One

Children can be alike, and children can be different. The four friends, Tina, Inder, Nitu, and Yousuf were different from each other. Their difference was not small, the four kids were strikingly different!

Take Tina, for example. The large-eyed Christian girl from eastern India often forgot to eat her lunch, but never missed her dance steps.

Or take Inder! That skinny Sikh boy from the north of India was brilliant in his studies and never made fun of anyone. It was impossible for him to hurt others.

Curly-haired Nitu, the third friend, was so good at acrobatics that she could easily compete with a skilled circus performer. A Hindu, Nitu belonged to a city that lay somewhere in the west of India.

Yousuf, a tall Muslim boy from the south of India, was a bundle of fun. No one could remain sad in his presence.

These four children went to the school together, shared lunch at recess, and enjoyed each other's company. Their parents came from different parts of the country and practised different religions, but the kids loved each other.

And they also loved another member of their group, who was entirely different from them! That entirely different member was Wonders.

Two years ago, they had spotted a pup shivering under a tree. The pup was all alone. First, it got afraid of them, then made cooing sounds, and finally licked them one by one. They comforted it while waiting for the mother to return, but she never showed up.

The small creature with bright but sad eyes needed warmth, food, protection, and love. The four friends started feeding him milk-soaked bread every day. They even built a small kennel for him.

The pup returned their love whenever they approached him. It danced like Tina, jumped like Nitu, stood tall on its hind legs like Yousuf, and looked around with intelligence like Inder. It was wonderful for a motherless pup to perform so many tricks with ease. And so the kids named him Wonders.

Wonders grew into a handsome golden dog that could run very fast, identify objects from their smell, and catch sounds that no one else could hear.

In terms of human years, Wonders was fourteen. A perfect match, as his four human friends were also of a similar age group!

Two

One peak summer morning Tina woke up very early. She was drenched in sweat. The fan had stopped running. The power supply had tripped once again.

She turned and tossed in her bed, looked out of the window, listened to the call of birds, and decided, "Enough! I can't keep tossing in the bed and spoil the day. It would be better to sit under the cool shade of a tree in Inder's bungalow."

As she approached Inder's house, she heard Yousuf's happy voice, "Look, look, who comes here! Is it a big-eyed doe or a mare!"     

"Bad joke, Yousuf!" Nitu reprimanded him with a turn of head that shook her curls from left to right and back, like a pendulum.

"Hi! Where is Inder?" Tina asked.

"The genius is still in his bed! Man is the only creature who sleeps when he really wishes to be awake, and gets up when he actually wants to sleep." Yousuf answered.

"How true! Amma does not allow me to watch television shows in the evening when I am still wide awake, and forces me to get up in the morning when my eyes are full of sleep," Nitu agreed.

"And when you two get up, you walk straight to this place!" Yousuf teased.

"Ha! Ha! The kettle is calling the pot black!" Tina's eyes became larger as she threw her question at Yousuf, "What about you, Yousuf? Haven't you, too, walked straight here this morning?"

"Well, I had something important to finish," Yousuf became serious.

"And what was that important thing?" Nitu, in the mid of a somersault, asked.

Yousuf remained silent.

"You talk even while jumping, Nitu," Tina observed, "and this great boy here does not talk even to his closest friends."

"Well, we are making a balloon," Yousuf's voice was barely audible.

"Balloon?" Nitu and Tina were amazed.

"Yes! A balloon. A hot air balloon. I have done my bit, and now Inder must be completing it. We plan to fly in it."

"How sweet! I will also travel in it," unable to control their excitement, both girls exclaimed together.

Three

The balloon landed at a clearing amidst the hills. Clear blue sky, a fresh-water rivulet, fruit-laden trees, and a wide expanse of lush green grass—the children were overjoyed! They didn't know that such a beautiful picnic spot existed just a few kilometres away from their homes.

"What a fantastic place!" Tina broke into a dance. Inder, Nitu, and Yousuf started clapping, matching the rhythm of her steps. Not to be left behind, Wonders started circling around Tina, proudly giving her company.

Though somewhat comic, it was a memorable moment for all of them.

"That was great, Tina!" Nitu complimented her. "And now, let us play a game," she continued. "I will give this scarf to Wonders. Wonders will place it behind one of us."

"And then?" Inder asked.

"And then, the scarf will be tied on the eyes of that person who will have to find us out."

"Fine, but no favouritism and no cheating, okay?" Inder looked at Wonders. Wonders nodded his approval with a twinkle in his eyes, a wag of his hairy tail, and a gentle "Woof!"

