Chapter Five
Exploring

It has been a long day. I was cheerful for a change. But still a little confused. I am an alien? A Saclaurilian? How did we even get here?

I sit at the table and munch on a chicken nugget. It wasn't McDonald's. And I believe it wasn't even chicken. I wonder what kind of animal it was? What kind of animals do we have on this planet? I check outside. The sky, as I knew before, was light pink. It's about as pretty as the blue sky on earth. Yes, I know it's actually called Terra. What causes the sky to be pink?

We all know the reason the sky on Terra is blue. Blue light is scattered in all directions by the tiny molecules of air in Terra's atmosphere. Blue is scattered more than other colors because it travels as shorter, smaller waves. But what causes Saclaurilia's sky to be pink? What I like about this planet is that it has three moons. Plus, we can observe the nearest planet in the sky. Which I found out was called Teonus. It's not a habitable planet. If you look at it, many rings were surrounding it. Kind of like Saturn. Someday I will learn about all the planets in this part of the solar system.

I decided to leave the guest house. I couldn't stay in that cooped-up place forever. Mikayla was busy watching her shows. To keep it safe, I stayed near the house. I wasn't going to get lost in this world. As Jane said, this world changes all the time. I should know that, with the labyrinth. I wish I could see this place as a map.

The street I was on was beautiful. It was not made of asphalt or concrete. I look at the buildings. They looked the same as what we have on earth. The grass was green too. I step towards a wall. It was very smooth. It felt like marble. A door opened up from the wall. I gulped in disbelief.

“There was nothing there a minute ago,” I thought.

Then the huge door opened wider and a terrifying creature ran out, full speed, screaming for his life. Right behind him come two wingless creatures riding on strange animals. I wish I knew what they were. They quickly catch up with the fellow running and drag him. He was screaming piteously, back through the gate. Before the gates close, I noticed more trolls, what seems like hundreds of them. I couldn't see much of it, because the next thing I knew, the door slam shut.

I ran over to where the door was, and couldn't find the seam.

This world is becoming more of a fairy tale. All those fiction stories of mythical creatures were real here. It makes me think that the stories that are written were based on real events. Could the author J.R.R. Tolkien be from Saclaurilia instead of where he was said to be born in Africa? Could the Hobbits be on this planet? Could The Lord of The Rings be a true story?

I walk down the street. At first, I noticed it was empty, but now it's filled with people... Humans... Um, Saclaurilians. What do they call themselves? Shops were busy with... Well, let's just call them people. I wasn't sure how they got there, but I am glad they were here.

While I was walking, I noticed that a few people stared at me. I guess because I was a child about nine years old, all alone on the street. But no one stopped to see if I needed any help.

I stepped into a store and saw all kinds of food. I encountered lots of fascinating fruits and veggies. Some that looked familiar and some that did not.

Could the apple, which I saw in the store, come from this planet and was sent to Terra? If that was true, the story of Adam and Eve, eating an apple might not be exactly true. They couldn't have eaten an apple. Unless the Garden of Eden is on this planet. But that would make the Bible all wrong.

The garden must have been on Terra, and the apple could have been a different fruit.

All the fruit was making me hungry. They looked sensational. I took one of the fruit stands and took a bite out of it. It was the most delicious fruit I have ever had in my entire life. I knew I shouldn't have done it. It was stealing since I didn't have any money. I hoped the sales guy doesn't have me arrested. After a few bites of the fruit, I felt awkward. I dropped the fruit and started walking, or should I say staggering out of the building.

Again, the townspeople saw me and knew something was wrong. I didn't notice much of what was going on around me.

I head back to the guest house and lay down on the bed. Mikayla noticed me and continued watching the TV show, not knowing anything was wrong.

I woke up to Jane standing next to me. She was not on the television at all. This made me jump out of my skin.

“Hello there Courtney,” she smiled. “I'm glad you're feeling better.

I noticed I was not in the guest room. I was in a room with white walls.

“Where am I?”

“You are in a medical facility,” Jane informed. “Mr. Adrian, the sales clerk, saw the fruit you ate on the floor. He watched the surveillance and saw you eating it, and quickly called for assistance. This fruit is an adracot. A delicious fruit, that is not meant to be eaten without being cooked.”

“Am I going to die?” I cried

“No, ” Jane laughed. “Mr. Adrian got help right away, but you will have to stay in the hospital for the day for observations.”

Well, this is what I get for leaving the house. I shouldn't have left. I am a big dummy. Now, what can I do? At least when I was at the house, I could wander around and play games and eat what I wanted. Now I can't even do that.

I turn on the TV and start watching a show. I still don't know how they got Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network out here, 45 million light-years away. I watched my favorite show. It was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Just because I am a girl now, doesn't mean I can't watch my old favorite shows.

While watching my shows, a man walks into my room and stands there for a minute. I looked up and almost jumped out of the bed. I can not believe my eyes.

“Daddy!!” I screamed.