Illes & Orin - Chapter 2: Knight of Cups

Her grip caught me off guard. My face burned. My pulse raced. The temperature in the room spiked—or maybe it was just me overheating from sheer panic. I gulped and shot a telepathic message to my partner standing nearby.

Gulp!

(Did you see that?)

(I saw.)

(She’s holding my arm!)

(Can you pull away?)

(I can’t. She’s really holding on. I’m... I’m freaking out, man. Help! She’s too close!)

Ahhh!

I shrieked telepathically so loud my own voice trembled. I couldn’t control it. I wanted to melt into the floor. Embarrassment shot through every circuit of my nerves. I curled up a little, eyes darting anywhere but hers.

And then... she spoke.

“Uh... yeah. I heard that.”

My spine stiffened. I turned, eyes meeting hers, startled. Slowly, I sat back down at the edge of her bed.

“She can hear us.”

“I heard that high-tech types call this telepathy, right?”

Her voice was calm, a little amused. My partner and I exchanged glances.

“That energy... how did you manage that?”

“You know the smartwatch I wear? I set it to wake me up every 20 minutes. That’s when the brain hits THETA state.”

We both raised our eyebrows. Impressive.

Then we burst out laughing.

“Arahants still need years of meditation to reach Theta. And you hacked it with a watch? That’s amazing. Where’d you learn that?"

“Uh... YouTube.”

“YouTube?” We laughed even harder.

“Thomas Edison’s napping technique.”

“Edison was a legend,” I said, gently patting her head. “But don’t sacrifice your health—sleep matters.”

She looked up at us with curiosity.

“I have so many questions I want to ask.”

“Then ask,” I said warmly.

We spoke to her like monks—patient, open. But when the moment came, she hesitated.

“Who exactly are you?”

“Would you prefer the scientific explanation or the spiritual one?”

“Also, why do you two foreigners speak Thai so well?”

“We don’t have language barriers.”

“Let’s go with the scientific version. Less terrifying.”

I nodded. “We’re what you humans call... aliens.”

She looked like she was seriously reconsidering her sanity. Fair.

(Here I am in my bedroom, having just caught two aliens. Right. I definitely need to see a doctor tomorrow.) she was thinking. There’s no way this is real.