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The gifts from the Indian village
A beautiful tropical island is everyone's dream! How many people crave to visit such a piece of paradise, lie under the sun on golden sand, bathe in clear aquamarine water, drink freshly squeezed juice of some exotic fruit or maybe something stronger like rum or tequila.
And living in such a place is just the top of dreams! Sea every day! Sunrises, sunsets – the day begins and ends with a riot of colors, breathtaking views! Every day you can dive into the warm sea or walk on the soft cool sand. One paradisaic delight!
… Well, not quite like that.
The sand on the Island of Golden Zandolie is black, volcanic, heavy and sticky, often heating up too quickly in the sun to some hellish temperatures. And there are very few beaches and mostly mountains and rocks. Not everywhere on the tropical islands are affordable and pleasant places to relax. There are some of those where you don't want to stay for a long time!
It was on such a beautiful, but not entirely hospitable island that all our heroes lived – people, aliens and mutants …
Olga was one of those Russian newcomers, who did not like the Island from the first sight. She was living here for a while, but never getting used to the local flavor.
Now she was staying in a rented small apartment in a complex, specially built for small government employees right on the outskirts of the island's capital. The capital was also just a small town with little houses on one or two floors …
Olga was almost happy with her home – it was quite decent. She had everything she needed there, and she didn't need much. She was working as a secretary and accountant for a corporation for the exploration and extraction of minerals (gold).
Olga was hardly leaving the apartment, since almost all the work was done online. She didn’t want to communicate with anyone in person, so this kind of work suited her perfectly.
After Olga's boss Vladimir left for London, she almost stopped communicating with the rest of the Russians who remained on the Island. There were way too many unpleasant memories. Work was all that was keeping her here. She had to work off her debt and hold out until the end of the contract.
… One fine sunny morning Olga woke up and felt that she could not get up. It seemed to her that she was glued to the bed. The whole world pressed down on her, as if a giant kitchen rolling pin had rolled her out, flattening her body over the bed.
With a huge effort, Olga groped for the phone and dialed the first number that came to mind.
“Denis … Help …”
“Olga! You? Speak louder!”
“Denis … Denis … Come … I feel bad …”
“Olga! I can’t hear you! Call back!”
Olga dropped the phone and closed her eyes in exhaustion. What happened to her? Got poisoned? Maybe sick? Dengue fever? She heard, Dengue was a terrible disease, when you feel chills and nausea. And one can add to this also miserable weakness and cold sweat. Everything about Dengue fever was very unpleasant and quite dangerous.
Well! There were no sweat and high fever.
Olga! You are a complete wimp. Get up!
Olga came out of the bed slowly, went to the kitchen and drank some water. Then she went out onto the balcony for the fresh air.
There was a grand view from there! The city was all visible like on the palm of her hand! And right below of the complex there were also a shimmering mountain river and a sea harbor! Olga breathed a little fresh morning air, looked at the waking city, at the fishing vessels and coast guard boats heading out to sea ….
Well, that's a bit better! She could go on now, her energy was coming back. Now she needed to make coffee and check her mail.
No. She didn't feel like drinking coffee at all, feeling sick again! Okay, let's drink some juice and get to work.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Olga was not expecting any visitors. Olga avoided any contact with old friends, and she never made new acquaintances from locals. She communicated only for work, mainly with Scott and with Vladimir – with two bosses, a local and a remote one.
Today it was necessary to draw up a monthly report on financial transactions. She didn't want to work at all.
Who was knocking at the door so persistently? Maybe annoying neighbors? Or a postman?
Olga opened the door and even screamed a little in surprise. On the doorsteps was standing Sylvia, the wife of the Indian consul Dominic. The good-natured round face was smiling. In the hands of Sylvia was a huge basket with fruits, vegetables, herbs …
Olga could not say exactly what was there, since everything was local, unknown to her. Olga was on very simple diet, not willing to try anything new or exotic.
“Good morning, miss Olga! I'm so glad I found you! My husband and I arrived in the city today, and while he is in the ministry, I decided to visit you! We haven’t seen each other since you were staying in our village with your friend …”
“Yes, Sylvia, thank you again for your hospitality, come in! Tea, coffee, water?”
“Just water please! And you are so pale! Are you okay? You know, there is a Dengue fever epidemic all over the region now.”
“Yes, you know, just this morning I felt nausea and chills …”
“You need to take more liquids, vitamins. This tea herbs are very good, take it. It's so good that I stopped by! And fruit! Here are pink grapefruits! Here is a sugar apple, here is a golden apple – don't laugh, these are not the apples that you are used to, but no worse! You need to eat better; you are so thin and pale! Well, I must go! I will say hello to Dominic from you!”
“Thank you, Sylvia. You are very kind!”
“It's my pleasure! We are always glad to see you with friends in our village.”
The stout Indian woman drank some water, wiped off the sweat with a large hanky and said goodbye.
Fruit and tea herbs with the scent of basil remained on the table. Olga inhaled in the sweet aromas of the Indian gifts in deep breaths – how wonderful!
Indeed, this local herbal tea should be brewed!
Half an hour later, Olga was already working at full speed on the report, sitting in front of a laptop with a huge mug of steaming pale tea with a basil aroma. And then she felt sick again, she barely made it to bed and passed out.
… Olga was found by Denis, in her bedroom, in bed, in a pool of blood. At first, Denis got scared, thinking of murder, but then he felt a weak pulse and called an ambulance.
Denis just saved her.
