For many days, the girl sat up in the lonely Martian capsule, rocketing towards Earth, practicing day and night to change her face into the one she planned on modeling. The hair, skin, nose, eyes, even ears were almost perfect. After this, she made slight modifications so she would not be identified as the same person as the one in the picture, and so felt ready to step foot upon Earth's terra firma.
One hundred and forty days, a scared Martian girl sat in the little pod, Ma'aleca'andra feeling distant, like a dream. Sometimes all she could remember was the little escape ship that was taking her to a strange planet, yet her next door neighbor in the solar system.
At last, day one hundred and forty arrived, and the pod entered the atmosphere of the planet Earth.
~When the days are cold~
~And the cards all fold~
The door hissed open. Sunlight, for the first time in what felt like a lifetime.
The girl stepped out into the light, inhaling the fresh air, the wonderful air, different from her own planet, of course, but breathable, and very unlike the interior of the stale pod, which lay in a field on the outskirts of civilization. A few yards away stood a sign:
Welcome to Rushstoke.
Rushstoke.
It was early in the rotation of the earth's axis, the sun was high in the sky, the ground was green and covered with flora. It was overall quite agreeable.
The girl began to walk, human disguise in place, striding with purpose towards the town. She needed sustenance and shelter, to begin a new life in this refuge.
"Hey, stranger!" A voice rang out unexpectedly, open and warm, from behind the Martian.
She gasped, turning, before realizing the shock had caused her to lose focus. Her disguise slipped, and the skin color faded back to the original green. "What?"
The woman stepped back. "Woah. Pick a color, girl."
She opened her mouth, and closed it. "Who are you?"
"Lucinda O'Malley. You aren't from around here, are you?" The human leaned on the handlebars of her crude transportation device.
"I am from Ma'aleca'andra," she said slowly. "My planet was in peril, and I left to come here."
"That's terrible," Lucinda said, widening her eyes. Her head tilted, genuine sympathy written all over her face. "Where is that….that, uh Maleca place?"
"Ma'aleca'andra."
"That's right. Sorry."
The Martian pointed to the sky. "We are your neighbors in the solar system."
"Mars? Are you joking?"
"Mars….?"
"It's what we call the next planet over, red thing, cold?"
"I suppose."
"Wow, a real live Martian. Never thought I'd see one in person." Lucinda stood up straight, eyeing her. "You really are green."
"Yes."
Lucinda grinned. "Hey, you don't know much about earth, do you?"
"No. I only just arrived. I have been travelling for approximately one third of an earth year."
"How old are you?"
"Eighty two."
"You look fourteen!" Lucinda dismounted her strange transportation device and approached her. "Mars aging must be different."
"Why, how old are you?"
Lucinda laughed. "Twenty eight." She turned sober. "You're gonna be awful lost out here. You need a place to stay?"
"I do. Do you know where I could stay?"
"I sure do. I live alone in a house too big for me. It'll be neat to have a real live Martian in the house." Lucinda grinned at her. "It'll be almost protection. You can shapeshift, huh?"
"I can control the molecular structure of my body's bio-polymer and meld it into whatever I wish."
"Swell. Well, you're my roommate now, friend." She stuck out her hand.
The Martian looked at it.
"You shake it. It's a human thing. Do they do something different on Mars, like….Live Long and Prosper or Nanu-nanu or something?"
The Martian blinked at her.
"Nevermind."
The Martian raised her opposite hand and fitted it into Lucinda's shaking gently. "Like so?"
"Yeah! There you go. Now, friend, what's your name?"
"I am K'hym J'onzz. I am pleased to make your acquaintance"
Who was surprised?!
Thanks for reading, guys! Please let me know your thoughts in a review or PM, it helps me out a lot. I'll see you guys in the next chapter then!
