Chapter 5
I woke up, my room a golden glow. It was all a dream. I was day dreaming. I wasn't, there was a soft snoring sound coming from the corner. No, this is, this, oh no.
I glanced at the clock. Six. I moaned and dug my head into my pillow. The snoring grew louder as I slowly came to.
"Eeeeerrrrr," I got up. The 'werewolf' still sat in my chair. His fur gleamed in the rays of sun. I picked up a stuffed animal and threw it at him. D'Artagnan jumped startled. His bright blue eyes darted across the room. They then stared directly at me. They rolled up into his head as he settled back into the chair.
"Humph," I got up and gathered my clothing. I figured that since I wasn't tired I'd get ready, even with school a few hours away.
****************
I was in a pleasant and comfortable dark. For the first time in over a year I felt at home. No, this wasn't home. My home was on Diecotra. Yet so was my wife.
I have wondered many times if she missed me. She probably did. That's what made getting back so urgent. Well, that and my duty to the Sovereign.
Suddenly I was hit in the face by something. I came to my senses. Joan stood in font of me. She held a pillow and wore something different then last night. "I reckon its morning."
"You reckon right." She sounded annoyed. Had a done something wrong? She threw the pillow on her bed. Then wandered over the closet. I got up slowly.
There were so many books here. Yet I could read none. But she could not read our language either.
"Here, put this on," I turned and caught a shirt. I looked it over. A yellow and black emblem was on the front. "It's the Pittsburg Penguins; it's an Ice Hockey team."
"Ice Hockey?" Pictures flashed threw my mind of people with bladed shoes, long sticks with a curve at the end, plastic helmets with metal wires on the front. Some times they were moving down what looked like colored ice. Others were rammed into a wall. Some fell hurt, others didn't. "Barbaric, this is a sport?" She looked surprised, "I saw images of it in my mind."
"OK, first of all, Ice Hockey is not barbaric. It's fun and challenging. Second. I don't know what you're talking about. Oh take off your vest and put on the damn shirt."
I took off my greenish brown vest and pulled on the shirt she gave me. "Better, now you look like a werewolf from the nineties with a sword instead of a werewolf from the eighteen hundreds."
"Huh," what was she talking about? I rubbed my head.
"OK, listen, in about," she looked at a round, white, numbered, thing with back on it, "and hour and a half. I need to go." GO?! She was going to leave me. Just leave me.
"Please don't leave," I pleaded with her. "I didn't do something wrong did I?" She looked at me.
"Have you had anything to eat in a while," she changed the subject. I shook my head no. "OK, you stay here. And I'll be right back." She left the room. I turned back to the books and looked at them. I could never be able to read these. They had to extensive lettering.
I heard foot steps coming up the stairs. Then Joan walked in. She carried fruits, breads, a box, bowls, some white liquid, and spoons.
Bread, that was something, as I was told, is a human specialty. They didn't look to special to me. She must have exaggerated.
I picked up an orange fruit and took a bite. Juices ran down my face. I licked my upper lips with my tongue. Joan grimaced and pulled the fruit out of my hand.
"This here is an orange, yes who ever named this fruit decided to state the obvious. Now you need to know that you need to peel, not bite into this fruit," she took one of her nails and pulled the skin off, "take this part off." She set the orange peels on a paper napkin. She then pulled apart the orange. Joan then took a piece and popped it in her mouth. She gulped it down after a few seconds. I was beckoned me to do the same.
I pulled a piece off of the orange. Then put it in my mouth. It was a sweet taste, like nothing I had ever had. I savored the flavor.
Joan smiled however and opened the box. She poured some solid, brown, checkered, kind of square like, ack; I don't know what it is; into one of the bowls. She then twisted a cap on the jug like object that held the white liquid.
I pulled off another piece of orange and watched intently. "This here," she said pouring the white liquid into the bowl, "is called milk." Joan lifted up the jug and set it down. She then put on the cap. "Here, try some," she said handing me her bowl and a spoon. I made sure to get some of the checkered bits on my spoon as well.
There was a sugary taste to it. Yet, it was grainy too. The checkered thin things were crunchy. The part called milk was bland. "The solid stuff is called Chexs." Checks, hmm... interesting.
