“May this necklace be the bond that unites your two hearts. I know this is a beautiful moment that both of you will always cherish and remember. From now on, no matter what happens, may your love for each other be strong and eternal,” Uma said as she gave us her blessing.

“Uma, you’re talking as if we were getting married,” Koharu replied and felt the same awkwardness as I did.

“Yes, I’d like to give you this necklace and these earrings to celebrate the little one that is being conceived in your body,” Uma said, revealing the reason for her declaration.

“What? Really?” We both cried out simultaneously.

“Absolutely! Now, this seems an appropriate and proper occasion to celebrate as the fertilisation has already occurred. Everything that is destined to happen in this world will happen,” she said confidently.

“Eh … How do you know that …?” I tried to find the right words to explain that I had only slept with Koharu two days ago.

“I see a soul already living in her,” Uma replied.

“Thank you, I’m the happiest man on this planet!” I said, turning to Koharu.

“I’m very happy too,” she replied with tears in her eyes.

“Thank you, dear Uma, for giving me such joy, even though we have just met. Thank you so much,” I tried expressing the deep emotions in my heart.

“Well, let me thank you two lovers, too, for you have warmed my heart by allowing me to share this touching moment with you today. I haven’t experienced this kind of joy for such a long time. Meeting you brought back fond memories of some 700,000 years ago. This necklace and these earrings were from my dear husband on our wedding day,” she said.

“Oh! If this necklace is so special to you, you should keep it,” said Koharu.

“You misunderstood me, my child,” Uma immediately said.

“I didn’t tell you this story to show my regret in giving you the necklace and earrings.

An object is only valuable when it has a chance to fulfill its duty, isn’t it?” She paused for a moment. “And when it performs its duty twice, don’t you think its value will increase?” she asked.

“Well …” Koharu was reflecting on what Uma had said.

“A gift that brings invaluable sentiments to one or two people, which do you believe is better?” Uma added.

“Well, of course to two people,” Koharu replied quickly.

“The history of these objects is evolving, which makes them even more valuable. By giving them to you, I’ve added another story to them. One day when we all meet again and take a look at the necklace and the earrings, you will realise that they would have become more precious than anything else,” she said with a cheerful expression.

We continued our conversation, and Uma started to redo Koharu’s hair. She made a high bun, inserted a hairpin, and decorated it with tiny flowers and a few other accessories.

Koharu looked so beautiful; she was as stunning as an angel with a shining aura, and, from head to toe, she looked absolutely perfect. Her new costume and adornments seem to have prepared her for a luxurious gala dinner or an evening ball. After a while, we said goodbye to Uma and headed off to our intended destination.

As we were walking, people still came up to greet me. But now it seemed that everyone knew about Koharu’s pregnancy because many greeted her with the same love and respect as they had shown me. They were jubilant as they chanted “Congratulations, Koharu!”

“How is it possible that they know about your pregnancy?” I asked her, quite puzzled.

“When Uma said it out aloud, everyone – including her friends, her relatives and my relatives, … well, basically the whole city – heard it too because we’re all related. And within minutes, the news would have been shared around the whole world,” she replied with a smile.

“Oh wow, that fast? Really? That’s even faster than viral news in the social networks back in my world,” I said.

“Well, actually, by my estimate, it could have been even faster because it probably happened within the same second,” Koharu explained.

“So, your parents must also know it by now,” I remarked.

“Of course! I suppose Mom and Dad would have known exactly the same moment that I did, as we are directly related,” she replied.

“But did no one know before Uma? Your mom and dad should have known it, too?” I asked.

“Only a few people – mostly elderly ones – have these specific skills.”

“Oh! But there are many people on your planet that have these skills, aren’t there?” I asked.

“That’s true, most of them haven’t met me in person and could focus their thoughts on me to explore my body, like what Uma did,” she replied.

“Ah! I got it. We need to focus our mind if we want to discover more about that person, right?” I said.

“Yes, you’re getting smarter,” Koharu said happily.

“Even though the soul language isn’t hindered by time and distance, there are other factors to help one access that knowledge. First, you focus your mind on what you want to know, and secondly, you think of those who you want to know what you know. We have to master at least one of these factors to be able to communicate with each other.”

“What did you mean exactly?” I asked.

“It’s very easy. You just have to specify what you want to know and who you want to let know. That’s all,” she explained.

A moment later, we finally arrived at the place Koharu had intended to take me to.

“Is this where we can get something to eat?” I asked in awe.

“Yes, it is. I hope you like it,” she replied.

That place was a square, open space, about the size of two football fields surrounded by houses. Three sides of the courtyard were adorned with stucco sculptures of beautiful human and animal figures, while the other side was adjacent to a river. The place was crowded, and everyone was well dressed. Looking around, I saw numerous artists, singers, and musicians gathered at the courtyard, each one allocated a small space to exhibit their art. Most importantly, there was plenty of food and drinks prepared by the various food counters and many seats available. We could choose food from any shop, take as much food we need, and not pay for it.

“Is today a special day, or why are these people having a party?” I turned to ask Koharu.

“Ah! It must be some kind of a celebration,” she replied.

“It looks like they have organised a food festival,” I guessed.

“No one has arranged this. It’s a regular venue for people in this city to hang out, party, relax, and mingle with each other. But today seemed rather special,” Koharu explained.

“So, who has prepared all the food and drinks?” I wondered.

“Well, those who are interested in serving food here are required to book in advance; they can’t come and serve whenever they want to,” she said.

“But why would they book a place to give out free food?” I asked.

“Yes, normally, those who love to cook will open their houses to offer free meals to people. However, when you offer food at home, the number of people who would come is uncertain; on some days, no one may show up. But when there is a celebration or a special festival like today, they will cook for hundreds of people, and doing this makes them happy. They like people to taste their cooking and give them feedback or compliments on their food. The more people eat, the happier they feel.”

“They’re proud to cook and serve all the people gathered here at this place today, and all of them would be looking forward to their turn to cook next,” she added.

“Come, let’s walk around to see what is interesting,” Koharu invited me.

“OK, let’s go,” I happily agreed.

The atmosphere felt like an International Food Expo and featured unique menus offered by various shops, all vigorously competing to provide free tastings of food consisting mostly of vegetables, grains, legumes, and fruits.

“It seems that the food offerings are mostly snacks,” I said.

“Right, the food here mostly comes in the form of snacks or sweets. They make small portions and arranged them elegantly on trays so that everyone can taste a bit of each as there are over a hundred different kinds. If they make large portions, no one would be able to try them all.”

“In my world, we call these ‘cocktails’, which means small servings,” I explained.

Everywhere we went to explore the various shops, I noticed that people would move aside and make way for us to pass. Although this ‘celebrity’ status was recently conferred on me, I was still embarrassed by the overwhelming treatment from my ‘fans’. Koharu had the ‘telepathic’ advantage because she seemed to already know that people would come and congratulate her.

“Koharu, do you have this feeling that this event had all along been planned and prepared in advance, prior to our arrival? Especially since what had happened to you earlier was such a coincidence? Did you know anything about this?” I asked her.

“No, I had no idea at all. I merely followed my thoughts when Kyran invited us to visit his grandfather’s house. This thought also suggested that I find a new beautiful dress, which I did. And when you said you wanted to have some food, my thought suggested this place, that’s all. I didn’t even know beforehand that I would meet Uma either,” Koharu replied.

“I understand the mechanism to some degree, but I can’t explain it,” she added.

“I see,” I said.

“When you meet with the highly evolved being, please ask him to explain it to you,” she suggested.

“Sure, I will,” I confirmed.