bhaskar saikia

I had never seen Dr. Gautam so anxious before. He looked perplexed and alarmed, frantically searching the bushes as if looking for something he knew was there. We were on a field trip in the nearby woods close to our office, the ISZ – Inland Survey for Zoology. Accompanying us were four of our colleagues.

While Dr. Gautam was away in the bushes, the rest of the team and I were walking through a forest clearing. Suddenly, I saw a person dressed in a strange, form-fitting black suit with a shiny, elliptical black-visored helmet. The suit bore an eight-star insignia on the right arm. He kicked a ball toward me. As soon as I stopped the ball, he gestured for me to kick it back. It was then that I realized there were six of them—all dressed alike.

My team and I froze, alarmed by the sight of these tall, strangely dressed figures in the middle of the woods.

However, as the strangers walked toward us, they removed their helmets and approached with smiles. There were four young men and two women, all very tall, fair-skinned, and blonde-haired with blue eyes—except for one woman. She had black eyes, and the moment our eyes met, I felt an overwhelming certainty that we had met before.

As surreal as this encounter seemed, I had no doubt that we had made contact with extraterrestrial biological entities—the aliens!

The black-eyed blonde woman approached me and greeted me in fluent English.

“Greetings, sir. I’m pretty sure you’ve guessed who we are.”

“From the moment you removed your helmets,” I replied firmly.

The other aliens appeared somewhat nervous. However, I didn’t want to startle them into leaving. I invited them to come with us to my office.

On the way back, I instructed my team to remain quiet about these otherworldly visitors. Aside from their odd outfits, the security at the gate did not seem to suspect anything.

As soon as we settled down in my office, the black-eyed blonde sat near me. It was clear she had a lot to say. Her uncanny resemblance to someone I knew was growing stronger, yet I couldn’t recall who.

Meanwhile, my team stood by the door to prevent anyone from entering unannounced.

Just as we were about to resume our conversation, Dr. Gautam suddenly appeared at the door. We had forgotten that we had left him alone in the woods. However, he didn’t seem upset about that. I popped my head out through the narrow crack of the door.

“Guess what!” Dr. Gautam said excitedly. “I’ve found something!”

“What is it, Doc?”

“Can I come in?”

“Well, I have guests. Can I drop by your room in a moment?”

“No,” Dr. Gautam insisted. “There’s no time to wait. This is urgent!”

Realizing the unusual excitement in Dr. Gautam’s voice—so unlike his usual calm demeanor—I knew he must have discovered something important. Maybe something related to the aliens. I decided to speak with him, but in the adjacent lab. I didn’t want to alarm the aliens by involving more people.

“I think I have proof that aliens have landed in the nearby woods,” Dr. Gautam confirmed my fears.

“How can you be sure?”

“Look at the spike in the EM meter. The background EM levels in these woods have never crossed the threshold. But look here,” he showed me his electromagnetic detector. “It’s off the charts.”

“But how does this prove alien presence? It could be a natural source.”

“Because I’ve seen this before. The last time I detected such spikes was when I briefly saw an alien craft in these woods fifteen years ago. It was the same day we lost you in the field—you had passed out for an unknown reason. Remember? We spent the whole day looking for you. But this time, the EM spikes are still present, which means the aliens are still here. Let’s go back into the woods and find the source. I’ll call for backup.”

Suddenly, I realized that once Dr. Gautam called for backup, it would be nearly impossible to keep the aliens’ presence a secret. As a well-respected scientist, he had the trust of the forest officials, and they would arrive in no time.

I had to tell him the truth.

The moment we rushed back into my office, the aliens looked alarmed.

“Guys, relax. This is Dr. Gautam. He can be trusted. All he wants is to meet you,” I assured them.

“Do they understand English?” Dr. Gautam asked.

“Yes.”

Meanwhile, the aliens began speaking in a language none of us had ever heard. It sounded something like “san, san saa….an…atuk…..,” with the syllables san and an repeating frequently.

“I think we should leave before our cover is blown,” the black-eyed blonde said.

“No, wait… don’t worry. No one else will know,” I tried to reassure her. “We have so much to talk about.”

But the other aliens continued speaking to her in their language.

Realizing that I might not be able to stop them from leaving, I asked her one question.

“I know where you’re from. But why did you come here, traveling such a vast distance?”

“How are you so sure?” she replied. “I haven’t told you anything.”

“I’ve read a fair bit about encounters with blue-eyed, blonde aliens from all over the planet,” I said, staring intensely into her eyes. “Although, I don’t know why your eyes are black.”

She remained silent.

“You came to meet me, didn’t you?” I asked, acting on a hunch that their visit was specifically for me.

“San min lencanđor ćasčaš žáve aïve paa,” was all she said.

The words echoed in my mind as the scene around me began to blur. A strange dizziness took over and I felt as though I was being pulled away from reality itself. I struggled to hold onto the moment, but darkness enveloped me.

I woke up with a start. The distant mountains were bathed in the soft light of dawn. My wife was fast asleep beside me. The silence of the morning felt unreal, as if the weight of another reality still clung to me. Yet, I remembered every detail of my dream—and the words spoken by the black-eyed blonde.

San min lencanđor ćasčaš žáve aïve paa.

The meaning was suddenly clear to me.

“Yes, I have traveled this vast distance to meet you, Papa.”

My breath caught in my throat. I looked down at my left palm. Faintly, there was a strange glow—a silhouette of the eight-star insignia, the same one I had seen on the aliens’ suits.

Was it really just a dream?

I wasn’t sure anymore.