Cosmic Dust

The vessel slowly hummed as it floated across the void of nothingness. It had been weeks since they had left the outskirts of the galaxy, and yet the ones they were supposed to meet were nowhere to be located.

The creature yawned, already losing its patience. Through the deck’s window infinite little orbs of light shimmered, creating an imaginary black wall spattered in white paint. Just as black as the creature standing there. No, she wasn’t black. The pony was colourless, just like a black hole, no light ever reflected off its coat.

The ship, however, wasn’t completely enveloped in darkness. Behind it, the beautiful glow of the disc flat galaxy provided a smaller mare with the only sense of direction, and warmth that she could find. The pony’s eyes shined as her face glued to the side window, slowly slipping to the side, eventually losing her balance and falling awkwardly. The taller one did not react.

The Strahl itself wasn’t large. It could fit two pilots and a couple more passengers, but was not wide enough to allow one to have a stretch. Adding up to their mental exhaustion, the physical fatigue was already noticeable on them both. They couldn’t stand around much longer.

“It seems they did not consider us worthy of their presence,” The taller mare snickered. “We shall return, too much time was wasted on this matter.” With that being said, she pressed her hoof into a glowing cavity in the ship’s mainframe interface. The smaller pony sat on the reclined seat, fitting perfectly as if it had been made specially for her. And well, it had been.

The hum turned into a hearable buzz, the ship turning around to face the majestic ellipse of light. Mother constantly rotated her hoof inside the cavity, every time she changed direction it played a soft beep. It was a pain to acquire this custom part. Ponies aren't exactly common in the Milky Way, buying pre-made parts was impossible.

The buzz became louder. The ship started to move in the galaxy’s direction, speed increasing exponentially. At least, so said the screen. Relatively to the galaxy’s mass, extreme speeds barely changed its appearance.

Until the ship’s environmental light turned red. Everything disappeared in a white flash, an infinite stream of matter colliding with the front of the vessel. When the light wore off, the stars became visible once more, and in front of them, stood a large blue planet with a recognizable geology. The jump was successful.

“Why are we returning here?” The smaller one asked, displeased by what she witnessed.

“There are issues that require attention.” The other one said bluntly, unphased by the swift change of colours and brightness.

The white mare sent a distrustful stare. Another lie. As usual.

The sadness was overwhelming.

The silent parade of people slowly strolled through the park. Both their clothing and mood was obscure, they all marched with a single purpose, sharing the same pain. Their hands shook in the cold, struggling to hold the umbrellas against the winter wind.

Death. Behind the hill they were arriving at, the many gravestones made themselves prominent in contrast to the moonlight. The group stopped at a couple graves, standing next to each other. And they stood there, staring.

Eventually, one woman started crying. She dropped her umbrella and fell on her knees, disregarding the heavy rain in that night.

“Why? Why did this have to happen?” She shouted into the skies in a cry of agony, her tears being quickly wiped clean by the deluge. The ache in her heart though, was not.

The woman had dark blue hair, with a streak of pink running across it. Once combed beautifully, it was now flat wet, covering half her face. A hand ran across it, clearing her vision, then resting on her cheek.

A boy, no older than ten, stood in front of her with red swollen eyes. He could look the woman eye to eye, and for some reason, it calmed her down. Suddenly, she embraced him in a hug, causing tears to burst from the other attendees.

The rain stopped, at least for them. Looking above, the woman noticed yet another woman, holding an umbrella and smiling with a gentle look, a single tear in the corner of her eye. Eyes with such fierce amber colour, that almost dismissed the cold of the night. She was wearing casual clothing, in contrast to the grieving crowd in black.

“Let’s get you somewhere warm.”

The surrounding foliage danced wildly in the wind as the ship landed in a small clearing in the middle of the forest. The larger pony removed her hoof from the control tube, waving it around to relax the cramped limb. The smaller one’s horn became enveloped in a faint white glow, this same glow found its way around a lever in the side of the deck.

