The Alien Agenda (#Wattys2018)

[Chapter 3: A Message]

I woke up with a start when the old grandfather clock in the living room downstairs chimed six times. The  sound reverberated all the way to the library. I let out a yawn and stretched my arms. My vision focused on my surroundings and I realized that I fell asleep while reading. I huffed in confusion. How could I just knock out like that? I was not tired. And it was already 6 o' clock. I was supposed to lock the place up at five. I had to get home soon or Mum was going to freak out.

I looked down at the thick book on my lap. The page displayed a report an artifacts. It was an ordinary report, nothing out of the blue. Yet I could not help but stare at it. My eyes were focused on the words. Suddenly, slowly but surely, the typed out words began shifting in my vision.

I did not know if it was the light, or was I still groggy, but the words began to stretch and bend, getting warped by the second. Soon, the words were swirling around and slowly they disappeared! I gasped in shock.

I peered even closer at the now blank page. How did the words vanish? I had to be still dreaming. I blinked twice and rubbed my eyes, trying to wake myself up. However when I reopened my eyes, a strange set of symbols swirled into the page. Unlike any Mayan symbols I have ever came across.

They consisted of five symbols. One was a triangle with three diagonal lines within it, another was an infinity symbol with two lines intersecting its centre. The next one was three zig-zagged lines intersecting one another. The fourth was just a simple swirl and finally, the last was a hexagon with a horizontal line within it.

I was beyond puzzled. I blinked several times again not wanting to believe what I just saw. But in a blink of an eye, the image was suddenly back to normal. I rubbed my eyes again. And again. I practically buried my nose into the book. There was nothing out of the ordinary.

"What the heck..." I mumbled to myself.

I decided that my obsession towards mysterious things had finally gotten to me. I shrugged off the occurrence and placed the book back on the desk. I quickly went back down to the lobby and grabbed my purse. I switched off all the lights and the air-conditioning before leaving the place.

I stepped out and keyed in a password on the front door. I watched the shutter roll down automatically. Not wasting another moment, I turned around and walked back home.
--------------------------------------------

I slumped onto bed in my pajamas, lost in thought. Somehow all that was bugging me were those...symbols. It was all I could envision in my mind.

I scratched my head and let out a frustrated sigh.

Why was I mulling over those symbols? I thought to myself.

I decided to grab my notebook and draw them out. I stared at the symbols hoping for a meaning to arise, any sense of familiarity. Yet nothing came up. Instead, I felt a strange sense of agitation and nervousness build up within me. It was impossible for something like that to appear in the book. It had to have been a dream, but then again it felt so real. I slammed my notebook shut, and took all my effort to block the symbols out of my mind, and hopefully get some shut eye.

----------------------
The next morning was a Sunday, so I woke up pretty late. I was glad to have gotten a good night of sleep despite all that was bugging me the night before. I ran down the staircase after getting ready and saw my mom flipping pancakes in the kitchen. The wonderful smell of it filled my nostrils definitely easing my thoughts, if only for a moment. I smiled and walked towards my mom.

Her short curls tumbled our of her messy bun. She was humming softly whilst turning over the golden pancakes with her spatula.

"Morning, mom, " I said and took a seat at the dining table. She returned the smile and placed stack of pancakes in front of me.

"Eat up, sweetie," she said.

No one had to tell me twice. I was extremely hungry, as I did not eat much for dinner. I lost my appetite after the whole situation. As soon as the pancakes reached the table I started digging in. The sweet taste of vanilla and honey filled my mouth, leaving a wonderful sense of satisfaction.

"Mom, I'm gonna go see Uncle Elias later," I told her after finishing the entire plate of pancakes, I was still chewing the last of it. My mom rolled her eyes at me talking with my mouth full.

"Again? Do you know what time you came back yesterday?" She said sternly.

"But mom, I have something really important to ask him," I said pleadingly.

I figured that I should ask Uncle Elias about those symbols before they bugged me to death.

My mom sighed,"Fine, fine. But I want you back by five. And make sure you have lunch! You skipped lunch yesterday lingering at his place," she reminded.

"Also, you need to go to bed early tommorow for school, not to mention we have pick your dad up from the airport after that," she said.

I nodded at her non-stop orders. I definitely did not forget that we were going to pick my father up from the airport tomorrow.

My dad was an petrochemical engineer who travelled overseas a lot. Recently, he went for a business trip to Africa and he was coming back tommorow.

"Ok, mom. I promise I will," I said hoping to reassure her.

I jumped out of my seat, slipped my phone and notebook into my pocket, before heading to the research office.