Evol

A stranger is found by a farmer and his daughter just after a shooting star is sighted by the daughter. the stranger turns out to be very strange indeed

EVOL



"Dad, a shooting star!" cried Julianna from her room.

She quickly peered into her telescope again, the one her dad got her on her thirteenth birthday. She was sixteen now.

"Yeah, that's just one out of the many, my dear," Her dad shouted back from his study. "You should go to bed now or better still, do some studying."

"Sure dad, but this one looked quite different. It was just so- I can't really describe it, too bad I couldn't view it through my telescope just in time."

"Don't worry, honey, I'm sure you'll find another one to look at some other night. I'm try'na finish up some work here and would love some quiet, if you don't mind."

"Oh sorry dad."

"Its alright, sweet. Goodnight."

Julianna had always been delighted to see shooting stars. In fact, she loved gazing at the myriad of stars every night. She loved the beauty of it, how they form in their varying degrees of brightness and colors. She was always trying to make out the constellations. She felt her mum was amongst them, watching over her and keeping her safe. She blew a kiss upwards towards the sky and went to bed.

Karl Parker lived with his only daughter, Julianna, in a secluded part of the country side. He had a wide espanse of cornfield and a barn behind the house with some cattles and horses. His wife,Mariam, died of cancer of the lungs when Julianna was just five.

Julianna was awakened by a very loud sound, somewhat like that of crashing. She thought she saw a flashing light the moment her eyes got opened but everything seemed silent and still the very next moment. She wondered what it could have been. She went over her dad's room to inquire if he'd heard anything as well. Dad was sleeping soundly. He was such a heavy sleeper especially after a weary day.

"No honey, I heard nothing, said dad in his sleepy voice. In fact, you woke me up."

"But dad, I'm sure I heard a crashing sound. Must have come from the fields."

"Well, it isn't the first time now, is it? Last time you were awakened by the sound of a bottle of cream which was probably knocked down by a scampering mouse and you screamed, thinking the house was coming down". He had a smirk on his face and winked teasingly.

"Not again, Dad," Julianna pouted. "You're always teasing me about that."

"Go back to bed, honey. You know we got a long day tomorrow."

"Okay, dad." She kissed her dad and bid him goodnight again.

She got to her room and checked the time. It was just past eleven p.m, not up to an hour and thirty minutes before she had gone to bed. She walked to her window and gazed at the stars. They looked so peaceful. The moon was hidden behind a cloud towards the east. She laid down under her blanket and tried to go back to sleep. It took a while before sleep finally came.

She rose up very early next morning and went outside the house still in her pyjamas. Dad wasn't up yet. She decided to take an early morning walk round the house.

She walked towards the barn behind the house and opened it. The animals welcomed her with their braying and mooing. She walked from one to the other, rubbing down their backs.

She came out again. As she turned the corner of the house, who does she see but a dashing young man with long blonde hair sleeping on the porch close to her window! He wore a dark red suit of very thin shining leathery material. He was shivering in his sleep, his arms tightly clutching his body, with his knees towards his chest.

Julianna approached the youth and woke him up with a shake.

"Hi," said Julianna.

"Hi," the boy said. His voice was gruffy, as opposed to his smooth dashing young face. He couldn't have been more than twenty, Julianna thought."

"What are you doing out here by this time?"

"Must have been wandering when I saw the light by your window. Didn't wanna wake anyone up so I slept here."

"You seem so cold," said Julianna, touching him by the hand. "Come to think of it, you're literally freezing. Come into the house and I'll prepare you some hot cup of cofee."

"Uh, thanks but maybe I should get going." He stood up.

"No way I'm gonna let you go in this condition," said Julianna, tugging his arm now. "You need something warm after sleeping out here all alone."

"If you insist."

He had a cold distant look in his sharp blue eyes.

"I'm Julianna by the way."

"Dacha," said the boy.

"Is that your name?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Nothing. It's just that I haven't heard such a name before."

Dacha shrugged without saying a word. He reluctantly followed Julianna into the house.

Her dad was awake now and was just coming out of his room when they walked in.

"Hi, dad," Julianna called out.

"Hi, Jules, Dad replied, throwing a questioning gaze at the stranger. "Who's the young man?"

"His name's Dacha. I met him sleeping outside on the porch. Dacha, meet my dad."

