Yoshida suddenly fell silent, as if he were listening to something.

“Why don’t you talk to him yourself?” Yoshida said, after a lengthy pause, but seemingly in response to a question from someone else.

“What are you saying?” I asked, unsure of what he was saying.

“Oh! I’m sorry. Did I speak out aloud?” Yoshida said, sounding startled.

“Well … Zuda, my wife. She has something to tell you,” he said.

“Sure. Please ask her to share it with both of us,” I said.

“I can’t do that. Won’t you speak to him yourself?” Yoshida said, clasping his hands over his mouth as if he was a bit embarrassed.

“I spoke out aloud again, didn’t I? My apology, my brain is muddled, so I couldn’t distinguish between mental and verbal language. It has been a long time since I last spoke.”

I turned to look at the Japanese sliding doors. Zuda, who was in another room, gently slid them open.

“Please come in and sit with us,” I invited her.

“Thank you,” she gracefully entered and sat next to Yoshida.

“What is it that you need to tell me?” I asked Zuda once she had sat down.

“Well … ” she hesitated and turned to look at Yoshida as if to ask for support.

“I … I don’t know how to start,” she said hesitatingly.

“If there’s anything I can help with, please tell me. I’d be more than happy. Actually, I feel a lot more at peace since speaking with Yoshida,” I expressed my feelings so that Zuda would feel more at ease.

“I … Can I ask you to please sleep with my daughter tonight?” She spurted out suddenly. I was completely stunned.

“What did you just say?” I asked her to repeat it, thinking that she might be unfamiliar with the spoken language.

“Uhh … I’d like you to please have sex with my daughter, Koharu, tonight,” she repeated it, phrasing it more directly, emphasising her true intention. Now there was no room for misunderstanding. I could not believe that this was uttered by the mother of the angel-like beautiful woman. I was still unsure of her real intentions but she seemed serious. Yoshida would know what this was all about.

“Yoshida, what does this mean?” I turned to ask him.

“It means exactly what you heard,” Yoshida replied.

“Is this a local tradition here? You asked me, out of the blue, to have … with … your daughter. You don’t really know my background. How will your daughter feel? We’ve only got to know each other for a few hours. You are not making a joke, are you?” I said.

“It’s not at all a tradition. I know that you won’t understand this because I didn’t understand the way of life here either when I first arrived. It’s true that such a subject should be regarded as a serious matter, and they are actually more serious about it than we are,” he emphasised.

“Then why does this seem so rudimentary for you here? I mean, doesn’t it seem rather odd, to arrange for your daughter to have sex with someone whom she has barely known without allowing the couple to develop a liking for each other first, and giving them time for their friendship to gradually bloom into love and a lasting relationship? It’s not as if you could have sex with anyone at any time,” I expressed my opinion. “Actually, your daughter has more to lose in terms of her modesty, honour and dignity. I’m a man, so I have less to be concerned about losing my virginity. Do you understand?” I insisted.

“Let me first explain the way of life of the people here to you, so you understand better,” Yoshida said.

“As we discussed earlier this evening, the people here don’t view sex as something to be concealed or to be shameful. So if people here, whether women or men, have sexual desires, they would directly ask the other party if he or she shares similar sentiments. But sometimes, it’s not necessary for both to feel the same way at the same time. In my daughter’s case, she is the one who has this desire, so she asked her mother to ask you.”

“This is actually her initiative!? And she asked her mother to ask me!?” I was astounded.

“You must be thinking that the people here are nymphomaniacs who sleep around, don’t you?” Yoshida guessed.

“Yes, it does seem that way,” I admitted.

“You are wrong. Even though the people could be perceived that way, they all understand each other’s soul language, so the sexual desire doesn’t arise that easily or excessively like in our world. Each time it happens, there has to be a karmic linkage from the past, or what we also called destiny, that triggers such feelings.”

“And the reasons why people on our planet, Gaia, usually have this uncontrollable and excessive sexual desire, often resulting in sexual harassment, is because of the suppression and concealment of sex. When suppressed, these feelings seek to be released at every opportunity possible, regardless of how inappropriate they are. Let’s consider carefully what has happened in our world; despite our laws, our social values, our religious rules, and our conscience, there are still so many cases of sexual abuse and rape,” he explained.

“Unlike here, people are much more open to sex, and everyone embraces this attitude whenever sexual feelings for someone that they like arise, and if the feelings between the two parties are mutual. Because of that, there’s never been any social challenge concerning sexual violations – not even once.”

“So, this means Koharu must have remembered her past that somehow intertwined with mine. Is that why she has these special feelings towards me?”

“Definitely,” he replied.

“What’s the story?”

“You will know that in a bit. Allow me to finish explaining the topic of sexual attitude first?”

“The custom here in this world is that a woman can sleep with anyone she desires. She can change her mind whenever she wants, there are no conditions or obligations. Until she has borne a child, then the person with whom she has created the child would be called her husband.”

“Having children on this planet Tuengra is very difficult, with only a small chance for a woman to get pregnant. As discussed earlier, those who are born on this planet must come from those who have successfully evolved from Gaia, or rather, those who were sent directly by the Source. Look at your planet, it takes hundreds of years for someone to evolve to such a point.”

“You are talking about pregnancy before marriage, aren’t you?” I suggested.

“Yes! We will have a huge celebration once the pregnancy is confirmed. It’s like a wedding ceremony, which we call the conjugal union ceremony here. People from all over the world would send their congratulations telepathically.”

“So, when you had Koharu, everyone knew it, too?”

“Of course, the news of us having a child was a major topic of interest for a long while. Zuda’s family was jubilant. They rejoiced and celebrated the occasion over many days. It has become a popular belief that there’s a higher likelihood to bear a child with men from Gaia.”

“Is this …” I thought of speaking out aloud my interpretation of Zuda’s request for me to sleep with her daughter. “Well, never mind,” I dismissed the thought.

“What you are thinking is not wrong. Zuda secretly wishes that history would repeat itself,” Yoshida answered, reading my thoughts.

“But I also believe in the universe’s destiny,” Zuda spoke.

“So, you’re willing to sleep with Koharu tonight, aren’t you?” Zuda summed it up.

“I don’t think there is any man alive who could turn this request down. On our planet Gaia, we would call a beauty like Koharu a goddess. Her beauty is beyond what I deserve. If you know my living conditions, you might change your mind. I’m just a humble graphic designer who doesn’t even own a car or a house, and only live in an old rental apartment. There’s nothing special about me that deserves a woman like her.”

“But over here, you are not who you are on your planet. On the contrary, someone who was chosen to come to this world is a very special person. No one can accidentally cross over to this planet without His intention, and you being the chosen one brings the highest honour,” Zuda explained.

“So, we would be very honoured if you granted this request to our daughter.”

“If you think so, then I can’t decline,” I answered.

“Thank you. Please excuse me, I will let Koharu prepare herself,” she said, and retreated back into the other room.

“If I were in the old world, I should be more protective of my daughter, shouldn’t I? I must have been here too long already, for I have become one of them already,” Yoshida said jokingly.

This planet was full of surprises. And, once again, the coming event made me feel very excited. In fact, I have to admit I was exhilarated. Although I have had sex with women many times before, this was very unusual. This woman was a hundred times more beautiful than my ex-girlfriend, who had broken my heart. Not only that, she was also a woman from another world, one so dazzlingly beautiful that it was hard to believe that she was real.