"Oh, hello my little Miss, you are still such a nosy cat" The old man patted Xhemin's back as she was hugging the latter. He kind of suspected that it was the girl who was spying on them as he had already caught her shadow earlier.

"Who's that?" The leader asked when they heard the little commotion nearby. Although Xhemin was not anymore eyeing on the crowd that flocked in beside bonfire, she was sure that they were now in their feet, curious of who was it that the professor caught. ​​

"Nothing really. There's just a little cat down here who have seemed to have followed her grandfather" Professor Owens announced. "You go ahead and finished off your business, I'll go and attend to this nosy cat for a moment"

"But professor wait—"Xhemin protested but the professor grabbed her arm and began walking away. As he walked, he increased his speed not giving any other tribesmen the chance to accompany them. The three tribesmen who were pointing weapons at her made way for both of them, the professor's words gave them an assurance that the girl was nothing to worry about. The professor's free arm was pumping with excitement, the other dragging Xhemin at his side. Xhemin stumbled, and he did not notice, good thing Xhemin was able to keep up even with the slip up.

"You are such a silly child. How dare you follow upon your grandfather unnoticed and you have the guts to do some eavesdropping. You can get your grandfather in trouble with that just so you know" The professor tells her off and stopped to settle the girl near a fallen trunk few meters away from the group. He was using the English language right then, unlike few moments ago.

"Professor where had you been all these years and who are those?" She confronted him as the latter was dragging her, totally unconcerned that she had been caught. Professor Owens, as she remembered was not as strict as her grandfather, so she didn't flinched a bit by his chiding. "You didn't even come to visit us"

"Child I wanted to, but I couldn't" He explained and freed her arms. He then went to climb on a big fallen trunk and sat comfortably, then signalled for Xhemin to sit beside him. The forest was dark as it was supposed to be, but the moonlight peeking through the leaves of the big trees was giving Xhemin enough light to find her way and catch up with the professor's gestures.

"Silly excuse" She jumped on the same trunk, swept some dry leaves that was in there, and sat herself completely like the professor did.

"Well, I went to the Manggan Island and those people right there are from the Manggan Tribe" The old professor started as if the thing he just uttered were easy to believe.

"Kidding aren't you?" She responded in incredulity and waited for the professor to tell her that it was all a prank and that there's another more realistic version of the story rather than the one that he just narrated to her.

However, few seconds after, her expectations were failing miserably when the Professor Owens didn't took back his words and busied himself with lighting up something that seemed like a cigar. Judging from the smell of it, Xhemin knew it was the professor's self-made medicinal cigar that the latter had been addicting himself ever since he was a Rivendell's professor.

"….Professor your story is very unlikely to be true. Don't fool me. The Manggan Island is untouched and the Manggen Tribe is out of reach and is very hostile. Our government even have serious rule of coming near the Island, it's a total no-no... a lot of missionaries and explorers died in their attempt to get contact with the people living in that place" She added to her previous disapproval and unbelief of the old man's story. Xhemin and Professor Owens had a very casual relationship and so the girl was not at conscious at all with all her demeanours toward him, even when the latter was her mentor.

"I didn't say it isn't" he answered, ignoring her increasing dissatisfaction of his words. He blew another smoke from his cigar and welcomed with a violent slap the mosquito that just landed on his bare arms.

Professor Owens knew why the child wouldn't want to believe him. The Manggan Tribe indeed was a hostile tribe who lived in isolation in the southwest part of Hampshire. The attempts to contact them have been usually rebuffed with lethal force all the time.

Also, the indigenous rights activist all over the world called for the tribe to be left alone because such will cause harm not only to those explorers who wanted to enter the island but also to the Manggen Tribe. It had been said that the tribe may lack immunity from common diseases, and they never had vaccinations unlike the others, which may endanger their population once their island borders will be breached.

That is why the government had a 'eyes on and hands off policy" over the islands, to ensure no poachers enters the island and to ensure everyone's safety.

Just to cut the explanation short, the Manggen Island is out of everybody's reach.

"What you mean?" Xhemin, almost irritated by the professor's lack of explanation couldn't help but scratched a part of her scalp. She knew the professor was trying to annoy her by making her craved for answers.