Light and Night: Across Two Worlds

Chapter 8: Hidden Ability

It's been almost six months since Aya came to Pullau Villa. So far, Aya has absorbed all the lessons very quickly. Aya's brain was a genius like Tania. She was now able to operate digital robots easily. She had even been able to modify the Poo program so that it was more upgraded than before. Now Poo's feather could change color. Aya's communication skills increased dramatically. Now she could speak fluently with everyone she met. She had the courage to talk to Alex directly, not through telepathy anymore. Even so, the shy and reserved nature of Aya remained. Aya's introverted nature was similar to Alex's.

Alex noticed and studied Aya's development. Her data recorded by drones and was analyzed by Alpha, Alex’s digital assistant. When Alex needs it, Alpha will display the data and the analysis results he had. There was something that caught Alex's attention.

One night, Aya woke up at night, and the contact lens was not in use. The room was dark, but Aya could walk without turning on the lights to the bathroom. The iris of Aya's green eyes glowed in the dark.

On another recording, Alex found Eva was looking for Aya, who was hiding in the forest. Surprisingly the drone can't provide a recording of where Aya was. Normally, if Aya was hiding, the drone could still detect human presence based on human body temperature detection. On this recording, the drone failed to detect the presence of Aya. Visually Eva also couldn't find Aya. On the digital recording, Aya was seen appearing suddenly from behind bushes near Eva. A drone should easily detect the area.

Alex had checked JACK's drone program as Aya's supervisor. It looked like the JACK drone program was functioning normally and optimally. There were no malfunctions or bugs. There was no virus or engine damage. The question that arose in Alex's mind was whether Aya modified the drone program? Or, perhaps someone else who did it? Or was there a special ability that Aya had that Alex didn't know? Alex decided to do a little experimentation.

Aya's mood was happy. Alex invited him to an exercise room. It had been made like a playground that allowed hide and seeks games. There was a barrel that resembles a colorfully painted hallway. There was a table with a wide hole underneath.

"Okay, Aya. The rules of the game are simple. I close my eyes for 10 seconds, and you hide in this room. After that, Alpha and I will look for you for 45 seconds. You lose if I manage to find and hold you. If it's past 45 seconds, and I can’t find you, then you win. You may come out of hiding," said Alex.

"Okay. Aya understands," answered Aya, smiling broadly.

"100 scores for those who win in round One. If you win, I'll give you something you like," Alex promised.

Round one begins. Alex closed his eyes. Aya was running around in the room. Aya decided to hide in a big pipe with a black-and-yellow polka dot hallway. A soft beeping sound indicated that 10 seconds had run out. Aya closed her eyes and slowed her breathing.

Alex called Alpha to detect Aya's presence in the room.

"I see nothing in my radar, Alex," said Alpha.

Alpha couldn’t detect human body temperature other than Alex's body. Alex also asked Alpha to display a visual scan to penetrate concrete objects in the room to see Aya's hideout. The result was nil. Alex couldn't see it on the hologram screen displayed by Alpha. Alex went around the room and failed to find Aya. Alex squatted near the polka dot hallway, surprised by this situation. An alarm sounded, indicating the end of the round.

"Okay, Aya. You can appear now," said Alex.

What a surprise for Alex when he saw Aya right next to him, at the end of the polka dot hallway. How could Alex not see Aya hiding this close?

"Aya, the second round is 200 points. You can only hide in three places for round two, under the table, inside the elephant barrel, and in the cloud closet. Do you understand?" said Alex.

Aya nodded, and the second round started. The same thing happened again. Alex couldn't find Aya visually. Alpha couldn't track Aya's hideout. Even though Alex had tried to check the three visually determined locations and grope using his hands, the results were nil. A second alarm sounded, indicating the second round ended with Alex's defeat.

"Okay, the third round will be a little different. The point is 300 if you win. I will turn off the lights, and this room will be in totally dark conditions. I hid 3 balls in the polka dot hallway, cloud closet, and elephant barrel. You need to find all three balls and put them on the table before the lights turn on. The light will turn on automatically after 60 seconds. If you have managed to collect the ball on the table before 60 seconds, press the table's button on the surface. Ready?" asked Alex.

Aya nodded, and the lights suddenly darkened. Without Alpha's help, Alex could see a pair of green eyes glowing in the dark. Alex activated the night vision in his glasses to see the process. Alex was surprised because Aya ran very fast like she was in the daytime. Aya managed to collect the ball without having to grope in the dark. Aya took all three balls, placed them on the table, and pressed the button without difficulty. The light was on again, and the timer shows the time spent was 15 seconds.

How could Aya move as fast and agile in the dark? Could her eyes really see in the dark? Could her eyes glow in the dark?

"It looks like I won, Coach Alex," Aya said. Alex did ask Aya to call him a coach so that all the other guests and teachers realized that Aya had been adopted to become a student. This was needed to shape other people's perspectives on Alex and Aya's relationship. The real relationship between the two of them needed to be kept secret.

"Yes, you won, Aya. You can ask for food or toys that you like," said Alex.

"I don’t want any toys or foods. I want to ask Coach Alex. I want you to answer honestly," Aya said.

Alex was shocked to hear Aya's request. What kind of question would she ask? Alex was not ready!!!