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A woman in a gown of stars was swimming between the planets. She stopped to look over each one, the small things barely big enough to sit on the tip of her finger. She was bored, the last planet with life felt like eons ago. It could have been eons ago. She knocked one of the small planets out of orbit as she moved.
“Oops,” she whispered to herself. She cupped it carefully in her hands, copying the atmosphere to make sure anything on it stayed safe. She found the spot it belonged to and placed it back, watching as it moved slowly away from her. “Bye little thing.”
She smiled and returned to her journey. She’d visited this galaxy a long time ago, all the planets seemed boring. None of them had anything to keep her attention then. Now she hoped life had changed. She came up to a set of planets close together, she’d need to be careful here. At least she’d be able to fix it if she bumped into one.
Each planet was as empty as the last one. Until she found a small red one. She saw the smallest little things that didn’t look natural. She paused in her path and looked over the planet with a careful eye. She brought her hand up and started to mimic the atmosphere. It didn’t seem like the others with life she’d found. She cupped her hands around it, leaning closer to see the little thing more clearly.
“What are you?” she murmured. She hadn’t grabbed something off one of the tiny planets in a long time. She let out a sigh that almost blew the thing away. She held her breath quickly. “Well, I guess I need to pick you up to find out.”
She slid a hand into her hair and grabbed a single strand. She lowered it down to the surface and it pulled the little thing close. As she pulled her strand of hair off the chunk of ground she had another small thing follow along. Once her hair was free of the planet she dragged a finger along her hair until the small things were caught on it. She smiled at them now that she could hold them.
She pulled her hand close and looked at them as best she could. They didn’t look like other creatures she had seen. They were moving around and making noise. One made a strange noise and started moving down her finger. She put another down to block it. The little thing turned around.
“You’re so strange, what are you?” she asked.
The little things didn’t answer so she settled on putting them back down. She brought a strand of hair back to catch the little things. They started to orbit her hair again. She laughed at the odd noises they made. She lowered her hair back to the surface of the strange little planet. She let the atmosphere go and the little things floated back to safety.
“Bye bye little things!”
She moved on to another planet expecting things to be just as empty. This time she found a lot more little things. Then she noticed there were even smaller things on the planet. She thought they might be new creatures and she got excited. She cupped her hands around it and matched the atmosphere before leaning close to get a better look. That’s when she heard the first words anything else has ever spoken.
“Alert! Remain indoors. We do not know what that thing is. Keep inside at all costs.”
“What thing?” she said. There was the sound of screaming after she asked. Her questions never bothered other little things before. She leaned closer, trying to get a better look at the ones who could speak.
“Emergency Broadcast. Remain in your homes.”
“Oh are the little things where you live?” She was excited, she wanted to hear more about these little creatures. She moved so the planet was right next to her eye. It was hard to get a look at the little creatures to find out which were talking. She wanted to learn more about them.
“Oh wow…” one tiny voice said. She started to look for that one, it sounded different than the other two that spoke. “How are they possible? They spoke, but that means they breathe… There’s no air in space… And the stars move as they do. Wow…”
After a bit of searching she found the spot where the little thing was. The creature was out in the open near something smaller than it. She wanted to know what that was. These ones weren’t like the other creatures she found. They thought like her. She reached for a strand of her hair and brought it over the little one who had been talking.
“I’m going to bring you closer, I promise it’s safe,” she murmured. There were more of the other voices, but the one she cared about was writing something down. They had something small on their face too. She lowered the strand of hair near the little thing and frowned when it screamed. “I told you it’s safe, don’t be scared.”
She pulled her hair free from the planet and backed away a little. She hoped the other little creatures would relax now. She dragged her hair along her finger until the miniscule little being sat there along with the small thing. She smiled a bit and brought the tiny thing closer. She wanted to know about the stuff that was smaller than the creature, but the creature could talk!
“What are you?” she asked. The little creature jumped but grabbed one of the things smaller than it.
“I… I’m a human?” it answered. She laughed and brought her finger closer to her eye.