They greeted and Parker quickly gave Dacha his Jacket when he noticed how cold and shivering he was.

Julianna went to the kitchen to fix a cup of hot cofee.

"Nice name, by the way," said Parker. Where are you from?"

"Um, up north," replied Dacha.

"North? You mean like Canada?

"Yeah, that's right. Canada."

They all chatted nicely for sometime while Dacha drank his coffee. He felt warmer and better.

"So, you like travelling by night?" Parker asked.

"Not exactly," Dacha replied. "I've been wandering for sometime now."

"Wandering?" cut in Julianna who was sitting together with them now at the dining table. "You don't have a home?"

"Well, not anymore," said Dacha.

"Dad, please lets take him in. The poor soul doesn't have a home," the teenage girl was frantically pulling at her dad's hand now, pouting her lips in a puppy face in order to coy him into giving in to her demand.

Parker took Julianna by the hand and led her to a corner out of Dacha's hearing and whispered into her ears hurriedly: "By God, we barely know him, honey! For all we know, he could be a thief. Or more still, a serial killer."

"But dad, come on he looks so innocent. Like he couldn't hurt a fly."
"What happened to your home?" asked Parker, returning to the table. Dacha kept eating undistractedly.

"I don't really like talking about it, Mr. Parker," the shy dashing youth began, "but I uh-I was kinda driven out."

Parker gazed at him with curious eyes. "Why in the world would someone send their son out of the house?"

"Um, I was disowned by my dad. He has such a fiery temper and when I wouldn't do what he desired, something a bit personal, he sent me out."

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry to hear that, Dach." Julianna felt pity for the young man. She was obviously growing soft spots for him already.

"I really appreciate all you have done for me, Mr Parker, but I wouldn't want to be any more of a burden and an inconvenience. I'll just have to find my way around and get something doing.

Julianna and her dad went to the corner to discuss again and shortly returned.

"Well," Parker spoke up, "since you have nowhere else to stay and you happened to stumble upon us, we can't just leave you to wander off again. You can help around in our corn field."

"That's my dad's way of saying 'you're welcome to our home'", Julianna excitedly.

Surprise was written all over the blonde man's face. "But you don't know me, how could you just welcome me into your home?"

"Come on, don't be so modest," said Julianna still smiling at him. "you're welcome."

"Wow, I never expected this much kindness from countryfolks," Dacha was smiling for the first time. "I'll be more than happy to stay and help out however I can."

"As long as you behave and be a good boy," said Parker.

"I promise I will, Mr. Parker."

"Call me Karl. There's a spare room upstairs."

Julianna was so excited to have a new friend and companion in the house. Ever since she could remember, it was just herself and dad. She took a great liking to Dacha instantly.



That very day they were out cutting hay in the cornfield when Parker came across a large portion of the field destroyed. The soil was loosened to a far extent. It was like a place where something heavy had crashed into.

"What the hell!" Parker cried in alarm.

"What's it dad?" Julianna called out as herself and Dacha came running to his side. "Oh my God!" she screamed. "In the name of everything that's good, whatever happened here?"

"Oh, that..." Dacha began, "there was uh-something, something like a beast here last night in the darkness. Was destroying the plants when I came along and frightened it off."

"A beast?" asked Parker, confusion in his face.

"Yes. One like the ones you have in the barn, maybe a bit smaller. It was dark around I couldn't see exactly what it was."

"Might have been the sound that woke me up, dad," said Julianna.

"Perhaps," her dad replied with a distant look.

"Sorry it destroyed your crops," said Dacha uneasily.

"It's okay. Must have been the coyotes at it again. Seen a few around here before. Lucky thing you came around at the time you came."

With that, they went back to their work for the day.

So they lived for some days, Julianna and Dacha rapidly growing affection for each other. Dacha was much of a helping hand on the farm.

One fateful day, Julianna barged into Dacha's room without knocking and met him topless. Something caught her eyes as she was about to apologize.

"My God!" she exclaimed with surprise written all over her face. "You have no belly button."

"Bellybutton?" Dacha asked perplexed.

"Yeah, you're supposed to have it right there." She pointed at his lower tummy.

"Oh, bellybutton. Yeah, I was just born this way, you know."

