Free Fire - Betrayal by Amelia Grace

into one hessian bag. The others usually stuffed as many fruits as they could into their many bags.
    The n the new visitors stood and looked at the house for an immeasurable time, scrutinizing the gardens with their eyes, as if they were searching for something.  They would look at each other, sometimes touching each other, nodding.  And then they eventually left.  I wondered at their oddity, compared to the usual crowd that the fruits pulled in.
    The visitors didn’t come every day, but about every three days.  And it happened that one day, they arrived earlier, when I was putting the seven fruits into the baskets for the people.
    They looked at me but did not speak at first.  But then one saw the seven jeweled ring upon my finger. “That is a beautiful ring.  Where did you get it from?” one asked.
    “My Grandy made it for me,” I replied.
    “ Where did she get the jewels from?  They are exquisite,” commented another.
    “I couldn’t tell you that information exactly,” I said, remembering never to speak of the parallel world to another soul.
    “ And where do you get the fruits from may I ask?” questioned the tallest male.
    “From my tree.  My Grandy called it The Magnificent Tree,“ I informed them, wishing that I hadn’t given out that detail.
     
    As I mentioned The Magnificent Tree, the sunglasses of the younger one fell to the ground.  She looked up at me, and then hurriedly and ashamedly bent down to pick up the sunglasses to put them back on again.
    I was stunned to see that the girl had cerulean coloured eyes, eyes of the Une Autre Terreans.
    Keeping my composure, I asked, “Are you lost? Perhaps I can help you.  Please come in for a drink and talk.  I can see that you are in need of guidance. My name is Cate.”  And I gestured towards the house.
    The six visitors did not accept my invitation immediately.  I saw them silently communicating mind to mind.  I knew exactly what they were doing, and waited patiently for them to answer.  And finally, the one who appeared the eldest spoke of their acceptance of my invitation.
    As I opened the gate to lead the visitors to the house, I noticed a black car with extremely dark window tinting slowly roll past.
    A car like that in this neighbourhood?  It didn’t belong here , and it raised my suspicions.
    Nevertheless, I proceeded inviting my guests into my house, eager to have a conversation with them in case they needed help.
    I sat them down at the table, and made a pot of tea to share.  I also offered them some chocolate cake, because, if I was correct, and they were from the parallel world, chocolate cake would be a first experience for them.  I wanted to see their reactions expressed on their faces as they first tasted it.  I wanted to see the response of extreme pleasure and delight on their faces as the chocolate overtook their sense of taste.
    The visitors sat still and in silence. They kept their sunglasses on, an odd thing for anyone to do inside a house, but obviously not if you were trying to hide something, which of course they were.
    “It’s okay, you can take your sunglasses off.  Your eye colour will not shock me.  I have seen many things in my life,” I reassured them.
    The visitors all looked at each other, but did not remove their sunglasses.
    Finally, the eldest of the visitors removed his sunglasses, revealing his true cerulean eyes.  Then one by one, the others did the same.
    “ Please drink and eat. You know, my grandmother owned this house.  Her name was Katie.  Her husband was named James,” I explained, trying to give them a little information without revealing anything too obvious.  If they were from Une Autre Terre, they would be familiar with the story of my Grandy and James.
    “Please eat and drink.  You know I could probably help you if you would talk to me.  I believe I already know more about you than you realize.”  Still, they did not speak.  Not to me at least.  I could easily see that