heads up and
down. Then he said, “The question is, what should we trade? Teer said they have
to trade.”
“The sand is free for everyone,” AyYesha said. “We can’t
really trade something that doesn’t belong to us anyway, that belongs to the
whole world. So it’s a gift. ”
Laurie shrugged. “At least we got to see them. And we know
that they exist. That’s pretty cool.”
Behind us, the Vmmm’s hum had stopped.
“Here, let’s all help them load sand,” Kenji said.
We all worked together scooping sand into our energy converter.
It stripped out the silicon and spat out the sand again, which landed back on
the shore, slightly lighter in color but otherwise unharmed.
As we worked, Mick gave a quick glance inside our ship then
said to me in a soft voice, “What happens if that Vmmm thing gets mad?”
“Zir emits sulfur instead of oxygen.”
“Sulfur farts?” Mick said, making his eyes go round and his
mouth squeeze up like a molting plip-bug. “Whew! Let’s keep this guy happy,
definitely.”
Behind us, Thisko gave a muffled laugh.
“Done,” Teer called, reading her belt console. “The energy
compartment is sealed, and we have plenty of energy.”
“We had better go,” Kikinee said.
“Cloaking on,” Thisko added.
Now only our ramp was visible. The rest of the ship was a
blur, reflecting the surroundings. We retreated up the ramp, leaving the boys
and girls standing on the sand, watching.
“Good-bye,” Adam said.
The little ones all waved. AyYesha now had her arms folded.
Her black eyes did not blink as she watched.
“Farewell,” I called, and closed the ramp.
Thisko’s tentacles worked at the navigation console, and Teer
and I sat at the piloting controls. As our ship quietly lifted to a height at
which it was safe to fire the thrusters without burning anything below, we all
watched the beings dwindling in size until they were invisible against the
sand.
Then I cut in the thrusters, and we zoomed upward over the
great blue expanse of water. As we rose, the Vmmm’s voice came, “A job well
done.”
Then a sweet infusion of oxygen came wafting through the ship,
and as we raced into the darkness of space, the stars clear and sharp, the Vmmm
added, “AyYesha, the Gift-Giver. We must remember that name. I believe we will
see her again.”
The Love that Dolls Talk
Though Kate was all the way upstairs in her bedroom on
her bed, she could hear her mother’s angry voice.
“Jen! Have you been messing with your sister’s dolls?”
Kate just barely heard Jen’s voice. “No! I dunno how it got
there! But I’ll put it back.”
Tromp, tromp, tromp, click-click. That was the door handle. The
door opened, then came the scrunch scrunch of cautious feet on the new carpet.
Kate opened her eye. Jen reached up to put the Princess Polly
doll back on the shelf next to the row of others. Jen wore a Disney Princesses
t-shirt. Shorts. Brown hair in three braids today. The middle braid reached her
waistband in back.
Then she whirled around so fast that all three braids whizzed
out, kind of like a kid helicopter. There was Jen’s face, round, brown eyes.
Who was she being today? Kate didn’t care.
Jen grinned. “Your dolls been walking around the house?” Her
mouth pruned up in fake disgust. “Think Princess Polly was looking for the
bathroom? Princess Poopy,” Jen added, snickering.
Kate wondered if she’d thought bathroom jokes were that funny
when she was in fourth grade. Yeah, probably. Right now she couldn’t remember,
but she was used to that, too.
What she did remember—just now, she realized—were little
voices during the night. It hadn’t been a dream. She’d heard them. Hadn’t she?
Dreams and real used to get mixed up, but she was learning which was which.
“Want anything?” Jen asked, putting her hands on her hips. “TV
on?” She pointed up at the corner, where Uncle Tad had put a TV, just like in
her hospital room. “Can I get you anything?” She
down. Then he said, “The question is, what should we trade? Teer said they have
to trade.”
“The sand is free for everyone,” AyYesha said. “We can’t
really trade something that doesn’t belong to us anyway, that belongs to the
whole world. So it’s a gift. ”
Laurie shrugged. “At least we got to see them. And we know
that they exist. That’s pretty cool.”
Behind us, the Vmmm’s hum had stopped.
“Here, let’s all help them load sand,” Kenji said.
We all worked together scooping sand into our energy converter.
It stripped out the silicon and spat out the sand again, which landed back on
the shore, slightly lighter in color but otherwise unharmed.
As we worked, Mick gave a quick glance inside our ship then
said to me in a soft voice, “What happens if that Vmmm thing gets mad?”
“Zir emits sulfur instead of oxygen.”
“Sulfur farts?” Mick said, making his eyes go round and his
mouth squeeze up like a molting plip-bug. “Whew! Let’s keep this guy happy,
definitely.”
Behind us, Thisko gave a muffled laugh.
“Done,” Teer called, reading her belt console. “The energy
compartment is sealed, and we have plenty of energy.”
“We had better go,” Kikinee said.
“Cloaking on,” Thisko added.
Now only our ramp was visible. The rest of the ship was a
blur, reflecting the surroundings. We retreated up the ramp, leaving the boys
and girls standing on the sand, watching.
“Good-bye,” Adam said.
The little ones all waved. AyYesha now had her arms folded.
Her black eyes did not blink as she watched.
“Farewell,” I called, and closed the ramp.
Thisko’s tentacles worked at the navigation console, and Teer
and I sat at the piloting controls. As our ship quietly lifted to a height at
which it was safe to fire the thrusters without burning anything below, we all
watched the beings dwindling in size until they were invisible against the
sand.
Then I cut in the thrusters, and we zoomed upward over the
great blue expanse of water. As we rose, the Vmmm’s voice came, “A job well
done.”
Then a sweet infusion of oxygen came wafting through the ship,
and as we raced into the darkness of space, the stars clear and sharp, the Vmmm
added, “AyYesha, the Gift-Giver. We must remember that name. I believe we will
see her again.”
The Love that Dolls Talk
Though Kate was all the way upstairs in her bedroom on
her bed, she could hear her mother’s angry voice.
“Jen! Have you been messing with your sister’s dolls?”
Kate just barely heard Jen’s voice. “No! I dunno how it got
there! But I’ll put it back.”
Tromp, tromp, tromp, click-click. That was the door handle. The
door opened, then came the scrunch scrunch of cautious feet on the new carpet.
Kate opened her eye. Jen reached up to put the Princess Polly
doll back on the shelf next to the row of others. Jen wore a Disney Princesses
t-shirt. Shorts. Brown hair in three braids today. The middle braid reached her
waistband in back.
Then she whirled around so fast that all three braids whizzed
out, kind of like a kid helicopter. There was Jen’s face, round, brown eyes.
Who was she being today? Kate didn’t care.
Jen grinned. “Your dolls been walking around the house?” Her
mouth pruned up in fake disgust. “Think Princess Polly was looking for the
bathroom? Princess Poopy,” Jen added, snickering.
Kate wondered if she’d thought bathroom jokes were that funny
when she was in fourth grade. Yeah, probably. Right now she couldn’t remember,
but she was used to that, too.
What she did remember—just now, she realized—were little
voices during the night. It hadn’t been a dream. She’d heard them. Hadn’t she?
Dreams and real used to get mixed up, but she was learning which was which.
“Want anything?” Jen asked, putting her hands on her hips. “TV
on?” She pointed up at the corner, where Uncle Tad had put a TV, just like in
her hospital room. “Can I get you anything?” She
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