Short Story : Worlds Collide
The two tribes of the Thirteen lived separately, ever since the Great War. In their planetary system there were only three worlds; the first was home to the tribe of the A-M, the third acted as home for the tribe of the N-Z, while the central planet was used as a grounds for trade between the two. It was barely habitable because of its incredible dry heat, and was only used once a week for market day.
L.X. had never been allowed to visit the trade world before; his parents feared that he might be influenced by the N-Z tribal members that came to trade with them, but now that he was thirteen, L.X. could make his own decisions, his own choices. L.X. loved the idea of trading with the other tribe, and finally being able to see why he hadn’t been allowed to have contact with them before was something he couldn’t wait to experience. What would they look like? Would they have two heads like his best friend E.N. has always claimed, or did they have gold coloured skin like C.C. had claimed when his class had done show-and-tell? With his older sister K.T. by his side, L.X. stepped off their shuttle and started the short walk to the market, holding his breath as he imagined what wonders he might see.
As L.X. and his sister walked into the market, his wide smile collapsed under the weight of his disappointment. Every person he could see looked pretty much like the people from his own world. They were all about the same range in height, they all fell into the same variety of skin colourings, and not one of them had more than one head.
“Where are the others?” L.X. asked his sister, “From the other planet?”
K.T. looked around, “They’re all over,” she told him.
“I can’t see any,” L.X. stated.
K.T. sighed, “See that man over there,” she pointed to a man standing at a stall selling fish.
“Yes,” L.X. said.
“That’s Y.T., the fish monger,” she told him, “He’s from N-Z.”
“But he looks just like you or me,” L.X. declared, “Well, obviously much older, and he’s not a girl like you, but you know what I mean.”
“The N-Z tribe do look just like us,” K.T. told him, “We were all one people once, you know.”
“I was expecting to see people with extra heads,” L.X. groaned.
“You shouldn’t listen to stories that E.N. tells you,” K.T. chuckled, “That kids disturbed.”
K.T. walked over to the fishmonger, with L.X. close in tow. She waved at him as she approached, and shook his hand when she got close enough.
“Ew!” L.X. stuck out his tongue, “Won’t you catch something, doing that?”
“It’s just fish,” Y.T. the fishmonger told him.
“I don’t mean from the fish,” L.X. shuddered, “I mean from you.”
Y.T. cocked an eyebrow, turning back to K.T., “Is he new?” he asked her.
“He’s my little brother, it’s his first time here,” K.T. told him, “His friends have filled his head with fantasy stories about what the N-Z look like, and I’m guessing they’ve been telling him you carry diseases too.”
“That’s okay,” Y.T. smiled, “My kids have been told the same stories too.” He reached out a hand to L.X. and ruffled his hair, much to L.X.’s disgust, “Just make sure he holds his tongue around certain people, okay?”
K.T. nodded as Y.T. started to wrap some fish for her, clearly her usual order. She bundled the fish into her basket and the two of them started to walk to the next stalls.
“Why did you let him do that?” L.X. asked.
“Do what?” his sister K.T. queried.
“Touch my hair,” L.X. shuddered again, “He might have anything.”
K.T. stopped in her tracks and held her brother by the shoulder, “You need to learn that just because we were once at war with the N-Z does not mean that you can go about insulting them. It’s a very tricky situation going on between us and them, and I don’t need you going around shooting off your mouth and starting fights.”
L.X. tutted loudly, not liking being told off, “I didn’t even want to come here today,” he lied, “it’s just a waste of my time.”
“Well, if you don’t want to be here, you can just wait with the other kids over there,” she said, pointing at a group of children slightly younger than L.X. who were playing in what passed for a playground.
“I don’t want to play with those little kids,” L.X. complained.
“Well, you’re not coming with me,” K.T. told him, “It’s not easy getting people to trust you at the market, and I don’t want you spoiling the relationships I’ve formed here. Now go wait over there, I’ll be back to get you in an hour.”
