Pilgrims
Old Friend

Some people in my life find my life miserable: long time single, unmarried, unachieved. Surprisingly, I live my life comfortably.

I am grateful to be born at the right time. If we look back, there were times when women were not allowed to go to school. There are times when the night is pitch black, without illumination. Now we can learn, read, play more freely. The world today is not perfect, but I am grateful for many things that have become so much better.

***

The bang surprised both of us. Jack and I turned to the direction of the explosion and saw black smoke billowing from there.

"Hm. We're not going there?" my many.

He thought for a moment and fixed his glasses and said, "Do we have any other choice?"

"I'd rather be there than here and be curious" I replied steadily.

Jack nodded and we walked in that direction.

All the questions are on my mind. Like a tangled thread, not even one of me was able to take let alone answer. Either because of adrenaline or I lack sensitivity, panic and fear do not come.

Since it was quite a distance away, and it started to feel awkward to keep quiet, I ended up asking, "You're the teacher right, huh? What do you know if you can know?"

"History. Material is boring for school children, but I like it very much" he replied.

"Well, I love history lessons. But, most of the time in school there are many biased explanations. Well, history depends on who is telling the story. Different points of view can be very different," I said excitedly.

"Well, I didn't expect such a response anyway" Jack chuckled. "What history has worked best for you?" tanyanya.

"Hm. It is difficult to choose one. Everything is interesting. But the interesting point in my opinion is, whatever the conflict that occurred in history, whatever the reason, actually everything is based on 2 things only: family or economy, or both," I replied fiery. "Despite overt nationalism, religion, or land disputes, it finally goes back to the 2 things."

"Yes, I agree. Take, for example, the American war of independence. America wanted to split up and stand alone as a country and be separated from the British empire one of the main reasons was because it was tired of their burdensome tax system and the monopoly system of the sale of goods by the British government."

"Palestinians and Israelis alike are fighting over the right to live in the area in order to provide a decent place to live for their families."

"The Arabs opposed Muhammad for fear that one of their people's economic revenues would be reduced if the statues of the gods of the Arabs and their surroundings were removed from the Kaaba."

"World wars 1 and 2 occurred because many countries sided with and helped countries that had economic and military cooperation with them, so that national conflicts became international wars."

I listened and added, "Yes, and let's not forget that the reason for the war sometimes differs between the ruler of a state declaring war and the soldier going through the war himself."

"Yes, there's so much we can learn from history" Jack nodded in agreement.

Our distance from where the big bang came from is getting closer. Smoke began to smell. I'm getting more alert. Look in all directions to find a place to escape or hide if you encounter a threat.

"Hey, Jack. How much do you want to go home?" many personal.

He thought for a moment and asked, "You have a child?"

I'm shaking.

"Well, that means I dare say, I'd rather go home than you," she said a little sadly.

Wow, I didn't dare tell her straight away that the chances of coming home were very small.

Looked at from anywhere, Jack and I are not special people. So as to get to this place I'm sure it wasn't planned by anyone. And if that's true, then what brought us here was accidental, which means no one knows why we're here, let alone how to get home.

***

The area around the explosion looks like a falling meteor, with greyish-colored debris strewn around it.

Hoping not to see the corpse, I checked the surroundings. I saw a pair of footprints showing someone walking towards the rocks not far away.

I immediately crouched down to him.

"Are you alright?" my many.

"Not really," he answered slowly. He looks very young and wears a wetsuit. Oriental face.

Jack moved to the woman's right, then crouched down and asked, "May I see it?"

The woman replied with a weak nod.

Jack checked his wound. While cleaning the debris in his wound with his handkerchief, Jack asked, "I'm Jack. What's yourname?"

"Anna," he replied as he grimaced with pain.

After cleaning Anna's wound, Jack bandaged it with a handkerchief and tied it with a tie.

"Hopefully not an infection" Jack said.

"Can you tell me what happened?" ask Jack again.

Anna took a big breath, then replied, "I'm diving. Suddenly the sea water seemed to be trying to suck me up, and when I opened my eyes I was here. I realized the possibility of my oxygen tank exploding so I took off and ran," he paused for a moment and grimaced, then continued, "Unfortunately I wasn't too far away when the tank exploded.

"Well, which means none of us know what happened. Maybe we better find shelter and food" Jack suggested.

"Oh yeah, I just remembered, before I got here I was hungry once, but haven't been hungry since I got here. How'd you guys?" chirping.

"Yes, me too. Bizarrely. We should have been here for hours" Jack confirmed. "You, Anna?"

"Sama," Anna nodded weakly.

Before he could analyze this information, instantly there were masked people appearing out of nowhere. I smelled a fragrant scent and then my consciousness disappeared.

***

I heard the sound of chatter from a distance. When I was fully awake, they stopped.

I was in a closed room. Outlandish. Fancy. Moderns. Ahhhhh. I remember Cain's words about being attacked by aliens. Why is he always right?

I don't see any sign of Jack and Anna. Seeing that I was alive and not tied up, they might as well have survived and not been harmed.

I heard footsteps. Then I heard a voice from behind.

"Hey, Maya. Long time no see."

A man dressed as Aladdin greeted me as if we were old friends. I squinted my eyes again. The dim lighting made me unable to see his face clearly.

Now he's right in front of me. Outlandish.

He looked at my confusion and then said, "Sorry, you must be confused. I'll answer your questions. Fire away."

Wow, now that he says begiu, I don't know where to start. So I started with, "I don't know you, why do you talk like you know me?"

"The story is long" he answered lightly.

***