The last 4 paragraphs before the end have yet to be written down.
“There's worse places we could have landed.” the dark haired but fair-skinned man said, looking around him. “I especially like the view.” he added, looking down at the park below. More specifically two women in blue playing at a fountain.
“They look more or less human.” His friend agreed. “I'm more interested in their keeper.”
Malcolm looked around to see who Elliot could be talking about. The only older human around was a bespectacled man with his head in his garden. Older human' his mind repeated. Then he saw what Elliot must have already noticed. The woman standing next to the two young women and who was clearly their caretaker, was not human.
“Come on you hooligans, that's enough raucous futzing. It's getting dark.” A older voice said from somewhere down the way. Elliot couldn't tell who had spoken. A moment later they heard something truly raucous.
“Clumsy Fool!” The both took of toward the sound of the disturbance. A gruff looking older man with smooth gray skin and large eyes was yelling at his server.
“Hey, what seems to be the trouble?” Elliot said, coming up quickly while Malcolm knelt down quickly at the man's side.
“This maggot spilled our dinner all over the terrace.” The burly man replied.
“From what I can tell he just dropped the dinner rolls and the mangoes, no big deal.” Malcolm said as he helped the man up.
“You human tells me it's no big deal. I don't know whether to fetch a doctor for your head or a tanning iron for your back.”
“Who are you sir?” Elliot said, attempting diplomacy.
“Someone far too busy to wait on Sika's clumsy feet.” A voice called from the crowd.
“Indeed so.” Agreed the man, whose name was apparently Sika. “I am truly sorry Ithicar.”
“It's Issachar you...”
“That's enough.” A commanding voice said from the other end of the terrace. A gray-skinned individual in a dark red tunic and brown slacks walked forward. He was clearly a man of some authority as the crowds parted to let him through. “There are other people at this business attempting to enjoy their meal. I suggest you pay your bill and allow them that courtesy, Sajen.”
“Tell that to this stranger.” The customer said, jabbing a thumb in Elliot's direction before resuming his seat.
“Thank you, whoever you are.” Sika said to Malcolm, clutching his hand.
“Sika, the same advice goes for you.” The older man said gently but firmly.
“Of course Magistrate.”
“I haven't seen the two of you around before.” The Magistrate said, putting his right hand to his collarbone in what was apparently a mild greeting.
“We're just passing through. We're...from the valley.”
“Well as chief peace officer here in Tarsus I would advise you to keep your head down in public until you know if you are staying. Or at least until you know who you are talking to.”
“Thank you, for the advice. And we will try to be more careful.”
“Well, restful night to you then.” The Marshall said amiably.
An hour later Malcolm saw a familiar face walking down the main path.
“Sika is it?” he called. The man nodded but said nothing. “Listen I, I hope I didn't get you into any trouble back there.”
Sika was clearly caught off guard. “You were very kind to me. More than mos' people here.” He looked form one strangers face to the other, as if waiting for them to continue. Elliot blushed.
“My name is Elliot. And this is my friend Malcolm.”
Sika smiled faintly. “Malcolm and Elli't.” He repeated, indicating them. “Strange names. Listen you should be getting...How stupid I am!” he interrupted himself. “You are strangers, travelers. Please, come stay with my daughter and I tonight!”
“I...Thank you. I don't know what else to say.”
Sika raised his right hand with two fingers up. “ 'Strangers and aliens are to be to you as natives and brothers. Make a habit of welcoming strangers for supper, the night if they need lodging.' It's the only way we can stay alive and together here in the outerlands.”
'lead the way' I almost said, but Sika was already leading us down one of the side streets. Four blocks later we came to his home, it looked like an old ranch house. A large wide window on either side fo the door but no other openings. He stopped right before the door. “Malcolm I should tell you, my daughter Tula doesn't talk much. Not in standard anyway.”
I wasn't sure what to say, and he didn't seem to expect a reply so I kept quiet. He shook the handle of his front door and pushed inward. There was a collection of books on the floor at the far wall, a tall thin bar the height of a room lamp right beside it. When Sika tapped it, the bar itself glowed with warm, orange light.
“Tula, Tula I bring guests.” Sika called cheerfully.
“Mi-an Sikal, father.” A young voice called from the other room. A moment later Tula walked into the room. You could almost say she bounded into the room, pushing up on her left foot as she rushed to embrace her father. I found her comely and delightful.
“Tula these are my new friends, Malcolm and Elli-t.” Tula's head tilted sideways. She smiled faintly at me. I shook my head to say 'no problem'.
“Supper is in the warmer. Is this a time for wine?”
She said happily. That's when I noticed she had made no attempt to shake hands, and neither had anyone else. Maybe they didn't do that here.
“Ka-ja Tula.” Sika said with a gentle remonstrance.
“Apalogies our friends, distracted.”
“Another Odyssey Tula?”
