Hello,
Dear ones,
And welcome to today's short story,
Stellar and the Cosmic Traveler.
The night Stellar found the spaceship,
The air smelled like rain and something else,
Something metallic like the scent of old pennies.
The noise that had guided her into the woods was a steady hum,
Pulsing beneath her feet like a second heartbeat.
At the edge of a small clearing,
Nestled between the ferns and wildflowers,
Sat a silver pod.
It was no bigger than a car and gleamed under the moonlight,
Its smooth surface rippling as if it was made of liquid metal.
Stellar hesitated,
Her heart pounding.
Then,
With a soft hiss,
The pod split open.
A faint blue mist curled into the air,
And from inside,
Something moved.
A small figure stepped forward,
Its lavender skin glowing softly.
It had large,
Swirling silver eyes,
Eyes that reflected the stars above like tiny galaxies.
Strange,
Shimmering patterns ran down its arms and legs,
Shifting like constellations in motion.
It had no hair,
No ears,
And wore something that looked like it was spun from moonlight itself.
For a long moment,
Stellar and the creature just stared at each other.
Then,
Slowly,
Stellar raised her hand in a small wave.
High,
She whispered.
The creature blinked,
Tilted its head,
Then copied her.
High,
It echoed,
Though its voice was like wind chimes in the forest.
In a breeze,
Stellar's breath caught.
Are you… are you an alien?
The creature hesitated,
Then nodded.
Wow,
She whispered.
You're my first alien friend.
The alien's silver eyes shimmered,
And it tapped a glowing circle on its chest.
A series of musical beeps filled the air,
And suddenly,
Stellar understood.
My name is Laura,
The alien said.
I'm Stellar.
Laura's lips curled into something like a smile,
And from that moment on,
They were inseparable.
The days that followed were the best Stellar had ever known.
She and Laura met in the woods every morning,
Where Stellar taught her about the wonders of Earth,
How to skip stones,
How to climb trees,
How to make flower crowns out of daisies.
Laura,
In turn,
Showed Stellar things beyond imagination.
With a touch,
She could make plants grow,
Their leaves pulsing with a soft blue light.
She could hover a few inches above the ground,
Though she always wobbled and giggled before falling back down.
She could create tiny floating orbs of light,
Which she sent drifting into the night,
Like glowing fireflies.
One afternoon,
They lay on their backs in the meadow,
Watching clouds drift by.
My home has no sky like this,
Laura murmured.
No floating clouds,
No wind in the trees,
Only endless stars.
Stellar turned to look at her.
That sounds beautiful.
It is,
Laura said softly,
But this is beautiful too.
Stellar smiled.
Maybe one day I'll visit your world.
Laura's expression grew sad,
Just for a moment.
Maybe… Stellar didn't ask what that meant.
At first,
Stellar didn't notice the change.
But soon,
She realized that Laura's glow was fading.
The soft blue light that had once pulsed beneath her skin now flickered weakly.
She moved slower,
Her silver eyes heavier than before.
One evening,
As they sat by the creek,
Stellar finally asked,
Are you okay?
Laura hesitated before answering.
I need to go home soon,
Stellar.
Stellar's stomach twisted.
Why?
Laura looked up at the sky,
Her silver eyes reflecting the stars.
I'm running out of energy.
My people,
We need the energy.
The energy of the cosmos to survive.
I was traveling through space when my ship was hit by an asteroid.
I crashed here,
And now… Now I can feel myself getting weaker.
Stellar grabbed her hand.
Then we have to fix your ship.
I won't let you fade away.
Laura's fingers tightened around Stellar's.
You'll help me?
Of course.
That's what friends do.
For the next few days,
Stellar worked harder than she ever had.
She scoured her dad's garage for old radios,
Wires,
Batteries,
Anything that looked remotely useful.
She snuck out at night to bring them to Laura,
Who used the last of her energy to piece the broken ship back together.
Some nights,
Stellar stayed up late,
Watching her alien friend work under the moonlight.
The patterns on Laura's skin,
Once vibrant and shifting,
Were now faint and dull.
Stellar worried that they were running out of time.
Then,
One afternoon,
Something terrible happened.
As they worked on the ship,
Voices rang through the trees.
Human voices.
Did you hear that?
Something crashed over there.
It was a group of kids from Stellar's school.
Hide,
Stellar whispered.
But Laura was too weak to move quickly.
A boy with a flashlight pushed through the bushes.
Whoa,
What is that?
His eyes widened as he caught sight of the pod.
Then,
His gaze landed on Laura.
What the?
Panic surged through Stellar.
She's a robot,
She blurted out.
My uncle works with NASA,
And he built her.
This,
This is just a science experiment.
The boy squinted at Laura.
It looks kind of weird.
She's really advanced,
Stellar said quickly.
A super top secret.
So if you tell anyone,
NASA will probably find out.
The boy's face paled.
Oh,
Uh,
Okay,
Whatever.
And he backed away.
A moment later,
The voices disappeared.
Stellar turned to Laura.
We have to finish your ship tonight.
Laura nodded weakly.
That night,
Under a sky filled with stars,
The ship hummed back to life.
Laura stepped inside,
Then turned back to sleep.
And as she turned back to Stellar,
She reached into the shimmering patterns on her skin,
As if pulling from the stars themselves,
And placed something small and glowing in Stellar's palm.
It was a tiny,
Pulsing star,
Warm against her skin.
This is a piece of my home,
Laura whispered.
No matter where we are,
As long as you hold this,
We'll always be connected.
Tears welled in Stellar's eyes.
Forever friends?
Laura nodded.
Forever.
The ship's door sealed shut,
And with a final,
Musical hum,
It lifted into the air.
Stellar watched as it soared higher and higher,
Becoming just another twinkle in the endless sky.
She clutched the glowing star to her chest,
And smiled.
Because even though her best friend was now back among the stars,
She knew they'd always share the same sky.
