pdf file - Notes from An Alien

Will
Delva was up to her neck in the water. Anglana was communicating with her.
"Never fear. He will arrive."
"I can see his face in my mind but I don't feel his presence."
"Look into his eyes."
Delva fell into Verluin's eyes in her mind and immediately felt him close. Felt him touch her on the head.
Felt his lips on hers.
"It feels so real!"
"It is real, Delva."
"Real in my mind which is making my body respond."
The presence of Verluin vanished. His face remained in Delva's mind and smiled the way she knew
meant he was momentarily sad but hopeful.
"He has left you for now."
"You claim it wasn't just my mind affecting my body..."
"You are a woman of strong mind. Would that your heart could take on that strength."
Delva felt tears flowing down her cheeks. She withdrew from the water and sat on the shore, wondering.
"Delva, you must repeat this many times to come to certitude of its reality."
"I don't want to convince myself that my wishes are reality when they're not."
"Strong mind..."
"Weak heart..."
The Aklans had been in the village for a few days, getting to know the people and helping them
implement some simple technology that could give them more control over their efforts to raise crops. The area
they were in was mostly rocky with large swaths of sand. There was only a small stream coming from the large
hill that dominated the landscape. Within that hill was a supply of water that wept its way out and down, often
drying before it reached the huts.
The Aklans didn't even think of suggesting the group of fifty adults and children move elsewhere. They
were led by a very old woman who had known the priests of the Lord's Army and tried her best to instill what
wisdom she had to her group. The Lord's Army and Faith of Eternity had few followers now, though the Disciples
of Faith still flourished. This group had kept the spirit of the Lord's Army alive for eighty years. They were all
related but perilous times had confused the exact genetic lines. Still, these folk were, in all ways, an extended
family.
The Aklans were doing what Aklans did—meeting people right where they were and offering, without
judgement, whatever help they could.
The old woman said: "God willing, we can use this device to induce the hill to give us its Gift more
abundantly."
The oldest of the five Aklans responded: "Be sure to only use it when the stream is dry. If you keep it on
all the time the hill could completely dry up."
The Aklans had also given the group a bag of seed—a strain of edible grass that was extremely
wholesome and grew with little attention.
"Plant the seeds in the pattern we showed you and only snip half the buds that appear so the plants can
feed you for a full season."
"Yes. We have my son's talent in making clay urns to store the buds for times of scarcity. We will dig a
cave in the hill for the storage."
"God willing, you can set yourselves free of the harsh labor of the city and live here in peace."
"You must return some day and tell me more of Akla."
"We will and—"
A small transport was heard from beyond the hill. It swerved into view and came to a stop. Plasma, the