Chapter Text
The small town of Rhododendron, Washington was as picturesque as a Christmas Card during the winter. As soon as Thanksgiving was over, Main Street was lit up with twinkle lights, garlands, and ribbons. When the first snowfall hit and dusted the town in a layer of powder, it was the very essence of Christmas. Its perfect placement between two mountains - very uncreatively named East Point and West Point - ensured that it received modest snowfall but very rarely any blizzards. Therefore, the town was able to enjoy the winter without fearing its mighty wrath.
The townspeople were also very active in maintaining the Christmas spirit. The whole month of December was filled with carollers, festivals, and general merry-making. The local lumber mill - to which a good portion of Rhododendron owed its livelihood to - was heavily unionized, which meant that every person working there could spend either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day with their families. The whole week leading up to Christmas was bustling with winter activities and cheer - which made the small town a must-visit destination to the other neighboring towns. Even the most elusive citizens living high up on either East or West Point would make the journey down to the valley, if only to bask in the Christmas cheer. Especially on Christmas Eve.
But Esme Flores of Girasol Landing - a small patch of land high on the East Peak - would not be making the trek down into Rhododendron proper. She hadn’t been into town in almost six months.
Not since her aunt died.
The young woman was instead taking a swig of beer on her front porch, watching the snow fall. She was slouched into a rickety rocking chair, wearing three day old pajamas, with only a plush blanket around her shoulders to protect her from the chill. Numb fingers clutched the glass bottle tightly and she took another big gulp of the bitter liquid, so deep in a drunken haze that she didn’t even register the taste. Esme was so deep that she couldn’t even watch the snow properly - it was a New Moon and she refused to get up and turn on the porchlight when the sun set. A few six-packs and twice as many hours later, all the young woman could do was stare ineffectually into the dark night.
This had become a nightly ritual for her. Esme would spend her days filled with work - Girasol Landing needed constant upkeep. From tending to the animals, to making repairs around the house and barn, to monitoring the plants in the greenhouse, the young woman could always find something to keep her hands busy. If her hands were busy, then her mind was clear and focused - until she would call out to Tia Lola to give her a hand with one of the goats. The answering silence would tilt Esme’s entire world on its axis, leaving her dizzy with grief. Oftentimes she would have no choice but to sit down on the floor and let the waves of sorrow pull her under. She lost so much time in these moments, unable to make herself move.
The alcohol helped on those days. It would chase away the lingering grief and leave Esme blissfully numb. Sure, sometimes she would push her limits and end up puking on the stairs, or passed out on the couch with half her chores unfinished, or sitting for hours out in the freezing cold like she was now. But it was worth those precious moments of nothing.
Tia Lola would be so sad to see her like this.
Esme frowned at the thought and took another swig, drowning it in cheap beer. Numbness restored, Esme lifted her eyes from the snowy forest floor and up to the stars. They twinkled high above her, occasionally swaying and doubling thanks to her intoxication. If she squinted she could even make out the inky black circle that was the New Moon.
This was her first Christmas without Tia Lola.
Another frown, another swig - this one deeper and almost forceful. A couple of drops dribbled down the corner of her mouth.
Every Christmas after this would be without Tia Lola’s warm hugs, her callused hands, her sharp laugh.
Esme flung her head back and chugged the rest of the bottle, only stopping when her numb fingers slipped and the bottle bounced off the chair and down the stairs of the porch. Lurching after it, the drunk woman’s house shoes slipped on the top of the stairs and she fell face first into the fresh powder.
Cold! Her head spun and her whole body stung upon contact. She let out a groan and flopped onto her back, feeling the cold eat away at the numbness she had been carefully cultivating for the last six hours. She dug the heels of her palms into her eyes, so hard she saw sparks, and let out a wretched sob.
She just wanted it to stop!
Fighting back more tears, Esme let her arms fall spread-eagle into the snow, letting the cold bite into her skin.
“Tia Lola …” She cried out hoarsely, voice rough and words slurred. “Please. Help me. I dunno what to do.” For a moment her eyes roamed the heavens, like the stars themselves would answer, and - just when she was about to look away - they did.
To her shock, a streak of light flew across the sea of stars. A shooting star! Dark eyes tracked it across the night sky and Esme leveraged herself up onto her elbows. She couldn’t believe it; if that wasn’t a sign then she didn’t -.
Another meteor flew across the sky.
Then another.
And another.
Before she knew it, Esme was witnessing an entire meteor shower. Freezing tears poured down her cheeks and hiccuping sobs fell from her lips as the sky glowed with streaks of light. For once the feeling in her chest wasn’t the ache of grief or the buzz of alcohol-induced numbness - it was simple, quiet, peace.
Peace that was ripped apart in an explosion of light and sound.
Blinding light ripped across the winter night, accompanied by an odd sizzling sound. Esme gaped as a ball of light with a shimmering trail streaked past the New Moon. At first she thought this was another meteorite, this one far closer than the rest, but as it arched over her head she realized it was getting bigger - closer.
This meteor was about to become a meteorite.
The young woman scrambled to her numb feet, only to fall to her knees as an almighty BOOM shook every bone in her body. Her teeth chattered and her stomach lurched as the light grew brighter and brighter. The sizzle became a scream like steam from the spout of a giant teapot. There was another BOOM, even louder than the first, and Esme watched in horror as the meteor disappeared beyond the northern treeline. With barely a thought of bracing herself, the final thunderous wave of sound shook the very earth, sending sleeping animals into a panic. Birds shrieked and took off into the night sky, the animals in the barns rioted, and she could even hear wolves in the distance. Of course this was once her own ears stopped ringing.