Now I wanted to try the bread. Maybe she didn't exaggerate. Maybe this could be one of the better foods this world has to offer.
I handed the bowl back to her and set down the spoon. Then I reached for a bag with sliced bread. I pulled some bread out and took a bite. "Its banana nut bread," she told me. Oh, I couldn't even begin to describe the taste. This was unbelievable. This species, who I have seen do terrible things, could also make foods like this. Build places like this to live. Too many wonders and so many things. Too many languages and so much to learn.
Joan finished the last of the cereal in her bowl. "Do you want any milk; I need to take it down stairs before it spoils."
"Teach me to read," I said the words without thinking. She looked at me strangely. "I... I want to learn how to read English." Her brow furrowed, and then she looked around the room.
"Do you want any more milk, so I can put this away? Then when I come back upstairs I will teach you what I can, that is before I go to school so I can be a better reader myself." She said this all very slow, hoping I would understand. I nodded glumly.
"Go ahead; I'm going to finish my bread and the orange." Joan pulled out three more pieces of bread. She then picked up all but one orange and the box of Checks. She went down stairs, again I was alone.
Besides her leaving me alone I started to like this world. This place called Earth. Unlike Diecotra this place had many nations. Some were ruled by a lord or lady; others were able to choose what they wanted an elected official to do. On Diecotra, the Sovereign told us what to do. What not to, they were tyrants at times. Only Lopmon knew that something was wrong. She was the only Chosen of the Deva's. The Deva's are the twelve warriors that protect the Sovereign. After all of them but her died, the Sovereign made her one of them. The four become five. So, maybe she did something right. Or even, did something wrong.
Joan entered the room and pulled a book off the shelf, she then took some paper and a writing utensil; then lay down next to me. "These are the letters in our alphabet. There are twenty six all together. Five are vowels, sometimes six. It depends on what kind of day Y is having." I looked at her, she smiled jokingly as she started writing the letters down. A a B b C c D d... It looked nothing like the books. "Just to let you know D'Artagnan, these are capital and lower case letters. Capitals are only used at the beginning of a sentence, for proper nouns, and initials." She said to me, and then glanced up at the clock. "I have thirty more minutes before I need to get ready. Don't worry; you might be able to read the first chapter of this book while I'm away. Oh, try not to go down stairs until you don't see anything in the driveway. Also be on the look out, my dad comes home around the lunch hour to take Alex outback. I want you to stay out of sight. OK?"
I nodded and looked at the page, then counted the 'capital' letters. There were twenty-six of them. "Here, you try to write," she handed me the utensil. I set the point down on the paper. I could write my own language with an ink stick easily. So this couldn't be too hard. I wrote the letters slowly. "Damn, for someone who doesn't know how to write in English, you make my hand writing look bad." She laughed, and then got up. "You work on that, I need to brush my teeth."
Mm N n O o P p... She walked back into the room. Joan didn't check my progress immediately. She looked in the bag from last night and pulled something out. Then put it on her belt. She walked over to me, and then lay down again. "Not to bad," she finally said when I finished. Now each of these letters different sounds. Vowels can be short or long. Consonants, the other twenty or twenty one letters. Have set sounds, but can sound different depending on that vowel or consonant is next to them."
Talk about so much to learn. It was too much. No wonder she goes to a place called school. Joan started to teach me the sounds. It was a challenge. There is just too many ways these go together.
"Well, it's eight. I need toe get ready to leave. I don't even have any shoes or socks on." She went to one of the drawers and pulled something out of them. "D'Artagnan, I need to head off." She knelt in front of me. I could see in her eyes she didn't want to leave.
"I'm sorry, if only I could pretend to be sick. Unlike many kids I almost enjoy going to school. I also need to take care of something today." She felt for something on her hip. "Is it OK with you if I might let someone meet you after I get home?" I nodded, I wasn't worried. Not really, just unsure. "Thanks," she threw her arms around me. A hug. Such affection was not shown on Diecotra. Only lovers and very close friends did this. On Earth, people did this all the time to their loved ones. Other wise friends, family, and rarely people they didn't know or barely knew at all.
I felt honored, yet confused. It was over as soon as the gesture was first made. Joan got up and picked up a different bag and walked down stairs. Only a few minutes later did I hear the door close. I heard that two more times. I knew I was now free to roam the house.
