Misplaced (58 page)

Khara demanded urgently, “Gi
v
e me your writing pad!”

“It’s in my bag.”

After
spilling
the
contents
onto
the
floor
and
retrieving
the
small
notebook,
Khara’s
first
strokes
with
the
pen
w
ere
round
an
d
s
w
eeping
.
“I
n
thi
s
stor
y
o
f
Ros
w
ell
,
di
d
th
e
visitor
s
look
lik
e
this?
”
sh
e
asked
.
She
’
d
draw
n
creature
s
wit
h
o
v
a
l
heads,
large e
y
es, and willowy bodies.

V
ictoria felt the hair on her forearms rise. “How would you
know what they looked like?”

Khara
sat
back.
All
the
air
seemed
to
lea
v
e
her
small
body.
“Th
e
Guardian
s
o
f
th
e
Sk
y
w
er
e
here,
”
sh
e
sai
d
re
v
erently
.
“The
old stories are true.”

“What?”

“W
e
w
ere
forbidden
to
repeat
them—the
stories of
the
ones
that
came
from
the
sky.
Supposedly
it
w
as
they
who
helped
us
thri
v
e
in
the
desert
and
taught
us
the
mathematical
theory
of
triangles—th
e
perfectio
n
o
f
th
e
pyramid
.
I
belie
v
e
yo
u
cal
l
i
t
the
Pythagorea
n
Theorem
.
A
s
tim
e
passed
,
w
e
too
k
thi
s
kno
w
ledge
fo
r
granted
.
Man
y
refus
e
t
o
belie
v
e
i
n
them
,
bu
t
I
al
w
ay
s
fel
t
the
stories
rang
of
truth.
Y
ou
ha
v
e
just
confirmed
it.”
She
crossed
her arms o
v
er her chest.

“I
had
no
idea
y
ou
w
ere
so
g
ulli
b
le.”
V
ic
t
oria
replied,
b
ut
gripped the steering wheel e
v
en tighter.

“
I
lon
g
suspecte
d
tha
t
Nando
r
w
a
s
descende
d
fro
m
thes
e
beings
.
Hi
s
gift
s
w
er
e
to
o
strange
,
to
o
many
.
Th
e
kno
w
ledg
e
he
possessed
in
order
to
send
me
here…”
She
craned
her
neck
to
stare
at
the
sky.
“E
v
en
with
the
tremendous
ad
v
ancements
of
your civilization, his kno
w
ledge cannot be replicated.”

“So now you
’
re saying you
w
ere raised by an alien?”

“Wh
y
not
?
Fathe
r
Donat
o
insist
s
tha
t
th
e
idea
s
tha
t
mos
t
cap
t
ure
our
imagina
t
ion
are
t
he
ones
w
e
cannot
see,
t
he
ones
that can only be confirmed
in our hearts.”

“Whate
v
er.
Hey,
check
this
out.”

V
ictoria
pushed
a
button,
and
the
sunroof
slid
back.
Just
as
she
’
d
hoped,
Khara
instantly
forgo
t
abou
t
Fathe
r
Donat
o
an
d
busie
d
hersel
f
tracin
g
the
constellations
as
they
began
to
appear
in
the
night
sky.
“I
ha
v
e
bee
n
wonderin
g
i
f
I
woul
d
e
v
e
r
se
e
a
star-fille
d
sk
y
again.
But
look,”
Khara
beamed,
her
smile
filled
with
wonder,
“they
ha
v
e
returned.
I
think
that
in
all
this
time,
they
alone
ha
v
e
not
changed.”

Khara
w
as
something
of
a
sa
v
ant
when it came to
stars. She
pointed
ou
t
ho
w
the
y
mo
v
e
d
throug
h
th
e
t
w
el
v
e
hour
s
o
f
th
e
night
,
and
how
you
could
tell
the
exact
time
by
their
position.
She
spoke to
them,
asking
what
news
they
had
of
home and
begging
for information
about
the
future.
Finally
she
said, “My
father
has
ascende
d
t
o
th
e
hea
v
ens
.
On
e
day
,
I
to
o
shal
l
li
v
e
amon
g
the
stars.
P
erhaps
I
will
post
myself
there,” she
pointed
north,
“to
w
atch o
v
er you as you ha
v
e looked after me.”

I
t
w
a
s
no
t
lik
e
V
ictori
a
t
o
tur
n
he
r
e
y
e
s
t
o
th
e
sk
y
o
n
a
dangerou
s
road
,
bu
t
that’
s
jus
t
wha
t
sh
e
did
.
I
t
mad
e
her
remember
another
star-filled
night
at
Elias
and
Marta’s
home
when
Robert
had
put
his
card
into
her
hand,
the
delectable
feel
of his breath on her neck.

A
s
thoug
h
abl
e
t
o
se
e
he
r
thoughts
,
Khar
a
ga
ve
he
r a
knowin
g
loo
k
an
d
resume
d
he
r
studies
. A
half-hou
r
w
en
t
by
befor
e
sh
e
pointe
d
franticall
y
an
d
shouted
,
“Stop
!
W
e
mus
t
stop
right here.”