INTRO/Of Love And Planets (Short Story)
The first post of my new blog deserves a big opening, don't cha think? This is a short story I wrote as part of a creative festival I participated in. Needless to say, folk thought it was good. I hope its good enough for the rest of you.
So, please, enjoy!
Samuel Delaney is missing, not that anyone cares, but if they did they wouldn’t be able to find him anyway, hell, they wouldn’t be able to find him at all.
You see, Samuel no longer lives here; ‘here’ being his home, and ‘here’ being known as the planet Earth.
Samuel Delaney is lost to the stars.
The event that nobody saw occurred in a spacious, green field that Samuel liked to visit when he felt lonely, which was most days. He laid back until his sights were set on the multitude of stars that shone brightly, like they had come out just for him.
They couldn’t have picked a better time.
Samuel was reminiscing on his life and how wasted he felt it was. A young man in his mid-twenties with everything to offer but nothing to show; No career. No expensive clothes. No fast cars and no fortune of immense riches. No friends. No girls. No women and no offspring to share his name and to carry on his legacy. That was the most painful thought of them all. To continue his miserable existence alone on this dirt ball of a planet, where he’d continue to disappoint only himself with dreams of what could’ve been.
Dreams. He’d given up on those years ago.
They seemed so precious back in his youth, so important. Maybe if he hadn’t of held onto the thought that he could of made something of himself for so long he probably would feel better. As it stands, he doesn’t and wished to be off this pathetic rock that he shared with sixty billion other life forms, who were doing better than he was.
He would love to start over, and go down the paths in life that he never crossed. The ones that were scarily inviting, the ones that could’ve forged all his fantasies if he only took up the bravado and gambled a little, who knows what he would’ve become?
Not this worm, that’s for sure, he thought.
He stopped thinking for a moment. Thinking made him feel worse than he originally started. He allowed his mind to refocus on the scene before him - the stars.
Lighting the night sky in their infinite wonder, arranged so carefully in a sequence of shapes that resembled warriors and their beasts fighting side by side in a cosmic war with the vastness of space as their prize. He longed to be up there with them, to be part of their ballet, to see what they see and with an extra-terrestrial beauty by his side.
Yeah, it seemed crazy but crazy was all he had left.
Disappointingly, his senses came hurtling back to Earth as he glanced at his watch. It was late, later than usual. He’d never been out for this long before. A first for everything. He gave his goodbyes to his only companions and, in return, they presented him with a shooting star. Would you believe it? He’d never seen one before in his entire life. He’d heard about them, sure, but the closest he’d ever seen them were on television. Two firsts in one day.
What was it they said? Wishing upon stars make your dreams come true? Childish fairy tales but, right now, he could go for one:
“I wish I weren’t so alone” Silence. A moment passed and still nothing. Too good to be true.
Rising to his feet, Samuel was ready to call it a night when the hairs on his arms suddenly stood on end.
That’s strange, he thought to himself. The strange occurrence continued with a cool, burst of wind that forced everything around him to sway in one direction to the next. A deep, low humming sound pierced his ear drums and would remain with him forever. Something was about to happen, something big.
KRACOOM!! A great, blinding light honed in on Samuel. The sheer force of which it shone caused him to fall to his knees. He knew he shouldn’t look directly into the light but there was something mesmerizing about it that he couldn’t keep his eyes off of. Something beautiful. From what he could make out, the light was lowering itself to his level. It was landing, whatever it was. Another sound erupted forth, like steel extending against itself a million times. The steel structure that seemed to form from out of nowhere was so close he could touch it, which he did. It was warm.
He was finally spared any further damage to his retinas, as the light dimmed to a level that was as warm and inviting as a families living room on a frosty Christmas night. A shrieking hiss signified the coming of a vapour that was caused from a hatch opening. The smell resembled something sweet, like strawberries.
Samuel was no idiot, he knew what was happening. He’d seen enough movies in his lifetime to know that this situation had a name. He kept thinking about that name as a dark figure stepped through the fruit scented mist, and stood parallel to his eye level. This thing had a familiar name also, what they usually call a strange being like this one when it doesn’t belong in the human category. A name he couldn’t remember as the sight of this otherworldly goddess refused his brain to think intelligently. All he could pay attention to were her striking features;
Dark blue, glowing skin with pouty lips to match, and hair that appeared in braids was just an extension of her cylinder shaped head, which was as smooth as the hands she used to touch his. She explained by doing so was the only way she could communicate in his language, and then spoke the following words:
“I heard your cry. Your plea for a better life. To rid yourself of the misery of this planet and be with one who truly understands you, who wants to be with you for all time. Well, I know how you feel and I, too, have felt the harsh, bitter cold of loneliness many times. I have longed to find a companion who shares my views and my values, who understands the workings of my heart. I have searched countless stars and galaxies to only come up short and be disappointed, just as you were.
“I come here to you now because I feel I have found that one. I have found you, Samuel Delaney, and hope you will accept my invitation to join me in the eternal splendours of a burning love that burns like the sun itself. You’ll never have to be alone again, Samuel”.
She only had to hold his hands for him to better understand her but the more she held, the more he desired of her. The girl…No, the woman of his dreams was not of this world but a world somewhere else entirely, a world he thought only existed in his dreams, a world he longed to be as long as it meant being with her. A real no-brainer once he thought about it.
Samuel didn’t remember the iconic steps he was taking, or whatever he said next. All he remembered at that moment was staring into the yellow eyes of this space age beauty, his alien queen, as he joined her in the greatest journey of their lives. Into the great, mysterious void and beyond.