Pulling it back, the side door rolled itself up like a carpet, the flexibility of the metal contrasting its sturdiness. Both stepped outside, taking in the fresh air. Noticing a patch of flowers next to the tree line, the smaller one galloped there, her tongue hanging from the side of her mouth. With a single bite, she swallowed one whole, earning a disapproving look from the other one.

“What?” She said, while chewing on the petals. “I am hungry!”

“Couldn’t you wait until we got some proper food?” Her voice was just as mighty and scary as her appearance. The smaller didn’t flinch though.

“But I am sooooo hungry!” She said, letting a single petal fly free from her mouth, only to be successfully recaptured by her horn’s power. “Next time we have to get our food reserves somewhere else, that salesman was too greedy with the prices! I’ve been starving for days! Don’t tell me you don’t feel the same, Mother?”

Her mother did not reply, she simply shook her head. “Follow me, this forest is not without its dangers.”

Mother and daughter trotted through the shadowy woods. The daughter couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease, a looming evil watching over them.

The trees almost completely blocked the sunlight. Every now and then they’d come across swampy lands, forcing them to take alternative routes. The tall bushes blocked the white mare’s vision, but not her mother. No, her head peeked out of the foliage, her eyes surveilling the surroundings for danger.

A log stood in the way, invisible through the bushes. The small mare tripped on it, falling on hanging vines below her forehooves. She tried to get out, but only got further entrapped, earning yet another disappointed look from her mother. She used her own power to rescue the little one from distress, snapping the vines with ease, then walking away while shaking her head. The white pony blushed in embarrassment.

The forest came to an end as both ponies walked out to a clearing. In there, a handful of wooden cottages stood behind a fenced area. But that wasn’t what drew the ponies’ attention.

Inside the perimeter, a tall white pony, taller than Mother, stood proudly while smiling to a smaller adult pony, a green coated mare with light yellow braids, having a conversation. What was most intriguing about the taller one was her mane: blue, green and pink.

“Have you decided what to call this piece of land?” The white mare asked.

“We can’t thank ya enough for what you’ve done for mah family. We’d be more than honoured to have Your Majesty name it yaself.”

“Very well then, Ms. Smith, I will.”

“Damn it...” her mother slithered, while her colourless coat absorbed the light around her, becoming transparent. “Dust! Invisibility!”

“Celestia...” she said, not answering her mother, for she was already invisible. Her eyes burned with anger.

Through her eyes, everything had a purple tone; she had shifted to a parallel realm. One close to allow observing reality, but not enough to interact with it. A spell she had learnt a long time ago.

Following her mother’s lead, the ponies sneaked past the fences, slowly pulling out of invisibility to pull the wooden gate back with their magic.

As they reached the middle of the small village, a group of ponies trotted by, all of them with smiles filling their faces. They came to a stop by the Majesty, who let out a small chuckle in reaction to the crowd. Further back a train could be seen, standing on a railway, behind a building larger than the others.

“Fillies and gentlecolts! I am delighted to see how much progress you have done with this land in such a small amount of years.” She spoke, gracefully shifting her vision from one side to another. “When I first sat my eyes upon you, I saw something I had not seen in a long time: perseverance.

“Most ponies in Canterlot do not understand, and never will, the hardships a roamer comes across on their journey. This land is the very proof that even if threatened by the dangers of the Everfree Forest, a community can still thrive and survive.

“And so I proudly name this town, Ponyville!” The crowd stomped their hoofs in the ground, in a thunderous applause. “May it be an example to all citizens of Equestria!”

“We’re done here.” Dust’s mother whispered “Let’s return to the Strahl.

“But what about the food?”

“Now!”

They ran back, their steps being muted by the celebration. As they approached the gate, a couple of shadows runned past them, leaving Dust breathless. They moved swiftly, and when she had turned around, they were gone. A short moment after, a scream echoed through the village.