“What’s a human? Is that what all the little creatures on your planet are? What are the things littler than you?” She had so many questions she wanted answered. She started to float a bit away from the planet. She would put the little creature back before long. She knew exactly where it belonged.
“My species is human, with me I have a telescope, a notebook, and some astronomy books.” The human answered, she was ecstatic. She was getting closer to the star of the system. She noticed the little creature flinch as the light cast over them.
“Don’t worry little human, you’re safe with me. So is your planet while I match it. I would never let anything happen to the planet or its inhabitants because of me.”
The little human started to shake. She frowned and moved away from the star. She tried to offer a reassuring smile to the little thing. It looked so tiny even this close. She pulled them back from her face, curious how it would be so far. She heard the faintest hint of its voice and pulled her finger back quickly.
“What did you say little one?” she asked. She pulled her hand closer as the little one seemed to change colors. She grew concerned and brought them so close they almost touched her eye. “Am I not matching the atmosphere correctly? You’re changing colors…”
“No no I’m fine I just… didn’t think you’d hear my voice that far away,” the little one murmured. Her worry changed to curiosity and she started to follow the slow orbit of the planet her current human belonged to.
“What’s a voice?”
“The noise I make to talk… you don’t actually make noise when you move your mouth do you?”
“Hmm, I’ve never paid attention to it. Does that mean I don’t have a voice?” She was a little sad, she assumed that would be what made the other little humans scared. She moved the finger holding the one she took away from her face. She sighed, her breath sent the little human rolling back. She stopped it from going too far with another finger.
“You really do breathe. How are you doing that? There’s no air, space is just a vacuum. How are you even hearing me right now!?” She brought the little human close again.
“Is that why you little things need me to match the planet you're from when I take you? To breathe?” The little human nodded and she smiled. She knew that she couldn’t hold them without the right atmosphere, but this is the first time she knew why. The little human started to do something with what it called a notebook again. “What are you doing?”
“Oh, I’m taking notes on you… is that ok?” She frowned when the human sounded a bit scared. She didn’t know what notes were, but the human seemed nice so it couldn't be bad.
“I don’t really know what notes are, but I don’t see a problem.” She decided to drift to a stop. Following the planet was boring and she could still see where the little one belonged. She wanted to know so many things.
“Notes are where I make something to remember stuff I’ve heard or seen. You break everything we knew about space and the stars… you’re unbelievable.”
She hummed a bit as she started to float around the other planets. She got bored with the other little things so easily, but humans seemed fun. She liked talking to someone, she didn’t want to stop. Although she would probably hear the sounds that meant she had to put the little thing down soon. Then she’d never be able to find them again…
“I don’t want to put you back,” she sighed. The little human stiffened. She was curious how it felt sitting on just a small part of her finger. “You’ll need to go back soon I’m sure.”
“Why don’t you want to put me back?” the human’s voice sounded nervous. She sighed again, when something could think like her they were apparently suspicious and scared. She wanted it to trust her.
“I won’t be able to find you again, all humans will blend together once you realize I’m not going to harm you.”
“What do you mean we blend together? All of us look different…can you not actually see my face?”
She rushed back to the planet hoping another human would be out that she could see. Some were where the one she held belonged. She grew excited, almost giddy seeing how different they looked. She brought her human close to her face. She gently placed her finger against her cheek.
“Oh that’s wonderful. Humans aren’t like the other little creatures. I can find you again so easily!” she shouted. She started to twirl around the planets, almost knocking into a few of them. She grinned at the little human on her finger. “Human that’s so wonderful!”
“I have a name! You can call me Meg, also it’s she and her.” the human shouted. She brought it close to her eyes.
“What’s a name? Also what’s she and her mean? Is that something special?” She tilted her head.
“A name is what we call people. We don’t just all call each other human all the time. Then she and her are pronouns. So if you wanted to talk about me, but not use my name then you would say something like ‘She wears glasses’ or ‘Her favorite subject is astronomy.’”
