It was 11:30 am on the day the spaceship landed in Carol’s back yard. She didn’t know it was a spaceship at first; she thought the noise she heard was from the street sweeper going by as it did every Wednesday morning. Except today, the noise came from her backyard.
She peeked through the back door window and saw a silvery metallic saucer that looked exactly as she thought a spacecraft would.
A hatch opened, and two shadowy figures emerged. Her heart pounded, her hands trembled. Her worst fears were coming true. The alien invasion had begun, starting right here in her backyard!
Carol remembered all the nightmares she had as a little girl about visitors from outer space. Aliens coming to subjugate humans and rule the world.
She saw the movies. She read the books. She knew what would happen. She wondered what she could do to save herself from what would surely be a miserable and terrifying fate at the hands of the aliens.
The figures walked towards the back door, towards the very place where she watched through the curtained window. As they came closer, Carol could see their features more clearly.
She gasped. The figures didn’t look like alien reptilian creatures at all! They looked like human beings, wearing human clothes. A male and a female!
She heard a knock. Carol shivered with fear, separated by mere inches of wood door.
She wondered if she should answer the door to these strangers from space. Were they really human? Or were they hideous creatures disguised as humans to trick her into letting them in?
Another knock. Her fingers trembled as she cracked the door slightly, keeping the chain lock fastened just in case. “Hello?” Carol squeaked.
“Hi, we’re so sorry to trouble you, ma’am,” the female said in perfect English. “I’m Susan, and this is my husband, David. We are from the planet Xenith on the far side of the galaxy. We are traveling to Makron, on the opposite side of the galaxy. We have run out of fuel.”
She held up a clear, empty water bottle.
“Our craft uses water for fuel to power our fusion engine. We had a malfunction and used more fuel than we expected. Can we bother you for a refuel to continue our trip?”
Carol breathed a sigh of relief, unlatched the chain, and opened the door. “Yes, of course. Please come in.” She led them to the kitchen and motioned them to sit down at the table. Susan handed her the bottle.
“Can I get you something to drink or eat?” Carol asked. “You must be tired and hungry traveling so far. Tea, coffee, water, muffins? Cereal? Buttered toast?”
“Tea!” David and Susan exclaimed together.
“And toast,” David added.
“Coming up, fresh tea and hot buttery toast,” Carol replied. “Perfect for weary galactic travelers.”
“Thanks for your hospitality,” said David. “And thanks for not turning us away or trying to shoot us. Our past visits to earth have not always been so… welcoming.”
“We travel light and usually leave our death ray guns behind,” Susan chuckled. “Not that we really have any. We’re just normal space travelers, like everyone else.”
Carol grinned. “Well, I’m sure glad I didn’t shoot you then. And I’m glad I could help.” She turned on the tea kettle, popped some bread into the toaster, and walked to the sink to refill the bottle–relieved and amazed by what had just happened.
She smiled as she realized her lifelong fears were unfounded. All those years of needless worry and bad dreams about something that proved untrue. It was almost like all that scary Sci-Fi stuff was made up!
“You know, aliens aren’t so bad after all,” she declared to her guests. “I’m so glad to finally meet you.”