The commotion stopped. A bright flash of yellow light came from the center of the village, and then, an explosion. Bits of wood went flying everywhere, one of them almost hitting Dust’s mother, who shielded herself with her magic.

“What was that?” Dust asked, dying of curiosity to go and see for herself.

“Do not know, do not care, move!”

Dust rolled her eyes, but followed. She was getting tired of half truths.

“The kid’s finally asleep.” said the other woman, who had introduced herself on the way there as Mary. Her sudden appearance startled Rose into another sneeze. “So, you’re Rose? Jacob’s cousin?” She asked, while holding two steaming cups. Now in the light, Rose could see how she looked like. Wearing a grey sweater and a pair of jeans, she couldn’t look more casual. But what was more remarkable was her amber fierce eyes, clashing with her light blue hair.

“Yes. I am very close to him. Was...” she answered, her eyes becoming watered once more.

“Now now, don’t cry more.” The woman answered with a worried tone, while handing Rose a cup. Hot chocolate. Rose smiled, as it brought back memories of her and her cousin. “I have heard that you have been crying ever since the accident, and that won’t do you any good. You have to eventually move on.”

“Thank you, thank you a lot.” Rose answered, trying her best to look cheered up. “I can’t even imagine what poor Jake must be feeling.”

“He’s a tough kid, he’ll pull through.” Mary reassured her, then taking a sip of hot chocolate. “At least I hope so...” she whispered to herself.

“What will become of him?”

“He’ll stay with me until it’s decided which family member will take care of the little guy. He was supposed to stay at the orphanage where I work, but I volunteered to take him under my wing, for now. He already went through a lot, he needs someone to take care of him on a more... personal level. Like his parents would.” She sighed. She looked completely worn out, as if the past few days had been too difficult to endure.

“Did you know them? Jacob and Louise?” Rose asked.

“Unfortunately no, I saw them frequently, just like everyone on this small town, but I never had a chance to exchange words. More reason to find a suitable guardian asap.” she answered bluntly.

Rose stared at her cup, her reflexion barely visible in the entrancing dark brown. She then said: “I’ll take him. I’ll take care of Jake.”

“Wow hold your horses, you are in no condition of making decisions. No offense, but the last thing the kid needs is another depressed person taking care of him.”

Rose was shocked by the words, and was ready to reply, but held them inside. She was right, after all, Mary had more experience with kids she could ever hope to have.

“Tell you what,” Mary whispered, after approaching Rose, much to her surprise “Take a bath, have some sleep, and we’ll talk in the morning. If you really are up to the task, you must make the decision with a clear head.”

Rose nodded, speechless. The woman in front of her was strong, and at the same time kind. She felt a smile form on her cheeks, her mood being lifted. “Yes, I will. Well then,” she said, and then drank the rest of the cup “I will be on my way, where can I meet you tomorrow?”

Mary shook her head. “No no no no no. You are not going anywhere in this rain. I can lend you some pajamas and you’ll sleep here, I’ll stay on the couch.”

“Oh, but I could never-” she was interrupted as Mary pressed her index on her lips.

“No. No. No.” Mary ordered, her index finger poking Rose in the nose every time she denied. She had an extremely serious look, her eyes staring at Rose’s.

Rose gave up. The offer was too tempting to refuse, not to mention she would probably be tied up if she tried to leave.

After a long bath, she put on the white pajamas with little golden harps Mary lent her, and went to the bedroom across the hall, not before giving a goodnight kiss to the already sleeping Jake, in the guest room.

The bed’s sheets weighed down on the tired body, accommodating every muscle in a relaxing embrace. It had been a long day. Facing the whole family again was unbearable. They were in an awful state, toddler to elder grieving their loss. Jacob was a gem of a person, and his wife was on the most caring women she ever had the luck to meet. Well, that wasn’t entirely true.

No, she shouldn’t be thinking on sad things. The past is the past. She had to take Mary’s advice, and let go.

