Bluzeer Oz6

A young alien from Zorathis Sylara, believed friendship can exist between worlds.

Grandpa could tell some stories. For as long as they could remember, Nadine and Sharon had heard stories about visitors from other worlds. Their grandfather loved telling tales about strange lights in the sky, mysterious spacecraft, and little green men from Mars. Every summer evening, he sat on his porch and filled the girls’ heads with adventures among the stars.

“Do you really believe any of that?” Sharon would ask.

Their grandfather would smile and say, “The universe is a mighty big place. It would be a shame if we were all alone.” The girls always laughed, but they loved the way he said it. Grandpa had a way of making even the impossible sound as if it might be waiting just beyond the clouds.

Six-year-old Nadine and ten-year-old Sharon were sisters. Although four years separated them, strangers often mistook them for twins. They had the same dark hair, the same freckles, and the same unusual eyes. Each girl had one blue eye and one green eye. Their mother often dressed them alike, which only made people stare harder, but Nadine loved matching Sharon. Sharon pretended not to like it as much, though she never complained when their mother laid out two matching outfits on the bed.

On May 1, 2029, the girls discovered that Grandpa’s stories were not fairy tales after all.

The afternoon was warm and bright. The sisters were riding their bicycles in front of their house while their parents worked in the garden nearby. Sharon raced ahead, and Nadine pedaled after her, determined not to be left behind. Then both girls heard a tiny voice calling, “Help me.”

They stopped so suddenly that their bicycle tires skidded across the pavement. Nadine looked around, her eyes wide. “Did you hear that?”

Sharon nodded, and the voice came again. “Please help me.” It sounded small and frightened, the kind of voice that made both girls forget about racing. The sound seemed to be coming from their neighbor’s yard. Their neighbors were away on vacation, and the house sat quiet and empty.

Curious, but a little nervous, the girls crossed the lawn. Nadine stayed close to Sharon’s side. When the voice called again, they knew exactly where it was coming from. The old tool shed.

Sharon slowly opened the door. At first, she saw nothing unusual. There were rakes, shovels, paint cans, and gardening supplies stacked along the walls. Then something moved behind a wheelbarrow, and Nadine gasped.

A small girl sat huddled in the corner. She looked about the same age as Nadine, but she was unlike anyone they had ever seen. Her skin shimmered blue and violet. Delicate patterns curled across her face and neck like living artwork. Her large eyes glowed green and gold, and tiny points of light sparkled beneath her skin. She was beautiful in a strange, moonlit sort of way, but she looked frightened and hurt.

“You can see me?” she asked softly.

“Of course we can see you,” Sharon replied, though her voice was quieter than usual.

The strange girl let out a trembling sigh of relief. “Good. I was afraid no one would.”

She tried to stand and immediately cried out in pain. Nadine rushed forward and knelt beside her before she could think to be afraid.

“It’s your ankle,” Nadine said. “It’s swollen.”

The girl nodded, blinking quickly as if she did not want to cry. “My travel sphere crashed.”

The sisters exchanged a look. “Your what?”

“My travel sphere.” The girl pointed toward a pile of boxes. Behind them sat a silver object shaped like a giant pearl. A crack ran down one side, and faint blue light flickered from inside it like a tired firefly.

“My name is Bluzeer Oz6,” the girl said politely. “I am from Zorathis Sylara.”

Neither sister had ever heard of such a place. Nadine leaned closer and asked, “Where is that?”

Bluzeer pointed toward the sky. “Far beyond your galaxy.”

The sisters froze for a moment. Then Sharon asked the obvious question. “You’re an alien?”

Bluzeer tilted her head. “If alien means I am not from Earth, then yes.”

Nadine’s mouth dropped open. Grandpa had been right. Aliens were real. But this alien did not look like a monster or a little green man from one of Grandpa’s stories. She looked like a lost child trying very hard to be brave.

For several moments nobody spoke. Finally, Sharon sat beside Bluzeer and asked, “What happened?”

Bluzeer looked down at her injured ankle. “I was traveling with my family. We were studying young worlds and learning about different civilizations. Then our travel sphere was caught in a navigation storm.”

“A navigation storm?” Nadine asked.

“It is difficult to explain,” Bluzeer said. “It is like being lost inside lightning, except the lightning is made of stars. The storm damaged our instruments and separated me from my family.”

“Do they know where you are?” Sharon asked.

Bluzeer lowered her eyes. “No.”

