A meeting

On that lovely sunny day, I was strolling around the desert with my boyfriend. There is nothing exotic about the fact, since the desert is our Homeland. We were born here, we grew up here, here we met, and here we… well… went out. I didn’t even look around much: I was acquainted with every hill, every cactus, every rock and every oasis… We playfully raced each other, chatting about the nice weather: the humid air, the warm sand. I adore the warm sand… I wanted to bury myself in it! Everything around here was so familiar and dear… Except for this noise… We stopped abruptly at the sight of its origin: the was SOMETHING that landed right onto our homely sand. Something strange and very alien… My boyfriend started backing slowly (and he calls himself a male!) while I, on the contrary, made several unsure steps toward the object… I fancied that my Male winced, when a door appeared on the object. I scoffed and stood still. An outlander (or what should I call it?) stepped out of the door. I don’t know how to call and what to make of this purple see-through creature. He stepped down the ladder (slipped) and stood very close to me. I forgot to care about my partner’s actions: all my senses were concentrated on this outlander. ‘Greetings to you, a Native of Earth. Please, don’t be afraid. I am not an enemy, but a mere scientist. Can I ask you a couple of questions? You seem so peculiar. I cocked my head, and he repeated my gesture. ‘Err… Alright…’ – I said silently. ‘How do you like living here? In such a hostile climate? ‘It’s hostile for some, and a dear home for others…’ – I said, shifting my weight nervously. ‘I see. On my planet, there is the same climate on its every corner… Becomes everybody in the same way, and promotes equality, and also, makes territorial wars futile, since we don’t have your saying “The neighbor’s grass is greener”, - I don’t know how I realized that he was smiling. ‘I think, evolution wouldn’t create such an amazing variety of species if not for the climate. I think, it’s wonderful that I live here, and somebody lives up North, among the snow, or even in the ocean! ‘Yes, I cannot disagree about this curious variety. As a scientist, I fully agree with you!’ – he nodded, pointing his single finger at me. He asked many questions, and I tried to answer them all. He was quite amused at my answer to “How do you know so much about what’s happening outside the desert?” – I said “A birdie told me”… And only in the end of this interesting and highly intellectual conversation, I rememberd to ask: ‘Hey, wait! How do you speak my language?! ‘Where I come from – language barriers are History! By the way, for being so helpful in my scientific research, I grant you this gadget: with it, you will be able to communicate with anybody! With a little apprehension, I stretched my neck letting the alien hang a small pendant on it. I also used the opportunity to ask him several questions, but I didn’t get most of his answers, so I only blinked and nodded… We exchanged good-byes, and he flew away. Oh, the most important part! He said, he would return tomorrow in hopes to meet more Earth representatives and exchange culture, knowledge, and technologies! I drew a circle on the place of his landing. Unfortunately, I had no better means to mark the spot.

And then I just raced forward, hoping to meet somebody, anybody, in this enormous desert.

After a couple of dunes, I saw a caravan. I was so excited my Mission, that I addressed the camel at first!

Its rider rubbed his temples, bending towards my face, and said one single phrase: ‘Wow, what a mirage… a talking lizard?!’ – he took a deep sip from his flask, and the caravan proceeded.