An Alien In The Room

 An Alien In The Room

I

It was the evening of a cloudy day. I was sitting in the balcony of my room, on a rugged white plastic chair, constantly looking at the setting sun who was playing with the clouds. The tilting rays of the Sun had turned the clouds yellowish-red and golden. A group of migratory birds, white colored and red legged, was flying towards the setting sun; because of all this it feels like I was looking at any scenery painted beautifully with the best colors and imagination. Right below my room in the barber shop old Hindi songs were playing on the radio. A ray of light was tinkering from the steel framed window of my neighbor’s house making an identical design on the front house as it was on the window frame. Wind was flowing like a boat in the sea making the whole view feel even more spectacular and awe teasing. And it felt like at last some time of life was really spending. Then come the spectacular experience of watching the town dying with setting Sun, then awakening again bit by bit at the same time. Slowly the sky had turned complete black with stars twinkling at distances. So, I shifted my attention from sky to the street, the street lights were already shining the streets beneath it. The street was full of rushing people. People of all sex, age, height, color, and taste were rushing up and down the streets. I saw an old woman, crooked back, going down the street towards the market road, very slowly, poor woman. A herd of cow had blocked the streets for a minute or two before disappearing in the side aisles. But then I saw a man aged around 30, strangely clothed with Rajasthani pagdi on his head, a red coat around torso and dhoti in south Indian style under it. The instant I saw him – he too saw me and our eyes meet for a flash of time. He looked away and hurried him to a nearby aisle; this behavior was quite strange. I continued to watch down the street for some more time.

I looked for the time which was eight past twenty six by my clock, although it is set 15 minutes ahead, which means the actual time was eight past eleven. It’s time for the dinner, so I stand up, went to the room, picked up my wallet, switched off the lights and locked the room before leaving for the dinner. As soon as I reached the street I found the rush and which was actually more than what it appears from the balcony. It’s slippery out there because of shower in the evening. Streets was full of smell of cooking street foods like always. People had huddled around some famous street stalls. I crossed the road thinking something, almost unaware of the direction, the slippery street, the passing busy men and women, and the food stalls. As I presumed my consciousness to present, I found me standing in front of a food restaurant. Actually, it is not a restaurant, not even a shop or a dhabha, it is sort of in between these. There I used to dinner everyday. The moment I found me standing there I was surprised as well as glad, I patted my legs for his sense of directions.

The shop owner, a short, south Indian portly man; like always he was busy in handling order of his customer. I placed the order for a full plate. Because there are already so many orders before me so I started looking around to pass the time. First I saw a group of teenagers coming down the street almost blocking the whole of it. There was a man who was shouting on them and they were just laughing, so was I. As I turned almost 180 degrees to face the other side of the street I saw the same man who was wearing the Pagdi and was standing in front of my room. The instant he realized – I saw him he turned around and hurried down the road in opposite direction.

“Is he following me? But why he would do so? Maybe someone has said him to pry on me. But what will he pry? I am just an Electronic student and my father is not a rich person. Ha-Ha, he is just a madman. Look at his dress, he is looking like a ….. Oh my….Oh My God, he could be a psycho killer…..murderer. NO, no, no. It’s bullshit. That can’t be.” I started wondering uselessly when shop owner shouts.

“Sir your order.” The plate was ready and the south Indian man was in such a hurry that he had almost dropped the plate thinking that I had already picked it.  

I took the order and looked around, the man had disappeared. I started to move as fast as I can with my eyes more at my back. “I have to be cautious.” I thoughtfully concluded.

I reached the room in about five minutes. I opened the lock, my hands were shacking.

“Are you crazy, this was nothing but a mere coincidence. Don’t give that timid look. No, I am not afraid. Just take a long breathe and let every useless thought out of your mind in a blow.”

I closed the door and fastened the lock. By the time I sat for the dinner it was already nine by the clock. I ate the dinner. The thought of that man was flashing in my mind again and again. The more I was trying to get rid of it, the more it was catching my senses. I was tired of it, so I slept early around 11:40.

II

It was around 5:40 in the morning when I was thrown out of my sleep because of a thunder, but it felt like I had slept only for an hour or two. It was all dark in the room, rain was spattering on the glass window. I sat down on my bed when a lightening lighted the whole room with an instant, and it appeared to me as if someone was sitting beside my bed on the chair. I switched ON the bulb. And yes, a man, real in fact was sitting leg over leg like a mafia DON on the chair and was looking at me. I kneaded my face two times but this was not a dream but this was happening in real.

