This choice: The glowing light comes forward and begins telling its tale. • Go Back...Chapter #8The glowing light comes forward and begins tell... by: Bikerider   Steven paused and fell silent for a few minutes and turned his gaze to the black sky. He seemed lost in thought, but after a few moments, he took in a long inhale, held it, then ballooned his cheeks as he exhaled slowly. He turned to the light that still hovered just out of his reach.
"I'm going to try something that might be helpful," Steven said. "I want to try to communicate with them."
Laura said nothing, she just watched Steven move so that he was standing in front of the light, but just to the right a bit. Steven's arm rose until it was straight out from his shoulder, and then he opened his hand so that his flat palm was facing the light.
"Hmm, hmm, hmm hmmm." The hum sound a lot like the song they played when communicating with the aliens in Contact. Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Laura giggled. "What are you doing?"
"I'm trying to communicate with the light," Steven replied. "I figured this was worth a try."
"Why don't you just talk to us?" the voice said. Steven turned around and stared at Laura. "What did you say?"
"I, I, ah, I didn't say anything," Laura said as she took a step back, her eyes locked on the light.
"I thought you didn't," he said. "But then who did?" Steven began slowly turning his head until he was face to face with the light.
"Was that you who spoke," he asked nervously.
"So you can talk to me as if I'm actually here," the light said. "I hate it when people talk about me as if I'm not present."
"Sorry," said Steven. "If I had known you had the capability to speak I would have talked to you."
"Well, now you know," said the light, it's voice thin, and he gave a short squeak at the end of each word.
"I can see that," Steven said.
"I assume you want to know what's happening," the light said and lowered its intensity.
"Yes, of course I do," Steven replied. "But let's start with you name." Steven touched his chest. "I'm Steven. What's your name?"
The light seemed to stretch itself into what appeared to be a smile. "That's cool, man," he said. "My name, well, my name after I left the world of materialism, is Moonbeam."
"Moonbeam?"
"Yeah man, groovy, right?"
"I guess," Steven said. "So how long have you been here?"
"A long time, man." Moonbeam said. "I mean, if you count before I was this beacon and after I became a beacon."
"So you consider yourself to be a beacon? Is that it?"
"What else would you call us?" The light continued after a moment's pause. "Is it that hard to believe that there are several planes to living? You live in a plane that keeps you here on earth. But there are two more planes, the one I occupy. Here, in this plane, we are small lights, or beacons, as I prefer to call us."
"How many of you are there?"
"That's easy, dude," Moonbeam said. "There's only one like me. And that's me!" Moonbeam smirked at Steven.
"No, I didn't mean how many are there like you as in like you," Steven said but he sounded confused. "What I mean is how many are there like you... No, I'm saying the same thing again." Steven paused and looked like he was trying to think of way to phrase the question to eliminate the confusion. Recognition slowly seeped into his eyes.
"Moonbeam, I was asking how many small lights, beacons, are there?"
"I'm not sure how many of us exist," Moonbeam said. "But in this little group here?" he turned and shot a beam at the group of lights hovering near a tall oak tree, "There are twenty-five of us."
"Twenty five," Steven said, drawing out each word slowly. "How did you guys become light?"
Moonbeam leaned over Steven's shoulder and peered down at Laura. He smiled.
"Well, dude, I can say for sure that we were not captured by space aliens and examined." He laughed. "No, there are no space aliens around here." He glanced down at Laura and looked into her nervous eyes. "At least none that I know of."
"I was only speculating," Laura said defensively. "I didn't say for sure."
"Well, that's good, starlight. Do you might if I call you Starlight?"
Laura slowly rose up so that she could see over Steven's shoulder. "My name is Laura. L a u r a. So no, I mean yes, I do mind if you call me Starlight."
"Okay, okay," Moonbeam said. He turned to Steven and said, "Did someone pee in her post toasties this morning?"
"No, she's always this..." Steven's words trailed off when he saw Laura glaring at him. "I mean," Steven could see the smirk on what passed as Moonbeam's face. "We've been out in these woods all day. We've been out in the woods all day. Then we got lost. Then when it got dark out we got even loster."
"Loster?" Moonbeam's face pinched in distaste. "There is no such word as loster. You might have gotten more lost as night fell, but there is no such word as loster. But you won't need to use that word again anyway."
Steven felt threatened, but the feeling didn't last long. As soon as Moonbeam put his hand on Steven's shoulder, all concerns melted away. He wasn't worried that he had stained his clothes earlier, he even didn't care that he and Laura were lost. He just seem to be in a perpetual good mood. It has to be due to these little, greenish lights, Steven told himself.
"Sorry, I'm just nervous," Steven said.
"Understandable, under the circumstances," Moonbeam said. "Now, what is it you want to know?" Moonbeam paused, then continued. "About us, I mean."
"Well, for starters you can tell us how you went from human beings to this," Steven waved his hand toward the group of lights that hovered nearby. "How did you guys become these little points of light?"
"Ahh," Moonbeam said. "Little points of light. I remember there was someone who used that during a campaign speech."
"You guys have a government? You run for office?" Steven asked.
The light looked at Steven as if it was him that looked strange. "Dude, are you partaking of the herb?"
"The herb?" Steven asked.
"Never mind," Moonbeam said. "I guess I was just thinking out loud." The light seemed to lower its glow. "Okay, so you want to hear how we ended up like this? You want to know what happened""
"Yes, I do." Steven pointed back over his shoulder with his thumb. "And so does she."
The light moved forward until it was peeking over Steven's shoulder too. "Hi there, little moon flake."
"Moon flake," Laura said as she rose slowly. "There is no such thing as a moon flake."
"There are many things in our world that you don't know about," Moonbeam said. "So keep an open mind."
"Open mind my as--"
"Laura!" Steven interrupted. Pasting a big smile on his face, Steven turned to Moonbeam and said, "My sister is very excitable. And she's scared--"
"And hungry, too," Laura interrupted.
"And hungry," Steven said and smiled. "We're listening. Go ahead, tell us what happened.
Moonbeam made a sound that sounded like he was clearing his throat. A moment later he began speaking.
"Well, dude, as you know not everyone in the village liked us. Oh, there were a lot of village people that liked us, but as usual, there is always a few haters.
"One night we were all sitting around the camp fire. We were singing kumbaya. Do you know the song?"
"I think I've heard of it," Steven said.
"Would you like me to hum a few bars?" Moonbeam said.
"No, no," Steven held his hands up, palms out. "That's okay, I get it."
"So anyway, we were all sitting around the campfire," he glared at Steven, "singing kumbaya, when suddenly a bunch of car headlights were coming up the road toward us. With the headlights blazing in the dark it looked like a diamond necklace." Moonbeam shook his head. "But it wasn't a necklace, instead it was the cops and a bunch of village people coming up here to turn us out. Make us leave, man!
"Why is it that when all people want to do is live closely with our brethren," he paused to smile, "and our sisters as well. Why do people have to feel threatened by that."
"I think it's because people--"
"The question was rhetorical, Steven," Moonbeam said. "Should I continued?"
"Yes, by all means," Steven said.
1458 
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