A conversation that never ever happened..

 It’s the beginning of a fine morning. I am still in my bed and my eyes are closed. But I can feel that the birds are chirping in the garden, I also feel the cool morning breeze coming from the window which brings the sweet smell of jasmine flowers from my garden. I am still in my bed, curled in the comforter, planning and foreseeing the new day with my eyes shut. It is going to be a long day, several commitments have to be accomplished. It must be 6:00 am now, oh.. I can’t be on the bed anymore. For once more, I squeeze myself and am about to open my eyes. Suddenly, a shake! Someone is shaking me. Who is it? There is no one at home. How could someone enter my house? With annoyance and shock, I opened my eyes and saw a teenage girl standing beside my bed. After a moment of shock, I ask her, who are you? She smiles and nods her head. And then says, you know me, we met once, several years ago when we both went to school together. I look at her carefully, do I know her? She does not look familiar to me. She is an average looking teenager, her face is a good bend mixture of childishness, determination and fear for the unknown. Noh.. I have never seen this girl before. We are quiet for a couple of minutes, while my eyes are gazing at her. She breaks the silence and asks ‘do you recognize me? we went to school together. With astonishment, I say no and then tell her, ‘how could we go to school together, whether you are so younger than me.. at least 15–16 years. She sits on my bed, smiles and says, 'you are right, though we were batchmates, now I am younger than you.' I yell at her, how can it be possible. Suddenly, all the smile on her face has been washed away and becomes pale, she replies ‘Ok, I should tell you the whole story then’. 

She starts narrating ..“Do you remember the last day of our school life? It was raining heavily. I was on my way back home from school. I was very sad, my heart was heavy with the thought that I would miss my friends, with whom I shared a big part of my life. I would have to join college, there would be new environment, new people. I was excited but scared too. I was on the verge of beginning a new life. I was sunk in deep thought, sorrow and fear, never noticed the path I was walking along nor the time. Suddenly realized, I was standing in a field, full of green grasses. There was no one nearby, and I never saw that place before. I looked up, the sun was setting. I got scared and was about to shout for help. Suddenly heard a weird sound, and saw an aeroplane…no..not an aeroplane or helicopter.. but something like that, or a big balloon, that was floating in the air with a weird noise and was coming towards me. I was frightened. Then that airship landed on the grass, a few feet away from me. For that moment, I forgot that I was in an unknown place in the evening, all alone. I looked at that airship with surprise, it looked like a round aeroplane. It had wheels, wings but a round shape, it was glowing. Suddenly, I heard a crack noise, a circular door opened out from that airship, and to my astonishment, a person no.. no.. a robot, yes a robot, but of green colour came out. By that time, I was overwhelmed with everything that was happening around me. I was quietly watching everything. Suddenly the robot man or Greenman spoke. He called by my name and told me that he came from the planet Etharius V to get me there. I was awestruck. Then he explained to me that, though I look like a human from the earth, I was actually born in Etharius V.. and they sent me to earth for research purposes. As the research committee was out of funds by that time, the robot man came to earth to take me back to Etharius V. I was so shocked that I could not say a word to him and believed whatever he said. Then he asked me to follow him and boarded the airship. I did whatever he said, I was not in a state to thinking wisely. I boarded the ship, looked on the green field through the window. Suddenly I felt a swing and within a few seconds, we were in the air. I was hypnotized, was not in my sense. After a few minutes, I felt a vibration, then the Greenman said ‘welcome to home’. He opened the door, I stepped out. I looked around me, noh.. it did not look like my home where I spent 15 years. Everything was green there, the soil was deep green, water, sky.. people or.. shall I say, robot man or Greenman,  everything was green there. A few robot men came to welcome me. The one I came with, instructed them to convert me back to green as they painted me in grey long back to send to earth.