“What I do now. Will he going to stab me?  Who is he? No, why he will stab me? What I do now?” Thoughts were rushing through my head while I was sitting in the middle of my bed, mouth half opened and face flushed because of fear.

Adrenaline was rushing through my blood in the whole body; my heart had started pumping the blood like hell; my breathe was shortening and was quick. Fight or Flight. My body was preparing me for fighting or for running away. A minute passed nothing happened, I was sitting there on the edge of my bed like a half-dead man, still deciding what to do. Fake adrenaline!

Then I figured out that I could scream which might be the best thought. But before I could do so. The man started speaking.

“Be calm. I will not hurt you. I am here to take my thing from you.”

He was the same turban man, I recognized him, but he was wearing different clothes.

“Aren’t you listening?”

“Oh yes, I am ….. I am listening. You can take whatever you want from here. I will not even say a word to you.”

“No, I just want my thing back, boy.”

“What thing? I am not a thief.”

“The Watch, that’s mine.”

“That’s Yours!”

“Yes, that’s mine. Now bring it to me, quickly.”

That was a golden color, black dialed, steel framed watch that I had bought a week ago.

“It’s here. Take it.”, I gave the watch to the man. “But I had bought it form a shop only a week ago. I mean……..how can it be yours.” Silence, for a while. Then, I spoke again, “But you can take it. No problem. It’s yours form now.”

“I will pay you for it. Tell me, what do you want?” He roared.

“No, I want nothing but if you want to give something to me then I will be more than happy to have it.” I stopped speaking; then an idea struck my mind, so I continued inquiringly, “Can I ask you your name?” I was trying to smile but was only succeeding in adding to my already timid and flushed look.

He looked long at me, then at watch before sinking down in thinking something. This is irritating to me, although I dare not to ask this again, I was still afraid of him.

A minute or two long pause. Then, he suddenly leaned forward on his chair toward me with that stern face turned even more serious. He put out the his hands form his pocket, his fingers were being glittered by the rings – red, blue, yellow and green in color.

“Can you believe it……….I am the God of The Time”

For a moment I was confused and out of thought. This is the most unexpected answer I had ever listened. “Is he drunk? What is the matter with him? Is he kidding? No, he looks too serious. Nor he was not looking like a drunk. Then what is the matter with him. I have to be cautious. Better not speak a word.”

He stared at me, and I stared back at him in a hope that something would happen next moment. One minute passed, then two and then three; there was staring, silence and staring and nothing else.

“You are not believing me.” He concluded at last.

“Yes, I mean, no…..” I gasped, “Yes, it’s hard to believe it. How can it be true? This is crazy. I mean you are like me. I am not opposing you, Sir, but truth is truth.”

“Listen boy, what I am going to tell you is hard to believe, but it’s true.”

He lit a cigar and started smoking. “I love this thing.”

“So young boy, listen. I had dropped my watch some 80 thousand ‘Pals’ back, this time is equivalent to 5,644 earthly hours. ‘Pal’ is our unit of measurement just like you have second and hours. We had a war on our planet – ‘Swarg’. The asuras had betrayed “The Gods” once again, only to lose their precious lives. Dropping of my watch was a mere consequence of that war.”

He blow out  a huge cloud of smoke from his mouth. And then started speaking again, “You know what this watch is among the most precious technology of our planet. We can change space and time dimension with this, that’s why we are immortal. You know what I am impressed how you had cared it.”

“So, you are the God of the Time. I mean you controls the time like God Indra controls the rain.”

“What? No, boy I am only like an administrator. I only manages the time. This is not like a power, but it is like a responsibility. And there is no God with designation like God Indra; there are Gods for different goals like God of Teleportation, God of Space, God of ‘Swarg’ and God of Civilization and yes, God of Time, me.”

“Then what you do, in actual?” I asked cautiously.

“I manage time, check the development of any black hole and protect this technology from going in wrong hands and yes, I am jointly responsible for dimension management of warm hole and teleportation. And many more things you will not understand,” He further continued, “This universe is limitless. There are millions and trillions of civilization, maybe more than that. Some civilizations like yours, are too young and in their initial phases of development. You succeed in controlling your planet’s environment to an extent which is very beginning. Some are in their intermediate phases, they are more advanced than you. Civilization in that phase usually have the technology to harness not only the energy of their planet but they further developed the technology of harnessing the energy of other planets as well as their stars. Those in their third phase of their development had the technology to harness the energy of other planets outside of their planetary system. They depend upon asteroids and meteors to get useful minerals for developmental works. Then, comes our civilization completely developed and above all. We are the best. We have learnt teleportation technology, time travel technology. In simple words, we have learnt to control all such things which you can imagine. But not black hole. Initial time travels had created numerous black holes. Black holes is the only trouble that we are facing now to our existence.”