Mary. While she resembled an average tomboy at first glance, there was something extremely motherly in her. Working on an orphanage, she must feel second hand this kind of suffering on a daily basis. She must be strong to do what she does. Someone strong enough to guide one through a floor of broken glass, to finally find happiness on the other side.

The memories returned. The times she and Jacob played as kids, the sleepovers on each others house, the wedding- oh the wedding. She had been his best woman, she had endured him rambling about his insecurities before the wedding, she had witnessed Jake’s birth. Jacob was no cousin to her; he was her brother.

The tears started running again, just like the rain that decided to return outside the window. With each sob, her chest felt heavier, the pain trying to break her. She curled down, hugging herself. It was too hard to endure.

A hug. A pair of arms held her, a hand gently caressing her hair. Rose turned around, and her eyes met Mary’s. For a whole minute they stood there, staring. While the room was dark, the moonlight was enough to reflect the shine in each other’s eyes. One last tear fell across her left cheek, being caught by Mary’s finger.

“You don’t have to suffer alone. No one does.”

Once more, tears returned. But these weren’t tears of agony. There were tears of relief. She had been blessed with someone’s understanding, and who better but this caring, charming, beautiful woman?

She rested her head on Mary’s chest, accepting the comfort her newfound guardian was kind enough to provide. Mary’s gentle heartbeat soothed her worries.

“Why... why are you doing this?” Rose asked with a low voice “Why are you worrying?”

“It’s just how I am. I like to help others, I take pleasure from it.” She chuckled. “Thinking about it, I only help others so I can feel good myself, it’s kind of a selfish attitude, but in a way, everything we do is selfish in one way or another.” She let out a small giggle. “Look at me, talking nones-!”

Rose turned and leapt forward, her lips meeting Mary’s, making her lose her balance and falling on the bed. Mary’s eyes were wide in shock, her thoughts trying to process the moment.

Eventually, she slowly pushed Rose back. Her mouth was hanging like if someone had broken her jaw. Rose on the other hand, was feverishly looking, her cheeks burning red. Her eyes shifted from one side to the other, avoiding contact.

“Wh-wh-what?” Mary said, as the words struggled through her shock.

“I... I’ve always been so alone, and you hugged me and, I mean, and then you said those kind words and, oh noes I’m sorry I’m so sorry I didn’t want to force on you, I’m no good at these kind of th-” Mary pressed her index on Rose’s lips once more, forcing her to stop.

“Now you hold your horses girl...” Mary said slowly. Rose closed her eyes tight with embarrassment.

“I’msosorrysosorrysosorrysosorrysosorry-”

Mary silenced the rambling woman with a passionate kiss that herself didn’t even saw coming. Rose pulled back, now being the one petrified.

Mary smiled. “I’ll be here for you. I can try.”.

“Where are we going this time?” Dust asked, while going through the contents of a metal crate with her magic.

Mother and daughter had just replenished their supplies back at the citadel, and were catching a gravitational ride to avoid power consumption. The ship’s engines were completely silent. Alongside it, numerous chunks of rock slowly floated. An asteroid belt.

“We don’t have much time. Keep silent and listen.” her mother swiftly responded, her expression unyieldingly serene.

They were in neutral space, an area with no planetary masses, only seas of asteroids. Those areas were known as safe passage for all kinds of criminals, as the Alliance’s units wouldn’t likely find interest in such place.

“Dust, you’ve been taught much these last years. I am very proud of you. You have learned everything I had for you, and so, our relationship ends.” She looked confused. Her mother slowly nodded, her expression now changing into one of worry. “Just keep in mind all that you know, trust your instincts, and try to do what’s right. I believe you will know what to do.” she said as she turned around, facing the window.

“Mother, what are you- AH!” Dust was halted by the bright flash of light that appeared before her mother. She stepped back with the visual impact, covering her face with her forehooves. The light was so strong not even her mother’s dark coat was safe. She was being devoured by the light itself.