"Strange though," Julianna muttered. "Never seen nothing like that except in a movie once. Kyle XY it was called. "Well, sorry for barging into you, Dach, I came to tell you it's time for dinner.

She then left the room still thinking about the absence of the bellybutton. "Amazing things do happen this days, don't they?" And then the whole scene passed out of her head as swiftly as it came.

Julianna was very good at horse riding but Dacha sucked at it. He wasn't even keen about it but Julianna insisted on teaching him.

They were out in the open fields one afternoon on one of their now frequent horse riding lessons. Both of them were sitting on a horse with Julianna holding the reins and going slowly.

"I think I may be getting the hang of it," said Dacha. "Let me try."

"You sure about that? You might get us thrown off," Julianna teased.

"Just give me the reins and I'll show you how good I am."

Julianna looked at him unsure. "Fine. It's all yours."

Dacha took it from her and the horse gave a yelp but went silent again.

"I guess he knows it's a rookie holding the reins," laughed Julianna.

The horse continued to walk on slowly as before. Then Dacha gave it a little kick, spurring him to go faster. The horse brayed, raised its forelimbs upward into the air and down the couple went toppling over, Julianna falling upon Dacha. The incident was so funny it made them laugh so hard.

They just laid there facing each other after they had quieted down. Julianna leaned forward towards Dacha and kissed his lips, placing her hand on his chest. Something didn't feel right.

"Are you that shocked that your heart skipped ten beats?" Julianna asked breaking the kiss. "I can't feel it beating."

"Uh, yeah, I guess the fall and the kiss took me by surprise, said Dacha standing up.

Just then Parker called them into the house.



It'd been three fortnights since the arrival of Dacha and there was much cheer and laughter between them. They were a happy family until that evening.

Julianna had gone out to buy groceries, Parker and Dacha were in the barn milking the cattles when all of a sudden, they heard a whooshing sound of something approaching. Next minute and part of the barn was hit by a meteorite, Dacha was flown headlong to a corner and was caught up in the falling rubbles. He cried out in pain as the animals scampered out. The part which Parker was standing wasn't much affected so he rushed to drag Dacha out.

"Save your skin, Karl," shouted Dacha. "Make a run for it before the whole place crashes upon you."

"And leave you here?" replied Parker. "No way, you're coming with me."

The whole barn was in flames now and was giving way and the roof was about to come down. Dacha's weight was not an easy burden for Parker to lift out of where he was stuck in and just as he(Parker) got the blonde free, the whole place came crashing down upon them. Parker, without giving it a thought, covered Dacha by laying upon him as the whole place collapsed.

Dacha sustained a slight gash in his right leg and few bruises here and there but Parker was more severely wounded he had to be admitted in the hospital.

Julianna met them at the hospital and inquired from Dacha what had transpired. Dacha, with sorrow in his eyes, explained every detail to the letter. He kept emphasizing how Parker had saved him in the barn.

"He shouldn't have saved me," he kept saying. "He had a clear chance to get out of the flaming barn but didn't."

"Am glad you're alive, Dach," Julianna said comfortingly. "That's what matters."

"But your dad, he's hurt because of me and that's not supposed to be."

"Doctor said he'd be fine in a couple days. He sprained his ankle and sustained bruises all over his back but my dad's tough, he's gonna be okay. Am glad you're okay too and I rather you were as glad and thankful."

"No. He shouldn't have put his life at risk because of me."

Julianna was getting annoyed now. Did her dad just put his life on the line for an ingrate? She wondered.

"That's what good people do, for crying out loud," she yelled. "Put others first! You do not mean to say you would have left him to die in the barn if your places have been reversed?"

Dacha turned his face away in silence.

"I don't understand it," he said at last. "How could someone risk their life to save someone else's? Tell me, how could someone risk their life to save mine?"

"Come on, Dach, you're worth saving, alright? Now, why would you say such a thing?"

"Remember when I first came into your house and remarked that I never expected such kindness? I meant it to the letter. Where I come from, kindness was a word only found in the dictionary. It was never used as it was never felt.

"What do you mean Dach? I didn't know the Canadians where as heartless as you seem to imply."

"Canada you call it. I know not such a place."

"What? You mean to say you are not from Canada?"

"I mean to say I'm not from around here."

