about to end.” Krell turned his gun and aimed for the Uranian ship that his captain had pointed out. He pulled the trigger…there was a whoosh and the enemy was gone, their fleet was gone…their planet was gone. Krell stood up gaping out the window.
“What happened?” Someone shouted. Krell swung around the captain did not look happy he was looking down on his lieutenant who was on the ground except for his hand which was pressed down on the light speed button as he stood to his feet. As soon as he stood the captain grabbed him by the jacket and said so everyone could hear “how dare you, you have just cost us the battle we had it and now because of your stupidity we have lost and who knows how long it will take to get it back. But you know what? When we do get it back I won’t have to deal with your stupidity because you, lieutenant Jatar, will not be returning with us.” The captain dropped Jatar on the floor and summoned a guard to come and peel the worthless man off of the ground. He turned back to his gunman, Krell, and his pilot and began to give them coordinates for the return to the battle.
The guard dragged Jatar out of the room and down a long hall Jatar didn’t try to struggle he just walked willingly with the guard as he led him to a hanger he dragged him to pod #36 Jatar’s heart dropped #36 had been having terrible engine trouble and hadn’t been used since the beginning of the war the captain had decided to kill two birds with one stone. The guard started the ship and threw him into it. The engine sputtered and died Jatar reached down and restarted it. It sputtered and began again. He glanced down at the familiar knobs and buttons on the panel, buttons he had been raised knowing how to use. And now he would die trying to get these same controls to obey his commands. He pushed up the throttle and pulled out of the hanger. As soon as he cleared the ships path he heard a rumble he turned just in time to see the ship speed out of sight. He stared after it not a tear filled his eyes he would not let years of training in the Juptan military go to waste. He would either find a way to survive or he would die boldly and courageously as was his punishment. He took control of the rattling steering wheel and turned toward a place in which he hoped he would find help.
After about an hour of travel with no luck the engine died. Then all he could do was sit and wait while his ship drifted through space the worst part was that he wouldn’t die quickly, Juptans don’t eat food like humans they don’t have digestive systems the two mouths on either side of their long nose have no teeth and are used only for talking. Instead if he didn’t find someone or something to control, his nostrils which were at the top of his nose would begin to close up until he couldn’t breathe and the mouths didn’t gather the oxygen he needed fast enough. But this process could take days to complete once it had started.
By the next day it had already started he knew and he was going to die. He soon fell into a deep sleep. He was awoken by a jolt he looked up to find that he had been pulled into Earth’s gravitational pull. He sat up and looked around him a ship whizzed by and landed on nearby Imaginess a planet he had only vaguely heard about. He noticed that the ship as it had sped away had a Venusian symbol on it. Then he got an idea he closed his eyes then he felt a small shock of electricity flow through him his nose rose and hardened. The next thing he knew his ship was being pulled out of the gravitational pull and he was heading instead toward Imaginess a rural part that wasn’t getting invaded. The ship landed and opened he was free. Now to find a way to get back to Jupiter.
“I began to watch you.” Jatar continued “I saw when and who you appointed for your leader, I found out who her friends were, but most importantly I found out that she was wanted.
And then I knew that if I caught her and brought her to my planet I might be able to be accepted again. I caused Leena to see a man named Temal in her mind. But then that Matthew character came and I had to get him out of the way so I caused him to go into the woods. I was preparing to send Temal to talk her into coming with me when this monkey jumped on me and broke my nose and now I’ll never be able to go back.” He slumped down and placed his head in his hands”
“Just one thing I don’t understand.” said Sari skeptically “If you’re Juptans why didn’t you just tell the Uranians to just go away instead of letting them mess with your weather?” Jatar looked up
“Because.” He said “they had protection from a Juptan traitor. We couldn’t control their minds trust me we tried.”
That was the last Linda heard as she slipped out of the room and out of the mansion. No one seemed to notice that she had left so she continued on her way.
She couldn’t believe her Matthew was dead and the last thing he probably thought was that she didn’t love him which was the farthest thing from the truth. Before she realized where she was going she had slipped out of the city and was running in the direction of the woods.
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