I woke up, my room a golden glow. It was all a dream. I was day dreaming. I wasn't, there was a soft snoring sound coming from the corner. No, this is, this, oh no.
I glanced at the clock. Six. I moaned and dug my head into my pillow. The snoring grew louder as I slowly came to.
"Eeeeerrrrr," I got up. The 'werewolf' still sat in my chair. His fur gleamed in the rays of sun. I picked up a stuffed animal and threw it at him. D'Artagnan jumped startled. His bright blue eyes darted across the room. They then stared directly at me. They rolled up into his head as he settled back into the chair.
"Humph," I got up and gathered my clothing. I figured that since I wasn't tired I'd get ready, even with school a few hours away.
****************
I was in a pleasant and comfortable dark. For the first time in over a year I felt at home. No, this wasn't home. My home was on Diecotra. Yet so was my wife.
I have wondered many times if she missed me. She probably did. That's what made getting back so urgent. Well, that and my duty to the Sovereign.
Suddenly I was hit in the face by something. I came to my senses. Joan stood in font of me. She held a pillow and wore something different then last night. "I reckon its morning."
"You reckon right." She sounded annoyed. Had a done something wrong? She threw the pillow on her bed. Then wandered over the closet. I got up slowly.
There were so many books here. Yet I could read none. But she could not read our language either.
"Here, put this on," I turned and caught a shirt. I looked it over. A yellow and black emblem was on the front. "It's the Pittsburg Penguins; it's an Ice Hockey team."
"Ice Hockey?" Pictures flashed threw my mind of people with bladed shoes, long sticks with a curve at the end, plastic helmets with metal wires on the front. Some times they were moving down what looked like colored ice. Others were rammed into a wall. Some fell hurt, others didn't. "Barbaric, this is a sport?" She looked surprised, "I saw images of it in my mind."
"OK, first of all, Ice Hockey is not barbaric. It's fun and challenging. Second. I don't know what you're talking about. Oh take off your vest and put on the damn shirt."
I took off my greenish brown vest and pulled on the shirt she gave me. "Better, now you look like a werewolf from the nineties with a sword instead of a werewolf from the eighteen hundreds."
"Huh," what was she talking about? I rubbed my head.
"OK, listen, in about," she looked at a round, white, numbered, thing with back on it, "and hour and a half. I need to go." GO?! She was going to leave me. Just leave me.
"Please don't leave," I pleaded with her. "I didn't do something wrong did I?" She looked at me.
"Have you had anything to eat in a while," she changed the subject. I shook my head no. "OK, you stay here. And I'll be right back." She left the room. I turned back to the books and looked at them. I could never be able to read these. They had to extensive lettering.
I heard foot steps coming up the stairs. Then Joan walked in. She carried fruits, breads, a box, bowls, some white liquid, and spoons.
Bread, that was something, as I was told, is a human specialty. They didn't look to special to me. She must have exaggerated.
I picked up an orange fruit and took a bite. Juices ran down my face. I licked my upper lips with my tongue. Joan grimaced and pulled the fruit out of my hand.
"This here is an orange, yes who ever named this fruit decided to state the obvious. Now you need to know that you need to peel, not bite into this fruit," she took one of her nails and pulled the skin off, "take this part off." She set the orange peels on a paper napkin. She then pulled apart the orange. Joan then took a piece and popped it in her mouth. She gulped it down after a few seconds. I was beckoned me to do the same.
I pulled a piece off of the orange. Then put it in my mouth. It was a sweet taste, like nothing I had ever had. I savored the flavor.
Joan smiled however and opened the box. She poured some solid, brown, checkered, kind of square like, ack; I don't know what it is; into one of the bowls. She then twisted a cap on the jug like object that held the white liquid.
I pulled off another piece of orange and watched intently. "This here," she said pouring the white liquid into the bowl, "is called milk." Joan lifted up the jug and set it down. She then put on the cap. "Here, try some," she said handing me her bowl and a spoon. I made sure to get some of the checkered bits on my spoon as well.
There was a sugary taste to it. Yet, it was grainy too. The checkered thin things were crunchy. The part called milk was bland. "The solid stuff is called Chexs." Checks, hmm... interesting.
Now I wanted to try the bread. Maybe she didn't exaggerate. Maybe this could be one of the better foods this world has to offer.
