Jacob followed the direction on the map in front of his left eye, reflected off the glass of the spectacles he was wearing.

He left the city and the suburbs behind him, as his surroundings started turning rural. He was now walking along a black asphalt structure, which he had learned was called a highway. From the corner of his eye, he saw the sky start to turn an orange colour along the rim of the planet. Cars started driving past him with speed, lifting his pitch black hair from his forehead in bursts of air. Jacob stared after the antiquated vehicles interested. He coughed a few times and felt his lungs constrict painfully when exhaust fumes, from the vehicles speeding past him, blew back into his face.

It took a long time for Jacob to learn the language and phrases of this planet. Of those who were initially chosen to undergo the training, Jacob was eventually chosen as the one who was best able to complete the mission successfully. He knew the different dialects and practised for hours until it was perfect, until it came to him naturally. He knew the strange names of everything. He studied Earth and its population. He knew the history of the planet, Earth, since its creation. There was nothing about this planet he did not study or that he did not know about.

He remembered watching an imagery while he was in training for this mission, where there was no talking, only singing, and there was a man walking along a similar road, but the man held out his hand with his thumb extended upward. In the imagery a vehicle had stopped, and the man was offered, what was called, a lift.

Jacob pushed out his right hand and extended his thumb upward.

Gravity was starting to pull heavily on his arm, when eventually a battered vehicle stopped a short distance ahead of him. He jogged toward the vehicle in the same manner he saw the man do in the imagery, and then stood next to the driver's side window of the vehicle.

The man in the vehicle asked, “Where you headed?”

“Kloof. Approximately fifteen kilometres from here.”

The man frowned for a moment. “Get in. I am going that way.”

Jacob rushed around the vehicle. He opened the door and sat down on the bucket seat.

The man looked at him amused. “Suppose it's just around the corner and you're right keeping your backpack on your back.”

Jacob berated himself. He did so well in his training. He knew all their mannerisms and the way they did things, especially in this country, and now his first contact with an Earthling had already resulted in suspicion.

“Why are you on the roads this early, are you running away from home?”

Jacob took a large, inconspicuous gulp of air. He smiled friendly. “No, Sir. My car broke down earlier, and I decided to walk to the nearest filling station.”

“You don’t look old enough to have a driver’s license?” The man asked curiously.

“Have been eighteen for three months now, Sir.” Jacob remembered to look proud as he fished his wallet from his pocket and showed the man his driver’s license.

The man slowed down and brought the car to a stop on the side of the highway. “Here we go. Kloof.”

Surprised Jacob pushed his wallet back into his pocket. While he was walking, the distance on the map still looked so far, but with the vehicle it was just a short drive across the large hill and down the other side.

Jacob pulled the door handle toward himself and as he got out of the car, he remembered to say, “Thank you, Sir.”

“Make sure your car is roadworthy before you start driving it again. It's dangerous walking around out here.”

Jacob lifted his hand and waved at the man. He watched the battered vehicle drive away, and then he focused on the map again.

He was almost at her house, about another kilometre or two through the ravine and he will arrive at the little village called, Waterfall, where she lived with her family.

CONTINUE READING