K.T. walked away, leaving L.X. to ponder his behaviour. Deciding that following his sister probably wasn’t the best idea, he slowly and reluctantly started to walk over to the playground.
The other children looked like they were enjoying themselves, but L.X. was too old for such childish games. Taking a seat on a nearby bench, L.X. opened up his own bag and pulled out a hand-held game. Switching it on, he started to play.
“That looks like fun.”
L.X. looked up to see who had spoken. A beautiful girl about the same age as him stood over him, the sun shining through her hair and a smile caressing her full lips. L.X. almost dropped the game when he saw her, and he swallowed nervously.
“Hi,” he said nervously, then in answer to the girl’s question, “Yeah, it is fun. Do you want to have a go?”
The girl sat down next to him, and L.X. offered her the game. She took it gently from him and started to play. He watched her face as her fingers pressed the buttons to play the game, and he smiled to himself.
Maybe this trip had been worth the effort.
“Are you here with your parents?” the girl asked without looking up from the game.
“No, my sister,” L.X. replied.
“Where is she?” the girl asked.
“Off getting food,” L.X. told her.
“Why aren’t you with her?” she asked.
“She said I was embarrassing her,” L.X. admitted, “Just because I believe rumours that people tell me.”
“Like the others having two heads?” the girl chuckled.
“Yeah,” L.X. laughed, “Or golden skin.”
“I haven’t heard that one before,” the girl chuckled, “That’s funny.”
“Yeah,” L.X. smiled at the girl. He’d never seen anyone so pretty before; she was even better looking than L.S.N., the best looking girl in his class. He continued to watch her as she played his game, the concentration in her face as she played making her look even more beautiful. Maybe she lived close to him, he thought to himself, then he could go and visit her when they got back home. Maybe they could go out on a date...
“Do you have a girlfriend?” the girl suddenly asked.
L.X. almost choked on the breath he didn’t realise he’d been holding, “N-No,” he said, “You?”
“No,” the girl replied, looking up from the game and smiling, “I don’t have a boyfriend either.”
L.X. chuckled, realising how his question must have sounded, like he wanted to know if she had a girlfriend. What an idiot he was.
“Is this your first time here?” she asked him, going back to the game.
“Yeah,” L.X. nodded, “You?”
“Yeah,” she said, “My dad’s around here somewhere. He told me to play over here because I was getting under his feet.”
“I guess we’ve got a lot in common,” L.X. smiled.
The girl smiled back at him, “Say, do you want to go somewhere a little more... private?”
Did he ever!
“Sure,” he smiled, “Why not?”
The girl switched off the game and handed it back to L.X. again. Once he’d put it in his bag, she took his hand and lead him round the back of the playground.
L.X. found himself alone with this mystery girl, and he kept wondering – well, more hoping – what might happen between them. The girl stopped, letting go of L.X.’s hand, and turned to face him.
“You’re really cute,” she said to him, smiling sheepishly, “I just wanted to say that when there was no one else around, just in case you ran off.”
“I’m not running off anywhere,” L.X. smiled back, “You’re really pretty too.”
The girl brushed her hair behind her ears, “Thanks,” she said shyly, “You’re sweet.”
She took L.X.’s hand again and leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek. He felt his cheek burning as he felt the softness of her lips against it.
“Would you like to go out some time?” L.X. asked bravely. He didn’t want this girl to get away, and he really hoped she wasn’t just messing with him like that time F.E. had put her hand down his shorts, then squeezed really hard.
“I’d like that,” the girl said, then frowned, “You know what, I don’t even know your name.”
“It’s L.X.,” L.X. told her, “What’s yours?”
The girl stared at him with worry, “Your name is L.X.?” she asked.
“Yes,” L.X. said, “Why?”
“Mine is N.G.” she told him, and L.X.’s heart stopped in his chest.
If her name was N.G., then that meant she came from the other tribe.
She was his enemy.
“You’re from the other planet?” L.X. asked, his eyes burning as he tried not to cry.
“Yes,” N.G. told him sadly, then smiled again, “But does that really matter?”
