The Visitor (26 page)

As still as an object, nobody had the smallest idea of what she was going through in her mind. Artificial sleep prevented her to tell the difference between dreams, memories and reality.

At times, she was drifting on the peaceful waters of a dream. Or she was running in the woods holding hands with Etos. Or she was making love with him. Or he caressed her cheeks, with his strong fingers that lightly brushed against her skin, looking deeply into her eyes to tell her that he loved her.

At times, her soul fidgeted in the claws of a nightmare which held her in terrible throes. Either she was lying in an unknown location without being able to move a single finger, while lightning-slayers leaned over her. Or something that bangs and kills struck her in the neck. Unbearable pain exploded in her back; she knew that she was going to die. Then she used the last of her strength to take one last look at Etos. She clung to the standing branches which kept him prisoner seeking his gaze, but already her’s was fogging and her strength abandoned her. While she collapsed to the grass, next to the love of her life, hearing his voice screaming her name mellowed her last breath.

*

Meanwhile, Etos was clutching his treasure against his heart. It looked like he was staring at the ceiling with a smile, but he wasn't seeing anything. However, he was actually smiling, because he was thinking of Mahisa’s laughter when they were having fun both tickling each other. Sometimes, lightning-slayers leaned over him. He noticed them, but it was completely indifferent to him. One of them had driven something up his nose. He had pulled it out. It was put back. He had pulled it out again. It was once again put in place and other lightning-slayers had held back his arms so that he couldn't reach his head. Finally, he resigned himself to leave this thing in his nostril. It was all part of the strange behaviors of these beings. Gentle Lightning came to see him several times. She had spoken to him by whistling. He made her a reply to please her because he was convinced she was a good creature who was doing what she could for him.

“
Mahisa dead,” said Etos, “soon Etos also will join Mahisa.”
 

She whistled.

“
Etos belong to Mahisa,” he added. “A long time already... Etos given to Mahisa. Etos go to land of the dead to give Etos back to Mahisa. Etos, without Mahisa not Etos any more.”
 

She whistled again, as usual. She had also made her beak vibrate, as she did occasionally for some time. Etos had smiled to her with his lips then he had closed his eyes to be alone with his mental image of Mahisa. Then she left. He had felt that she was sad. That made him feel bad, because he was attached to her. But, very quickly, tightly clutching his treasure, he had gone back to thinking of Mahisa.

*

Akkaliza pocketed her phone. She had just given her aunt news about Sneaky and his bov.

It was ten after eleven, Akkal and his daughter were exhausted. They had slept very little during the past two days. Prompted by the many calls from her brother and her mother, Akkaliza eventually resigned herself to return home with her father.

Akkal was driving in a daze. It was raining.

“
Dad,” said Akkaliza, “be careful. I can see you're tired.”
 

“
It's okay, daughter! “he assured starting the windshield wipers.
 

“
You shouldn't have given all your shares to Ikkillu, you know.”
 

“
I gave my word, dear.”
 

“
But she hasn’t really kept her part of the contract. It can’t be said that Sneaky’s companion is really alive. It's even worse than if she were dead!”
 

“
...”
 

“
I'm not holding that against you. You did what you could, and I'm very grateful. But admit that you didn't think it would end up like this when you made that proposal.”
 

“
I told her: ‘I offer you all my shares of Nature Foods, if you keep this beast alive’ something like that.”
 

They passed the clinic’s gate. Akkal drove on into the road.

“
Yes, well... She's not really alive. So you don’t have to really give them to her, your shares. Especially since I know that we’ll have to let her die, in the end. This isn't just a question of money. It’s also to let her go.”
 

“
I'm so sorry, daughter! I know that this is my entire fault. It all started when I shot Sneaky.”
 

“
You didn't realize what you were doing at that time. And you did what you could to make up for it. You know, he actually talked to me, I’m sure of that.
 

“
...”
 

“
Sneaky. He spoke to me.”
 

“
What did he say?”
 

“
I don't understand of course. But, I guess that he was speaking about the misfortune that befell him. Maybe he was telling me about his sweet-heart.”
 

Modesty made father and daughter try to prevent their beaks from vibrating. Akkaliza pretended to look to one side to hide a little from paternal vigilance. Watching the water flowing on the side window, she thought about the singular way that bovs cried.

*

Father and daughter got out of the car. Noting that she hadn’t parked her scooter properly under the canopy, Akkaliza went to push it under the roof to protect it from the rain. So Akkal was the first to go into the house. He made a start when arriving in the living room. The glassy eyes of a bov, appearing to stare at him from beyond death, chilled his soul. He thought she looked like the Sneaky’s companion. But it was only a stuffed head resting on the table. There were more on the floor everywhere.

“
Ah, Dad!” said Akkalo. “There you are!”
 

He was standing on a chair with another bov head in his hands.

“
Son, what are you doing?”
 

“
Mom wants to take these things away. She said that they depress her. I hope you agree...”
 

“
Yes, Yes, she's right. You can take all of them far away from here, to the dump.”
 

“
Glad you're agree,” said Akkali coming from the garden. “I couldn't stand these things any more. Where’s Akkaliza?”
 

“
Here, Mom!” said the person concerned entering. “Oh! You…”
 

“
Yes, dear, we’re getting rid of them!” confirmed her mother.
 

“
What a great idea!”
 

Akkalo got down from the chair and laid the last head on the ground. They touched each other’s beak with affection.

“
While waiting to be taken to the dump, put all these horrors somewhere else,” asked Akkali, “in the garage, for example. It’s time to eat and I’ve placed an order from the caterer.”
 

