Jack and the UFO

It looked like a drippy, dippy chocolate donut in the night sky, but without the drippy, dippy chocolate part. The unidentifiable flying object was hovering over Marnie and Jack as they laid in the grassy field looking up at the celestial sphere above them, lollipop sticks hanging out of their mouths. There was not a cloud in the sky, just various clumps of stars making lines and shapes that were semi-detectable. One looked like a big spoon. Another like a bear. It was incredibly dark.

Jack was twelve, but wore the spectacles of a 75 year old man. His mom made him. He was as blind as a mole, but the glasses gave him 20/20, so he obliged. He always had a blue hat on, and wore this awfully gaudy, gold chain that his dad gave him when he was little. Marnie was the love of his life, or so he thought. She was thirteen, brunette and bewitching. A brown-eyed girl with a mouth full of pink brackets. They kissed once, and it was awesome.

Jack took the lollipop out of his mouth. “Marnie! Are you seeing this?” Jack’s voice echoed through the grass. “Look up! Quick!”

No reply. Marnie was already looking, already seeing the aerial phenomenon that seemed to be coming straight for the two of them. It was colossal, even from far away. The UFO was mostly metallic metal, but had a half-sphere glass casing at the top. There were flashing purple lights radiating off the object, creating an all-encompassing violet haze. The lights made Marnie’s braces twinkle. Jack could see the extraterrestrial beings inside, even though the spaceship of sorts was miles and miles away. You’d think the UFO would be able to light up the entire night sky given how large it was, but it didn’t. Aside from the lavender fog, there was just one light beam shining directly over the candy loyal kiddos.

Jack took the lollipop out of his mouth again. “Marnie! Look! There are aliens inside! Are you seeing this? Look! Quick!”

No reply. Marnie was already looking, already seeing the slime-colored, booger-like figures that were waving their hands through the glass covering. It was as if you could read their minds. We Come In Peace. They were shapeless, almost like baby amoebas. There must have been a hundred of them looking down at the curious but petrified little earthlings lying in the grass. There was one extraterrestrial being that stood out from the rest of the amoeba-like critters. He was heading the UFO, the captain of the spaceship. His alien phalanges were gripping the ship’s steering wheel. He was really tall, towering over the rest of his outsider posse. He was also really, really fat and coral-colored, like that of a cooked shrimp. He had a blue hat on, and one giant white eyeball planted in the center of his forehead.

Aliens wear hats? Jack thought to himself, amidst the chaos that was ensuing above him. And blue ones, like me?

Without further ado, a loud buzzing noise started to roar through the blackness that was the night, and the UFO began to vibrate. The spaceship made the sounds of what could only be described as howling asteroids and whistling planets. The grass swayed as the wind picked up. Jack’s blue hat flew off his head and straight up the light beam towards the flying object. Then his glasses. Then his gold chain. Before Jack could scream, Marnie herself was lifted off the ground and straight up the light beam, shrieking as her body rose higher and higher and farther away from Earth. Her lollipop dropped out of her mouth and onto the soil beneath her. 

“Leave her alone!” Jack screamed, as loud as he could. But to no avail. The foreign amoebas were too far to hear Jack’s request to forgo the love of his life. 

“Take me instead! Take me! Take me!” Jack yelled, but again, to no avail. He threw his arms up, hoping that the UFO would scoop up his little body and let Marnie go. “Jack! Help! Do something!” Marnie attempted to shout. She was tumbling upward, her head below her legs. Jack was unsure what to do, but knew he should at least try to go get help. He started to run south, until he realized his legs weren’t moving. 

“Jack! Jack! Jack!…Jack? EARTH TO JACK!” Marnie called over to him, firmly. She nudged his shoulder and giggled. Jack jolted awake, his breath heavy. He looked around. Nothing but stillness. No wind. No whistling. No UFO. No violet haze. No one-eyed, coral-colored alien. Just the grass, and the stars and Marnie, safe on the ground. He reached for his hat to make sure it was secured to his head. And his gaudy, gold chain! It was still there, pressed against his chest. His heart. His racing heart. He could see just fine, which meant his glasses were in place and functioning properly. “My Gosh! I thought I lost you for a second. You seemed like you were in a deep trance. Are you alright?” Marnie’s concern was diminishing.

“Yeah...I’m good.” Jack played it cool. He grabbed her hand and laid back down in the grass. The sweat on his back was cooling off, causing a chill. The warmth of Marnie’s hands made him feel snug again. He knew his palms were clammy but he didn’t care. He held on to her anyway.

“Do you think that aliens exist, Marn?” Jack asked, tranquil now. 

“Of course they do, J.” 

“And do you think they travel through space in UFOs, just like the movies?” Jack continued. 

“Obviously,” Marnie said, without a speck of doubt. “How else would they get around?” A brief pause before Marnie continued. “Back to what I was saying before you got sucked into a black hole.” Marnie giggled again. “There’s the Big Dipper, and next to it is Ursa Major, also known as The Big Bear.” She pointed, her hand lit up by the stars. “And a couple of feet from The Big Bear, aka thousands and thousands of miles to the right is Ursa Minor, also known as The Little Bear. They’re called constellations. It’s when stars come together in pure universe bliss, like a match made in heaven.”

Jack blushed. “Are we like a constellation, Marnie? A pair of humanoids brought together by a celestial power larger than the Earth itself?” Jack leaned in for a kiss, but Marnie turned her cheek. “Look.” She pointed towards two little stars that were close but not quite touching. “That’s us.”

They were the two brightest stars in what felt like the entire galaxy.