Then, all was still.
Esme's stomach lurched again and she emptied the contents of her stomach out onto the snow. Her whole world spun as she carefully regained her balance and stared into the horizon where the meteor had disappeared.
After crying out to her dead Aunt - the woman that raised her - she had been answered with a meteor shower and then an honest to god meteor. A meteor that had touched down so closely that it was probably on her land.
This was definitely a sign. Of what - she had no clue - but it was a sign all the same.
She had to find that meteorite.
Suddenly gripped by a flurry of determination and productivity, Esme staggered back up the stairs and into her house. Barely even noticing her freezing extremities, she tugged on her snow boots, bundled into her warmest coat, and pulled a beanie down over her ears. She scooped up a flashlight and, after a moment of hesitation, the 12 gauge that hung above the door. Who knows what animals got stirred up by the commotion. Armed and ready, Esme jogged out into the night, hopping over the fence that separated her “yard” from the surrounding woodland.
For almost an hour, Esme trekked northward, flashlight scanning the terrain for any clues. The forest was silent again, and she saw no sign of disturbed animals. She caught sight of a couple of owls on the hunt once or twice, but that was it. Even still, the shotgun remained tightly grasped in her gloved hands (gloves that she initially thought she had left behind, only to discover them in her coat pocket). Just as the adrenaline was starting to wear off and the alcohol still in her system was starting to make itself known again, she caught a whiff of something on the crisp winter wind.
Esme could make out a hint of sulfur and gunpowder. She wasn’t an expert, but if she had to imagine what a meteorite smelled like, it would be just like this. Rejuvenated, she slowed down her jog and began to carefully scan the surrounding trees for more clues. The smell grew stronger and stronger, to the point where it left an almost metallic taste in her mouth. Then, she came across the first fallen tree.
It was a tall, ancient pine that had brought down three other trees with it. Esme surveyed the damage with dismay, she hadn’t even thought about the damage this meteorite would cause to Tia’s - no - her land. She looked to the left and then to the right - finding more fallen trees. With one last look at the difficult path ahead, the young woman swung the shotgun over her shoulder, gripped the flashlight between her teeth, and started hopping over trunks. It was slow going in the beginning because she had to force her way through the thick branches. However, the closer she got the more damaged the trees were, making it easier for her to weave her way through.
With a final heave over one last trunk, Esme found herself peering into the crater.
The smell was overpowering - ash, and sap, gunpowder, and sulfur. The earth had been charred back from the impact and had been blown back into an almost thirty foot crater. Smoke and steam still rose from it, but it was fading as she stared. Her flashlight could barely penetrate the haze, but she could make out some kind of shape at the bottom. Tugging the neck of her shirt over her nose and flashlight at the ready, Esme carefully slid down the crater.
For some reason, it was now that her rational side decided to make its opinions known. Here she was, in her pajamas, miles away from civilization, approaching something that fell out of the sky. This was literally the plot of a horror movie and she was pulling some white girl shit. But she just couldn’t stop now.
“Stupid.” She hissed to herself. “Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.”
As Esme finally reached the bottom of the crater, the haze finally cleared and revealed -
Not a meteorite.
Definitely not a meteorite.
What the fuck?
A golden egg, almost four feet long, was embedded into the earth, sticking up at a slight angle. It was worn and scratched, almost like something had clawed at it. Some serious horror movie shit. The young woman got as close as she dared, about an arms length away and she slowly circled it.
“Could be a satellite.” Esme murmured to herself. “Could just be a satellite. Not alien shit. Just normal science shit.
Totally normal.”
Suddenly, the egg tipped off its balance and fell flat to the earth, startling Esme up the walls of the crater like a cat. Her flashlight fell to the ground, her boots slipped on the loose earth and she almost face-planted into the ground again. She tried to claw her way back up when the egg suddenly let out a mechanical hiss.
Esme’s spine turned to ice and her head slowly swiveled to face it as a line of golden light traced its way around the edge of the egg. There was a painfully loud click and the light went out.
Silence filled the air for precisely three seconds before the egg cracked open like a coffin. A cloud of steam poured out of it as a light inside flickered on and off erratically.
Oh, this was definitely not a satellite!
Esme hid her face in the crater wall in preparation for whatever gruesome fate was in store for her. At least she would see Tia Lola again. Hopefully someone would come check on the animals. She dug her gloved fingers into the earth and waited.
And waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Nothing.
The young woman cracked open an eye and slowly glanced over her shoulder. The egg remained where it was, illuminated by her fallen flashlight, the light inside having finally gone out. She waited one minute, then two, then three - until her hands had gone numb and neck was protesting at the angle. Finally, Esme let go of the wall and turned fully. Still nothing. She glanced down at the flashlight and found herself in the middle of a brutal internal debate. Her rational side screamed that what she was considering was not only stupid, it was white girl in a horror movie stupid, while the other side begged her to satisfy her curiosity.
After another minute of furious internal debate, Esme jerkily scooped up the flash light and began to slowly approach the egg again. She circled around to the other side, rationalizing that if something did happen she could slam the egg shut on it and bide herself some time to get away. Hopefully. Maybe. Probably not.
With a final, strengthening breath, the young woman leaned over the lid of the egg and peered into it.
Bright blue eyes met her brown ones, and Esme Flores’ life was changed forever.