“MOTHER!” Dust tried to jump forward, but found herself stuck in place. She was enveloped in a dark blue glow, a levitation spell coming from her mother’s horn. “Why? Why are you doing this? What is going on?!?” she cried out, scared to tears.

“Trust yourself, my little Dust.”

Those were the last words Dust would ever hear from her mother. Before the light completely consumed the Strahl, she could distinguish four silhouettes within the light. The figures were too shining, and probably were the source of the light, but there was something about them that made them noticeable. They were chanting a silent song, their mouths moving to conjure a melody she could not hear.

And then she lost consciousness.

”Two years later we arrive at 2015. Oh yes, that year was where it began. It is believed that it started way before then, and I personally share the view. Several nations activated their nuclear launch protocols. The world faced a destruction never before created by human hands.

“The scientific team that had been settled in the international space station for years, and thus,  neutral to the whole incident, witnessed everything from orbit. They knew they would be out in the cold for the years to come, so they decided to devise a way to solve the conflict in the meantime. They only agreed on one solution: evacuation.

“Eventually, and luckily for them, they managed to contact survivors, down in the underground citadels hidden away from the poisonous surface. Having Tau Ceti as their destination, the newly formed global alliance joined hands to develop fast travel technology, something that before the time was considered science fiction. By ‘38, the organization was formally called International Space Alliance, or ISA for short. Needless to say, as we all know, the project ultimately failed.

“Two years later, they forced the creation of a small black hole in orbit, using mass compression technology, in order to create a wormhole to another side of the galaxy, as it was theorized. Unfortunately, they lost control of it. By the time they had it nullified, the moon had already changed it’s regular course, so was the strength of the attraction. With the newfound gravitational pull from our natural satellite, the seas quickly changed their disposition. Most of the remaining unscathed areas were flooded.

“And here we are, barely a century later, remembering the past as exciting as it always is!”

The students remained silent, some of them already snorting. The teacher was about to burst into a lecture, but the school alarm spared the sleeping teenagers from the teacher’s wrath, but not from, well, waking up.

“Don’t forget, next Friday we have exam on all this, re-read chapter 5!”

“Sure, sure, who cares?” A youngster answered the teacher, earning a disapproving look.

He was slightly taller than average, shaved head, a black goatee standing out on his chin. Adding his left ear piercing on the upper lobe, and his constantly aggressive stare, he held a status in the school not many would dare to challenge.

“Ahaha Max, you tell him off!” another student said out loud, trying to get his attention, although getting silence for an answer.

Instead, Max got up, and walked to the student on the middle front seat, who was focused on packing his belongings on his backpack, and slapped his back, making him lose balance.

“So, Jakey, are we going there today?” he asked, with a grin across his face.

He stopped packing for a moment, considering his options, and then resuming while answering “Today’s no good, I have stuff to do at home.” Jake got up and made his way out of the classroom. The giant colleague followed by his side, hand resting on his shoulder.

“Bah, always stuff to do at home. Your dad must really be a pain in the ass if he keeps you that busy.”

“You see, he intends to have me take on his business, I have to work hard.”

“Can’t blame ya, at least you’re getting yourself a future full of easy cash!” he said, following with a loud laugh that made everyone in the corridor stare at them both.

They walked outside, the dim light being as unexciting as his company. The sky was grey, the clouds threatening to soak everything below them.

They walked towards the bus parked next to the bus stop, the students walking in orderly. As they saw the pair coming, everyone walked back to make way. They both sat on the back of the bus, Max resting his left leg on another seat. Several students did not dare to ask for permission to sit, simply remaining on their feet for the whole trip.

The bus exited the city, its streets void of life, and crossed the woods in a single, straight road. After about ten minutes, the bus arrived at a town with a single stop where Jake got off, no one else following.

“One of these days I have to come over, Jakey, it would be totally rad!” Max said, while waving through the window.