Nitu sat down, and the rest three joined her. They formed a tight circle. Their shoulders were touching, their eyes were meeting, and each one was secretly hoping that Wonders would drop the scarf behind someone else.

Wonders sniffed at the scarf, picked it up delicately, and made his move. As he came behind Tina, she said, "Ta Thai, Ta Thai, Tat, Tat!"

Wonders moved ahead.

Yousuf was next. Wonders decided to drop the scarf behind his back, but Yousuf cried at the exact moment, "Ha! Ha! Hee! Hee! Hoo! Hoo! Hey! Hey!"

Wonders moved ahead towards Nitu.

Nitu didn't say anything to distract Wonders. She just slightly moved her head. Her curls moved, came too close to Wonder's snout, and caused a fit of sneezing.

One, two, three, four ... Wonders continued to sneeze till the laughter of the kids brought him back to his senses. He resumed his rounds, quietly dropped the scarf behind Tina, and nudged Yousuf.

"Oh no, the friend became a foe!" Yousuf reacted, looked behind, and was delighted to see the scarf lying behind Tina.

"Tina will do Ta Thai Ta Thai, with the scarf on her eyes!" Yousuf declared with joy.

Four

Nitu stood still for a moment, and then, like a spring, jumped to the top of a nearby hill. Yousuf and Inder were amazed to see her getting lost in the surroundings. It would be impossible for Tina to locate her, both of them felt.

Yousuf looked around and noticed a small cave behind a large tree.

"Ammi Jaan never understands how I still adjust myself in my childhood cot, and Nitu will never imagine that my large frame can fit in such a small cave! So, let me squeeze myself and hide here. After all, it's a matter of a few minutes only," he smiled and hid.

"A tough one, indeed! I wonder how such a small cave can accommodate a tallboy like Yousuf!" Inder was surprised.

"Well, both Nitu and Yousuf are almost impossible to be found. Let me also find a good place to hide." He started walking towards the valley with the thought.

Inder had never seen anything so beautiful except in the movies! He soon got engrossed in the fragrant surroundings, pretty plants, colourful flowers, and attractive butterflies. The view became more captivating with each advancing step.

Soon, Inder forgot that he was playing a game. He should not have walked ahead, but he forgot that too! Continuing to explore the beauty of the valley, Inder didn't realise that he had moved too far inside the beautiful forest to join his friends in time.

"Oye Meri Bebe!" The words automatically came out from Inder's mouth, "Isn't that a jumbo butterfly?" 

He knew that butterflies in some parts of the world can be as big as twenty centimetres wide, but the insect in front of him was really huge by all standards! The butterfly he was looking at was almost a metre in width. It was more like a National Geographic close up on the television screen than a real-life experience.

The butterfly was real. As if to prove the point, it fluttered its wings, and Inder immediately felt a gush of wind on his face.

"Such a large butterfly! She must be sucking the nectar of enormously big flowers!" Inder mused.

The butterfly flitted deeper in the forest. Wading through puddles of water, jumping over rocks, and making his way through dense thickets, the bewitched Inder didn't lose sight of it even for a second. How could he allow such a precious learning opportunity to slip away?  

Five

When the butterfly finally landed, Inder was left bewildered! He noticed many, many of them huddled together. A strange humming noise echoed all over. He tried to get closer, and the noise suddenly stopped. Complete silence took over.

Evidently, the butterflies had seen him and were worried about it! After all, Inder was the first human being to know about their existence.

Inder didn't want to disturb the butterflies. Sitting down quietly, he pulled out a pad from his backpack and started drawing sketches of the butterflies.

The strange humming noise resumed. Unlike earlier, the noise kept on increasing, and soon reached deafening levels. Inder was astonished to see a giant bee fly menacingly towards him. Leaving the pad under the tree, he slipped behind a thick bush and watched with horror.

The bee looked very ugly in anger. Yellow saliva dripped from its tongue. The loudness of its buzz could have put a jet engine to shame.

The bee tried to reach Inder, but Inder was too clever for it. Tightly grasping low-hanging tree branches, he hid further. It was impossible for the bee to reach him. Finally, it turned and flew away.

The noise of the buzz faded and ultimately died down.

There was pin-drop silence. Stunned by the bee's appearance, perhaps the butterflies had abandoned their discussion.  

Inder took a breath of relief. In no mood to stay any longer, he wanted to go back to his friends at the earliest. Though the giant bee was nowhere in sight, Inder decided to reach them under the cover of the bushes.