L.X. thought this over. All his life he’d been told that the N-Z were his enemy; that he could trade with them but nothing else. A-M and N-Z could never be friends. That kind of relationship would never work.
“But how would this work?” L.X. sighed, “We don’t even live on the same planet. We come from different worlds.”
N.G. shrugged, “We could make our own world,” she said, “right here. What do you think?”
L.X. looked her in the eye. She looked a little sad, but there was also a happiness on her face. She still held his hand tightly, and he squeezed it even tighter.
“I’d love that,” he told her, “but what do we tell our families?”
“They’ll understand,” N.G. said, “We’ll leave them a note. Maybe it’ll make them think differently about how they think about each other.”
N.G. took a notebook from her own bag and started to write. It was a goodbye letter – the most beautiful goodbye letter L.X. had ever seen – and when she’d finished writing, they both signed it and left it on the ground before walking away into the desert.
*
K.T. finally finished the weekly grocery shop and returned to the playground where she’d left her brother. She looked around briefly but couldn’t see him anywhere.
“L.X.?” she called out, but didn’t get a response. She dropped her basket to the ground, running over to the playground and grabbing one of the children.
“Have you seen my brother?” she asked, “He’s got brown hair, dark eyes, he’s carrying a red and blue back pack?”
“Yeah,” the kid said, “I saw him go off behind the playground with a girl. She was real pretty.”
K.T. let go of the child and ran to the alleyway behind the playground. She could see no sign of her brother. Then she noticed his hand-held game sitting on the ground, holding down a piece of paper.
“N.G.?” she heard a voice calling, and a man came around the corner, “Say, have you seen a young girl around here; blonde hair in a summery dress?”
K.T. had bent down to pick up the paper and was reading over it, her tears welling up, “Did you say her name N.G.?” she asked.
“Yes,” the man said, “I’m her father, O.N. Have you seen her?”
K.T. showed him the letter, and O.N. gasped as he read what his daughter had written.
The two children were never seen or heard from again, but N.G.’s words in her letter served as a reminder to the people of A-M and N-Z that they had once been friends, and it might take a long time, but I think they might be friends again, sometime in the future. Don’t you?
Originally Posted 18/8/2015
Result - 1st Place
L.X. had never been allowed to visit the trade world before; his parents feared that he might be influenced by the N-Z tribal members that came to trade with them, but now that he was thirteen, L.X. could make his own decisions, his own choices. L.X. loved the idea of trading with the other tribe, and finally being able to see why he hadn’t been allowed to have contact with them before was something he couldn’t wait to experience. What would they look like? Would they have two heads like his best friend E.N. has always claimed, or did they have gold coloured skin like C.C. had claimed when his class had done show-and-tell? With his older sister K.T. by his side, L.X. stepped off their shuttle and started the short walk to the market, holding his breath as he imagined what wonders he might see.
As L.X. and his sister walked into the market, his wide smile collapsed under the weight of his disappointment. Every person he could see looked pretty much like the people from his own world. They were all about the same range in height, they all fell into the same variety of skin colourings, and not one of them had more than one head.
“Where are the others?” L.X. asked his sister, “From the other planet?”
K.T. looked around, “They’re all over,” she told him.
“I can’t see any,” L.X. stated.
K.T. sighed, “See that man over there,” she pointed to a man standing at a stall selling fish.
“Yes,” L.X. said.
“That’s Y.T., the fish monger,” she told him, “He’s from N-Z.”
“But he looks just like you or me,” L.X. declared, “Well, obviously much older, and he’s not a girl like you, but you know what I mean.”
“The N-Z tribe do look just like us,” K.T. told him, “We were all one people once, you know.”
“I was expecting to see people with extra heads,” L.X. groaned.
“You shouldn’t listen to stories that E.N. tells you,” K.T. chuckled, “That kids disturbed.”
K.T. walked over to the fishmonger, with L.X. close in tow. She waved at him as she approached, and shook his hand when she got close enough.
“Ew!” L.X. stuck out his tongue, “Won’t you catch something, doing that?”