She nodded at what the litt- what Meg said. She always called everything little creatures or things. Names were so much better! She wanted a name, but she never had one before. She didn’t even know what the pronoun things were. She wanted to let Meg talk about her more easily. She wanted so many things.
“What did you say earlier? When I pulled you away Meg?” she asked. Meg changed colors again, but she knew it was safe now. She wanted to know.
“I said you were radiant… It was like looking at a million stars,” Meg whispered. She felt like her own colors might change. She never knew what others might think of her.
“Streya… you can call me Streya!” she shouted. Meg went wide eyed.
Streya pulled her closer. It was the first time she tried to really see what Meg looked like. Her skin was pale and she had things in her ears. Her hair was a light brown that fell just below her shoulders. Her eyes were white with a bit of brown, she wondered if that’s how all human eyes looked. She had some little thing on her face, she used the word glasses as something maybe that’s what those were. She had tiny little dots on her face too. They looked like far away stars.
“You have stars on your face too,” she whispered. Meg changed colors again, she was getting a bit worried it wasn’t just something humans did. She pulled Meg even closer.
“Th-those are called freckles!” she said. Streya nodded.
“Do I have those?” She pulled the finger Meg was on away again. She saw the little human grab the little thing she’d been curious about. That one was probably the telescope thing. She could just barely see as Meg held it to her face and moved the farther part all over. Meg said something, but she couldn’t hear it. She pulled her back again. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear you.”
“I asked you to bring me close again so it’s fine. You don’t have freckles on your face.” She pouted, she wanted little stars too. Meg looked away with different colors again. “Do… Do you want me to tell you what you look like?”
“You can do that?” She was too excited again. She didn’t know anything besides her gown of stars and her skin like the black void of space without stars. Meg nodded. “Yes I want to know!”
“Well, your eyes look like the Earth does from far away right now. Although I think when your eye first appeared it was more of a dull shade of purple. Your skin looks like you’d blend in if the stars disappeared, but you’re wearing a gown that seems endless and coated in the same stars that make you stand out. Your hair looks endless to me too, but it’s got hints of black with a glowing blue at the top and the tips. Then on your right side the hair is lighter blue at the top, it looks a little purple too. Oh your ears are pointed, on earth we have stories about elves and fairies and I think of those with your ears.”
“That’s what I look like?” Meg nodded. “I don’t know if it’s good, but I think I like it.”
“I think it’s good.”
Meg’s voice barely reached her ears, but she smiled. She liked talking with someone and wanted to do it so much more. She went close to the planet Meg called Earth. She didn’t know planets had names too. She needed to figure out the pronoun thing too. She didn’t know any besides what Meg told her. She liked Meg… she’d just be the same as Meg!
“I am going to be she and her too!” she declared. “It’s ok to have the same as you right? Are they unique like names?”
“No, no we can be the same… It’s nice to meet you Streya,” Meg laughed. She didn’t know why she laughed, but Streya liked Meg’s laugh. She faintly heard a sound that she knew meant Meg had to go back. She frowned but brought a strand of her hair close to the little human.
“You need to go back right?” Meg nodded. She brought the hair strand close enough that Meg was pulled into it. She didn’t scream this time.
“We can talk again right?” Meg’s shout made Streya freeze. She smiled, she wanted to talk to Meg more too.
“I want to, humans are the first creatures I could ever talk with!”
Streya moved her strand of hair over to the little planet. She brought it down slowly right back where she saw that Meg was missing from. She let the atmosphere she copied fade away. The little human slowly returned to the planet’s ground. She pulled the strand away and leaned a bit closer. Meg stood and looked up at her. Humans were so small, she thought they were amazing.
“Streya!” Meg shouted. Her eyes widened. “I was right, when you aren’t copying our planet your eyes are a dull purple.”
“Thank you Meg,” she smiled and started to mimic Earth again.
She wanted to stay with this planet for a while. She was desperate to know all she could about the little humans. She wanted to know more names and pronoun things too. She could hear some of those odd voices, but from where she settled floating just out of orbit it was easy to ignore. She’d hear her name… she liked her name. Streya.