He hastily sped down the street, ducking under the illumination of the street lights. This was always a dangerous mission, despite partaking it only at night, only under the darkness of a new moon. He paused as he reached the driveway of his old home. Twirling the metal flower in his hand he reminisced, thinking back to three years ago when he lived there. Although the house was dark he could still make out the window of the bedroom, and stared longingly at it, as if in some hope to see Tania. In all the times he had come before, he never had. He didn't expect this visit to be an exception. He crept towards the porch silently, fearing that he might awake the neighbours, who certainly wouldn't want a prawn hanging around their homes. As he reached the door a sad smile spread across his face. He reached out and brushed the doorknob, knowing that soon he could walk through it again, reunite with Tania, and everything would go back to how it was before. It was only a couple of months before Christopher would return, and he would be human once again. Until then he would continue to leave his flowers at Tania's doorstep. He crouched down to place his gift carefully in the middle of the mat, the stem pointing towards the door. As he leaned forward to place it down the door opened, just a crack at first. Wikus jumped, dropped the flower and fell backwards. The door slowly opened wider and a head poked out between the gap. The blonde hair fell over her shoulder and her blue eyes stared curiously at Wikus. He crawled backwards slightly, stunned and terrified. He had always feared this, getting caught, and he instinctively wanted to run. But at the door was his angel. Except... she was in miniature.
The child tilted her head slightly to side and stepped out from behind the door.
"Who are you?" She questioned innocently. Wikus let out a small breath of relief – she hadn't screamed at him, or shouted to anyone for help, so if he just left he could possibly get away safely. He crawled further backwards, not having lifted himself off the floor yet. The girl frowned.
"Who are you?" She pressed, expecting an answer. He stopped. The little girl both confused him and intrigued him. He'd never seen her before, and worry began to set in. Had Tania moved? Did she not live here anymore? But at the same time the girl looked too much like Tania for it to be a coincidence. She had to be Tania's child. But this meant...
Feeling heartbroken Wikus pushed the thought to the back of his mind. He didn't want to believe his wife had moved on. He wasn't angry; he had sometimes thought about it happening, but every time it had reduced him to tears, and he felt like he was about to cry now.
"Are you the one that brings the flowers?" The girl asked, drawing Wikus out of his thoughts. He watched as she held it in her hand, looking at the how the petals blossomed. She then looked up at him curiously. After a moment's hesitation he nodded. It was astonishing to him that the little girl seemed comfortable being this close to an alien. However he dismissed it as being the lack of prejudice in children. The girl opened her mouth as if to speak again then stopped, and stared down as if trying to remember something. She then looked at the flower again, brushing her thumb over the petals.
"I like them." Wikus smiled slightly. The girl continued. "But mummy doesn't let me have them incase they cut me." This caused Wikus to grimace. Many a time he had cut himself on the sharp metal tins, and he did his best to cut the metal smoothly. Then the girl said something that struck the breath from his chest.
"Are you my daddy?" Wikus struggled to draw in air to breath as the question echoed inside his head. He stared at the girl confused. How could he be? He wanted to speak, wanted to question why she had asked, yet it was unlikely she'd understand him even if he could. Despite seeming comfortable around a prawn he doubted that she'd ever come into contact with one before, and it had taken MNU a good few months to work out what different clicks and sounds meant in human words. Instead he kept silent, trying to regain his regular breathing pattern. The girl frowned again.
"Are you? Because mummy says that daddy can't be with us, but that he leaves presents at night to show he still loves us. And you said you left the flower, so are you my daddy?" The breath that Wikus had slowly gained was once again taken away from him.
A light flicked on at the top of the stairs and both Wikus and the child turned to look as the floorboards creaked. Wikus gasped. Once again he wanted to run. He had never wanted Tania to see him in this state. Especially when the three years of waiting was almost up. He pushed himself to his feet and psyched himself up to flee. He was ready, until Tania's soft, sleepy voice struck him.
"Christina darling? Is that you?" The girl kept quiet, glancing back at Wikus, as if to check that he hadn't run away. He could now see Tania, as she slowly walked down the staircase. Before she reached the bottom he scooted to the side of the porch, crouching down tensely behind a small, tidy shrub. He still didn't want her to see him, he wanted her to always remember how he was before, remember how he was when she married him.
"Darling, what are you doing up this late?" Tania asked her daughter as she came to the doorway. She didn't reply but held out the flower to her. Tania gasped and took the flower glancing out into the street and looking around. Relieved not to be seen, Wikus relaxed a little. It was then that Tania noticed the movement in the darkness.
"Wikus?" Her voice was shallow and breathless, rising in pitch a little at the end, which he recognised as hope. He cursed at himself in his head and kept still, hoping she would believe it was her imagination. However Tania was sure of herself.
"Wikus? Is that you?" He closed his eyes and reluctantly slowly stood up. Tania's mouth fell open slightly as tears began to run down her cheeks. Christina looked between the two of them. Tania sobbed slightly and her hand rose to her mouth to muffle the sound. Wikus, distressed at her crying stepped forward, wanting to comfort her. However he stopped, remembering his alien form.
"Mummy? Why are you crying?" The little girl asked and Tania smiled down at her, stroking the top of her head. She then smiled up at Wikus.
"I was pregnant, before it all started, before dad sent you on that stupid mission..." She paused and Wikus' eyes widened as he realised what she was saying. "I was going to tell you on the night of your party... We have a daughter Wikus." More tears escaped her eyes as she smiled at him. He too began to feel tears welling up. He had always wished for a daughter, back when he was human, always a daughter, who would shine in the same angelic way as his wife. And that was exactly what he had got.
"You'll come home soon won't you? There's only two months left... I've been counting down, everyday, counting down to when you'll be home, when we can finally be in each other's arms again." Wikus nodded eagerly. To hold and to be with Tania again was the one thing that had kept him strong, and now it was so close to actually happening. "Wait there – I, I have something I want to give you..." Tania said, before rushing upstairs again. After a few moments she was back down and by the doorway again. She held out her hand, and he carefully took the photograph, turning it over to look at it. It was the photograph of Tania's ultrasound scan. It was beautiful. He looked down at Christina. She still was. Tania smiled and picked up Christina, sitting the child on her hip.
"You better go now, or the neighbours will get suspicious about the lights..." She sighed reluctantly, yet knowing that if Wikus were caught he wouldn't be coming home in two months. He nodded, with the same reluctance.
"I love you Wikus."
"I love you too" He spoke, his words coming out in clicks that he knew she wouldn't understand. However she knew that he had told her he loved her, despite the difference in language. She smiled again, more tears rolling down her cheeks. Wikus turned to leave, holding the photograph tight to his chest. At the end of the drive he turned back and, still at the doorway, Tania waved slightly and then closed the door. Wikus rushed back to the dirty shack he lived in, his heart overflowing with happiness and hope.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Tonight was the night of the new moon. Wikus picked up his newly made metal flower and began filing away the sharp edges. Once satisfied he placed it down beside the larger flower and smiled at the second creation. A miniature flower for his miniature angel.
Thanks for reading, it would be great if you could review and tell me what you liked/didn't like.