Old Man Zen

[Author's note: The characters in the next scene are speaking different languages but it's all written in English.. hope no one gets confused (◠‿◕) ]

...

"Hhm?" The old man raised his eyebrows in surprise. The man was about to check on her condition when she suddenly opened her eyes.

"What are you doing?" The girl tried to sit up in the bed. The old man immediately held her shoulder and pushed her back.

"No.. stay down, you had mama sickness and your body is too hurt," the old man explained what the healer had said.

"What are you saying?" Andrea winced. She only heard him muttering some words but recognized none. It sounded almost like ancient Mandarin, an old language from Asia.

"What was that?" The old man also asked almost immediately. "This might be a problem. Just when I thought you could pay me back it happens you speak an ancient tongue,, I'm really out of luck."

Andrea felt her face muscles twitch. 'Is this man crazy? He keeps on speaking even though we clearly don't understand each other."

'What do you mean you can't hear him?' Rina scoffed.

"Can you speak clearly?!" Andrea got a little angry at Rina's puzzles and talked aloud. That got the old man even more confused.

'Why is she angry at me? I haven't done a thing!' he thought. Deciding the girl was not well in the head, he walked away from the bed and sat on a wooden chair.

"I heard him clearly, although some words were really freaky," Rina said.

"What do you mean freaky?" Andrea asked. She could accept Rina knowing a bit of Mandarin, she was a bookworm anyway.

"Whose a bookworm?!" Rina screamed in the black room.

'Shit, i forgot she could hear me think.. spooky,' Andrea shivered.

The old man had an even wilder reaction. He was almost sure the girl he picked was a maniac. She was on the bed and her facial expressions signified she was thinking of something dirty.

"I think the black room allowed you to understand him," Andrea send her thoughts to Rina. "But how do we talk back? It's not like I can summon him in there right?"

Rina started laughing but then froze. Andrea, sensing something is wrong, froze too.

"How did you do that?!" a manly voice ran in Andrea's head.

Andrea sat up in shock. On the chair, the old man was seated with his head slumped as if in sleep.

"Huh?" A confused voice came. "Why in Ashtebah's name am I naked!" Rina fell down in laughter.

"And who are you?" the old man asked Rina after creating some clothes for himself. Suddenly, heis face changed as if struck by lightning.

"Did she trap you here? Let me tell you, this place is under her total control so we're doomed.."

As the crazy man, as Rina decided, kept ranting on and on, she summoned a seat and sat down.

"Whose Ashtebah anyway?" A new voice said. The old man turned around quickly and saw Andrea and Rina seated.

"You.. don't know who she is?" He asked in total shock. 'These two must be the most ignorant of all people I've met!' he thought to himself.

"If I were as ignorant as you put it then I wouldn't care to ask," Andrea shrugged, totally untouched by his thoughts.

Unfortunately, Rima didn't think it cool.

AAAHH!

The old man suddenly found himself tied to a chair before he could even talk.

"What a rude little girl," the man grumbled. "Can't you see I'm almost thrice your age?"

"Age aside, how should I address you?" Andrea stopped the soon to be squabble.

"Folks call me Zen," the old man made scissors and cut the "ropes" binding him to the chair. "Youngsters call me old man Zen. What of you two? Whose Rina amongst you?"

"How did this freak know my name?" Rina looked at Andrea while speaking.

"Ooh, the feisty one.." old man Zen smirked.

Andrea just smiled witnessing the two probing each other.

"Andrea," she stood up and approached the old man to shake his hand. "Thank you for saving me.. us," Andrea shrugged.

"Tis' fine," old man Zen smiled. "You are just like my daughter, I had one just as stubborn as this one," he added while pointing at Rina.

"I assume you know her name already," Andrea laughed. "We got lost and landed here."

Hhmp! Rina walked to a corner and made herself a room and went to bed.. or at least that's what she said.

"Sorry if she got into your head," Andrea gave an apologetic smile. Seating back down, Andrea tucked some loose hair behind her ears while observing the man across the table.

"What type of robes are those?" Old Man Zen squinted his eyes. "I've never seen such materials before."

Andrea started feeling nervous. She was contemplating whether or not to say the truth. Chances were, the old man thinks she has ulterior motives and hands her over to some authority or, he doesn't believe her at all.

Old Man Zen smiled when he saw Andrea's hesitation. He knew the lady might have some big secret and couldn't open up but he understood.

He too had his own share of secrets and couldn't just readily say them to strangers.

"Forget it," he dismissed the question. "I know you don't have to explain anything but may I ask where you come from?"

"See, i won't lie to you.." Andrea said while trying to find the right words. "We aren't exactly from this place."

"That much is obvious," old Man Zen raised his eyebrows. "I mean, no woman from around here would use an arrow to thrust through the mana storm."

Andrea felt her eyelids twitch. She hated women being seen as lowly creatures. As a matter of fact, that was one of the reasons why she went against her dad and took.. ahem, story for another time.

"Can you elaborate?" Andrea forced herself to calm down. Some memories were painful.

"On what?"

Old man Zen looked confused. To him, he said nothing strange at all.

"You see, when I said we are not from here, i actually was referring to the planet, not the place," Andrea forced herself to speak despite her initial reluctance.

"..." Old Man Zen's face was full of unexplainable shock. His mouth was wide open one might think his jaw might touch the ground.

Andrea kept quiet and allowed the old man a moment to adjust. It felt okay, considering she just practically announced herself an alien.

"So are you from heaven?"

PPFFT!

Rina couldn't hold her laughter. She was obviously listening in on the two.

Andrea's face was way more comical. She looked as if she was caught pants down, literally.

Old Man Zen was even more confused. He didn't understand the two.

"Why are you laughing?" he asked, befuddled. "Didn't you say you came from out there? And you most certainly can't deny the big metal arrowhead is yours, and I saw it shoot down from the sky?!"

"Wait," Andrea stopped his barrage of questions. "First, that metal "thing" isn't an arrowhead.. it's called a spaceship."

"Space.. ship?" Old Man Zen's eyes went wide open.

"Yes, and coming from up there doesn't make us gods," Andrea nodded. "We are more of the alien sort." At this point, the old man felt a headache coming along.

"What are ei.. liens?" he asked.

"That is a bit hard to explain but.." Andrea started but Rina butted in from her "room".

"Just take us for visitors, old fool."

"Hey! My name is old Man Zen, not old fool," Old Man Zen became furious.

"Rina stop that or I'm going to mute you," Andrea cautioned.

"Haa!" Rina scoffed. "Why don't you tr.. mff?!" before she could finish speaking, her voice got muffled, and she stayed that way for the next three hours.

"Serves you right.." Old Man Zen laughed.