Hi everyone,
I hope you’re doing well.
Recently I wrote a short story for school that I wanted to share with you guys. I hope you enjoy!
T Minus 2 Days
It’s weird to think about how unpredictable the world is. We like to believe that we’re in control of our own lives. That we can actually create a change in this vast universe. The truth is, we’re just a tiny little speck of life living on a small blue dot surrounded by billions of other dots. It’s weird how a small change in what we’ve known and believed our entire lives can make us realize that we’re not in control at all.
Two words. Just two. The average person speaks 7,000 words in a day. Yet two important words caused this innocent little blue dot to implode.
On February 23rd, 2023 NASA sent a small spaceship to do great things. It was supposed to test the boundaries of human knowledge. It was supposed to go farther than any spaceship went before. Casus, they called it, because the pictures it would send back would be even more incredible than the ones of man on the moon. Until one day, 8 years later, it started urgently sending something. The same thing. Over and over and over. A glitch, a malfunction, the White Coats said. And so, when it sent its most important message, we weren’t even listening.
I remember the day one seemingly deemed crazy scientist finally listened. He spent hours deciphering and researching and what he uncovered was so terrifying that everyone listened. We finally learned we weren’t alone. There was someone else out there on those dots. There was movement. There was life. It was amazing and beautiful and scary all at the same time.
In three months, which is really only 90 days, which is only 129,600 minutes, a life form different from anything humans have ever even dreamed of, will set foot on the planet. In about 9,072,000 heartbeats, our hearts will either be fuller than before, or they’ll stop forever, not even leaving a trace that they ever beat so perfectly.
When I presented my math to my mom she pulled me into a hug and ruffled my wavy chocolate hair. “What’s going on in that head of yours, Rory?” I looked into my mom’s dark brown eyes. When she looked at the sun, her eyes looked a greenish blue. If you look closer, you could see little gold sparkles, like flecks of paint on a dark canvas. When I pointed that out to her, she laughed and said “you see the world through a different lens than anybody else, don’t you Ari?” Her eyes looked different today. Darker, sadder. Almost tinged with worry. They made the pool of thoughts in my head splosh so loudly I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
“Come back to me,” mom cooed, even though we were in a hug and she probably couldn’t hear my shallow, stressed breathing.
“What if they’re not nice aliens? What if they kill us all?” My voice sounded powerless, which is how I felt.
“Look, Bean,” normally I hated when she called me that name but now I just rested my chin on her soft shoulder and listened, “I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that everything’s going to be okay, because you’re too smart for that. A lifeform, like we’ve never seen or prepared for, is going to come in two days. I’m scared, I really, really am, sweetie. When did Neil Armstrong land on the moon?”
“July 20th, 1969,” I blurted out like it was obvious.
“Right, and before then, humans have never even known such a thing to be possible. What I’m saying is, this is a new chapter. And a lot of people are scared,” I snickered. So scared that they bombed my home. So scared, they erupted in protest and forced the humans into bunkers just to survive. My mom glared at me and continued. “I’m scared too, but we have to trust in science. We have to believe that a new beginning is coming. Not an end. Your whole life, it’s just been you and me, against the world. This is just another hurdle we have to pass. You’re my little scientist. You understand that, right?”
I nodded. It wasn’t a perfect answer, but it was the best one I was going to get.
T Minus 10 Seconds
On December 31st, 2040, extraterrestrial life was supposed to land on Earth. Right in the middle of Ohio, which is where I lived. Humans had no answers. They had no knowledge. Only hope.
I stared at my tiny TV screen. Even the normally violent, blaring protests had quieted down. I’m sure anyone who had access to the TV was watching intently, waiting.
My mom squeezed my hand a bit too tight. She was trembling. There it was, footage of a small gray dot in the sky, coming nearer and nearer. The most exciting thing in history was happening, but the reporter didn’t dare make a noise. I inhaled but didn’t dare to exhale. My light skin turned even paler. I didn’t want to watch, but I couldn’t look away. The silver dot was big, and loud. It made a noise like a vacuum cleaner. It looked nothing like a UFO. More like an enclosed silver parachute. It was terribly fast, going at speeds just short of the speed of light. In a matter of seconds it slowed down, making its way, slowly but unmistakably down to the ground.
It stood still for a few seconds. I saw a tiny little chute, where the extraterrestrial being would probably come out of. For the first time in almost 12 years, my tidal waves of thoughts were completely still. My stomach was cramped in suspense. After a suspenseful ten seconds of this totally new and possibly dangerous thing, the chute opened inward.
The silver door melting inward was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
A shadow appeared on the wall of the parachute, it didn’t move towards us. Instead it turned around, almost reaching out for something. Another shadow appeared, grabbing what I can only presume is a hand. From the corner of my eye, I saw the two shadows trembling, scared. I think I’m the only one in the world who noticed that.
I exhaled.
Thank you for reading my story!
I really hope you liked it!
Bianca…
Bianca's Blog 