They took me to a green house asked me to take rest for a while, then they would nourish me back to green life. I followed their instructions and went to sleep. As far as I remember, the bed was made of some soft, green plants. Very quickly I sank into a deep sleep. When I woke up, I found myself in a room filled with dim green light and a few robots were staring at me. I got my sense back, I was surprised and frightened. I asked them ‘where am I? who are you?’ They replied, “we are doctoral students in this lab and we came to take you to our supervisor. He is waiting for you.. But before that, we need to collect data from you and then we will convert you to a Greenman again like us.” I was taken aback, what were they saying? Did they kidnap me for money? I cried and said ‘I am not getting what rubbish you are saying. Leave me, let me go home.’ They laughed at me and said ‘little Greenman, this is your home’. Then they pulled me towards their greenzone lab. I cried for help, they laughed at me. There was one greenlady, who affectionately told me that I belong to Etharius V, not from earth. Once they are done with the data analysis, they would send me to my actual parents on Etharius V. She also told me, I would eventually become a greenlady. I repeatedly told them that they were mistaken, I do not belong to them. I am human from the earth, but again they all laughed at me. Once we reached the greenzone lab, they asked me to follow their instruction as they would collect data from me. They asked me to lie on my back, I was weeping but followed their instruction helplessly. A few minutes gone, suddenly I realised a seriousness in their voice, they were discussing something. They were both surprised and afraid. One of them suggested calling the supervisor. In a minute or so, an elderly greenlady entered the room. She was the supervisor of the green-human project. She came and smiled at me affectionately. All other green people moved and gave her way towards me. She observed me for a couple of minutes, like the way Doctors observe their patients. I was weeping throughout. Then she asked me questions like how was my childhood days, how was my daily routine etc. I replied to her and also told her that they were mistaken. She pats me and said not to worry, everything would be fine. She called one of the students and ask him to call some greenman. Everyone waited for him, from their face I can say they were very anxious. 

When that person came, I recognised him. He brought me here. I cried out loud and requested to leave me. Then one of the PhD students put me back to sleep. I don't know how long went by, I woke up suddenly. Saw the principal lady, smiling at me, though her facial expression said that she was worried. The Greenman was also there. She then explained to me that they were really mistaken. The Greenman's airship was supposed to land on Mars to get the actual Greenman they sent long ago. The spaceship mistakenly landed on earth and they brought me here. They promised me that they were already arranging the voyage again to send me back to earth. I was so relieved that cried loudly with tears of joy. 

Finally, I boarded the airship again, but now in the full sense. The same Greenman was coming with me. Though I was happy to come back home, I was a bit sad. Because within a single day that I spent there, I made a few very good green friends, they gave me a green stone that would remind me of them. At last, our ship started flying. I was waiting impatiently in the airship to reach earth. Every single moment felt like an hour. Finally, we landed, on the same green field I flew with. I was overjoyed to come back. The green man said me that the greenstone would show me the way to reach my parents. I bid him goodbye and followed the instruction from the stone to reach home.

When I reached home. I was taken aback. Though I was not here for a single day, everything seems changed here. I rang the doorbell and heard a dog’s barking. We never had a dog before. What happened? How are my parents doing as I was not here for a whole day? I was worried for them. Then an old man came and opened the door. He looks like an elder version of my father. What happened to them in a single day? Then surprising me, he asked my name and wanted to know the reason for my being there. I was shocked but replied that I am his daughter, told him my name. He got angry and said his daughter run away from home long back and to him she is dead. I said sorry that I did not comeback home yesterday and tried to explain everything. He was really angry and was about to shut the door on my face. Then a lady, who again looked like the elder version of my mother came with a dog and asked the person what happened. Before he could say anything, I cried and said I am your daughter. I did not come home for a single day and you are abandoning me for that. The man asked her not to listen to me and was closing the door. Then the lady stopped him and looked at me carefully and screamed. After a while, she managed to tell me that I really look like their daughter. Eventually, they asked me to come inside, offer me to sit. Oh.it is my own home, I can see my photo with my parents. Unfortunately, they were not believing me, what happened in a single day. Then they asked where I came from, how do I know them. I said everything that happened to me yesterday. They did not believe me, because they have lost their daughter 15 years back. I was heartbroken, my own parents are not believing me and saying something ridiculous. My eyes filled with tears, suddenly I looked at the green stone. Everything became crystal clear to me in a moment. The time I spent in green land Etharius V, though I stayed there a single day according to their solar system, 15 years passed by in Erath meanwhile. I told my parents that, then they reluctantly believed me. Now I am here to meet you after my parents, as you were my best friend at school. ”

The teenager pauses finally. I am overwhelmed with her story and though can not remember a friend who was missing. I get my sense back and am about to call the police to report this intruder. Before that, I ask her ‘what's your name?’ She tells me exactly my name as her. I had no namesake in school, she must have some ill-thought. I am trying to reach the phone to call the police. Then boom!!! What is happening? I am in my bed at morning 10AM,  all alone. No one else is in the room. I am sweating and then see a broken glass by my bed. Oh!! what just happened to me? I was somewhere else a few seconds ago. What was it??