"You're scaring me, Dach. Please be straight with me for the love of Christ." Julianna was gradually running out of patience and out of her senses as well."

"You asked how I have no bellybutton. Where I come from, people aren't born the way your kind give birth to young ones. We are incubated from fertilization for 2029 days."

"You must be kidding, Dach. I may be sixteen but I've outgrown such fantasies."

"It's no fantasy, my dear Julianna. The destroyed area in your cornfield. You still do not know what occured there."

"You said it was some wild animal which you chased away."

"There was no wild animal. That was exactly where my spaceship crashlanded."

"Spaceship!"

"Yes. Spaceship from Kryos."

"Crashland! Spaceship! The sound that awoke me! The strange shooting star!" Exclaimed Julianna.

The facts were all coming together and it all seemed to make sense to her now. "Am I going insane or did you just insinuate you're an alien?"

"It's the latter, I'm afraid."

"No, I'm seriously going insane. No, it must be a wild dream!"

"Come out let me take you to the cornfield."

Julianna was by now apprehensive and filled with utmost anxiety. She didn't want to follow the alien who up till now had deceived herself and her dad with tricky lies. She was suprised to find her legs moving her slowly forward, following closely behind Dacha.

They walked a good distance into the cornfield right where the crash had taken place. Close to the now barren area, Dacha stopped and held out his right hand and placed in on the his left wrist. A green thing like a watch appeared around his wrist out of nowhere. Julianna gasped in shock. He pushed a button and immediately, out of the blues, on an empty portion of the corn field, sprang a spaceship of the strangest form. It was like a small cupboard barely more than six feet in length, three in breadth and three in depth as well, with the streamlined nose partly buried in the soil. It was made of some lustrous material which gave off a glow like that of neon.

Julianna gasped in utmost horror. She couldn't believe her eyes. She went forward and touched it. It was as real as the ground she walked upon. She went round it but found no door.

"How, in all things marvelous, do you enter and exit this-this-this thing right here," Julianna stuttered. She was completely losing her mind.

The dark youth pushed another button on his mysterious piece of jewellery on his wrist and a tiny door appeared by the side of the spacecraft. Julianna felt a compulsion to go in but it frightened her nuts. After all she had seen and heard, she didn't know what was real and what was not anymore.

"Don't be afraid," said Dacha. "You can go in." He moved forward and opened the door.

His calm voice relaxed Julianna a little and she moved towards the spacehip and peered inside the open door. It seemed so small. How could a man travel in something so small, she wondered. The moment she stepped in, everything changed. It was a large room within, with strange machinery and technology all over the place, nothing like Julianna had ever seen.

"I can't believe my eyes. What kind of planet are you from?" her hands were in the air, gesticulating frantically.

"Like I said before, it's Kryos. And there's something important you have to know."

Julianna stepped out of the ship. "Could there be anything more serious than this yet?"

"Actually, there is," said Dacha placidly. His blue eyes were very serious now, gazing fixatedly at Julianna. "The future of your planet depends on it."

Julianna just stared at him in silence.

He continued: "I was a cast away in Kryos, a very hot planet three galaxies away from yours. You would remember how cold I was when you found me. I'm not used to the temperature here. I lived in hiding but was caught stealing food to survive. I was then sentenced to death. Just then, something came up. The planet became unstable and it dawned on us that it would soon become unhabitable. It became hotter. We had to relocate or suffer annihilation. My people had always known that there was life on your planet, and so they had to send somebody down here to ascertain if we could wage war on the earth people and take over your planet. My mission was to learn your ways so as to know your weakness. On arriving, I discovered not your weakness but your strength which is love and kindness. These you will not find on Kryos. As you noticed, I have no heart. So are my people; heartless. The punishment for the littlest and most insignificant of crime is death."

Julianna had heard too much. She wasn't even listening anymore. She was so scared, to think that her home, her planet, everything was in danger of imminent destruction. She sat on the ground and her look became distant. Dacha walked up to her.

"Your dad and yourself had shown me so much love and care this past few days, I'll take it with a smile to my grave."

"To your grave? How do you mean," said Julianna, looking up at him.

"My people are very sophisticated. Their technology far surpasses that which you have here on earth and they would wipe you out in the twinkle of an eye if they were to know how less sophisticated your people are."