For the first time, the girls truly understood how frightened she must be. She was alone, lost, hurt, and very far from home. Nadine reached out and carefully touched Bluzeer’s hand. It felt warm, almost like holding sunlight.

“We’ll help you,” Nadine said.

Sharon nodded. “Absolutely. Our mom helps everyone.”

“She really does,” Nadine added. “She even helps bugs get out of the house instead of squishing them.”

That made Bluzeer smile a little.

The sisters carefully helped Bluzeer to their house. Sharon took one of Bluzeer’s arms, and Nadine took the other. Bluzeer was so light she felt almost like a bundle of feathers, but her hand trembled in Nadine’s. “Don’t worry,” Nadine whispered. “Our mom is nice.”

Their mother was surprised to find a glowing blue visitor sitting at her kitchen table, but she did not scream, faint, or run away. She simply stared for a moment, took a slow breath, and said, “Well, this is unexpected.”

Bluzeer looked worried. “I am sorry. I did not mean to arrive improperly.”

Their mother’s face softened. “Sweetheart, if you’re hurt and lost, then you arrived exactly where you needed to.”

That made Bluzeer’s glowing eyes fill with tears. While their mother wrapped her ankle, the girls brought her a blanket and a glass of water. Bluzeer touched the glass carefully, as if she had never seen one before, then took a small sip.

“It is plain,” she said politely, “but kind.”

Sharon laughed. “That’s water.”

Bluzeer smiled. “On my world, water sings when it moves.”

After that, the girls asked endless questions. What was Zorathis Sylara like? Did they have schools? Did they have pets? Did they celebrate birthdays? Bluzeer answered every question patiently. She told them about six shining moons that filled her world’s night sky, crystal forests that sang when the wind passed through them, and floating gardens that drifted above silver lakes.

“It sounds beautiful,” Nadine whispered.

“It is,” Bluzeer said softly. “I miss it very much.”

That evening, the family examined the damaged travel sphere. Most of it was far beyond anything they understood, but one crystal panel still glowed faintly. Bluzeer’s eyes brightened. “The beacon!”

“The what?” Sharon asked.

“The emergency beacon. If we can activate it, my family can find me.”

The girls spent the next hour helping Bluzeer clean dirt and debris from the damaged sphere. Their mother found a soft cloth, Sharon held a flashlight, and Nadine carefully brushed dust away from the glowing crystal. At last, the panel flashed once, then twice, and then a beam of silver light shot into the sky.

Everyone stood very still and waited.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then a brilliant light appeared high above the house. It grew larger and larger until a shining silver sphere descended from the clouds. Bluzeer pressed both hands over her heart.

“They found me,” she whispered.

The sphere landed gently in the field behind the house. A doorway opened, and two figures stepped out. They looked very much like Bluzeer, with shimmering skin and glowing eyes. Before anyone could say a word, Bluzeer ran toward them as best she could on her sore ankle, and her parents rushed to meet her. They wrapped their arms around her, holding her close. Even from a distance, Sharon could see tears shining in their eyes.

After a long moment, Bluzeer returned to the girls. Her smile was bright, but her eyes were sad. “I have to go home.”

Nadine’s throat tightened. “We know.”

“We’ll miss you,” Sharon said.

Bluzeer reached into a small pouch at her side and removed two glowing crystals. One was blue, and the other was green. She handed one to each sister. “A gift from Zorathis Sylara.”

The crystals sparkled in the evening moonlight. Sharon held hers carefully and asked, “What do they do?”

Bluzeer smiled. “They remind people that friendship can exist between worlds.”

The girls hugged their new friend goodbye. Nadine did not want to let go, but she knew Bluzeer belonged with her family. Moments later, Bluzeer climbed aboard the silver sphere. The doorway closed, and the craft rose silently into the sky. Within seconds, it became a tiny star among thousands of others. Then it disappeared.

For a long time, Nadine and Sharon stood looking upward. Finally, Nadine wiped her eyes and smiled.

“You know what?” she said. “Grandpa was right.”

Sharon looked at the sky. “About aliens?”

Nadine shook her head. “About not being alone.”

That night, as the stars filled the sky above their home, two sisters sat on the porch holding glowing crystals and wondering what adventures might be waiting somewhere beyond the stars. Far away on a world called Zorathis Sylara, a young traveler named Bluzeer Oz6 held a memory of Earth close to her heart and wondered the very same thing.