But, he had to pick up his scratchpad first. It could lead to some very important research in entomology. The tree was hardly five metres away from him. He would collect the pad and run back to the safety of the bushes within seconds. Surely, the giant bee wouldn't be able to return so fast, he reckoned.

Inder looked around. There was no sign of the giant bee anywhere. He strained his ears to listen to the giant bee's buzz. There was none. Taking no chances, he crouched down and ran to retrieve the pad.

Inder had thought that crouching would make him smaller and thus difficult to be attacked. He had not realised that crouching would expose his back to the sky. As he bent down further to pick up the pad, the giant bee appeared from nowhere, swooped down in an arc, and stung him with such ferocity that poor Inder had no time to react.

Inder fell on his back. His eyes were open, but one couldn't be sure whether he was able to see the tree, the sky, or the giant bee vanishing into it. His spine appeared to be on fire.

Something strange was happening.

Six

"It's been three hours without a trace of Inder," a worried Tina said.

"I hope he is not watching the matinee show with a bear in the jungle theatre," Yousuf quipped.

"I hope he is safe!" Nitu was clearly ill at ease.

"We have to return in an hour," there was no end to Tina's worries.

"Let us look for him once again," for a change, Yousuf became serious.

"But where? We have already looked around everywhere!" Both girls retorted.

"Who knows, we may find him this time!" Yousuf had not lost hope.

They searched in the caves, on the hills, near the rivulet, behind the bushes—Inder was nowhere. He had vanished like a puff of smoke.

The sky started turning grey. It was time to return.

"O Ma!" Tina was on the verge of tears. "What will we tell his parents?"

Nitu, in better control of her wits, said, "We will tell that he is spending the night with Yousuf."

"And what will happen if he decides to appear midnight, like the cough of my nani?" Yousuf had still not lost his sense of humour. 

"Inder is very intelligent. He will manage." Nitu spoke with confidence.

Burners were fired. Dejected, the three kids and Wonders sat in the basket.

Nitu said, "We are very sorry to leave you behind like this, friend. But we will come back tomorrow and rescue you!"

Ropes were untied, and the balloon soared towards the sky.

The kids remained awake that night, hoping for Inder to return.

He didn't.

Seven

Next morning, the friends reached the forest with new hopes and ideas.

"We committed a blunder yesterday," Tina confessed.

Yousuf and Nitu looked at her with puzzled eyes.

"We didn't use our most useful resource while searching for Inder," she moved her hands dramatically.

"Oh, yes! Wonders could have led us to him," Nitu said with a hint of repentance.

 "A night has already passed. I don't know whether Wonders would still be able to pick Inder's odour trail," Yousuf looked at the dog with doubt.

Wonders wagged his tail, raised a paw, and barked, "Woof!"

"It has not rained. The trail may still be intact!" Nitu was hopeful.

"Wonders must first sniff at something used by Inder. Do we have it?" Yousuf asked.

"There," Tina pointed at some crumpled sheets lying under a tree. "There lie some sketches made and rejected by Inder yesterday," she said with excitement.

Nitu took Wonders to the spot and instructed, "Sniff these carefully, follow the trail, and take us to Inder."

Wonders looked at Tina and Yousuf with confusion. Only yesterday Inder had forbidden him from indulging in favouritism!

The three humans understood the animal's dilemma, and spoke in unison, "It's okay, Wonders! Inder's life may be at risk. Find him before it is too late."

Wonders might not have grasped the language, but he got the message alright. He took his time in sniffing one sheet after another, looked at Nitu, wagged his tail, and started walking with determination.

Like ants, they followed in a line. Wonders led the front, Yousuf covered the back. The walk continued for hours.

Yousuf expressed his doubt, "Perhaps Wonders is unable to separate Inder's odour from the fragrance of the flowers here. We may be wasting our time."

Tina said, "Watch carefully! Wonders is being very cautious. He is selecting the route only after sniffing the bushes which might have come in contact with Inder."

Nitu was less confident, "But it has already been four hours! Would Inder have really strayed so far?"

"I don't know when will we find Inder. But I am sure, if we continue walking like this, one day we will reach America," Yousuf laughed.

"Shh ...," Tina warned, "Be silent and let Wonders do his work."

"What's that?" Nitu could not stop herself from speaking. A black object under a tree some distance away had caught her attention.

For the first time, Wonders was displaying signs of hesitance.

Eight

"It looks like a gorilla!" Yousuf looked at Wonders. Wonders looked back with happiness, as if he had performed a miracle.

