"Mom, Mom, is that you?'' I approached a figure waiting at the end of the tunnel.
"I am not your mother Agatha, I am the guiding spirit of the Dreygos, the kind you are''.
Dazed and confused, I asked, "Dreygo? What is that? Where is my mother? How do you know my name?''
"One question at a time child." she smiled.
"Dreygos are special people that appear every 1000 years, particularly females. It started during the early ages when the first dreygo, Nephtalia pleased the Macedonian High priest so much, he gave her the gift of protection against unnatural forces, through Zeus, Dreygos would only die when they grow old. They would not die in accidents, through diseases or any unnatural cause. You, my child are a dreygo. The only one this millennial and you have the responsibility to return earth to its purest form. Only you have that gift which is why you did not die from the blast.''
"Your mother, as well as the rest of humankind is dead but you alone can save them. Moreover, how do i know your name? I am the guiding spirit of dreygos. I have been here since inception.'' She smiled, walking towards my direction. I was frozen to the spot and she saw right through me.
"Do not fear child; you have to be strong to save earth. You have a week to save each continent from total and irrevocable extinction''.
"Is this a dream? I am dreaming right? I want to be home with my mother, making breakfast for me and seeing Chiara. What is happening? I am too young for this.'' I broke down for the first time, realizing everything happened for real and i wept for my mother, friends, humans and animals that lost their lives.
"You need all the strength and courage because you are going to face other entities, different from humans. I would give you the gift of understanding their language but I cannot help you more than that. I can also give you an animal, which would manifest once you begin your quest. Your extra gifts would manifest in this alternate universe and they would be amazed of your power. They would want to kill you but you are a dreygo so have no fear child. Be brave my child, be brave."
She began to fade and a blinding light struck me.
''Expo diamante?'' (Is she still alive?)
''Nei Vule du negrat sulkerate'' (Yes she would come up soon)
''Ramune graduleti uzezibrei'' (Her vital signs are stronger)
''Ne dr vule mane di frigiretuti '' (She has two legs, strange)
''Vule Mane di izonea voo'' (She has two eyes too)
''Rachehcha!'' (Amazing!)
I opened my eyes and saw these terrifying creatures standing by. I do not know how i could understand their language could but they had no idea.
"Who are you? Where am i? Let me go!" I struggle with the chains on my wrists and ankle but it was two strong.
The creatures stood still during my rage and once I stopped, they came closer and peered at me with humorous curiosity. They were over 8ft tall, had four legs, three hands and one gigantic eye each. They also had diverse skin colour, ranging from red, blue and green.
They had a transmitter-like object on their heads too for translation languages I guessed, because they understood what I said.
"You are awake creature. What are you?" , One of the 'doctors' asked, smiling creepily.
"My name is Agatha Da Silva, I am human and my home is earth which has been destroyed, leaving me homeless'' I rambled.
"EARTH!!!'' They boomed together
"Yes. Earth. What are you and why do you have many legs and hands and one gigantic eye? Oh my god I am going to throw up." I did not know where the confidence was coming from but I was hoping it would not get me in trouble.
''Hey I'm talking to you, don't walk out on me, answer my question!'' ,they acted like I wasn't speaking and left the room.
Looking at my surrounding for the first time, I realized was in a theatre room and was amazed with level of technology they had here. It then hit me that I was in the land of aliens and I was an alien to them now.
After what seemed like minutes, he door opened and an even larger creature waltzed into the room.
"Word reaching me says you are curious about who we are.'' The larger creature seemed to be their king because he had a crown on his head.
"Yes, I told them I am human and I want to know what you are.'' I stated calmly.
"For a tiny creature, you sure are brave. We have heard about humans and how dangerous but stupid you are. No offence but where is your planet now? That is right, your kind cease to exist. It is a wonder how you are still alive.'' He dragged his nails on my cheeks, making me bleed.
I winced and struggled against him, knowing it was futile anyway.
"Your blood is red, fascinating. Humans are strange creatures.''
He turned to the 'doctors' and told them, in their language to prepare the poison for me at my last supper.