Jake let out a deep breath. In there, the sky was clear of the cloudy ceiling. He could finally stretch and allow the warm light to bathe his skin.

The town was pretty much the same wherever he looked at. The same cut lawn, the same house architecture, the same colours. The only thing that stood out was the park, a large area in the town’s center.

As Jake passed by it on his way home, memories of his childhood floated back to the surface, how he loved playing there, how he’d swim on the lake in the park’s center, earning several scoldings both by the park’s warden and his parents.

By the time he arrived home, the sun was already settling down behind the hills. His home was indistinguishable from all others, save for the number on the door. Pulling out the key from his pocket, he turned the lock open and stepped in.

“I’m home!” he shouted, as he dropped his backpack near the stairs. Walking past them, he entered a lit room where a woman was cooking something that, by the smell of it, was delicious. “Can I have some of that?” Jake daringly asked, as he picked up a slice of ham.

“Of course not!” the light blue haired woman responded, harshly slapping Jake’s hand to force him to drop the slice. “This is for diner, can’t you just wait an hour till then?”

“Alright, alright...” Jake brought his hands to his head, accepting failure. ”Where’s Rose, she in the living room? Got to tell her something.” He walked out of the kitchen and slowly headed to the end of the corridor, where a much more dim light slithered through.

“Nope!” The woman yelled, running to fetch him. “She... she just cleaned all that, living room and all, and she is resting in the couch!” she said with her eyes open wide, her hands grabbing Jake’s shoulders tight.

He gave a confused, and slightly scared look. “It’s fine, I’ll just tell her...”

“No! You know how she gets when she’s tired. Go upstairs, read a book or something, I’ll call you once dinner’s done.” she explained, determined to convince him.

Jake once more admitted defeat, and walked up the stairs to his bedroom. He knew Mary was hiding the truth, even if only partially.

‘I only hope they weren’t doing that’ he imagined, shuddering with the thought.

He entered his room, closing the door behind. Two of the walls were hidden behind tall bookcases, each having every available space filled with books and more books, their contents mostly concerning astronomy.

Jake slid his fingers across the many books, searching for one to occupy his time. He valued them greatly, most of them were pre-flood relics that his parents went through fire and flames to obtain.

The knowledge they held was fascinating, Jake had read every single one of them at least once. If there was anything worth in his life, it was the moment where he could sit down and read a book, or even better, when Rose would come from work with a volume not yet in his possession.

Such entertaining activity it was, that the hour flew by in an instant. By Mary’s call, Jake rushed down the stairs, starving. He wasn’t expecting what awaited him.

“SURPRISE!” echoed the group of people in unison.

Jake was stunned, stuck in place, his brain not processing what was happening.

Rose came forth, holding a chocolate cake with a big candle in the shape of the numbers ‘16’ sending small sparks all over the place.

Of course, it was his birthday. How could he have forgotten that? Had he been so buried deep in his studies he couldn’t even keep track of time?

The crowd erupted into an applause as the song ended. Jake looked around, recognizing several familiar faces. His family, on Rose’s side at least.

“Come on silly, blow the candle!” Rose said, breaking his trance.

“Oh, sure.” He quickly replied, blushing for not knowing how long he had been staring around.

The cheer returned as the flame died out, several of the elders coming forth to shake his hand, or hug him. A little girl came forth hopping with a wrapped gift. “This is for you cousin!”

“Aw, you shouldn’t have!” They exchanged a hug, and the kid hopped back into the crowd, her fluffy hair bouncing from one side to another.

At the diner table, the usual conversations were had. The family only got together on special occasions, and they made the most of it by updating each other on their current situations.

One of the elders, his grandfather, asked through his fuzzy beard “So Jake, tell me, how is school going?”

“It’s going well I guess,” he humbly replied.

“Well?!” Mary intervened, while munching on a big chunk of food at the same time. “Mah boi ovur thar ish the top of class!”