"Thank God, it is sleeping. Gorillas can be violent," Tina was cautious.

"What is this, Wonders? We wanted you to solve our problem, but looks like you have created a fresh one! Now, who will save us from this gorilla when it gets up?" Nitu was becoming anxious.

"Woof! Woof!!" Wonders barked in excitement.

"Shut up!" Tina was angry. "Let us clear this area and hide. The distance of five metres would mean nothing to an enraged gorilla."

They hid behind some thick bushes in the nick of time. The gorilla turned and looked around very slowly.

"It is still sleepy," Nitu observed.

"Thank Jesus for that!" Tina said.

"It is touching its back again and again. Someone must have beaten him there in a dream," Yousuf laughed.

One must remain quiet in a forest, especially when near wild animals. Yousuf's mistake could cost them dearly.

The gorilla looked in their direction. It had perhaps heard Yousuf's laughter. The trouble was not far. The three kids became ready to take to their heels.

They had assumed that Wonders would also follow his natural instinct and run to safety. How wrong they were! Wonders jumped out of the bushes and ran towards the gorilla.

"Allah! That would be the end of Wonders! He has no idea about the brutal strength of a gorilla," Yousuf cried.

"Oh, no! The gorilla is trying to catch Wonders!" Nitu was shocked.

It was difficult for the gorilla to get hold of the excited Wonders, but finally, the beast grabbed the dog by its neck. Wonders cried in pain but continued to wag his tail.

"This gorilla is not violent. Look, it is patting Wonders and trying to play," Tina announced.

"Don't be so sure! Stay put. It may still attack us!" Nitu warned.

They waited for some more time. The gorilla continued to pat Wonders.

"You two stay here. I will approach the gorilla with chakkars, and slip out if the situation turns dangerous," Tina declared.

Before Yousuf and Nitu could hold her back, Tina was spinning like a top out in the middle.

"I can't leave her alone. There should be at least some distraction!" Nitu jumped out like a projectile and landed on the other side of the gorilla.

Yousuf didn't know what to do! He picked up a sharp stone and took aim. "If this beast attacks any of those three, I will teach it a lesson," he was angry for the first time in months.

Nine

"Is that you, Inder?" Tina asked the gorilla.

The gorilla batted its eyelids in response.

Happy that Inder had finally been recognised, Wonders started jumping around.

"Wonders' reaction proves it beyond doubt that this gorilla is Inder," Nitu was happy to be reunited with her lost friend.

"No doubt! I can see a shred of Inder's shirt sleeve on his arm," Tina said.

The gorilla looked at her. His red eyes did not convey much.  

"He has recognised us, but that is almost all! He can't understand most of what we are saying, and he is in pain," Yousuf pointed out, "Look, how he is repeatedly touching his back."

Nitu plucked some bananas and offered them to the gorilla. It didn't take the animal even two minutes to devour them. Somewhat refreshed, the gorilla finally got up and hugged Yousuf.

"Oh no, don't crush me, my friend!" Yousuf shrieked in pain. The gorilla stepped back in alarm, and then moved towards the two girls.

"No, no! No need to hug us, or to shake our hands! A plain Namaste would be fine for the time being," Nitu and Tina said in unison.

"Let's go back before it's too late," Nitu called.

They started moving under the cover of the bushes. The progress was slow. The gorilla made it slower by probing into ant nests every once in a while. It was difficult for the kids to stop the gorilla from having its favourite snack.

Ten

Night had fallen by the time the kids reached Inder's bungalow. The super excited gorilla had destroyed many plants and was in the process of uprooting a papaya tree when the door opened.

"You are so late!" Inder's papa looked at the children and asked, "Where is Inder?"

The gorilla raised its massive head. Inder's father was repulsed to see the bulging forehead and cried out, "What nonsense is this?"

Alarmed, Inder's mother bawled, "Wahe Guru bachaye! What is this? Where is Inder?"

The gorilla extended its enormous arm to reassure the lady, who fainted immediately.

At a loss of words, Nitu said, "Uncle, this is Inder."

Tina tried to help, "Yes, he is your son!"

Yousuf added, "He sat on the grass for a while and so is looking slightly different!"

"Can't I see that it is a gorilla?" Inder's father looked intently at the creature. "Okay, it may not be a gorilla, or a chimp, or even an ape! Frankly, I don't know the name of this animal, but I know, it is not Inder. It can't be!"

