Perplex Vision 2000

"The last few days were too much for her, poor soul. Too much for all of us, for that matter. She'll be alright. Sooner or later she's going to run into a main road and civilization. And you, Geoffrey," Diane said, exasperated, as she turned towards him. "I guess time has come to do all that explaining we were talking about earlier. But before anything, for God's sake, Geoff, how on earth did you manage that amazing stunt with the bloody sphere. Don't tell me that that was another technique you learned on our trip into the Philippines. I won't buy it this time."

"It's not, Diane. It has nothing to do with that trip. I just barely know how I managed it, myself. It is the first time I ever did it in this body..." Vaton suddenly interrupted himself and quickly looked at Diane. He didn't mean to put it this way but the truth simply popped out of his mouth. He hadn't spent quite enough time on this mixed-up planet to learn about lying.

"'This body?' How many bodies have you got, my dear. If you don't mind my asking. I'm just curious." Diane's hard stare made Vaton feel uneasy. Made him feel small, helpless, a foreigner, and an outcast. A bloody intruder. His cheeks were glowing red when he looked directly into Diane's eyes. He didn't know how to start, what to say or how to put into words what he wanted to tell her. Helplessly, he looked at Peter.

"I need your help, Peter. I don't know how to handle this," he said, locking eyes with the black boy. Peter sustained his gaze and he immediately felt it deep inside himself, that Vaton meant every word he said and that he really was at a loss in this tense moment.

"All I can tell her, Vaton, is what you told me and showed me in the last few days. I believe in you, Vaton," Peter said, his large black eyes moist with tears ready to burst. Bravely, he managed to hold them back. For a while, anyway. Playing with the curls in his thick, black hair, he turned toward Diane and wordlessly stared at her for a moment. His quick young mind was frantically processing the chain of events and words conveyed between he and Vaton during the last couple of weeks.

"Diane..." his words trailed off in uncertainty as he pulled the locks of his black hair. "I ain't good with words myself. All I can tell you is that Vaton's my buddy and I love him...I...He...He showed me his..." Suddenly Peter's bright eyes charged up in intensity. "He really is from outer-space. He's here visiting and trying to make friends with the Human race. Vaton, why don't you start with the spaceship image you showed me. It's a start." Quickly turning toward Diane, he searched her curious, expectant eyes. "His spaceship crashed when they tried to land on the planet, Diane..." Peter sounded excited. His eyes were glittering bright, recalling or rather visualizing in his mind the images formed after the previous conversations with Vaton. "Yes. Vaton, I know it's painful for you to do it again, but you gotta do it for Diane. She must know."

"Know what?" Diane asked Peter, her turn now to be puzzled, anxious to get to the bottom of this twisted charade.

"That Vaton and Uvigadva, a crew member, were the only two survivors of the crash. Vaton, you tell her. You know the facts better than me. For Diane. Please!?"

Peter's compassionate tone of voice penetrated deep into Vaton's fragile soul. He shuddered under the intensity of his recollections. Large drops of sweat mixed with tears started developing at the root of his nose running down on his chin and finally dropping on the dry sand and disappearing without a trace.

"It is a long story, Diane. And I don't know if this is the right time..." Vaton started slowly, carefully picking his words. It was very difficult for him too but he clearly realized that Diane and Peter, were right. This was the right time for the truth. But it was so difficult to convey it in its truest sense, without altering millions of implications of this complicated situation.