A big ohhh came from many of the present guests, followed by a wave of compliments, leaving Jake on an embarrassingly tough position. He launched a stare at his mother, who simply grinned back. ‘I’ll get you for this’ he thought.

The little girl, called Anna, spent most of her time playing around Jake. For the longest time, Jake had to babysit her at weekends, and they’ve grown attached to each other.

“So, you see” she said, speaking faster than anyone would’ve expected a kid to. “I really really want to dye my hair pink, but my daddy won’t let me, I don’t understand, so many people dye their hair too and their daddies don’t say anything! Oh, and what do you think of the party? I had the idea all-my-self! I dunno, I really like parties and...” Jake simply nodded, unable to grasp the meaning behind half of her speech. He couldn’t help but smile though. Anna always made everyone happy.

Eventually. the guests started leaving, every each one of them saying good bye in their own way. The little girl came running and gave a hug. “I don’t wanna go...” she said with a sad little voice.

Jake kneeled down to get on her height, and said “Tell you what, in your birthday, I will throw a surprise party just for you.”

“But, but you just said it! It won’t be a surprise then!”

“Oops! Well, then I will either do it or not, that way, you’ll be surprised by it!” The girl showed a confused look, making Jake chuckle. They hugged once more, and then she hopped outside to her parents.

What a chaotic night. Jake was totally not prepared for it, and his whole body cried for sleep.

“Not yet, get over here.” Mary said, anticipating Jake’s plan to crash early.

He walked to the living room, where Mary and Rose held a gift themselves, wrapped in white paper with little yellow stars.

“Happy birthday Jake.” Rose hugged him.

“Happy birthday kiddo. Now hurry up, open it!” Mary ordered, jumping to the nearest sopha.

The gift was big, Jake tried to casually hold it and unwrap it while standing, but found himself unable to due to its weight. After settling it down, the wrapping came off easily.

Jake was awe-struck. Before him, stood nothing else but a telescope. But not just any telescope. An ISA telescope.

“But how did you... where did you...?” Jake mumbled, marvelled by what he was seeing. “Only members of the ISA had access to this! This is the best model of personal telescopes ever made!”

Rose smiled. “In the military base, I asked some of my contacts to look for something like that in the old deposits. They too wish you a happy birthday.”

“I... thank you! Seriously, this is the best gift I could ever have.”

Rose started to tear up a little, hugging her son once more.

“D’aw, come here you.” Mary said with a mocking tone, joining too in the hug.

Now back in his bedroom, there was no way he could sleep. He was just too excited to test his new relic, no, his crown jewel.

Although it had assembling instructions, Jake didn’t need them. He was already too acquainted with this specific model from his books.

After just a couple of minutes, the beast was ready. Jake contemplated it with a massive grin on his face. ‘This is gonna be so awesome!’ he thought.

Pushing the window open, he placed the telescope into place, grabbed a chair and peeked through it.

He was amazed. The moon looked beautiful, the craters so clear through the eyepiece. And a small, red dot on it too.

He switched out the lens, placing one with double the magnifying power. Now, there was no dot, but a ball of fire getting each time closer.

‘Is that... a meteor?’

The meteor left no smoke trail, at least as far as Jake could see in the night. His mind was in a turmoil, considering possibilities. ‘What if the meteor is too large? Could a catastrophic event be at hand? Will it hit or just pass by? Perhaps it’s slingshotting around Earth.’

When he returned from his own thoughts, he had lost the meteor. He wiggled the telescope around in a frenzy to find it, to no avail.

He leaned back on the chair, sighing. And then he saw. With his naked eye, the fireball was the size of an egg. And it was coming down fast. The whole neighbourhood acquired an orange tone.

Without thinking twice, Jake jumped back, behind his bed, and covered his head, awaiting the impact. Not that there would be much hope if it fell in the surroundings.

SPLASH

A splash. That was all that was heard. Trembling, Jake pulled himself up, and peeked through the window.

