Maybe.
A short story by Lesley Espire. What would it be like if somewhere, someone, was watching us? What would they think?
*NOTE*
I am sending a lot of stories in one go today! Don’t expect the same in future days!
*NOTE*
Maybe if you look up to the stars, through a perilous oasis of cold indigos and swathing flaming oranges, past a hundred million galaxies like the art of a toddler stretched out across the endless Space, their crayon rays far surpassing all understanding and reason of size and comparability; you see one of us. Just one of us.
And I wonder what you think. Is the planet a beauty? Or does it horrify you? Do our faces look like pale masks hiding on our skin? Or do we look awfully friendly and kind? I wonder what you might think if that ‘One of us’ was Me.
Maybe you’d catch me on a good day. And how glorious would that be for you? My smile might actually be worn well, and my hair would be carefully brushed to look as smart as possible. No, we don’t dress up because we know you’re watching, we dress up because we think we’re being watched.
Maybe you’d judge me. Maybe they would too.
Do you have forests back home? Their greens are prettier, more concise than the most carefully crafted piece of art. Simply rubbing your hands along the delicate tendrils of a single leaf reveal a tapestry of wires that delivers the Food of Life to every creature in our world.
Look at our hands! They too are quite incredible. We have a mark for every single way our hands can clench, and our light-blue veins are creepy, the fact that they permeate every level of our lives, little blue tunnels that are so great and long. How far they could stretch!
There’s a second level I can never explain. It’s too perplexing to us — to go that big or be that small. Entire ecosystems live within our eyes. Our body is an incredible world. Maybe, if we were small like them we could talk and exchange words, maybe our Immune System fights for honour and glory, even willing to give up their lives for the sake of our higher existence. Maybe they’re more than just mindless but insane, losing their minds to know so much relies on them and so much is bigger than them.
There are so many stories that haven’t yet been told. Battles rage inside our bodies, more epic and exciting than any movie you’ve ever watched.
Maybe we’re just one of them, in the body of a mighty great Dragon. Maybe the stars are just the sparks of his mighty fiery breath, and the twirling majestic nebulae are the birthplaces of his cells. We’re just happy cogs moving his body to the next stage.
Maybe, if you looked at me you’d judge me because I’m not happy. I’m quite sad. People are hurt and angry. We miss the forests. Whose fault is that? We miss each other. Whose fault is that?
We can speak to anyone in the world. And yet nobody wants to speak to me.
Maybe you’d judge me because I can’t bare to take that risk. I can’t bare to be alone again. I can’t bare to be hated.
But, if you saw everything. And you didn’t just see me. Maybe you’d understand. Maybe you’d look and pity us.
Maybe you’d tell me to try.
Maybe.