“It’s just fish,” Y.T. the fishmonger told him.
“I don’t mean from the fish,” L.X. shuddered, “I mean from you.”
Y.T. cocked an eyebrow, turning back to K.T., “Is he new?” he asked her.
“He’s my little brother, it’s his first time here,” K.T. told him, “His friends have filled his head with fantasy stories about what the N-Z look like, and I’m guessing they’ve been telling him you carry diseases too.”
“That’s okay,” Y.T. smiled, “My kids have been told the same stories too.” He reached out a hand to L.X. and ruffled his hair, much to L.X.’s disgust, “Just make sure he holds his tongue around certain people, okay?”
K.T. nodded as Y.T. started to wrap some fish for her, clearly her usual order. She bundled the fish into her basket and the two of them started to walk to the next stalls.
“Why did you let him do that?” L.X. asked.
“Do what?” his sister K.T. queried.
“Touch my hair,” L.X. shuddered again, “He might have anything.”
K.T. stopped in her tracks and held her brother by the shoulder, “You need to learn that just because we were once at war with the N-Z does not mean that you can go about insulting them. It’s a very tricky situation going on between us and them, and I don’t need you going around shooting off your mouth and starting fights.”
L.X. tutted loudly, not liking being told off, “I didn’t even want to come here today,” he lied, “it’s just a waste of my time.”
“Well, if you don’t want to be here, you can just wait with the other kids over there,” she said, pointing at a group of children slightly younger than L.X. who were playing in what passed for a playground.
“I don’t want to play with those little kids,” L.X. complained.
“Well, you’re not coming with me,” K.T. told him, “It’s not easy getting people to trust you at the market, and I don’t want you spoiling the relationships I’ve formed here. Now go wait over there, I’ll be back to get you in an hour.”
K.T. walked away, leaving L.X. to ponder his behaviour. Deciding that following his sister probably wasn’t the best idea, he slowly and reluctantly started to walk over to the playground.
The other children looked like they were enjoying themselves, but L.X. was too old for such childish games. Taking a seat on a nearby bench, L.X. opened up his own bag and pulled out a hand-held game. Switching it on, he started to play.
“That looks like fun.”
L.X. looked up to see who had spoken. A beautiful girl about the same age as him stood over him, the sun shining through her hair and a smile caressing her full lips. L.X. almost dropped the game when he saw her, and he swallowed nervously.
“Hi,” he said nervously, then in answer to the girl’s question, “Yeah, it is fun. Do you want to have a go?”
The girl sat down next to him, and L.X. offered her the game. She took it gently from him and started to play. He watched her face as her fingers pressed the buttons to play the game, and he smiled to himself.
Maybe this trip had been worth the effort.
“Are you here with your parents?” the girl asked without looking up from the game.
“No, my sister,” L.X. replied.
“Where is she?” the girl asked.
“Off getting food,” L.X. told her.
“Why aren’t you with her?” she asked.
“She said I was embarrassing her,” L.X. admitted, “Just because I believe rumours that people tell me.”
“Like the others having two heads?” the girl chuckled.
“Yeah,” L.X. laughed, “Or golden skin.”
“I haven’t heard that one before,” the girl chuckled, “That’s funny.”
“Yeah,” L.X. smiled at the girl. He’d never seen anyone so pretty before; she was even better looking than L.S.N., the best looking girl in his class. He continued to watch her as she played his game, the concentration in her face as she played making her look even more beautiful. Maybe she lived close to him, he thought to himself, then he could go and visit her when they got back home. Maybe they could go out on a date...
“Do you have a girlfriend?” the girl suddenly asked.
L.X. almost choked on the breath he didn’t realise he’d been holding, “N-No,” he said, “You?”
“No,” the girl replied, looking up from the game and smiling, “I don’t have a boyfriend either.”
L.X. chuckled, realising how his question must have sounded, like he wanted to know if she had a girlfriend. What an idiot he was.
“Is this your first time here?” she asked him, going back to the game.
“Yeah,” L.X. nodded, “You?”
