The Children of Time (The Children of Time Trilogy Book 1) Read online

  THE CHILDREN OF TIME

  Chaiene Santos

  Copyright © Chaiene Barboza Santos

  All Rights Reserved

  Digital Edition

  Any unauthorized copying, broadcasting, manipulation, distribution or selling of these works constitute as an infringement of copyrights and it is punished by the law.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, incidents and places are products of author’s imagination and any resemblance is coincidental.

  Translated by: Bianca Carvalho

  Nova Friburgo

  Rio de Janeiro - Brazil

  2014

  This book is dedicated to my wife, my daughters and my entire family. They were always by my side allowing me to own the necessary peace to sail in the creative process.

  “If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.”

  Albert Einsten

  Table of Contents

  I. The Meeting

  II. The Revelation

  III. The Development of the Human Being

  IV. Another Ship on its Way to Earth

  V. Nicolas and Zara

  VI. The Almost Ordinary Life in New York

  VII. The Danger is Near

  VIII. Nicolas’ Extraterrestrial Shape

  IX. The Alpha-Omega Team

  X. The Sky and the Stars

  XI. The Other Mission of Merko

  XII. Lorena’s Sadness

  XIII. The Confrontation

  XIV. Waiting for the Trip

  XV. The Arrival at Planet Vida

  XVI. In King Zador’s Palace

  XVII. The Surgery

  XVIII. Mirov’s Escape

  XIX. The Success of the Surgery

  XX. Back to Earth

  XXI. The Wedding

  XXII. Helen’s birth

  XXIII.The Family

  – I. The Meeting –

  Year 2017

  Nicolas was preparing himself for another day at the university. He took his blue backpack with black stripes, full of books, a computer and his Smartphone, in which he could always check his e-mails and text messages sent by friends from college.

  He drank a glass of milk and took two bites of the sandwich prepared by his mother. He was running late as usual, to get to the bus for his classes.

  “Nicolas, wait! I need to talk to you.” Lorena shouted, unable to reach him.

  She looked at the door and saw that he was already inside the bus. She thought it would be better to talk to him at night, since he rarely sat at the table to have breakfast.

  ***

  In the bus, Nicolas thought that Monday would be another ordinary day, but many things were about to change in his life.

  He had white skin, blue eyes, medium and sharp nose, average lips, with the upper being slightly thicker than the lower; he was 5’10”, thin and his hair was dark brown.

  Romantic, he enjoyed physics and astronomy. His dream was to become a great physician and discover the secrets of the universe. He was studying Physics at the University of California, in Los Angeles, where he lived.

  The campus was crowded; students and teachers walked everywhere to get to the classrooms. Right at the entrance, Nicolas met his friend Sanchez, a Mexican-born American. His friend always wore his black hair combed to the right side, covering his big forehead. He was 5’11” and spoke the language with perfection, because he lived most of his life in the United States.

  “Hi, Nick. Today we’re going to meet a new student who got transferred from another university. We’ll also start that discipline we enrolled at in the beginning of the semester, do you remember? And the girl is on the same class.

  “This course took so much time to begin that I thought it was going to be cancelled. I’m anxious to learn his new subject and to meet the new student.” Nicolas replied.

  The first three periods of class had passed and the students could barely hide the curiosity about the next class, as well as the freshman, whose beauty had been already commented.

  At eleven o’clock, they heard the bell announcing the end of the class. Few students left, but many entered the new class. They were excited to learn new things.

  Finally, the coordinator of the physics department, Doctor Finken, walked into the room and said.

  “From now on, Cosmology, the science of the Universe, will be taught for those who signed up in the beginning of the period. The course’s coordinator had some problems filling in this position and that is the reason this class did not start yet. Fortunately, we found a very competent professional, who studies the outer space and the great secrets presently known by men. Dr. Carlsson Glein is a PhD in Cosmology.”

  The coordinator walked toward the door and opened it.

  “Come in, Doctor Glein.”

  The professor entered the classroom and looked at the group who were still starring at the door, because a surprisingly beautiful figure was standing in there. It was the new student who everybody was talking about it.

  When the coordinator, Doctor Finken, noticed the shadow that the new student placed over the Cosmology teacher, he said:

  “I’ll take the opportunity to introduce our new student, Zara.”

  And she walked into the room. Nicolas observed her and noticed that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her hair was red, thick, reaching her shoulders; she had white and smooth skin, blue eyes, full lips and sculptural body, like it was the creation of an artist. She seemed to be around 25 or 30 years old and 5’7”. He soon became mesmerized and tried, with no success, to hide his surprise.

  Sanchez was sitting beside him and said astonished.

  “Wow! Nicolas, now the course will become more interesting. What a beauty.”

  “I’m surprised too. She’s gorgeous!”

  Zara looked around class and stared at Nicolas like she was trying to read his own thoughts. Then, she walked to the only vacant chair in the room, right by his side.

