'DOUGIE.'

Visiting his grand father every weekend was the highlight of little Timmy's existence. Herbert Willow also called, 'Willy' was who one would deem eccentric and distracted. Yes, maybe the world was full of people fitting this description, but Timmy knew better and why. He wanted to be just like his bemused grandfather and was keenly aware of the 'alien' factors responsible for his grandad's extended maladjusted behavior. Willy's eccentricity had propellers and possessed super powers and he had seen it come to life in the old barn behind the house that shamelessly accommodated his strange aptitude for invention. He was a man of medium build and had dark brown hair with gray ones lining the full circumference of his head, so much so that when he wore his cowboy hat made of straw, only the gray ones would be seen. Timmy loved his maternal grandfather and his grandfather's love for him was deep seated as he was his only grandchild and deep inside they resembled each other and together with their inability to abide by the normal, their bond was even stronger. One day, riches paid a long visit to Willy as one of his inventions, one in which Timmy helped him with, came to life. Suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder, he hated to see people come into his home with the very shoes or foot wear they were wearing on the outside. He thought about all the germs and fungus and viruses that lined their soles and cringed in disgust and so the idea of disinfecting doormats was born. Timmy thought it strange at first, since they were requested to wipe their feet on the normal mats that laid at every door entrance, 'the dust would fall off but the germs will still linger, my boy, the germs will still linger.....' was Willy's worry and thus the advent of, 'Willy's Disinfecting House Mats.' Other OCD sufferers lapped them up and there were thousands of them. The mats had layers of recycled fabric, tough enough to withstand heavy foot traffic and that were doused with scented disinfectant like pine, lavender, orange and white linen. The recycled pads were housed in a receptacle that came in squares, rectangles and half circles and made of rubber but quite fashionable. It had in it four pads, each with the thickness of one and a half inches. Each pad would last two week and can be washed and more disinfectant can be added to it. The disinfectant is alcohol based, so it dries up quickly leaves no marks behind. Several states are now demanding the miracle of his disinfecting mats, but that marvelous achievement wasn't the reason Timmy was so fixated on him. Curiosity burnt his brain, scorching the soft tissues and if you looked carefully, you would probably see smoke coming out of his ears. Willy's office in the barn had a huge desk and behind that desk was a small door that would light up in the brightest green ever seen by man and Timmy knew his grandfather had a secret. The last time he saw the glow, it was so bright that it scared him to the point were he ran back to the main house, with his heart pounding in his chest. He slept under his bed that night in a fetal position. That experience, however, never deterred him from going back, but peaked his curiosity even more. Being fifteen now, he believed he had garnered enough courage to actually opened the door. He tried in vain but he couldn't find the key. He pulled at it, kicked at it, screamed at it but to no avail. The green glow appeared but in his head, he was a grown man now and he could stand up to it.....until the door began to throb like it was going to burst it's seams. He ran off screaming. Two weeks later, his grandfather died in an automobile accident, he was seventy. The following day as he laid on his bed weeping, Timmy's father came into his room and gave him a letter that his grandfather had left for him. Eagerly, he ripped it opened and read its content. Together with having been made financially stable for life, he left him the barn and the contents therein and he must attend to the needs of 'Dougie' promptly. He laid out in detail who 'Dougie' was and that he needed special care and attention. Dougie came to him from the sky in a flaming capsule. He had very sensitive skin and was very susceptible to UV rays and must never see the light of day, literally, and under no circumstances is he to divulge this secret to any one. The next day he made his way to the barn and found the key taped under the last draw of the desk. He called out to Dougie before he opened the door and just as he imagine, the door lit up in it's usual bright green and a strange whimpering sound was heard. He was slithery and green as was expected but he had the most docile and beguiling eyes. The green glow came from his skin as it produced water.....Dougie never needed water, he had his own supply, but he loved apples and that was all he ate. Dougie had short legs like an alligator and his body bore no sales but smooth and reflective like a dolphin's. Timmy had to feed him three apples three times a day and clean up his poop that smelt like, you guessed it......apples. So far, Dougie seemed to be the ideal pet and Timmy was enthralled by his new responsibility of caring for his own E.T. Dougie came from a distant world, from the dark skies hovering above him. He was always inquisitive about the world around him and now he had an alien being in his possession and he couldn't contain his excitement. He would look at Dougie and into his kind eyes and knew that they will be good friends like he and his grandfather was. He also represented his dear Willy's indubitable eccentric ways and somehow he seemed alive in him and with that circling in Timmy's head, he would protect Dougie with his life.