 “
Let’s listen to the news! Let's take our minds of things!” said Akkal turning on the television.
 

Channel 1’s usual newsman wasn't on his set. He had an exceptionally serious look that drew attention. Many other reporters thronged in front of a stage on which a uma was speaking. At the bottom of the screen, one could read: ‘
Live press conference from the Space Agency. An extraterumastrial civilization reveals itself to us.
’
 

Akkal raised the volume:

"... ist therefore that a civilization of bovs able to build this spacecraft. Cryptanalysis and decoding specialists, champions of enigmas of all kinds who are working on the inscriptions and drawings of this plaque haven’t managed so far to
decrypt it more than that. But the two beings that we see, probably drawn to the scale of the machine, couldn’t be more explicit. It is indeed from a population of bovs."
 

The person uttering those words held out a finger behind him in the direction of a photograph of the mysterious Visitor plaque. Believing himself the victim of a diabolical conspiracy, Akkal changed channels several times. But all of them showed the same images from slightly different perspectives, depending on the location of their cameras.

*

The next day, the news had made its way around the planet. It was the only thing that was talked about. All TV channels, all radio stations, all newspapers, all broadcasters of information had a word to say on the subject. Reporters and columnists that usually were the most likely to turn into derision veganism were now backpedaling with zeal. To hear them, you’d think that they all were the first to begin the fight for animal rights.

The president of the Republic, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Justice, the Director of channel 2 and the host Ukkaire had all three received a copy of a letter signed by a certain Ukkosal. An appendix explained that the original remained with a bailiff who could testify under oath of the date and time at which it had been given to him. Ukkosal was freed less than three hours later with a strong apology, almost subservient. Which was the most difficult thing for him to understand, given that, isolated from all sources of information in his cell, he wasn't aware of anything.

Okkala awaited him upon his release from prison. She had to call him out loud, as he was surrounded by a cordon of policemen inside which were also the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice, multiplying their expressions of deep regret.

“
Ukkosal! Ukkosal!” she yelled.
 

The ring of police officers broke up to let him pass. He turned a dumbfounded face to Okkala.

“
Sorry,” he said “I'm expected.”
 

They let him pass sending him off with compelling politeness and many niceties.

Okkala offered him her two left hands. He shook them proposing:

“Now, l
et’s touch beaks! I know I owe you a lot.”
 

She accepted and led him to her car, which was not far from there. They entered the vehicle just as three reporters, probably informed by prison officials, were running towards them, camera in front. She quickly started the car and sped away.

“
I’m inviting you to come to my home to figure out what next,” she said.
 

“
How ever did you do that?”
 

“
What, precisely?”
 

“
Well, that! You know that! Ministers releasing me from prison with a profusion of apologies. Don’t tell me that it has to do with the madman letter that you made me write?”
 

“
Well... Yes.”
 

She opened the glove box to give him a newspaper and explained everything to him.

*

Elbows on the table in the living room, Ukkosal held his head with both of his upper hands. Alternately, he watched television and flipped through the newspaper using his lower hands. They were still talking about him on all the channels. Okkala let him digest this information while she prepared coffee in the kitchen.

“
But how did you know before anyone else, you, when you came to visit me in prison?”
 

She explained it to him.

“
I don't believe you! You're pulling a stunt on me! There's a hidden camera somewhere. I’m not watching live TV.”
 

“
And I've had a fake newspaper printed too?”
 

“
Oh, Yes! Exactly! You confess?”
 

“
Yes, I confess! To pull this stunt, I ordered that they let you out of prison. I demanded that the two Ministers come deliver their apology. I also paid extras dressed as policemen... all that. I organized this whole setup in less than a day. I'm tiiiiirrred!”
 

“
...”
 

“As f
or the TV, we can go and look at it at your home, if you want. And then, also you can look on the Internet with your phone.”
 

That's what he did. It still took him ten minutes to accept what was happening.

“
I must be dreaming! I’ll  pinch my crest,” he uttered putting his words into action. “Bovs from outer space! Sounds like a bad science fiction movie.”
 

“
They didn't come. Only one of their constructs has come to us.”
 

“
Yes, but there are the bovs in space, if you prefer.”
 

“
There were, in any case. There were at least a million years ago.”
 

“
Yes, but nonetheless, it's crazy!”
 

“
I agree. Here you are! Some coffee,” she said, putting his cup on the table.
 

She poured herself one also and came to sit next to him. Just as she was lowering the volume on the television to talk to him more easily, he held out an arm and exclaimed:

“
Look, look! There! Please raise the volume!”
 

She took the remote and complied.

“
It's the front of my home!” he exclaimed.
 

“
You're a star now. Prison staff, or whoever, have sold your address to reporters.”
 

Bewildered, he saw a crowd of reporters in front of his apartment.

“
No, but can you see that!”
 

“
Don’t forget that you're a uma who has prophesied the bovs civilization. You're going to be considered as a messenger. It was the only way to get you out of prison.”
 

He grabbed the remote and changed channels several times. More than one showed images of his landing:

‘
We are in front of the apartment of Ukkosal, the uma who predicted the existence of extraterumastrial bovs...’
 

“
Please shut it off,” he asked.
 

She did and told him:

“
Now, I'll tell you the misfortunes of a certain Sneaky and his companion. Then, I’ll explain what you can do to try to save them.”
 

Ukkaire, host of The Inquirer on channel 2, was delighted to welcome Ukkosal for a second time on his set.