  “I’ll leave you alone with your class, Dr. Glein. I hope they like Cosmology.” Said Dr. Finken.

  “It’s fine. I’m sure they’ll like to study it, because the knowledge about the Universe is amazing.”

  He introduced himself to the class and began to explain the different subjects he was going to teach. It’s a science that studies the Universe structure, composition and its evolution.

  “As the noble Dr. Finken said, I graduated in physics, with a PhD in Cosmology. Today I’m going to make a brief introduction about the outer space, but before that I’d like everyone in this class to introduce themselves so we can get more comfortable during our course. We can start by the first one on my left.”

  The students began to introduce themselves, and it was Nicholas turn.

  “My name is Nicolas, but you can call me Nick. People here in college call me geek, but I don’t like labels. I dream of being a great physicist and to travel to the space.”

  Everyone began to laugh, and a student called Adam, who was sitting in the fourth chair on the right corner, said ironically.

  “You should become an astronaut. I think you’re in the wrong course.”

  “No more comments.” The professor intervened. “I ask you to be brief or we won’t be able to finish the presentations.”

  “Nicolas, don’t worry about the space trips.” Zara told him in a low voice, while other student was introducing himself. “Sometimes what we dream can be very close to us.”

  The boy didn’t understand what she meant but he was still observing everything with curiosity.

  During the student’s presentations, Zara looke
d deeply into Nicolas eyes, and he felt something different when he looked at her. A chill inside his chest, and his heart was beating so fast, things that he had never felt before. He wondered where someone with such beauty could come from.

  “It can’t be. She’s not looking at me. It must be a wrong impression. A woman like her would never get interested in a guy like me.” Nicolas thought.

  ***

  Later at home, after his homework he went downstairs to have dinner with his mother and his sister.

  “My son, today I wanted to give you a good morning kiss, but when I came downstairs you had already left. Why don’t you wake up earlier? So there would be some time for us to talk in the morning. All this rush isn’t good. I feel so lonely since your father has passed.”

  “That’s okay, mom. I’ll try to wake up a little earlier. We really only have time to talk at night, besides, I also want to give a good morning kiss to Sophia, even if she is not awake.”

  Sophia smiled happily. She was 8 years old and after her father’s death, she became her mother’s best friend and worshiped her brother.

  ***

  During the weekends, Nicolas liked to ride his bike around the city.

  There was a lot of green everywhere and beautiful landscapes to be admired. Along the way it was possible to find natural springs, that ran through bamboo pipes left by the owners of the sites along the trails. Whenever he got tired, he stopped; leaned the bike on a three and put both hands under the water that poured in abundance and drank it, until his thirsty was quenched. Then, he picked up the bike and kept going hearing the birds singing, which contrasted with the silence of the woods.

  On Sunday, he was strolling and some heavy drops of water began to fall from the sky. It was almost dark. He felt that nice smell of wet land and increased the speed to get to his home faster. But the rain got stronger and he decided to stop and rest, taking shelter beneath an abandoned hut.

  That was when, suddenly, a person came into his direction, also trying to escape the rain. As it was coming closer, he could notice it was a woman.

  Even in the darkness of the night he noticed he knew her. She stopped under the hut and said:

  “What a storm! Thank God we found this shelter.”

  “We were lucky, because I guess there isn’t any other in miles.” Nicolas said. “You are the new student, Zara.”

  “Hi, Nick. Is your name, right? It is nice of you to remember me. You even know my name.”

  “Yes, I am the student who wants to be an astronaut. Although the other students were laughing, something tells me that in a few decades, space travel will be very common. About your name, I’m sure all the students had already learned it; it’s not usual that a student caused so much admiration on her first day.”

  Zara blushed with the praise and replied.

  “Thank you, Nick. Can I call you that? I like your name.”

  “Yes, you can. It’s nice that you like my name.”

  “Don’t worry about the comments. There’s always someone to criticize us. Sometimes life changes so much and so fast that we can’t waste time with other people’s opinion.”

  There was a moment of complete silence; only the singing of the birds and the sound of the raindrops could be heard. They began to look at each other just like in the classroom. The rain was increasing, and he couldn’t hide the attraction he was feeling.

  She put her bike on the ground and got closer to him. Nicolas touched Zara’s soft skin and her eyes seemed to bewitch him. When the raindrops touched her body, a smell of jasmine made the atmosphere more pleasant. There was nothing else around and the boy let his emotions take over, as happened only a few times in his life. Everything was like a dream and he didn’t want to wake up; he kissed the lips that have messed so much with his heart. They surrendered to that infinite moment and that was the best thing that happened to them.