“Kavaberry pie. I...thought there'd be a reason for it so I made some at Nyssa's today.”
“Nyssa is a good teacher then?” Malcolm said sweetly to her. Sika looked embarrassed.
“Nyssa looks out for me when dad is gone for a long time. Nothing else to do.” Her face suddenly grew calm and serious. “Three for wine.” It almost didn't sound like a question.
“Yes please.” Malcolm said quickly. “Yes that would be wonderful.”
“Malcolm, Nyssa isn't real. She was having a tea party. Or the same idea.”
“Passing the time talking to polite guests.” Sika explained, smiling broadly. “Washroom down at the end, supper is almost ready.”
Sika quickly sat down at the head of a table that could have seated 6 people comfortably. Malcolm sat to his right and I sat down next to him. Tula set a salad of dark red vegetables a small loaf of thick bread and a platter of some kind of roasted meat down on the table. She left, came back with 4 plates, six glasses all about the size of tumblers and one much taller glass all of them made out of what looked like bronze or copper. She sat down on her father's left. They folded their hands into their laps and bowed their heads. Malcolm and I did the same.
“Herne and Silas and all our friends.” Sika said coarsely.
“Sarrin and Jenna.” Tula piped.
“Mary, Ellen.” I whispered. Malcolm gave me a look of sympathy. He shook his head. The prayer broke without explanation or inquiry. Sika filled 4 glasses with water and three from the bottle of wine on the table. He handed the tallest glass to his daughter and we each picked our own water and wine glasses.
“To young for wine?” Malcolm asked Tula jokingly.
“Too young by far.” She answered with a grin.
“Are you here looking for work?” Sika asked me, dishing out some of the salad.
“We were hoping to find work somewhere. Mostly I just wanted to see what else was out there.” I answered him.
“Although we intend to settle down eventually.” Malcolm said casually.
“Settle down?”Sika inquired.
“They'll not know where 'home' is until they find it. Until then they will keep being travelers."
Malcolm and I looked at Tula in surprise. Her eyes were over bright. “You speak like the people I create. You I can understand.” She said smiling brightly.
"I'm sorry the 'people she creates'?" I asked Sika.
"She speaks in an older dialect of standard. She writes all her stories in that voice. You sound like...her."
“akkamitti isaan waliin wal argite?” Tula asked her father later.
(How did you meet them?)
“Eliyoot Artar duratti naaf dhaabbate Malcolm immoo akkan ka'u na gargaare.”
(Elliott stood me up in front of Arthur and Malcolm helped me up)
“Kana irraa Eliyoot gowwaa fi Malcolm gara laafessa ta'uu isaa argite.”
(You took from this that Elliot was stupid and Malcolm was kind.)
“eeyyee sirriitti.” Sika enthused.
(Yes, exactly.)
Tula shook her head slowly. “Lakki abbaa. Eliyoot ija jabina kan qabu siʼa taʼu, Maalkoom immoo ni yaaddessa ture.”
(No, father. Elliott was courageous, and Malcolm was concerned.)
“I cannot disagree.” Sika said smiling sadly.
Tula wears a blue crystal around her neck that in her own words "tells everyone else I have my head so far in the clouds I can't see the tree in front of me." In other words, anyone who hassles her for not following the custom of position, for not knowing how things are will get laughed at themselves rather than encouraged or agreed with.
The next morning Malcolm and Elliot meet Tula at a city park and one of the gray skinned people, who are the first class citizens on this planet starts hassling her. He's a bully teasing the quiet dreamer, they can tell this in an instant. Now this is a bi-lingual as well as a bi-species town and it is unclear to the visitors why Tula speaks this ancient native to the planet language more often than the others. But the boy ends his string of insults with "Deimos Pah Tar-ek Ni'cha." And Tula's eyes actually light up.
"Ayiah Selat Portia, Myah Selene Kolos." She says calmly and walks away. Leaving a very intrigued but clueless pair of visiting humans.
"He basically said that the founder of my tribe slept with the pigs." She explained later.
Deimos, the founder of her tribe -by which she meant humans on this planet though they don't pick up on that right away- had 2 sons and three daughters by his wife Portia. Who left him to live with another man from beyond the sun. She describes that union as a 'prosperous marriage' resulting in 7 sons and 5 daughters and how that clan, Kolos eventually became the dominant race on the planet.
"But all of us came from Portia. Can you sense the implication?" She says with a smile.
The implication of course being if Deimos slept with the pigs what does that make his wife. Suddenly her eyes grew hard. "Where are you from?" She said coarsely. Malcolm and Elliot looked between each-other. "The Valley is the center. This would have been your lifeblood. Where are you from?!"
They quickly realize they just heard this planet's equivalent of two of the sons of Abraham as well as the origin story for the human and non human races on the planet and showed no sign of recognition. They had previously told the girl Tula and her father Sika that they were from the valley and just passing through looking for work. They had actually crashed here from another planet...Earth.
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