"So we're gonna die afterall," cried Julianna. "There'll be no more humans for God's sake."

"Not if I do something about it, the only thing there is to do." Dacha gave a sigh.

"What's that?"

"Give up my life. I'll die before I see anything bad happen to you or this wonderful planet." He laid his right hand on Julianna's right cheek, caressing it. "I feel something for you which I've never felt before and I think it's what you call love.

Julianna was in tears now. "I'm in love with you, too, Dacha, ever since I first saw you lying down there shivering on the porch. But what is all this you say about you giving up your life for us?" she sobbed.

Dacha stood up and turned his back towards the crying Julianna. "The meteorite that crashed into your barn? It wasn't a coincidence. It was a sign, a sign for me to return with my findings."

"And they'll still execute you when you return to them?"

"Yes, if I return with unfavorable news. They show no mercy. But if I come bearing good news, I might have a chance at redemption. And then they'll come and destroy you. But I'm not going to die by their hands. Nobody is going to die by their wicked hands anymore."

"I still don't follow," asked Julianna, confused.

"I'll send them a message in the spaceship but I won't return in it. A message that'll definitely take their minds off this planet. But still, I have to die."

"Christ, no!" cried Julianna. "Stop talking about death I can't watch to see you go."

"And I can't watch to see this planet get destroyed by my infernal kind. I'm dead anyway whether you like it or not. I came to learn how to destroy your world, but now my mission is to save it. Come with me into the spaceship."

Speechless and in tears, Julianna followed him inside the miniature spacecraft with the unbelievably large volume within. He went and sat in front of a screen at the front of the ship and spoke into the machine. As he spoke, the words were automatically written on the screen:

"The Earth is difinitely a

No-go. The earth people

have more sophisticated

Technology than we could ever

hope to develop in the

next millennium. Immediately

my spaceship came into

the earth's atmosphere,

It was caught up in a magnetic

field and sent hurling

Into a secured room.

There I was caught by

Uniformed men who

Tortured me with the

Intention of obtaining my

motive of coming to their planet.

I refused to let them

Have it and so at last they

Rigged me with an

Explosive which could

Wipe out the whole of Kryos,

And I was sent back

In the spaceship with it.

I put down this message just

before jumping off the

ship as I couldn't have

My planet exterminated

By the humans.

They have a very powerful

weapon, one which we

Stand no chance against.

They call it EVOL."





"Now my dear Julianna, if you spell 'evol' backwards what do you have?"

These words filled Julianna with even more admiration for Dacha. It pained her heart that the handsome Kryosian was going to die but she still didn't understand why.

"But since you intend to decieve them in this manner," she said hopefully, "it means you won't have to die anymore, doesn't it? You'll continue to live with us, right?"

"I'm afraid not, my dear Julianna," replied Dacha. "Like I said before, the technology of my people far surpasses yours. At the death of any Kryosian, radiation is released from the corpse and is tracked by the Apexids, the foremost leaders in Kryos. Also, this wristband which I possess will go flying back to them at my death. I can never manipulate that."

The tears came rushing down both their cheeks as they locked themselves in a warm embrace. Neither wanted to path with the other as their hearts had already grown so fond of each other.

Dacha carried Julianna in his arms out of the spaceship and then pressed a button on the green wristband. The spaceship made a thundering noise, rose up into the air, turned, and flew back in a streak of light back to whence it came.

"It pains me to shreds that just when I found happiness," Dacha lamented, "I have to path with it."

"I love you so much, Dach," Julianna replied amidst tears. You're my hero."

With arms outstretched, she ran into the arms of Dacha and a long passionate kiss did they share.

"Now, I must go," said Dacha as he pulled away.

Before Julianna could stop him, he rushed on to a stake protruding out of the soil and fell upon it with a cry. The stake sank into him and out his backside, black mercury-like liquid gushing out of him. As he gave his last breath, the wristband unlocked itself from his wrist and flew into the sky.

The sorrow which filled Julianna's heart new no bounds. She cried her eyes sore.

Her dad got well and returned from the hospital. She explained the sad story of the brave Kryosian to him and they buried Dacha's corpse which was already withering and turning pale purple, with an inscription written in his grave: "here lies the Kryosian, Dacha, the brave savior of mankind."