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

Around Kliptora in forty days part 4

Nathalia Avra 

Day 16 through 20: Greka

Moving on to the twentieth night of my Kliptoran adventure, I was kind of bummed. The constant jet lag and the whole night life was making me sleep deprived. Tony and Tina didn't even have a clue about it. The wagon journey to Greka was quiet and mostly, I was snoring.

"You snore loudly." Tony remarked.

"Thanks." I smile.

Tony looked confused. I walked past him and took in the view. It was spellbinding. The elaborate pillars and the intricate fountains, sculpted in white marble looked like a picture from Ancient Greece. The counter had four pillars holding the roof,which was slightly curved, almost flat. The cemented walls had beautiful cursive writings all over. It was really breathtaking.

"This is my home continent." Tina said. Her voice held happiness and her eyes were round and wide. I could literally feel a sort of happy vibe from her, which is not the case as always.

As she was talking to the counter man, who looked dashing in his slimy olive skin, dark brown hair and stunning very eyes, I found myself thinking about my two companions.

Tony was reserved but he was different. He loved learning something new. He enjoyed every single second he was exploring. He kept on talking about some scientific stuff, ( if asked him that is), or he would not even utter a word in the entirety of like six hours. He is like that introverted nerd friend in a group.

Tina, on the other hand, was disciplined, kept all her dealings within one sentence and nodded and spoke rarely. It was the first time I ever heard a slight variation in her voice. She was literally glad to talk in her mother tongue. I wonder, how long has it been since she visited her continent?

"Nathalia, are you listening?" Tony shook my shoulders slightly. 

I came out of my reverie and smiled, " Yes… sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

"Tina arranged our stay home. Let's go get some sleep." He repeated, I guess.

I nod. Kliptoran mannerisms are rubbing off on me a lot these days. I also started talking less. I nodded most of the time and I started controlling my sudden impulses. I get distracted pretty fast.

We arrived at our stay room and it was splendid. It still had two bedrooms, a bathroom and a living room. The whole place was white marble. It had beautiful flowers etched on the stone. There were some flowers higlitened with black ink and the whole thing looked like a chess board with flowers instead of squares. The pillars holding the roof were taller than the walls. Because of this, there was a slight slit  separating the roof from the walls that poured light into the room. It made sleeping impossible. 

I am no morning person but sleeping at noon does not make me comfortable. I just started at the ceiling and after like an eternity, I saw the sky shift to a red shade. I walked outside the bathroom and looked at the sky Helo was setting. I sat at the threshold of the state room and gazed at the beautiful view. The sin slowly went down radiating an orange red aura. There was a slight cackling of water that could be heard. Greka is filled with fountains. I gazed at the setting sin and slowly the moon rose up. I didn't know which one. Tony told me that Zooie and Toriah used to orbit the planet in opposite directions. So, once a month, Zooie and Toriah would cross paths and then the Kliptorans would be stuck with either one for the rest of the month.

Greka was the only continent to be surrounded by a forest. It didn't share its boundaries with a water body not with any continent. It was one independent continent. It was the smallest one too.

"So, you didn't sleep?" A sweet voice whispered in my ears. 

I jerked my head and found a startled Tony. " You scared the heck out of me!" I frowned.

"Sorry." Tony looked concerned. 

I stare at him and he looks at me. His blue eyes dangle on my frown. The way he stared at me, made me laugh. I giggle and now his confirmed look intensifies. I saw Tina walk towards us, most of the lights in the stayrooms started showing up. 

"Why are you both outside?" Tina asks.

"I couldn't get any sleep. So, I thought of sky gazing. Tony found me outside." I explain.

"Well, I arranged a small breakfast treat at my parents' stay room. Care to join?' Tina beamed.

"Cool! Can't wait to meet them." I get excited.  Tina led us to another stateroom, which was like a five minute walk. In the stayroom's threshold, I saw two figures standing.

I get flashbacks to the day I opened my eyes in Kliptora. They stood there just like Tony and Tina stood next to my gurney. Tina's father and mother had black hair, dark brown eyes and olive skin. They are one of those couples who look identical. Both of them wore the same outfit that we all wore; Karate clothes. Mine was white, Tony wore blue, Tina wore Khaki coloured and her parents matching pink.

Tina's mom, Christina, said something. I smiled. Tony smiled too. Tina translated,"She is glad to meet you both."