  Generally, when he met someone, Nick wasn’t used to feel something so intense, but with Zara everything was different. He had never met a woman with so much experience. He wondered what he could do to make her fall in love with him and stay by his side. It wasn’t enough to only admire her at the college, with a sudden passion; he became closer to her with the intensity of the kiss they shared. She interrupted his line of thoughts, which mingled with his dreams.

  “Nicolas, it’s getting late. I have to go, because we have classes in the morning. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “That’s okay, Zara. I really liked to see you. I’ll count the hours until tomorrow.”

  She touched his lips and smiled softly. Since the rain had already stopped, she grabbed her bike and left.

  The boy arrived home with shining eyes and a huge grin on his face, and Lorena noticed that something different had happened in that Sunday’s ride.

  “Son, will you tell me what is going on?”

  “I’ve never seen you so happy!” Sophia exclaimed.

  “Well... I... met... A person while I was riding my biking. I guess I am... in love.”

  Mother and daughter smiled understanding that something new happened with Nicolas, and it would certainly make him very happy.

  At that night, the young student went to bed early, dreaming of the serendipity meeting at the hut.

  Next day he had breakfast with his mother before his classes. When he was on the bus, he thought about his reaction to see Zara again. “Does she really feel something for me? Or was that only a quick moment?” He couldn’t control his emotions.

  Nicolas decided not to tell anything to his friends. They certainly wouldn’t believe and would laugh telling him that was only a fruit of his imagination. Sanchez came into the room and saw his friend ready for the class.

  “You’ve arrived early, my friend. You always wait in the courtyard until everyone is inside. What happened?”

  “Nothing. I’m just sitting here, thinking about life.”

  They kept talking until Dr. Glein entered the classroom. He greeted everyone and began his speech, explaining how the Theory of the Relativity worked. The students observed his explanations with attention, but Nicolas was looking at Zara, who was sitting by his side again, stared at her beautiful eyes and remembered the date they had in the previous day. She was also looking at Nicolas, returning the smile.

  At break time, he looked for her in the school’s courtyard.

  “May I talk to you for a moment?”

  “Yes. Let’s go to the cafeteria.”

  “I can’t forget what happened between us and I’d like to see you again on the weekend.”

  “I also liked very much what happened with us. Would you like to meet me in the same trail we met on Sunday? Is that okay?”

  “Sure... I... I’ll be there in the hut.”

  Zara knew that Nicolas also liked her and, somehow, she was also getting involved with him, who was at least ten years younger. However, it seemed that she knew him for some time.

  They began to meet every weekend and Sundays were always happy days. They shared kisses, caresses and rode their bikes, enjoying every moment together. After some weeks of relationship, Nicolas began to feel curious about the woman who changed his life. She noticed it was the perfect moment to tell a special secret that would change his view of the world.

  “Nicolas, I have something to tell you. I’m not from here. I live in a very distant place.”

  “I was curious to know where you came from. You have a different beauty, as if you lived in a Nordic country. Please, go on...”

  “In fact, I came from a place much farther away than just a country. I’m from a planet called Vida, in the Andromeda galaxy, many light-years away from here. As you would say: I’m an astronaut! I would like you to meet some people who travel with me. Would you like to join me?”

  “What is all this madness? Is the dream falling apart? She might be mentally disturbed. This would explain everything. All that love can’t be real, anyway, the boy thought, devastated because he couldn’t believe in what she was sa
ying.

  Nick didn’t understand why she was telling that. It was obviously not true, but she seemed very smart and very secure to be crazy. Was everything a kind of joke? A game? Maybe she only wanted to play a trick on him. Since there wasn’t anybody around, he pretended to believe, and answered with an ironic voice:

  “Are they close?”

  “Close your eyes.” She said smiling, holding his hands.

  In an instant, they were in another place. They were inside a hi-tech spaceship and no longer in that abandoned hut.

  The boy was shocked! If that was really a ship, he was certainly taken to the control room. The technology that could be seen was something amazing, and he could observe a number of instruments which functions he could barely imagine.

  One of the walls was partly made of transparent glass, which allowed the crew to observe the exterior. He came closer and saw that they were parked next to a cloud, which was probably hiding the flying object. Looking from above, everything seemed extremely small.

  He couldn’t see, but the aircraft had a discoid shape, which favored the aerodynamics of motion in outer space, making it easy to travel at high speed.

  Holographic screens lined the edges of the room, reflecting lights of all colors and shades. It was all very intriguing.

  Still feeling lost; he admired everything around him, inside the ship. Perplexed, he recognized the Milky Way, slowly turning in a projected holograph. This image highlighted a blue planet, which was located right in the Arm of Orion. He could recognize this planet in any image. It was the Earth. “The most beautiful and perfect planet of the Universe.” he thought while he analyzed the image projected in three dimensions.

  And he also recognized the Andromeda galaxy. A planet stood out in this holography, as if it was being monitored. There was something special about it and he was curious, however, he wasn’t comfortable to ask Zara, since he was so lost within his thoughts.