The sudden appearance of the huge spacecraft brought Vol to an abrupt halt.

     He had seen it several times before, floating silently in the sky above the beach.  Squinting in the bright mid-day Sun, he walked cautiously forward, expecting it to disappear, dissolve in the air as it had done before.

     Suddenly a small, glowing object fell from the bottom of the craft and onto the thick, soft sand of the beach.  Breaking into a run, Vol headed toward it, looking up at the same instant that the spaceship blended into the sky and vanished.  Small waves splashed his feet and ankles as he slowed to a walk along the hard shoreline sand.  Then, after going a short distance, he turned and headed up to the softer sandy area of the beach.  He stopped and looked around, an expression of puzzlement on his thin, tan countenance. 

     “This is where it dropped,” he muttered.

     Then a cautious smile appeared on his face, turning to optimism as he went toward a deep, wide hole in the sand.

     A giant seashell, larger than any Vol had ever seen, lay half-buried at the bottom of the pit.  Cautiously, reaching down, he pushed the sand aside.  Almost instantly, a bright orange glow surrounded the shell, and then quickly disappeared.  Vol jumped back, then leaned over, touching the shell lightly with his fingertips.  It felt no different than other smaller ones he had found.  Lifting the shell and gingerly balancing it in both hands, he headed back toward the Village.

     The Village, located some two miles off the beach, was well concealed in the tropical jungle of the small, isolated island.  So far as Vol and the Villagers knew, they were Earth’s only inhabitants.

     Hurrying along the path, Vol paid no attention to the thick forest of tropical trees surrounding him.  A variety of ripe, oversized fruit bent the trees to their limit, with some of them touching the ground.  Finally, glancing up from the shell, Vol saw the Village clearance just ahead.  Approaching the end of the path, he stopped momentarily and then headed toward a small, wood-framed building.

     A smile covered his face when he saw his wife Mala tossing a ball to their son Thor.  Swinging a club at the ball, Thor knocked it over his mother’s head and in the direction of his father. Mala turned and, seeing Vol gently kicking the ball toward them, she smiled and ran to him with outstretched arms. Thor bent over to retrieve the ball as his father gave it a final boot. Unable to reach out to his wife, Vol lay the shell gently on the ground and extended his arms toward her.  After hugging him, Mala backed off and looked down at the huge shell. “Where did you find this?” she asked.  A look of curiosity covered her pretty tan face.  Then, smiling at Vol, her blue eyes twinkling, she bent over to pick it up.

     “Mala, wait!” Vol yelled almost hysterically.

     His wife stood up, an expression of fear momentarily crossing her countenance.

     “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said, putting his arms around her. “There’s just something about it that’s different.”

     As they stood staring at the shell, several of the Villagers, looks of curiosity on their faces, watched them for a few seconds from the open doors of their cottages and then went back inside.

     There were only five homes in the Village, including Vol and Mala’s. A somewhat larger building, in the center of the clearance, served not only as a food storage area but also as a meeting place for the Villagers.  They walked toward the meeting place, Vol carrying the shell. He placed it on top of a high, grassy mound in front of the building.  Turning to his wife, he said, “This should keep it out of reach of the children and the others will just ignore it.”  With their arms around each other, Vol and Mala walked toward their home, followed by their son, who was nudging the ball forward with his foot.

      It was nearly midnight, several days later, when Vol sat upright in his bed, staring through an open window.  A bright orange glow had enveloped the Village.

     “What is it?” his wife screamed, sitting up, a look of terror on her face. Almost instantly, they both jumped from the bed, running to Thor’s room.

     “What’s the matter?” their son asked, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.  Then, slowly getting out of bed, he walked around to his parents.  Vol and Mala, putting their arms around him, headed for the door.

     Vol, cautiously stepping through the door, held his hands out, keeping his wife and son inside.  An extremely bright orange glow, centered on the mound in front of the Meeting Place, was spreading, covering the Village and entering the open doors and windows of the cottages.

     “It’s the shell!” Vol screamed.  “Get back inside!” he yelled frantically at them.  Glancing at the other homes, he saw the Villagers staring in disbelief at the orange light that now surrounded them.  “Go inside,” he yelled, watching until they all disappeared through their doors.  Seeing that Mala and Thor were back inside, Vol frantically ran toward the meeting place and the mound where the shell continued to emit its increasingly bright, orange glow.  As he neared the mound, Vol reached for the shell.  Almost instantly his entire body seemed to become weightless, as though floating in space.  Then a darkness enveloped him and suddenly there was no more.

 

     Vol opened his eyes. 

     A slight weakness surged through his body and then quickly disappeared.  He felt better than he could remember ever having felt.  He was seated in a large, comfortable chair with a high contour back.  A vague feeling of fear enveloped him and then turned to joy when he saw Mala sitting next to him, a happy smile on her face.

     “How do you feel?” she asked him.  “You received a more concentrated treatment than the rest of us.”

     Vol looked puzzled.  Then he frantically asked, “Where is Thor?”

     His wife nodded toward the seat next to him.  Vol turned quickly and then broke into a happy grin when he saw his son smiling back at them.  He didn’t need to ask about the other Villagers when he looked around the room.  They were all there, smiling and talking excitedly to one another.

     “Where are we?” Vol asked his wife, a look of puzzlement on his face.

     She smiled.  “We are on Earth Two.  Remember the spacecraft you saw? And the shell.”

     “Yes,” he said, still puzzled by his surroundings. 

     “It came from Earth Two to save us,” she said.  “Our Village and people were the only life remaining on our earth.”

     As Vol started to speak, a door slid open and a tall, distinguished man entered the room.  He was smiling as he walked toward Vol, his right hand extended in welcome.  Vol stood up and hesitatingly grasped his hand.

     “I am John Allison,” the man said in a clear, friendly voice.  “One of my distant ancestors was an astronaut from your planet Earth.  He was part of the crew that discovered Earth Two.”

     “But why bring us here?” Vol asked.  “We had plenty of food and our air was fresh.”

     “Yes,” the tall man said, glancing at a watch on his wrist.  “Come with me.” 

     He was speaking to Vol, Mala, Thor and the other Villagers.  Rising from their seats, they all followed him to a side of the room, stopping in front of a large, glass panel.

     John Allison turned to them and spoke, his voice apologetic and reflecting sympathy.

     “You are safe here on Earth Two and will live a long and happy life.  We couldn’t let you stay on your earth.  I want you to know why.”

     He turned and pressed a button on the wall.  Instantly a large sphere appeared on the brightly lighted glass panel. 

     “That is your earth,” he said. 

     The Villagers gasped in amazement.

     “See this?” he said, and pointed to a somewhat smaller, circular object that seemed to be slowly moving toward the larger sphere.  “This is a Satellite, known on your earth as the Moon.  Our people have watched it for many years.  We noticed a gradual movement away from its orbit.  That is why we came for you.”

     A blinding flash appeared on the screen and the large globe that had been Earth disappeared.  Vol, Mala, Thor and the Villagers stared in disbelief.  John Allison, looking compassionate for their sakes, spoke.

     “After we brought you here,” he said sadly, “your moon dropped into your earth’s gravitational field.”

     As they all looked at the large, blank screen, Allison spoke again, his head slightly bowed.  “It was also the home of my ancestors.  I will never forget it.”

     Turning to Vol and the others, he smiled and said, “Come with me.  See your new Home.”

     They all followed him toward the huge door and watched as it slid silently open.  A bright, blue sky, green fields and distant forested hills was their first view of Earth Two.