"We are the Melaroid, the most powerful of our galaxy. We have on few occasions ventured towards your solar system, waiting for the right time to present ourselves to your kind and see what type of creatures you are. We had heard tales from other creatures how deadly but foolish your kind was. The little technology you acquired made humans think they were most powerful.
Now we would take care of you, do not be afraid. You would refer to me as King Hendo, order of the Melaroids.''
"Yes King Hendo" I mocked; clearly, he did not understand sarcasm so I was lucky.
Holding me in his huge palms, we left for his palace in his automobile, which was half car /half plane. I awed at its sight, I had never seen anything like this in my entire 17 years of existence. Human inventors always fantasized about flying cars but never made it a reality and here I was, in a flying car, heading over to my fate.
Looking out of the window, I awed at the buildings that were literally floating and were in synchronization. They were taller than the tallest building on earth and it was nothing like I had ever seen. This could be likened to wonderland, except there was no king of Hearts in this scenario. Alice did not have a saviour this time around.
There were hundreds of Melaroids peering at me and I certainly felt the love, note the sarcasm. This was what being an alien felt like, my 5ft2 frames against 8fts and above.
The ride was silent for few minutes until King Hendo spoke,
"You must be hungry; we would make some human dish for you. Just tell us what you want.'' He said, while holding me in his palm.
"Some black bean noodles would be okay, thank you.'' I responded meekly. The situation had certainly humbled me and I was starving too.
We got to his palace, which was 10 times taller than the Burj Khalifa was and I wondered when humans would ever get to this level of perfection.
We walked in and everyone around our vicinity bowed towards him, eyeing me with curiosity and surprise. I mentally sighed; reminding myself, i was the alien in this situation.
Signalling for them to rise, they went about their duties, working mechanically. It looked like a banquet was about to be thrown and everyone busy, speaking their language in rapid fire.
"You like what you see? Definitely better than your buildings on earth, eh?" He smirked, already knowing the answer.
"Definitely. Melaroids are more advanced than humanity. I think we have a lot to learn from you." I replied, feeling jealous at all this glamour when my planet was in the state of extinction.
"Sorry to break it to you but your planet does not exist, there is nothing to learn. We take care of our planet; unfortunately, humans were not bothered to take care of theirs. Let us put the gloom aside. Come; meet your personal servant for today, Meara"
A female Melaroid walked up to us, her knees touching the ground and her head bowed.
"This is Agatha, a guest from earth," at the mention of 'earth', her face lit up and she looked at me like I was an experiment.
"Get her ready for the banquet; we do not have much time." He strode off, walking with grace.
"This way, miss." Meara spoke, through the transistor radio equipment on her head. She took me in her hands once again and we went into a room to get me prepared for the banquet.
It was noticeable that the lower Melaroids did not have the transmitter like object on their head; hence, they could not understand me.
"Wow this is amazing; all the gold here is worth more than the gold mines on earth." Walking round, there were huge crystals hanging from the chandelier and the walk in closet was huge.
Meara ignored my antics and brought handed over a dress that surprisingly fit me.
"Here, try it," she said, with a joyful gleam in her eyes.
"How do you have a dress for me?" I asked, suspiciously. It was not normal to have a cloth for a human lying around. I needed an answer
"King Hendo ordered the stylists to make a dress suitable for you as soon as you were captured. He had planned this banquet for you. Consider yourself lucky, being the first human on our planet, an alien. It is time to take a shower, miss. We do not want to keep them waiting." She sauntered off to the bathroom, which I could legitimately live in forever. If humanity had their hands on the advancement of the Melaroids, things might have been different.
"Can you please excuse me, I need my privacy." I needed to undress and she did not budge from where she was standing
"Sorry miss, the king gave strict orders to be with you every time. So I cannot leave or he will know." She shrugged, turning her back to me.
Slipping into the bathtub, my mind wandered into oblivion. I thought of my fate, humanity, earth and the events that were about to unfold presently.
Suddenly I was in a trance, hearing a voice,
"Agatha, Listen carefully to what I have to say. Hendo is planning your death by poisoning. The food you will be served has been poisoned. They want to use you as an experiment and to show their power to the other species in their galaxy. However, remember you are a dreygo and cannot die. You would eat and be rest assured that nothing would happen to you. They would be bewildered and would try another means to eradicate you subtly.''
