Girl from Outer Space

“This is a mistake, I just know it.”
“Gretchen, have a little faith- this could change everything!”
“I know- that’s what I’m afraid of.”
Gretchen and Tomas conversed in the council area. Tomas seemed so sure of this plan, but Gretchen was wary- the two were both well aware that the fate of their distant planet relied heavily on them.
“What’s the harm in seeing if she’d survive? She was unclaimed- it’s not as if anybody would miss her! And we naturally look just like the Earthlings- it’s perfect! Don’t you want to save Kornovas? Our planet‘s dying as we speak,” Tomas pressed.
Gretchen sighed weakly, and Tomas knew the battle was over before it’d even started.
Gretchen thought back to the day the child had gone unclaimed. Normally, on their planet, Kornovas, the infant would’ve been killed immediately. Unlike Earth, Kornovas saw no value in keeping children alive who weren’t wanted. Gretchen shuddered. She’d never agreed with those principals.
“Gretchen, if we don’t do this the baby will definitely be killed,” Tomas said, as if reading her thoughts. That wasn’t impossible. Mind-reading was Tomas’s talent.
Gretchen sighed again in defeat.
“Okay. We’ll keep the child on Earth for 14 years- but not a day more! If she survives, we’ll know it’s safe to take over as our planet dies.”
Tomas concealed his victorious smile with his hand, but Gretchen had seen it.
“But,” she added thoughtfully, “if the child dies, we won’t be sending another one. That’ll be it. And if we see signs of her dying before then, we send her back here immediately.”
“Of course,” Tomas agreed. “Now we just need to find a couple on Earth. You’ll convince them the child is their’s, and we’ll go from their.”
Gretchen pursed her lips, still disgusted at being a part of this. A child should be taken care of, not experimented with. And now she had to use her talent, hypnosis, to deceive an Earth couple.
“But what about her talent?” she insisted. “We still don’t know what it is; what if it’s something more uncontrollable than others?”
Tomas merely waved the thought away with his hand. “If that happens, we’ll simply send her back,” he promised.
Gretchen narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Tomas wasn’t known for keeping his promises.
But as Tomas held out his hand to seal the deal, Gretchen shook it.
The deal was done.




* * *




Gretchen gently placed the infant in a crib on the spacecraft. She touched the baby girl’s face with care. “Goodbye, my Jessica,” she said, and a painful tear slid down her cheek.
“Are we ready to launch?” Tomas came from behind the space shuttle. Gretchen quickly brushed away the tear, and nodded painfully to her partner.
“You’re doing the right thing,” Tomas said reassuringly. “I know,” Gretchen said, because she knew that was what she was supposed to say- but her heart wasn’t in it.
Tomas gave her a comforting smile.
Time to launch.

14 Years Later

Sophie glanced nervously at the clock.
11:45 p.m.
Soon they would be there.
The 14-year-old rolled her fingers on the kitchen counter apprehensively, trying to imagine how it would all play out. She could picture her parents, gaping at the site of the space craft as it came into view, floating calmly towards their small cottage.
Taking its time getting her.
The flying saucer wouldn’t make a sound as it softly landed on the green spring grass, barely fitting in her small backyard. She could see the door of the spacecraft lift open, and a dark, shadowy figure stepping out. The silhouette would point to her. She could see her parents faces twist into panicked, yet determined expressions as they made the connection. They would step in front of her, block the alien’s path, shield their daughter with their arms desperately- they would do anything to protect her.
The alien, not alarmed at all, would simply raise its hand, and the couple’s expressions would change once more.
Sophie could see her parents’ faces. They would turn blank for a second, but only for a second. Then they would morph into disgust towards Sophie, remembering that they didn’t love her. They would drop their arms from her, realizing she wasn’t their daughter.
Seeing her for what she really was after all these years.
Sophie would hold back a sob of homesickness, reminding herself that they had never really loved her. They had just thought they had.
Her parents’ faces would turn red with anger, realizing they’d been cheated of the last 14 years of their lives. Her “mother” would raise her arm to slap Sophie across the face. Sophie would squeeze her eyes shut, bracing herself for the forthcoming pain- and feel nothing. She would lift her head up, gazing in wonder and see the angry couple frozen in time. She would look to the alien and see an insincere smile even past the darkness enveloping the creature- I’m on your side, the smile said. They’re the ones who are trying to hurt you. Not me.
Sophie would unsuccessfully try to swallow the giant lump forming in her throat. She would nod, looking down. She would step through the angry people she had fooled herself into believing were her real parents, and step into the UFO. She forced herself not to look up to see what the form before her really looked like, but she knew it was nodding, knowing their part of the job was done.
The clock rang.
Midnight.
She sighed sadly, trying not to cry. She was sadly knowledgeable of the uncanny accuracy of her prediction- the girl seemed to have a knack for knowing the future.
“Aaahh! What IS that?” she heard her mom scream in shock.
Fat tears streamed down her face; Jessica buried her face in a dishrag.
She took a deep breath.
And stepped out into the backyard where her parents stood, bracing herself.