Olga had another miscarriage, this time of an unborn child from Dominic, the Indian consul … She almost died from the blood loss …
Olga woke up in the central hospital of the Island, where a nurse told her this sad news.
Denis was not allowed to see her, because he was not a relative. But he managed to visit her the next day.
“Olga, you are so pale, almost blue! You need to increase your hemoglobin; you have lost so much blood! I thought you were killed!!!”
“Who’d need to kill me …”
“What happened?”
“It's okay, just bleeding. It happens sometimes with me …”
“Did you have someone the day before? Have you been visited?
“By Sylvia, the wife of the Indian consul…”
“What for?!”
“She brought gifts …”
“Wait, the consul's wife… Is he married? So, she probably wanted to kill you!”
“No, not me, my child …”
“Wait, what!?!? … Well, yes, it's logical … it was Dominic's child, right? And you drank what his wife gave you…”
“It was just herbal tea …”
“Probably a traditional Indian remedy for abortion, or even a poison! … Oh, Olga, sorry, I made you tired. Get some sleep …”
“Why did you come to me at that exact time? Did something happen?”
“You called me yourself and I called you back. Then nothing! And I decided to go to you. Just in time! By the way, you didn't lock the front door, you need to be careful, Olga!!!! I will be there until you are discharged, and later too, until you get stronger! Your fridge is empty. I've already bought everything. I’d stay with you for now, if you don’t mind …
“I object and your wife Zina too!”
“Zina won’t mind. She’d come herself, but she got some urgent work …”
Denis finally left. Olga sighed. She had a surgery, no more children … Yes, with her negative rhesus, to have children were quite difficult, and with her luck, almost impossible!
Olga thought about Julia, her friend, who became sterile after the birth of her mutant child.
Olga herself feared that she could become pregnant from that Indian consul who could be a mutant. Dominic simply fascinated her then, in a completely incomprehensible way.
Julia also did not escape Dominic’s spell. Poor Julia! And Olga just abandoned her, never called …
Olga was finally discharged from the hospital home.
Denis came to pick her up and then looked after her for another day.
Later Olga insisted on Denis’ returning home to his wife. The fact that Zina never called or came was a bad sign.
“How funny it turned out, Denis, you said that mutants are sterile, and then Ray was born! All the women, who got pregnant from “sterile” mutants, then got “sterile” themselves …”
“What are you talking about, Olga?”
“Julia will never have children, and neither will I. Two of a kind!”
“You had something with mutant Ray!?!”
“Denis!! It's impossible to talk to you sometimes!”
“Aww! You think your Indian Dominic is a mutant! I don’t think so! He probably gave you some kind of potion, just like his wife Sylvia!!! They also have witchcraft and drugs are very popular too. Wait!!! Have you become barren? Olga! I'm such a fool!!! Forgive me! I never called you. You have been alone all this time, and I was the one who brought you to this Island.”
Denis hugged Olga, and she clung to him. What a familiar scent, the scent of his childhood!
How strange everything turned out on this island. The beautiful Olga, a secretary and Denis' first love, with whom he flew over here to work on a contract few years ago…
How did she turn into their boss' mistress and even for a while into an English lady?!
How did she later on become the “beloved wife” of the Indian consul Dominic!?
And how did Olga turn up again in the role of a secretary? …
And how did Denis turn up married to a large and lively IT woman Zina, the complete opposite of Olga? …
How!? …
Chapter 3
Is the Golden Zandolie immortal?
Julia was in her beloved “secret garden”, completely immersed in the work on the ending of her new science fiction novel.
The story in her new novel was ending well – all humans and aliens have learned to live happily together, and their mutant children were also able to find their love.
A new race of humans was born, in which the blood of aliens was flowing. They all had negative rhesus and an accelerated metabolism …
Julia thought about it. In reality, everything was quite different.
She herself had a child from a mutant Marley, an alien's son. She was pregnant for few years. Then the “alien seed” suddenly activated, had developed inside rapidly and almost killed her! After the birth of her mutant son Ray, Julia became barren.
How could everything happen on that distant planet from which the alien Golden Zandolie fled to Earth? Maybe those aliens would give birth only once in a lifetime? And only in the most appropriate moment? …
After all, Julia gave birth exactly when her life became calm and successful….
Years have passed since the death of Golden Zandolie. Perhaps there are still women on the Island, who are pregnant from the rebel alien? If their life's full of worries and problems, they would not give birth very soon.
Ray's father, Marley, said that Zandolie was keeping a close eye on women after his sexual intercourse, and was taking away newborn babies. Then it seemed strange to Julia, because he would have to raise babies himself, which should be quite troublesome.
However later, on the example of her own mutant child, she realized, that everything was simple – children were growing up very quickly and were self-taught!
Bang! – and you have a clever muscular giant, with lightning eyes capable of hypnotizing or killing anyone. The perfect soldier! Such as her late lover Marley, such as her son Ray!
Interesting, what was their life expectancy…
Oh, Marley! He died, destroying his father Zandolie for the safety of people … with help from other aliens, who would not tolerate any interbreed with humans …
Sometimes it seemed to Julia, that she was still hearing Marley's voice or feeling his touch. Marley's soul remained with her forever. Sometimes she had the same dream that she was finding Marley in a coma and waking him up with a kiss.
With the spirit of Marley, she had a much warmer relationship, than with the living two heroes – her husband Scott and her mutant son Ray. And Scott and Ray became even closer friends.
They all had a common cause – gold! Black mutants were doing an excellent job of gold mining. Humans could not work in the toxic conditions of a seething acid lake with golden shores.
