Just because I feel like it, an excerpt:
A red-haired boy sat on the sand near the bottle, his knees drawn up against his chest. His eyes were wide and green, almost glowing in the sunlight. He wore patched leather pants and a peasant shirt that hung on his thin frame like a shroud. His feet were bare and rested on top of the water without disturbing it at all.
I hissed, despite myself. The boy jumped. His eyes focused on me for the first time, and I saw true fear in his gaze.
"Who... who are you?" His voice cracked. "Where..." He looked around the forest again, desperate for something familiar. "Where am I?"
I cocked my head. "How did you get here so fast? You weren't here a minute ago..." I didn't expect him to be able to understand me; most humans can't. But he scuttled backwards like a crab and floated an inch above the pool I liked to fish in. Floated. I tried not to imagine how many fish I could catch if I knew a trick like that. And then... I remembered the bottle. "Oh, no."
The boy blinked at me. "You must tell me where I am. Please."
"Well, for starters, you're on planet Earth," I said and tried to find a dry spot to sit down. This was much more interesting than my morning constitutional.
The boy closed his eyes. I thought I saw a flash of annoyance cross his face. "Earth," he said flatly. "Yes. I gathered that."
Copyright 2002 Jennifer St. Clair
A red-haired boy sat on the sand near the bottle, his knees drawn up against his chest. His eyes were wide and green, almost glowing in the sunlight. He wore patched leather pants and a peasant shirt that hung on his thin frame like a shroud. His feet were bare and rested on top of the water without disturbing it at all.
I hissed, despite myself. The boy jumped. His eyes focused on me for the first time, and I saw true fear in his gaze.
"Who... who are you?" His voice cracked. "Where..." He looked around the forest again, desperate for something familiar. "Where am I?"
I cocked my head. "How did you get here so fast? You weren't here a minute ago..." I didn't expect him to be able to understand me; most humans can't. But he scuttled backwards like a crab and floated an inch above the pool I liked to fish in. Floated. I tried not to imagine how many fish I could catch if I knew a trick like that. And then... I remembered the bottle. "Oh, no."
The boy blinked at me. "You must tell me where I am. Please."
"Well, for starters, you're on planet Earth," I said and tried to find a dry spot to sit down. This was much more interesting than my morning constitutional.
The boy closed his eyes. I thought I saw a flash of annoyance cross his face. "Earth," he said flatly. "Yes. I gathered that."
Copyright 2002 Jennifer St. Clair
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