Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here's chapter twenty-seven of "Not Here II: The Journey Continues." I am glad it took just four days to get out. When I first started writing this sequel, I was uncertain about having Kinwon and Tykwa visit Earth. I decided to do that as I felt it would be good for them to experience Earth culture. Moreover, they could witness the high school graduation of the former Astro Rangers, Justin, Karone, Leo, and Kendrix. Stay tuned for chapter twenty-eight.

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Chapter 27: First Morning on Earth

The early morning sun beamed its rays on the Blocks residence the next day. A gentle wind went through the trees. This caused their leaves to rustle quietly. A northern mockingbird was sitting on a branch near the top of a tree in the front yard. Another branch hit it in the back, causing it to chirp in much annoyance. It spread its wings and flew around back.

The mockingbird came to Kinwon's window and landed on the windowsill. It looked inside, seeing him asleep while lying on his back. He had his arms behind his head. He stirred in his sleep without waking up. He brought his leg up and placed his foot against the other one. He let out a long yawn before smacking his lips.

Kinwon groaned while stirring in his sleep again. He opened his eyes, finding blurry vision. He blinked four times to clear it. He looked over at the clock to find it read seven-forty. He tried to hold back a chuckle, but he couldn't help himself. He was glad he woke up twenty minutes before it was set to go off. He usually woke up between seven-thirty and eight o'clock on KO-35. He felt fortunate he slept through most of the night due to being so tired.

He stroked his beard before clearing his throat. He wondered if Tykwa was awake right now. He recalled how tired she was when he went to see her last night. He hoped her bed was comfortable enough for her. He thought his was quite comfortable. He slept mostly on his back throughout the night as he considered it the best position for sleeping.

His thoughts drifted to Tyson and Minnie. He wouldn't be surprised if they were already awake. He remembered Andros telling him the couple wasn't known for sleeping late while on vacation or during the weekends. They reminded him of himself so much. He wondered if they were making breakfast as he felt a bit hungry.

He started thinking about the trip to the beach. He was looking forward to going there so much. He knew he would feel a little out of place due to wearing a t-shirt and shorts. At the same time, he didn't mind. He hoped none of the teens that Andros, Ashley, Zhane, Karone, TJ, Cassie, Carlos, Justin, Leo, and Kendrix had been dealing with would show up to make trouble.

Kinwon turned off the alarm and threw the covers off him. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He stood up at a steady pace. He stretched his arms above his head while yawning widely. He did a stretch of his right side. He did the same with the left side. He headed over to the window while whispering inaudible words. He became quiet as he looked down at the mockingbird. It seemed to make eye contact with him.

Kinwon couldn't help but smile. He felt fortunate to have seen mockingbirds while Andros was driving through the neighborhood yesterday. He thought they were beautiful birds. He was amazed at how well they could mimic the calls of other birds, especially blue jays. He thought their name was appropriate. He snapped out of his thoughts when knocking sounded. He peered over his shoulder at the door while scratching his cheek.

"Come in," he called.

The door opened in which it revealed Tykwa. She walked in, closing it behind her. Kinwon smiled at her as she made her way toward him.

"Good morning, Tykwa," Kinwon greeted warmly.

"Good morning yourself, Kinwon," Tykwa responded, stopping. "How are you doing this morning?"

"I am doing great," Kinwon said happily. "What about you?"

"I am doing great as well," Tykwa said, sighing in much content. " My bed was so comfortable."

"Mine was too," Kinwon commented and stroked his beard. "I felt like I could sink down into it."

"I felt the same way with mine," Tykwa whispered, a giggle leaving her mouth. "Imagine if we could really sink down into our beds. I would love to be with you if that happened."

He smirked. "I have one request for you if we were to sink down into a bed together."

"What's that?" Tykwa wondered.

"You can't stop to change clothes," Kinwon said as he moved his eyebrows up and down.

"I will if I want to," Tykwa said with a playful growl.

"You're goofy," Kinwon mumbled.

She showed mock annoyance. "I heard that."

Kinwon shifted his attention back to the mockingbird. Tykwa came to his side. They listened to its chirping.

"Talk about a beautiful bird," she whispered with a small smile.

"I can't argue with that," he agreed. "The mockingbirds we heard on the way here sang their regular songs. Then they imitated blue jays."

"Yeah," Tykwa answered.

"Andros said blue jays are well known for imitating various birds," Kinwon added and sighed softly. "It will even imitate hawks to scare off predators or to see if one is in the area."

"Imitating a hawk is a great strategy to avoid one," Tykwa said honestly and crossed her arms. "No one can ever be sure what is out there."

"Life is full of taking risks. Even stepping outside is risky," Kinwon said in much thoughtfulness.

"Andros and Ashley took a risk having unprotected sex. It resulted in him impregnating her with twins," Tykwa said and licked her lips.

"A woman has a good chance of getting pregnant within a year if all her sexual encounters are unprotected," Kinwon said, tensing somewhat.

"Andros told us Veronica had slept with so many men that she wouldn't even know the father of her baby if she got pregnant," Tykwa hissed in disgust. "He said she claimed her child didn't need a father and that she would raise it to be independent."

"A child does need a father," Kinwon said bluntly. "If it doesn't have a father, then a father-figure will do. It can be a teacher, a coach, a grandfather, an uncle, etc. Fathers and father-figures instill boundaries into children."