“Yeah,” she said, “My dad’s around here somewhere. He told me to play over here because I was getting under his feet.”
“I guess we’ve got a lot in common,” L.X. smiled.
The girl smiled back at him, “Say, do you want to go somewhere a little more... private?”
Did he ever!
“Sure,” he smiled, “Why not?”
The girl switched off the game and handed it back to L.X. again. Once he’d put it in his bag, she took his hand and lead him round the back of the playground.
L.X. found himself alone with this mystery girl, and he kept wondering – well, more hoping – what might happen between them. The girl stopped, letting go of L.X.’s hand, and turned to face him.
“You’re really cute,” she said to him, smiling sheepishly, “I just wanted to say that when there was no one else around, just in case you ran off.”
“I’m not running off anywhere,” L.X. smiled back, “You’re really pretty too.”
The girl brushed her hair behind her ears, “Thanks,” she said shyly, “You’re sweet.”
She took L.X.’s hand again and leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek. He felt his cheek burning as he felt the softness of her lips against it.
“Would you like to go out some time?” L.X. asked bravely. He didn’t want this girl to get away, and he really hoped she wasn’t just messing with him like that time F.E. had put her hand down his shorts, then squeezed really hard.
“I’d like that,” the girl said, then frowned, “You know what, I don’t even know your name.”
“It’s L.X.,” L.X. told her, “What’s yours?”
The girl stared at him with worry, “Your name is L.X.?” she asked.
“Yes,” L.X. said, “Why?”
“Mine is N.G.” she told him, and L.X.’s heart stopped in his chest.
If her name was N.G., then that meant she came from the other tribe.
She was his enemy.
“You’re from the other planet?” L.X. asked, his eyes burning as he tried not to cry.
“Yes,” N.G. told him sadly, then smiled again, “But does that really matter?”
L.X. thought this over. All his life he’d been told that the N-Z were his enemy; that he could trade with them but nothing else. A-M and N-Z could never be friends. That kind of relationship would never work.
“But how would this work?” L.X. sighed, “We don’t even live on the same planet. We come from different worlds.”
N.G. shrugged, “We could make our own world,” she said, “right here. What do you think?”
L.X. looked her in the eye. She looked a little sad, but there was also a happiness on her face. She still held his hand tightly, and he squeezed it even tighter.
“I’d love that,” he told her, “but what do we tell our families?”
“They’ll understand,” N.G. said, “We’ll leave them a note. Maybe it’ll make them think differently about how they think about each other.”
N.G. took a notebook from her own bag and started to write. It was a goodbye letter – the most beautiful goodbye letter L.X. had ever seen – and when she’d finished writing, they both signed it and left it on the ground before walking away into the desert.
*
K.T. finally finished the weekly grocery shop and returned to the playground where she’d left her brother. She looked around briefly but couldn’t see him anywhere.
“L.X.?” she called out, but didn’t get a response. She dropped her basket to the ground, running over to the playground and grabbing one of the children.
“Have you seen my brother?” she asked, “He’s got brown hair, dark eyes, he’s carrying a red and blue back pack?”
“Yeah,” the kid said, “I saw him go off behind the playground with a girl. She was real pretty.”
K.T. let go of the child and ran to the alleyway behind the playground. She could see no sign of her brother. Then she noticed his hand-held game sitting on the ground, holding down a piece of paper.
“N.G.?” she heard a voice calling, and a man came around the corner, “Say, have you seen a young girl around here; blonde hair in a summery dress?”
K.T. had bent down to pick up the paper and was reading over it, her tears welling up, “Did you say her name N.G.?” she asked.
“Yes,” the man said, “I’m her father, O.N. Have you seen her?”
K.T. showed him the letter, and O.N. gasped as he read what his daughter had written.
The two children were never seen or heard from again, but N.G.’s words in her letter served as a reminder to the people of A-M and N-Z that they had once been friends, and it might take a long time, but I think they might be friends again, sometime in the future. Don’t you?
Originally Posted 18/8/2015
Result - 1st Place
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