the pearl

Desert

The three small children stood by the road, staring at the long black stretch of asphalt with large, confused eyes.

The blond haired boy gingerly stepped on the pavement, drawing his foot back, startled at the heat shimmering off of the road. He looked back at the other two, the blond girl and the dark-haired boy, squinting as the sun beat down overhead.

A car drove by, speeding down the road, the couple in the car blinking, not believing the scene that had just flashed by — three naked toddlers, staring at them as they passed.


The sun crawled over the sky. The children's skin, pale and ghostly in the early morning, was now red and scaly, burnt by the day's heat. They attempted to cry, but their throats were parched, empty, and were reduced to dry croaks as they stared at the road.

The dark-haired one took the girl's hand, squeezing it tightly, in comfort. He looked at her, unable to speak, but still attempting, trying to show some affection.

Dusk fell, the air cooling quickly, the desert creatures slithering from under their rocks, avoiding the larger creatures, the tall, slender creatures standing near the road.

It was a dark night, a moonless night, the stars only giving a faint blue light over the pale desert. The three children looked up at the stars, the blond haired boy pointing up with his fingers, an instinctive move, knowing that somewhere amid those points of light was home.

A light appeared in the distance, bright, red, sliding over the small gullys and dunes of the desert. The light grew closer, and closer, crashing onto the scene as the car stopped.

The children huddled together in fear, arms wrapped around each other tightly, their eyes wide as the large stumbling figure approached them.

"Hey....it's okay..." the large figure said in a soft, comforting voice. The person held out its hands. "C'mon, kids, let's get you into something warm..."

The children - the three together - let the people carry them away, wrapped in softness, carried away from the small patch of land that had become their own.

This Roswell story was written by Kate Bolin. If you liked it, there's plenty more at http://www.dymphna.net/fanfic/. And you can feedback her at dymphna@dymphna.net.