My gift, to you, my readers, (All, what? Five of you?), is The Gift, a short story I did several years ago before becoming the self-publishing mogul that I am today. Small children encountering extraterrestrials? Not the E.T. of our childhood.
The Gift
The
children at play in the schoolyard that early Friday morning looked up in awe
as the saucer descended from out of the cool azure sky. All activity ceased as
the ship drew nearer and the children stared in wide-eyed wonder realizing that
it was about to set down on the athletic field adjacent to their building.
The
teachers on recess duty that day tried to stem the flow of curious children
from racing to meet the ship as it settled to the ground so feather light it
barely disturbed the dust. Like lemmings, the children rushed through the gap
in the cyclone fencing, sometimes three or more wide, jamming the exit until
the push of students from behind popped them through like a cork from a bottle.
They
gathered all around the gleaming silver disc, not knowing what to expect.
Little eyes gazing in quiet wonder at this object from the stars, wondering and
waiting for something to happen.
They
did not have long to wait.
A
sudden pop and hiss preceded the ship splitting in half like a shelled walnut.
The abrupt sound and action caused a number of children to jump. The majority
of them took a cautious step back.
By
the time the two aliens emerged, a lone child, a little girl, remained where
she stood. All others had shied back several yards. With a curious lilt of her
head, she watched the new arrivals all but unfold themselves from their craft
until they stood nearly three times her height, all legs and arms, with
curiously small heads and large, dark eyes.
The
girl watched, not at all afraid, nor aware of the fact that all her friends,
schoolmates and teachers had by now retreated to the imagined safety on the
opposite side of the cyclone fence. She adjusted her glasses and took a step
forward.
The
aliens finished their unfolding and looked down at the lone girl, blinking
their large, dark eyes inquisitively at her as she did the same. The first alien
smiled at her, obviously charmed by her lack of fear. Her friends continued to
remain behind the fence.
“I
bring you greetings, little human. I am Zakkdahr.” It gestured to its
companion, who also smiled and raised a spindly hand in recognition. “This is
Grot. We come to you as visitors from the Zagnut galaxy. We have been
instructed by our most esteemed Imperious Leader to come to you and present a
gift to the first human we meet.”
At
these words, the one called Grot produced a box of multi-colored crystal that
seemed to radiate with some luminous energy from within. The young girl’s eyes
grew wide at the sight of it.
Taking
the box from Grot, Zakkdahr continued. “You are a most fortunate race to
receive a gift like this. This gift will put an end to all your world’s
troubles. Please accept it as a token of friendship from our people.”
He
extended the box to the little girl who hesitated, but upon seeing the
disarming smile on Zakkdahr’s face, took a tentative step forward and took it
from him. She seemed momentarily surprised by the lack of weight for its size,
nearly dropping it before compensating.
Zakkdahr
smiled again. “I am sorry to say that we must leave you now. We have other
worlds to visit upon which we wish to honor with our gifts. Please, use it
wisely.”
Grot
was already folding himself back into the ship as Zakkdahr turned and began
walking back to the craft. Just before entering, he paused and looked back.
“One thing of note.” He called back to the little girl, who was already being
crowded by schoolmates now that they were leaving. All stopped and listened
intently. “Please do not activate the gift before we are out of your planet’s
atmosphere, as its power has a tendency to interfere with our drive systems.
Once we are out of sight, feel free to activate it.”
He
began that curious folding motion of his body again, and was soon in his seat
next to Grot. Both waved to the crowd as it drew closer. “And now, farewell.”
The
ship sealed itself again, seams melding together to form a single, flawless
surface. With the barest whisper of sound, the craft lifted from the
schoolyard, pivoting at an angle perpendicular to the ground once it was above
the treetops, and thrust itself into the sky, disappearing from sight within
seconds.
By
the time the ship had vanished, the entire population of the schoolyard had
gathered around the little girl with the box. As her friends egged her on, she
lifted the lid, multicolored lights emanating from it like the rainbow of the
Lord’s promise. Inside was a single button.
The
girl looked from the button to the crowd around her, and back to the button.
Smiling, she pressed it.
Zakkdahr
and Grot howled with glee as they watched Earth disintegrate from a safe
distance. Their ship rocked gently, like a boat bobbing on the sea, as the last
of the shockwave reached them.
“Humans,”
Zakkdahr crowed, wiping moist remains of tears of laughter from his eyes. “They
blow up so easily!”
Beside
him, Grot was a rolling mass of uncontrolled giggling, which only caused
Zakkdahr to laugh more. Then the comm system sounded.
Both
of them stopped laughing, sharing worried glances, holding their breath.
When
the comm sounded again, Zakkdahr reached a trembling hand forward and switched
on the receiver. A hologram appeared in the air before them, a being like
themselves, but older. “ZAKKDAHR!!! Have you been blowing up planets again?”
Zakkdahr
struggled to find words, but the older alien cut him off. “How many times have
I told you not to go around blowing
up lesser civilizations just because you think it’s funny?”
“But
how did you…”
“It
wasn’t hard to figure out it was you. I followed the debris trail. Plus, your
little prank on Hargus Minor failed. The residents there pointed the two of you
out.”
“But…Father…”
The
elder waved his words away. “We will speak of this more when you get home. And
if you think I’m upset, just wait
until your mother finds out.” He turned his gaze to Grot. “As for you, Grot
Maagus, I wouldn’t be surprised if your father removes your entire spleen this time, and don’t think
I won’t tell him!”
In
the seat next to Zakkdahr, Grot fainted dead away.
***
This was one of those silly little stories
that just seem to pop up out of nowhere. Staring at the skyline through the
window of my local library’s reading room on a bright, sunny January day, I
suddenly wondered what effect the arrival of a UFO would have on our small city.
Then I wondered who would be their first point of contact. I liked the idea of
a young girl, old enough to be wary, but still young enough as to not be
threatening to the new visitors, and in my mind, my daughter MacKenzie, then in
fourth grade, fit the bill nicely. It is she that I pictured when writing this
tale, and we can firmly lay blame for the destruction of Earth at her feet.
My wife said she was “appalled” upon reading this. I
knew then that I had gotten this one right.
The Gift, along with several other of my short stories, can now be found in Other Worlds: A Collection of Science Fiction and Fantasy, available now in e-book, and soon paperback and audio(?) from Amazon.
#scifiwriter #scifiblog #amwritingscifi #aliens #ufo #firstcontact #otherworlds #thestarhawkchronicles
I enjoyed that! Would hate to be those two aliens when they get home!!!!
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