"Children who grow up without fathers or father-figures tend to have many problems later in life. For boys, they end up in jail more often. For girls, they have issues with men," Tykwa explained.

"Having multiple sex partners increases the chance of getting an STD. We've seen our fair share of such diseases on KO-35," Kinwon said, shuddering badly.

"There is one we haven't seen on our world. It is HIV, the disease that causes AIDS," Tykwa muttered, swallowing hard.

"That could change when Earthlings go there for visits," Kinwon pointed out grimly.

"We were freaked out when Andros told us that HIV attacked the immune system and weakened it to allow for opportunistic infections to make patients really sick," Tykwa said and gulped in fear. "He mentioned it could be spread by sexual contact, sharing needles for shooting up drugs, and from mother to baby."

"He said it was discovered in 1981. That is his birth year," Kinwon commented in much awe. "He told us many people died within a few years during the early day after its discovery, but more are living longer due to antiviral drugs."

"I hope a cure can be found someday," Tykwa said in some uncertainty.

"I do too," Kinwon agreed. "Very much."

The duo observed the mockingbird spreading its wings and flying into the sky. They watched it until it was gone. They listened to the singing of other birds. Their faces became filled with awe.

"Many birds are singing their hearts out this morning," she said.

"They seem to be happy about it being sunny," he commented with a chuckle.

"I wish we could bring robins, jays, starlings, and other bird species to our world. It would be nice to have a piece of Earth with us," Tykwa admitted.

"It would. At the same time, it is not a good idea. Our native bird species would have no idea how to handle them," Kinwon said solemnly.

Tykwa sighed heavily. "You're right. Just because Earth and KO-35 are similar doesn't mean their animal and plant species would be able to handle either world."

"Andros said European starlings were introduced here. Though they have caused problems for native birds, they have helped people by consuming pesky insects," Kinwon pointed out.

"Like flies," Tykwa answered as she held up a finger.

"Exactly," Kinwon said, nodding fast. "Though flies annoy us with their flying around our heads, they are effective at consuming what remains of carcasses."

"I remember seeing flies crawling all over a deer carcass during a walk in the forest on KO-35. I could see they were consuming pieces of it," Tykwa said and made a funny noise.

Kinwon blew in a soft manner. "Flies will also consume pieces of dung. Dung beetles will roll it into balls."

She slipped a lock of hair behind her ear before clearing her throat. He suppressed a yawn and smacked his lips. They watched two mockingbirds fly past the window.

"I can't wait to see the ocean with my own eyes for the first time," Tykwa said very eagerly.

"Neither can I," Kinwon agreed, a chuckle leaving his mouth. "Andros said Earth was known to have powerful storms called tropical cyclones."

"Because KO-35 doesn't have oceans, we've never experienced such a storm," Tykwa said matter-of-factly.

"That's not to say the lakes have never been choppy," Kinwon murmured.

"Of course not," Tykwa said with a nod. "The waves on the lakes can get pretty high, but it isn't enough to do much damage."

"It is possible for lakes to flood," Kinwon commented very thoughtfully. "It takes a tremendous amount of rain for that to happen."

"I never want to be caught in a boat on a lake while it is choppy," Tykwa muttered, shuddering in fear. "It is so dangerous."

"I've read stories where people dove into shallow water and broke their necks. They were killed or paralyzed from the neck down. If they didn't suffer paralysis, it took a long time for them to heal," Kinwon whispered, sadness lining his voice.

"It irritates me when people perform dangerous stunts without proper training. It's as if they have to prove they are tough," Tykwa said, shaking her head in disbelief. She grabbed a fistful of hair. "On Earth, you get called a chicken if you refuse to carry out a dare."

"I recall Ashley talking about A Christmas Story," Kinwon said while scratching his chin. "Schwartz dared Flick to stick his tongue to a light pole in winter. It took the former triple dog daring the latter to do it. Flick stuck his tongue to the flagpole. It became stuck for real." He spoke gibberish before making a funny noise. "It is obvious the triple dog dare was what got people to do crazy things in the 1940s."

"People may have had more common sense back then, but they threw it out the window once they were dared to stupid stuff," Tykwa said and blew a raspberry.

"As Earthlings say, you can't fix stupid," Kinwon said in bluntness.

"That's right," Tykwa agreed, giving a sharp nod. "People can dare me to do something dangerous all they want. I am not carrying out the dares."

"Neither am I," Kinwon said in determination. "It is not worth risking your life to prove you are tough." He let out a sharp exhale.

"Sometimes, you have to risk your life to save someone from danger," Tykwa said truthfully. "Being brave doesn't mean you aren't scared. It means you are facing your fears."

"We had a great deal of fear when Dark Specter's forces attacked KO-35," Kinwon said, sighing heavily. "We didn't think we would be able to survive. However, we faced our fears and fought them bravely. We did surrender due to being outmatched, but Zordon's energy wave saved us."

"Yeah," Tykwa said and scratched her neck. She heard her stomach growling. "I am pretty hungry. Are you?"

"I am," Kinwon said, rubbing his stomach as it growled. "We should head downstairs."

"Yes," Tykwa agreed. "However, I need to use the bathroom first."

"Me too. Come on," Kinwon said as he waved his hand toward himself. He and his friend walked out of the room. They went across the hallway to the bathroom. He turned on the light as he went inside. He closed the door behind him. She proceeded to wait.