I handed the bowl back to her and set down the spoon. Then I reached for a bag with sliced bread. I pulled some bread out and took a bite. "Its banana nut bread," she told me. Oh, I couldn't even begin to describe the taste. This was unbelievable. This species, who I have seen do terrible things, could also make foods like this. Build places like this to live. Too many wonders and so many things. Too many languages and so much to learn.
Joan finished the last of the cereal in her bowl. "Do you want any milk; I need to take it down stairs before it spoils."
"Teach me to read," I said the words without thinking. She looked at me strangely. "I... I want to learn how to read English." Her brow furrowed, and then she looked around the room.
"Do you want any more milk, so I can put this away? Then when I come back upstairs I will teach you what I can, that is before I go to school so I can be a better reader myself." She said this all very slow, hoping I would understand. I nodded glumly.
"Go ahead; I'm going to finish my bread and the orange." Joan pulled out three more pieces of bread. She then picked up all but one orange and the box of Checks. She went down stairs, again I was alone.
Besides her leaving me alone I started to like this world. This place called Earth. Unlike Diecotra this place had many nations. Some were ruled by a lord or lady; others were able to choose what they wanted an elected official to do. On Diecotra, the Sovereign told us what to do. What not to, they were tyrants at times. Only Lopmon knew that something was wrong. She was the only Chosen of the Deva's. The Deva's are the twelve warriors that protect the Sovereign. After all of them but her died, the Sovereign made her one of them. The four become five. So, maybe she did something right. Or even, did something wrong.
Joan entered the room and pulled a book off the shelf, she then took some paper and a writing utensil; then lay down next to me. "These are the letters in our alphabet. There are twenty six all together. Five are vowels, sometimes six. It depends on what kind of day Y is having." I looked at her, she smiled jokingly as she started writing the letters down. A a B b C c D d... It looked nothing like the books. "Just to let you know D'Artagnan, these are capital and lower case letters. Capitals are only used at the beginning of a sentence, for proper nouns, and initials." She said to me, and then glanced up at the clock. "I have thirty more minutes before I need to get ready. Don't worry; you might be able to read the first chapter of this book while I'm away. Oh, try not to go down stairs until you don't see anything in the driveway. Also be on the look out, my dad comes home around the lunch hour to take Alex outback. I want you to stay out of sight. OK?"
I nodded and looked at the page, then counted the 'capital' letters. There were twenty-six of them. "Here, you try to write," she handed me the utensil. I set the point down on the paper. I could write my own language with an ink stick easily. So this couldn't be too hard. I wrote the letters slowly. "Damn, for someone who doesn't know how to write in English, you make my hand writing look bad." She laughed, and then got up. "You work on that, I need to brush my teeth."
Mm N n O o P p... She walked back into the room. Joan didn't check my progress immediately. She looked in the bag from last night and pulled something out. Then put it on her belt. She walked over to me, and then lay down again. "Not to bad," she finally said when I finished. Now each of these letters different sounds. Vowels can be short or long. Consonants, the other twenty or twenty one letters. Have set sounds, but can sound different depending on that vowel or consonant is next to them."
Talk about so much to learn. It was too much. No wonder she goes to a place called school. Joan started to teach me the sounds. It was a challenge. There is just too many ways these go together.
"Well, it's eight. I need toe get ready to leave. I don't even have any shoes or socks on." She went to one of the drawers and pulled something out of them. "D'Artagnan, I need to head off." She knelt in front of me. I could see in her eyes she didn't want to leave.
"I'm sorry, if only I could pretend to be sick. Unlike many kids I almost enjoy going to school. I also need to take care of something today." She felt for something on her hip. "Is it OK with you if I might let someone meet you after I get home?" I nodded, I wasn't worried. Not really, just unsure. "Thanks," she threw her arms around me. A hug. Such affection was not shown on Diecotra. Only lovers and very close friends did this. On Earth, people did this all the time to their loved ones. Other wise friends, family, and rarely people they didn't know or barely knew at all.
I felt honored, yet confused. It was over as soon as the gesture was first made. Joan got up and picked up a different bag and walked down stairs. Only a few minutes later did I hear the door close. I heard that two more times. I knew I was now free to roam the house.