Me Afraid? Of Course Not
By Marilyn Christy Aberth
It is the year 2010. A small town in Ohio is busting with excitement. Just outside the city is a large field which is sometimes used as a baseball field. However today there is no game but the audience is there. In the middle of the field is an orange spaceship. Photographers are swarming around and TV camera crews are setting up their equipment in anticipation of the ship taking off. Crowds of people are circling the ship. Some of them are afraid, some are excited and brave. Lights on the ship are going off and on.
All of a sudden a silence comes over the crowd. A door at the base of the ship is sliding open. A set of steps is lowered to the ground. The lights on the ship stop blinking. Two figures start coming down the steps. They are small creatures dressed in uniforms. They motion for someone to come over to the ship.
No one seemed to go over to t hem so I cautiously decided to be the one. I was shaking all over. As I moved closer I noticed that they had strange shaped heads and faces and very large eyes.
I put my hand out in a gesture of shaking hands. They didn’t seem to understand my motion but they made circles with their hands so I did the same thing. Instead of speaking, they turned on a small machine that they were carrying. To my surprise a voice in English said, “We are happy to visit you. Would you like to visit our planet?” I shook my head yes. They seemed to understand and motioned for me to follow them up the steps.
I was really scared but also excited. They took me to what I guessed was the Control Room. There were panels on one wall with blinking lights. They motioned for me to sit down in one of the chairs. The next thing I knew, I could feel the ship move at incredible speed. My chair was beside one of the windows. I looked out and in a flash the ground and crowds below were just little spots.
I was now getting anxious. I thought, “Will I see my family and friends again? Will I live on this spaceship for the rest of my life?” I wanted to know if they were going to take me back but I didn’t know how to talk to them. I thought to myself, “How did I ever get up the nerve to do this crazy thing?”
One of the space men came over to me with that same little machine. He turned it on and it said, “Are you hungry?” I shook my head yes not knowing what else to do. I didn’t want to insult them.
I followed them through sliding doors to a room with one large table and benches. We sat down on the benches. Pretty soon another person brought in a tray of food. They placed a plate in front of me with strange looking food. The color of the food was purple. Bravely I picked up a piece of the food and put it in my mouth. To my surprise, it was very good! My new ‘friends’ brought the little machine over to me again. It said, “We are approaching our home.”
I looked out the window and saw a regular city coming closer and closer. The ship slowly settled down on a landing strip. The doors opened again and the stairs were lowered. Down we went. I was shaking so hard it was hard to stay on the steps without falling. At the foot of the steps was a small vehicle that looked like a bus. We got inside and sat on seats. Instead of the vehicle moving like a bus, it flew through the air. It flew all over the buildings and land. After a short time we flew back to the ship.
They came up to me again with the little machine. It said, “We are going to take you home now.” I was so happy and stopped being scared.
Pretty soon the ship settled down on the baseball field again. Flas bulbs were flashing, TV cameras were taking pictures and everybody was coming up to me to get the story of my adventure.
Just then my Mom was shaking me and saying, “Come on honey, wake up it’s time to go to school.”
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If you would like to contact Marilyn, write to: kc80cv@tpromo.com