What if the Earth was the other way...?

36. The video call

Brittany Grey

"Brittany! Nathalia! We found her!" Mr. Avra roared so loudly through the phone. I was in the middle of contemplating whether to start the assignment now or on the night before the deadline. My face lighted up and my ears felt like it was pranking me.

"You are kidding right?" All I heard was laughter. I could even hear Mrs. Avra crying too. "Did you both lose it? I will be right there." I was really concerned at this point. For the past eight months, we have been searching for Nathalia. I had lost all hopes on finding her. She had helped me fix my parents relationship that could have ended up in divorce. But I couldn't even find her. What kind of useless friend am I? And now, her parents have completely lost it. I have to at least be with them.

On reaching their home, I saw both of them dancing and hugging. Yup, they have clearly lost it. "Mr. and Mrs. Avra, please don't be like this. I am sure we will someday find her. I am sure with ample rest you both feel better." I said as I got down from my bike and rushed towards them.

"What are you talking about? We found her!" Mr. Avra lifted me into the air.

"Stop it, Eric. I think we should explain to Brittany before she thinks we have gone mad." Mrs. Avra patted her husband, who quickly put me down on the floor.

"Sorry. I was out of line. I was just excited." He apologised.

"I understand. But where is Nathalia then?"

They welcomed me inside and fixed me a drink and narrated everything that happened. Professor Faelliyo was going to get her back. I was in cloud nine! She is alive! I felt bad for giving up on her but this is good news. No wonder the Avras are totally out of hands.

***

It has been three whole weeks since I heard the news. The news channels mentioned about an extra-terrestrial siting but due to the heavy rains and floods the connection to Kerala with the whole world is in turmoil. We could only hear the news about flood related issue. The past two weeks especially was a black time, in Kerala. Countless people have been dead and livestock and properties have been damaged and there was no news about the Professor who went looking for her and also from her. My heart once in a while decides to alarm me but then it calms down. I hope she is okay.

The news have announced that the heavy rain have been reduced to mild showers and the floodwaters have been receding and the network connections have started functioning. The news channels didn't mention anything new about the ET. I guess the floods stole the thunder. Thunder. I chuckled to myself. That's when my phone started ringing.

It was a video call invite from an unknown number. Normally, I don't get these calls and I don't take them but I had a feeling I should.

"Hey! Nice to see you again." Nathalia screamed as the call got connected.

"Where on Earth were you?" I yelled to the distorted image of her. My eyes were teary because I actually was relieved that she was alright and I was mad that she kept a huge secret from me.

"I was in Kliptora." She said.

"Where?"

"I will tell you everything. "

"Yeah, but you know how worried I was."

"Aw... Am I not here now?"

"You could have told me."

"I am going to tell you, right?"

"Right. So where do we start?"

I was happy to get my old Nathalia back. She was as the same as she used to be. I could make out her wearing a grey hoodie even if the video seems to distorted. She narrated the whole story from the start.

"No way dad helped!"

"He did."

"He must have at least hinted to me then."

"He wouldn't have done that. That was not part of the agreement."

"You had an agreement with my dad!"

"Yeah, I had to play it safe."

"I'm so mad at you. Continue."

"So, Tony and I..."

*------------*

We talked for almost two hours. I was still processing the facts she gave me. It was too much. It's just an unlikely story. She must have dreamt it up! Ok, she was missing...but she dreamt it up.

*----------*

"No Brittany, it's true. " Nathalia said as I expressed my suspicion the next day, she called me. After some time of talking rubbish, I saw something glowing behind her.

"What's that?"

"Oh that. Didn't I mention a bracelet I and Tony had?"

"Oh really! This thing connected Kliptora to Earth? Again, an unlikely story. You are just pranking me with all that glowing." She looked back slowly and then screamed, "It's vibrating!"

She ignored me for the twenty minutes. She was twisting and turning and doing all that. I was trying to grab her attention. I sang, yelled, got yelled by mom to keep it down and I even started watching a new series on my laptop. After an entire boring eternity suddenly-

"Nathalia."

A hoarse sound from nowhere resounded.

"Wh....who is the...that?" I asked, trying to see who has entered the room from the distorted view of the room she was in.

"Tina? is everything alright?" I heard Nathalia saying.

Tina? That girl from her story? Is Nathalia talking to the bracelet?

"No. It's not. Do you know what you have done?"

"What did I do? You are not making sense."

" Engame is lost and Tony -"

"What happened to Tony?"

"He is... I don't know how to tell you. That conversation you had before made him like this."

"What nonsense are you --"

"Listen, Nathalia! You must forget about Kliptora and never return. You always caused trouble. We have lost plenty. Tony and Engame are lost."

"I don't --"

"You won't understand a thing. That is why you didn't heed to his words or anyone's." The lady was really angry.

The signal got lost. Nathalia thrust herself into a chair, I stood awestruck the whole time.

After a long break of silence, I spoke,

"Nathalia, you okay?"

"No!" And she wept like anything. Between those weeping, she murmured, "I can't possibly destroy Engame. It must be...I saw a small crack on the dome... Did it cause it to break? And Tommy, what happened to him?... Oh! Why am I like this?"

"Nathalia, calm down. "

"I destroyed a lot. How am I gonna refix it?"

"Come on. Does Tony want you to cry? He would want to see you do something for your mistakes. Even if you didn't figure that out, just wait. Time will show you how. Now be a good girl and stop crying. "

Nathalia found a napkin. She dried her wet face. After a few moments of contemplation, she sighed.

"Brittany, we'll talk later. Bye." And just like that our connection was cut.

I hope she will find a way to cope. The video call was stressful for both me and my phone. I kept it for charging and decided to work on my assignments. Wait, who am I kidding, I started a new series, let me finish it.

*-------*

Nathalia cameback to England after two weeks from that video call. Nathalia had to repeat ayear for missing all those months' worth of classes. I, on the other hand, amlooking forward to a job next summer. Things might have changed a bit forNathalia but I am sure she will not let her mistakes rule over her. I hopeeverything that happened turns out to be stepping stones and she shares all herbizarre ideas with me from now on, although it is still hard for me to believeeverything that she just said.