So, please, enjoy!
OF LOVE AND PLANETS
Samuel Delaney is missing, not that anyone cares, but if they did they wouldn’t be able to find him anyway, hell, they wouldn’t be able to find him at all.
You see, Samuel no longer lives here; ‘here’ being his home, and ‘here’ being known as the planet Earth.
Samuel Delaney is lost to the stars.
The event that nobody saw occurred in a spacious, green field that Samuel liked to visit when he felt lonely, which was most days. He laid back until his sights were set on the multitude of stars that shone brightly, like they had come out just for him.
They couldn’t have picked a better time.
Samuel was reminiscing on his life and how wasted he felt it was. A young man in his mid-twenties with everything to offer but nothing to show; No career. No expensive clothes. No fast cars and no fortune of immense riches. No friends. No girls. No women and no offspring to share his name and to carry on his legacy. That was the most painful thought of them all. To continue his miserable existence alone on this dirt ball of a planet, where he’d continue to disappoint only himself with dreams of what could’ve been.
Dreams. He’d given up on those years ago.
They seemed so precious back in his youth, so important. Maybe if he hadn’t of held onto the thought that he could of made something of himself for so long he probably would feel better. As it stands, he doesn’t and wished to be off this pathetic rock that he shared with sixty billion other life forms, who were doing better than he was.
He would love to start over, and go down the paths in life that he never crossed. The ones that were scarily inviting, the ones that could’ve forged all his fantasies if he only took up the bravado and gambled a little, who knows what he would’ve become?
Not this worm, that’s for sure, he thought.
He stopped thinking for a moment. Thinking made him feel worse than he originally started. He allowed his mind to refocus on the scene before him - the stars.
Lighting the night sky in their infinite wonder, arranged so carefully in a sequence of shapes that resembled warriors and their beasts fighting side by side in a cosmic war with the vastness of space as their prize. He longed to be up there with them, to be part of their ballet, to see what they see and with an extra-terrestrial beauty by his side.
Yeah, it seemed crazy but crazy was all he had left.
Disappointingly, his senses came hurtling back to Earth as he glanced at his watch. It was late, later than usual. He’d never been out for this long before. A first for everything. He gave his goodbyes to his only companions and, in return, they presented him with a shooting star. Would you believe it? He’d never seen one before in his entire life. He’d heard about them, sure, but the closest he’d ever seen them were on television. Two firsts in one day.
What was it they said? Wishing upon stars make your dreams come true? Childish fairy tales but, right now, he could go for one:
“I wish I weren’t so alone” Silence. A moment passed and still nothing. Too good to be true.
Rising to his feet, Samuel was ready to call it a night when the hairs on his arms suddenly stood on end.
That’s strange, he thought to himself. The strange occurrence continued with a cool, burst of wind that forced everything around him to sway in one direction to the next. A deep, low humming sound pierced his ear drums and would remain with him forever. Something was about to happen, something big.
KRACOOM!! A great, blinding light honed in on Samuel. The sheer force of which it shone caused him to fall to his knees. He knew he shouldn’t look directly into the light but there was something mesmerizing about it that he couldn’t keep his eyes off of. Something beautiful. From what he could make out, the light was lowering itself to his level. It was landing, whatever it was. Another sound erupted forth, like steel extending against itself a million times. The steel structure that seemed to form from out of nowhere was so close he could touch it, which he did. It was warm.
He was finally spared any further damage to his retinas, as the light dimmed to a level that was as warm and inviting as a families living room on a frosty Christmas night. A shrieking hiss signified the coming of a vapour that was caused from a hatch opening. The smell resembled something sweet, like strawberries.
Samuel was no idiot, he knew what was happening. He’d seen enough movies in his lifetime to know that this situation had a name. He kept thinking about that name as a dark figure stepped through the fruit scented mist, and stood parallel to his eye level. This thing had a familiar name also, what they usually call a strange being like this one when it doesn’t belong in the human category. A name he couldn’t remember as the sight of this otherworldly goddess refused his brain to think intelligently. All he could pay attention to were her striking features;
Dark blue, glowing skin with pouty lips to match, and hair that appeared in braids was just an extension of her cylinder shaped head, which was as smooth as the hands she used to touch his. She explained by doing so was the only way she could communicate in his language, and then spoke the following words:
“I heard your cry. Your plea for a better life. To rid yourself of the misery of this planet and be with one who truly understands you, who wants to be with you for all time. Well, I know how you feel and I, too, have felt the harsh, bitter cold of loneliness many times. I have longed to find a companion who shares my views and my values, who understands the workings of my heart. I have searched countless stars and galaxies to only come up short and be disappointed, just as you were.
“I come here to you now because I feel I have found that one. I have found you, Samuel Delaney, and hope you will accept my invitation to join me in the eternal splendours of a burning love that burns like the sun itself. You’ll never have to be alone again, Samuel”.
She only had to hold his hands for him to better understand her but the more she held, the more he desired of her. The girl…No, the woman of his dreams was not of this world but a world somewhere else entirely, a world he thought only existed in his dreams, a world he longed to be as long as it meant being with her. A real no-brainer once he thought about it.
Samuel didn’t remember the iconic steps he was taking, or whatever he said next. All he remembered at that moment was staring into the yellow eyes of this space age beauty, his alien queen, as he joined her in the greatest journey of their lives. Into the great, mysterious void and beyond.
THE END
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