Her Alien Protector: A Sci-fi Romance

Part 16

Ava

We found Glow Ball! I hug Glow Ball against me. The little animal peeps and presses against me, and I can't help wondering—is the little rahoni telling me he is happy to be back with me, too?

I swear, even with this stupid sleeping-bag contraption, I think Rigel is hugging me. Or am I imagining it? I want Rigel to feel more for me. He kissed me earlier, so... That's a good sign, right?

Now that I have the little rahoni in my arms, I stop paying attention. Rigel knows the way. That is, until, out of the corner of my eye, something sparkles in the cliff wall.

Were my eyes playing tricks on me? I tug the ribbons over Rigel's wings. Rigel loops back and as we fly in a circle around the cliff, I definitely see the shine of silver in the rock.

In my heart, I want it to be something cool constructed from an alien civilization like a spaceship.

Maybe before letting my imagination run wild, we should explore. I yank the ribbons of my faithful steed Rigel, pointing to where I want to go. Rigel opens his wings, changing course.

It's while I'm holding onto the straps and pointing that Glow Ball wiggles his way out and takes off. Oh no! What's going to happen to the little animal?

I do what I can, reaching for Glow Ball and shaking the straps. Hurry up, Rigel! Glow Ball must be ignoring me. He whizzes through the air, furiously flying toward the shiny wall.

Rigel opens his wings, slowing us down. His feet strike the ground of a big ledge, and I shimmy out of the sleeping bag. Then I'm off, sprinting in pursuit of Glow Ball.

Rigel is yelling and calling after me. Why is Rigel so worried? It isn't like I'm that far away. Plus, I need to explore everything. When I am at the base of the cliff wall, I come to a sudden halt and try to make sense of the silver-colored glyphs that cover the bottom part of this cliff face.

***

Once, my parents took me to see petroglyphs. I must have been incredibly young then because they held hands and made dewy eyes at each other, barely noticing me. Better for me because it gave me the freedom to run ahead on the hiking path and climb over boulders. That is when I saw the petroglyphs. Since it was me in front of my parents on the trail, I felt like I had discovered this new world. I still remember tracing the animal shapes and spirals etched in stone.

Those symbols enamored me for years. In search of finding more ancient symbols, I spent many afternoons in the public library, leafing through books with Sanskrit, cuneiform, and even Egyptian hieroglyphics, not that I ever figured any of it out.

Few things in my life have ever come close to the feeling of discovery and finding the petroglyphs as a small child... until now.

Strange. Even though I am light years from Earth, encountering vastly different civilizations from my own, I feel the same sensation from years ago: like I am the discoverer, along with an intense curiosity of needing to know the secrets of these symbols.

The markings here are gigantic, probably several times Rigel's height, and etched in silver: several squiggly zig-zag lines and a bunch of large Vs.

Glow Ball chirps and flies upward. Not being able to reach Glow Ball makes me nervous.

"Glow Ball, come back!"

The mischievous rahoni ignores me, flying higher up on the cliff wall, darting around half a dozen pictographs I missed, probably because of their location and these symbols do not have the shine of silver.