The Night

I wrote this story when I was 14. The feelings that created this story still exist nearly 30 years later, but now I understand. This is my truth.

This is retyped exactly as written then, by the 14 year old.

I have always wondered what it would be like if there were really life out there in space. How would we communicate? How would we meet? Would there be a take-over? Would there be peace or would there be war? Why would they come? What would their mission be? What if there really is life out there? What would it be like….

“The night’s still young”, Kimber yelled as she ran ahead of me, “anything can happen!”

You know, she was right anything did happen.

When we got to the car, Kimber asked me if she could drive the car. “But you don’t know how to drive”, I told her. “So, you can teach me!”

“All right, wait till we get to a country road.”

In this small village in Ireland, it wouldn’t hurt to teach someone to drive on the village streets seeings as that hardly anybody passed, but I didn’t want to take the chance, besides it’s more romantic in the country. When we got to the road I thought would be the safest, we traded places and as soon as she got in the drivers seat, she hit the gas pedal so hard I was surprised it didn’t bust off. I was so terrified at all that could happen I couldn’t speak. I guess she saw the look on my face, because she stopped. We had now reached a clearing that was so beautiful, Kimber turned off the engine.

“Jed, what are you thinking right now?” she asked me.

“How beautiful everything is.”

“I’m thinking of what it would be like if there really were life out there.”

“You can’t be serious, if there is life out there we won’t know for a couple of hundred years at the least.”

“No, but what if they come to our planet?”

“Well, they probably won’t.”

“If everyones as ignor — Oh, look at that!”, she said as she pointed to the biggest shooting star I’ve ever seen. As she gazed up at the stars, I looked at her, her face was so beautiful and her eyes, oh her eyes, they had a look in them that frightened me. It was a look of wishing, of hopefulness, and of belonging up there in that vast endlessness of the universe.

I heard a noise and looked out into the field where a giant triangular shaped object stood. It was enhancing, a glorifying thing, beckoning…. There was something moving in the field. Oh no, it was Kimber! “Kimber, wait please, don’t go! Wait for me!” I thought as I started running after her.

She stopped and turned around.

“Jed, please don’t follow me, you can not come with me. I wish you could though, I really do. Please, give my love to everyone one and tell them I’ll miss them, I’ll never forget any of them.” She turned towards the object and started running again. “Kimber don’t leave me, I love you!” A light appeared on the side of the object. I then realized it was a spacseship waiting to take Kimber away from me. As she got to the door she turned and yelled, “I love you, Jed. Promise me you’ll never forget me. Good Bye!”

And as the door closed and the ship disappeared in the stars I whispered, “I promise, I’ll never forget you. I love you.”

The one thing I’ll always remember the most about that night is her eyes when the door was closing. No longer was the look of wishing, hopefulness and belonging there, but a look of love, beauty and fulfillment of the heart.

She was happy, so I suppose I should be too, but I’m not, I didn’t want to lose her. I loved her. I stood there until dawn thinking of all the good times and bad times we had had together. Knowing I’ll probably never see her again. Thinking what would have happened if she stayed or if I’d gone with her, where she went, where she came from, if it was a nightmare or if it was real.

Now when I go back to that spot I walk to the middle of the field, sit down and just cry.