Waking up in daze, I realized had been visited once again. Meara was oblivious to what had transpired and I acted as if nothing happened. Saddened by what was to come, I stepped out of the tub, dried myself and we left the bathroom in silence.
She dressed me up, dolled my face up and eventually let me go when she was satisfied with her results.
"Yes you look amazing, miss. Everyone will be amazed at how pretty humans can be." She gleamed in the lights, looking satisfied.
Looking at the mirror, I could not recognise myself. In front of me, I saw a different person entirely. She really worked on my face and it was good. She looked up at me expectantly.
"Thank you so much Meara. It is so amazing. Thank you again." She smiled.
We left the room and headed for the banquet hall. I was nervous because i knew what was coming and there was no way to prevent it from happening.
Other Melaroids had taken their seats at the table when I arrived and stared at me with bewilderment.
''Vule et ferendt '' (She is different)
''Hendo dai vule muna'' (Hendo said she's human)
''Siter ayopti wer lki reehg'' (It is a pity she has to die)
''Segen den njo omuriva" (Such a pretty little thing)
'' Gimnig nagter indri yumon'' (Imagine eating your last supper)
The four Melaroids boomed with laughter, still staring creepily at me.
''Melaroids, today we have an unexpected guest. She is Park Chaeyoung, the only surviving human from the tragedy that befell earth. How sad''. He strutted down, elegant as a king could be.
''We would make her stay unforgettable, wont we?'' Hendo asked, sitting at the head of the table.
"Sure we would make her stay unforgettable.'' One of them replied, staring blankly at me.
Raising my chopsticks, I was sceptical at first but then the hunger in me took over the rational part of me. I ate the noodles hungrily; I had almost forgotten what food tasted like. Looking up from my bowl, all eyes were on me.
"What? It is delicious, you should have a taste, it is sure better than the alien food here." I shrugged.
"Do you feel okay?'' One feigned concern and i was appalled at how bad of an actor it was.
"Why? Yes, I feel great actually, Can I have another bowl please?''
Talking to themselves in their Melaroid language,
"She should have been writhing in pain now. What went wrong?'' Hendo asked one of the 'doctors' present.
"I personally laced the food with poison. I am confused. This has never failed before, your Majesty.'' He relayed, giving me side-glances.
I kept eating and pretending as if I did not understand what they were saying.
"Do something quick about it. We need her dead first remember and no blood shed or strangulation''.
"It is a pity we must not shed her blood first or I would have cut her loud mouth first and watch her bleed.'' He said, in their language while smiling sweetly at me and I reciprocated the gesture.
"I hope you have enjoyed your stay here. Almost better than Earth?" Hendo asked, baiting me.
Not taking the bait, "As much as I love it here, I prefer my home. Do you love Earth more than your planet?"
Laughing hard, "No offence Agatha, but you cannot ask me such questions. Earth doesn't exist so I cannot miss what I do not know." He said, standing up to take his leave.
"Hey where do I stay? Why is everyone leaving? Do I get a room? I am a guest after all.'' I asked still scowling.
"Yes you have a room made for you, come this way,'' Meara said, swiping me in her arms.
Opening the door to a room different from the one we were in minutes ago, he dropped and let me wander in the euphoria of its glory. It was pure gold, glittering when the lights hit it at a particular moment. The bed was larger than I had ever seen and it had mini stairs made for me to make me climb onto the mattress.
"It is a pity they are going to kill her eventually.'' She said to himself in Melaroid language, locking the door.
Heading over to the bathroom, there was a pile of fresh clothes and I peeled off the one I wore.
Slipping into the bathtub, I was visited once again by the Dreygo guardian.
"Agatha, I do not have much time to discuss with you but you have to be stronger now, more than ever. They are wondering why you are not dead and are already planning another means to kill you. They are not taking any chances this time around. This is the moment you would be able to begin your quest. Be brave, Agatha, be brave." She vanished and I woke up with a loud start.
It was time to do what I had been called for. I had to save humanity, or what was left of it.
"And so the destiny of Planet Earth rests on the shoulders of Agatha Da Silva, the only Dreygo of the millennium''.