Inder's mother had revived by now. She wailed, "Look at these children! They are saying that my lovely Inder, my small Inder, my intelligent Inder has turned into this ugly gorilla, this big gorilla, this foolish gorilla."

Inder's father became angry, "And tell me, why only Inder became a gorilla? Why none of you have turned into another being? Yousuf could have become a giraffe, Nitu could have become a cat, and Tina could have ... Tina could have ..." He could not think of an appropriate animal that matched Tina's dancing skills.

Meanwhile, the gorilla rubbed its head against the feet of Inder's father, stroked the hand of Inder's mother, sneaked inside and jumped into Inder's bed which instantly crashed with a loud bang.

Inder's parents and friends rushed inside.

The cot lay broken into several parts, and the gorilla was hanging from the ceiling fan.

Eleven

The gorilla lay supine on the lawn. It had been tranquilised by the zoo staff, who were now busy making arrangements to transport the beast to the wildlife park. The children were crying, and Wonders was restless.

"Why are you all crying? Should I have allowed this animal to destroy my house?" Inder's father was annoyed.

"Sir, can't you see that this creature, whom you are calling an animal, does not resemble any gorilla ..." Nitu started.

"... or any great ape ..." Tina added.

"... or any other wild animal? Can't you see that it is as friendly towards Wonders ..." Yousuf argued.

"... Tina, Yousuf, and me, as ..." Tina continued.

"... as Inder is!" Nitu made her point.

"Don't talk in riddles," Inder's father was still annoyed.

"Yes, children. Explain clearly, what happened?" Inder's mother added.

The children revealed the story.

"Don't hurt him. Pick him up gently. Take care!" The attitude of Inder's parents had completely changed.

"There is something hard in its back," the handler commented.

"Oh! I hope it's not the tip of the tranquiliser dart," Inder's mother was worried.

"No! I had aimed at the arm," another handler clarified.

"It looks like the part of a tiny metallic capsule," Inder's father said.

"No wonder, he was pointing at his back so often," Yousuf recalled.

"Don't worry, our doctor will remove it, and make this gori ... I mean ... make Inder alright," the handler reassured them.

 Twelve

Surrounded by his friends, Inder was eating an apple in a hospital room.

"How about this one," Yousuf showed him a banana.

Inder shook his head.

"I also have a juicy ant, if you would still prefer that," Yousuf teased.

Inder looked annoyed.

"He is still recovering. Be gentle with him," Nitu warned.

Silence prevailed for some time. Unaccustomed to inactivity, Wonders surveyed them in amazement.

Yousuf could not remain quiet for long, "What a funny experience! They extract a capsule from his spine, and Ta! Da! Inder reverts to his human form!"

"It didn't happen that fast! The recovery has already taken eight hours," Tina corrected Yousuf. "And they have still not been able to open that perforated capsule. They say that it is made of some unknown metal, and they don't know what it contains," she added.

"Before the doctors order us out, tell what happened," Nitu was eager to know.

"Yes, how did the capsule enter your body?" Yousuf asked.

Slowly, Inder told them about the butterflies and the giant bee.

"But we didn't find any of them," Nitu protested.

"He needs rest. Please leave him alone," a nurse entered the room and requested no one in particular.

"Oh, we were already on our way out, sister. A few goodbyes, and we will be out," Tina threw a charming smile at the nurse.

"Fine," the nurse smiled back and left the room. The children started looking back at Inder with expectation.

"I am still somewhat hazy, but a few facts are evident," Inder started. "The spot where we landed was real, but the scenery wasn't."

"Hmm ... had it been real, it would have become a famous picnic spot," Nitu murmured.

"Exactly! And, the bee and the butterflies were also not real. Or, they were as real as the gorilla I was turned into," Inder was evidently finding it difficult to talk at length.

The children looked at him in horror.

"So, they were children, each with a capsule inside?" Tina asked with a flourish of hands.

"Perhaps! But I would rather guess that they were visitors from another planet," Inder looked in her eyes.

"That explains our ignorance about the metal of the capsule," Nitu added like a wise professor.

Inder gave her a weak smile, "I am sure, nothing would be found if anyone visits that area now. The aliens are probably conducting a study on Earth and shifting their base often to avoid getting caught."

"So, is that the end of the adventure?" Yousuf asked, a little disheartened.

"Who knows, we may meet them again, and again, till the study is over!" Inder responded in a weak voice and started snoring.

The children looked at him and left the room one by one. Secretly, they all wanted to meet the aliens.

If you have the courage to join them, tell me. I'll ask the kids to accept you as their friend!