By the time he stopped, the clouds of smoke had covered him completely, I was only listening his voice behind it.

“This is killer. I really liked it.” He was announcing this again and again.

“So, you are an alien and you control the Time and the space and everything I can imagine.” I concluded at last.

“Boy, I do not control anything but we manage them. Haven’t you listened it?” I said dryly.

“Of Course, I was listening it.”

“It is better for you to listen to me.”

Although my brain was saying that it is completely absurd and unbelievable, but I was completely thrilled by the such facts of civilization. So, I continued to ask more question.

“O God of Time, can you please tell me more about your planet and civilization.”

He smiled and smiled long. ‘O lord’ had worked.

“We are the oldest civilization in this universe and the best as I have said. We have been to several galaxies and stars, but until now we had not found any civilization as developed as ours. We developed the technologies and harnessed as per requirements. First, we have drained our planet’s resources, than our solar system’s. But we were unfamiliar of the destruction we were causing. Over time the consequences started to come out. Glitch in time travels and our lust modification have developed the black holes. With the formation of too many black holes and the destruction of our planetary system, we felt the need for a system to control our growing power and needs or say lust. We formed several departments to check on the consequences of these time and space travels and teleportation and excessive energy usage. We leave our galaxy and settled to another planet in another galaxy. A planet some 1,000 times bigger than your Earth. It has all the abundant resources for our survival.” He stopped and abruptly shouted – “Boy! Are you understanding what I am saying?”

“Yes, of course……..why not.. damn simple it is. Ha, Ha.” I said baffling on each word.

“I think that much is enough for you. The rest is bit complicated and I am not a teacher who will explain you every point with that precision.”

“At least tell me about the watch story. I mean, how it had came to that shop from where I bought it.” I urged.

“It’s just a sort of teleportation mishappening. A glitch in the space travel.” He answered tersely.

In spite of the facts, he told me of his acclaimed planet, that damn good, realistic and precise; it is still far from believing. “Something wrong might had happened to him. Maybe a brain injury or Bhopal like Gas Tragedy. Oh, shit he could be a sci-fi writer. Yes, he must be this. Shall I ask him? Yes, I have to ask him.”

“Sir, are you a writer or something?” I asked frowning and feeling a little intimidated.

He flung out of his chair. A mammoth man of height 7 ft. and heavy muscular body was standing in front me. He started roaring at me.

“You think of it as some sort of joke or a mere imagination. Let me show you the truth. Tell me where you want to go in time, not in future but in past. In fact, I want to reward you. Go choose any past time after the formation of earth. You can stay at that time for 10 earthly hours.”

“What? .... seriously!” I exclaimed.

“Yes, seriously.”

My breathe was shortening, heart beat was increasing, sweating increasing, and I was feeling nervous. The adrenaline was on its rush yet again.

“Is he really serious? What if he was? I have to choose subtly. What date will be better? 100 years back will be good. No, there is high risk in going far in time. Day before yesterday is a safe time. Yes, this is best.”

“Sir, I want to travel in time to the day before yesterday.”

“What day before yesterday? Are you screwed up? What is so special in that day.”

“Nothing.”

“Man, this is a one time opportunity. Think big, something that will have some meaning. Don’t let this opportunity go like this.”

“I need some time.”

“Two minutes. That’s it”

I thought about all short of events in my life, some are special and some aren’t. But no event felt worthy of time travel. Then, I thought of some historical events like independent day of India or India’s wining of 83 World Cup or Indian hockey team winning the 1936 Berlin Olympics Gold medal. Thoughts were rushing in my mind and I was cancelling them one by one. 30.01.1948, the date of Gandhiji’s assassination; here my thoughts at last paused. Why, I don’t know.

“I want to travel to 30 January, 1948.” I declared.

“I think this time you get the rational choice. So, be ready. If you have any question ask them now?”

“Yes, I have.”

“Go on then, ask them.”

“They can sound crazy. Will my action in past affect my future or if somehow I will be killed there, then what will happen to me?”

“Listen boy, this is there is no such possibility like dying. Take this clock. See! whenever you feel that you want to come back before 10 hours press this button. And Yes, your action will count in the future which is your present. But remember time is inevitable. Changing something in the past is not as simple. You understand.”

“Yes, I understood it.”

 He handed me a purple color pill and said me to eat this.

“What is it?”

“This will help you in retaining your memory during time travel.”

He took out a ball shaped equipment and activated it. It sounded loud, loud like a jet. And…….