No smoke, no fire, no destruction. ‘What the hell just happened?’ he thought.

Pulling the binoculars from his desk, he surveyed the area where the meteor should have hit. The park. Nothing out of the ordinary could be seen. Was he hallucinating? No, that couldn’t be it. He was tired, but not enough to that degree. Never in his life he had been.

There had to be something else to it. Putting on his shoes, Jake went outside with a flashlight to investigate. Fortunately for him, his parents were heavy sleepers, specially Mary. He chuckled at the thought that even if the meteor had any impact, they wouldn’t wake up over her snoring.

Jake trembled at the cold outside, not expecting such temperatures after the orange that had covered half town. Surprisingly, no one else had come to check what happened. Was he the only one who noticed?

The park wasn’t fenced, it was a splash of green in the middle of town, a bite sized forest where kids could play in safety. After the war, with so many popular tourist destinations becoming poisoned with radiation, towns were focused on having their own attractions, for their own population. Even now that the radiation had faded, the destruction was too vast to be worth rebuilding.

Jake took a glimpse at a shimmering light, coming from the core of the park. He approached cautiously at first, eventually having curiosity taking over.

Taking precautions, Jake put a branch on the water, and then a finger. Considering it safe, he put his head, attempting to see what was causing such a chromatic effect. In the bottom of the lake there was a white... something, which seemed to be the source of the light. Taking off most of his clothes, he dove into the chilling water.

The cold stung his skin like a thousand needles, the temperature shock being too much to handle under normal circumstances. But being pumped with adrenaline was enough to dismiss such worries. He needed to see what had fallen from the skies.

The light became too strong as he got close, forcing Jake to close his eyes. Blindly running his hands across the water, he bumped into something warm. He awkwardly grabbed it, and ascended, propelling himself only with leg power.

Dragging the thing out of the water, he was caught off-guard by its weight, falling on his own butt in the grass.

Shaking his head to clear his eyes from water, he slowly opened them, and looked at what had been unveiled from the lake. A white creature, with a patch of purple and pink hair coming out of its supposed head and rear. Jake was awestruck with his finding, expecting to find nothing more than a chunk of rock, he had found an actual, living creature. That is, if it was still alive.

His astonishment was only broken by the intense cold that now ran across his body. Jake dressed back, although feeling highly uncomfortable with his wet skin against the dry clothes.

A siren. Obviously others would have noticed the event and came to investigate. Flashing red lights could be seen behind the trees in the outskirts of the park. The military.

Not knowing why, Jake grabbed the creature on his arms, trying not to lose balance this time, and ran in the opposite direction. It was his finding, and he should be the one to keep it.

He felt a shiver across his spine as the creature let out a warm breath of air. It was alive! That was amazing! Could he had his hands on an actual alien? Not weighing the consequences of his actions, Jake brought the creature home, circling around the whole neighbourhood to avoid any unwanted contacts.

He slowly climbed the steps to his bedroom, doing his best not to wet the floor. Step by step, walking by the first floor’s corridor slowly enough to avoid any sound, he barely took in any air when passing by his parents’ bedroom. He could swear he heard something from there, making him freeze as cold sweat ran down his back.

Now, back in his bedroom, he slowly laid the creature on the floor’s carpet. It looked strange, like nothing he had ever seen in his books. Sure, lots of mutated species rose from the poisoned areas in the world that no one has yet catalogued. But this, this didn’t look like anything he could imagine as being normal.

Covering it with a few blankets to keep it warm, assuming it needed warmth, Jake ran his finger across a streak of purple hair. It felt like normal human hair, but silkier. Perhaps because it was inside the water for so long.

Wanting to take a better look at it, but not wanting to call the outsiders’ attention by turning the lights on, he grabbed the flashlight.

The flashlight.

“Oh FUCK!” Jake whispered, hitting his forehead with his hand. “I left it at the park!”