“Okay, enough of this chitter-chatter, let’s make a move!” thundered Omen suddenly.
And with a lurch, the ark began to move towards Anunirva, the Land of the Extinct.
I stood close to grandpa and Laddoo. Lemon and Omen were quite friendly, but who knows what was in store for me on board?
“Who else is here?” asked grandpa, as if prompted.
“Hmm… two dinosaurs who wanted to see the Present very badly though we warned them to stay quiet and not eat each other up, a seasick Chinese elephant, and a quagga,” chanted Omen.
“Also, the cockroach,” sighed Lemon.
“Yes, I forgot to mention him. It’s a disgrace, the way he insists on staying here though the cockroach Count on earth will never perish!” grumbled Omen.
“What’s a quagga?” I asked. It sounded like a fruit-name [Guava, the Quagga, I thought to myself] and I was curious to know what sort of funny beast it would be.
“A quagga is an almost-zebra,” sniggered Omen, his eyes gleaming.
“Stop that!” said Lemon sharply, “Poor quagga hates to be called that. She is from South Africa and a lot of humans there thought she was a zebra. Whatever you do, don’t tell her that she looks like one!”
“Will she burst into tears?”
“No, the Chinese elephant tends to do that a lot though. He likes to think he is sensitive and emotional and poetic and…” simpered Omen.
“He is a bore,” said Lemon shortly.
“Why are only so many of you on board?” asked grandpa, “I was rather looking forward to meeting the saber toothed tiger!”
“Because we were expecting a crowd of at least 1 billion, you see! Not all humans could have come to Anunirva because we let in only about a sixth of the Present Population, but even one sixth of your race is too much of a crowd!” explained Omen in one breath.
“They are all ready and waiting for the humans to arrive in Anunirva,” said Lemon quietly.
“Oh, do we get a grand reception? Do you think I should dress up?” asked grandpa enthusiastically.
Lemon and Omen looked at each other. Lemon gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head and Omen said, “Erm… actually… yes, why not? Yeah, it would be good for you to dress up and well…just celebrate you know? Spirit of the occasion and all that? Maybe we should ask the Chinese elephant to sing a ballad and stuff, huh? Why not go overboard while we are at it? Good plan, good plan…” and then, without any warning, Omen began wailing.