"We are too." I say. Now, it was their turn to smile at us and Tina to translate.

After chatting like this, we got inside and there Tina's mom had prepared some delicacies. I bit the gooey, jelly like green thing and it was not one of my favourites. The taste was slur and kind of like tangy. I just frowned a lot and ate a little. But since they took the trouble of hosting us, I ate it.

After that, I had the privilege to see Kliptora's biggest library. It housed every literary work ever written in Kliptora. The library was situated at the centre of the continent. It takes five minutes to walk from the port and half an hour in a mobile from our stay room. I checked.

It was a one-storey building that looked like a Greek temple. I guess this is the Kliptoran version of Alexandria's library. FYI, it was the largest library in the world before it got burnt down in Egypt, Alexandria. I read stuff.

Anyway, I was really mesmerised to see mine pillars standing on either side and the entrance was a huge door behind the middle pillar. The door and the pillars have a wide courtyard between them. It was white marbled. Funny thing is , the library didn't have a door. I walk into the library with a gasping Tony and an expressionless Tina. The inside was as mesmerising as the outside. The huge hall had lots of shelves scattered uniformly across the room with tables and chairs near each and every shelf. There were staircases leading to the ground floor on either side. Tina told us that there are four floors, counting the one we were currently standing on. Edbranch and Greka literature constitutes the first floor, Sanskritha and Mandrea takes the second floor(which is the floor just below this one), Latina and Engame takes the third floor and Arabacia and Frenchi the fourth. The books were actually tablets. There were several tablets on the shelves. 

"This is awesome!" I Swisher under my breath, which is a new feat for me. Usually, I shriek and Tony frowns. This time he smiled.

"Yes it is " 

We went to the Engame section on the third floor, since gamea is English on Earth.

I browse the shelves and take one tablet. The shelves are electronic. They automatically charge the book, so it doesn't die out. The tables also contain such recharging facilities. Tony explained that the tablets charge using electro-magnetic induction. 

"Why don't you just create a system, like a digital cloud and use minimum tablets.?" I ask.

They look at each other and Tina questions, "We didn't understand what you said."

"On Earth, we have satellites orbiting us. These satellites help transmit radio waves which helps in sharing information from one device, say the tablet, to another. It is called the internet. Nowadays, they are stored in digital clouds and it is easily accessible from anywhere on the planet " I explain.

Tony contemplates what I just said. He sits down on a nearby chair and we follow suit.

"For that, we need to launch a contraption into space and the Kliptoran environment can be in jeopardy. Although the idea seems brilliant." Tony debates. 

"Or, you could create hardware, like storage devices like a USB or hard drives to store such information. They seem more efficient too." I phy in some more ideas. 

Tina just sat between us looking at me and him in turns.

"USB? Hard Drive?" Tony questions.

"I have one with me in my bag. Remind me to show them." I say.

At that Tony gets up and says,"Alright. I gave some ideas popping in my head. I am going to the technology section to browse."

I walk towards the fiction part. Tina informed me she would be on the first floor. I found a book named , ' Kiara's adventure into the open.' I take the book and scan the blurb.

Follow Kiara, a young Gamean girl whose dream to be a soldier is shattered by her inability to learn languages. She discovered a way to experience the forests and grasslands. Will she succeed in her quest? Find out.

Okay… that is kind of intriguing. I start reading the book and hours pass by. It was a cool book. I write a review at the back. It was different, entertaining and… don't even think about me telling you the story.

Tina finds me and she literally drags me out of the library. I buy a copy of 'Kiara's adventure into the open'. I smile at the book. My first Kliptoran novel. Tony said that books are expensive and people only buy minimal books.The library is open twenty four seven and anyone can come in read and go. 

The next few days, I find myself enjoying Greka to the fullest. There was an Arts Academy in Greaka too. Tina mentioned that Sanskritha and Greka rivaled each other. While Sanskritha valued Arts, Greka valued the sports. But both are famous and prestigious institutions. Greka also held the most soldier producing continent post.  

I saw some beautiful dance performances and also a fountain show. The fountain show was basically the same thing Preethi did, minus the song. It was just like a fountain show on the Earth. Different colours pop out and form with water. 

Greka was a bomb. I loved every second and our next stop is going to need to be better than this, to impress me. But for now, I just slept peacefully.