The Alien and Me

2021 3rd & 4th Prose Winner

Do you see that large hot air balloon? Did you wonder why it was so big? It’s because there is a
rocket ship in it. The world was not able to progress in space exploration. They were desperate
for ideas to get further. A top scientist came up with the idea that if you put a rocket ship in a hot
air balloon and wait until the balloon gets close to outer space, you can then release the rocket
into space. It worked! The rocket got to Jupiter and the world decided to send a human into
space.

I was that human. I went up to an altitude of 60 miles and then blasted off the rocket. Soon, I
saw myself pass Jupiter. When I passed Neptune, I freaked out. I finally landed on Pluto. I
walked around for an hour and returned to the rocket. When I stepped inside, I heard a voice
“Don’t be scared, I won’t hurt you.” It was an alien! He tried to chat with me, but I tuned out most
of what he said until I heard him say he was waiting for the opportunity to leave Pluto as he was
disliked for being different from the other aliens. I felt bad for him. When he started talking about
his interests, they were like mine. His favorite book happened to be my favorite book too! We
were so engrossed discussing the book and paid no notice that the rocket ship was going back
to the hot air balloon. The rocket crashed into what seemed like a cave.

We were lost and had to get home. With no sense of where we were, hope was lost. When the
alien revealed he had powers, I was quick to ask him if he could teleport us home. We
teleported 10 miles a second and with several geographical calculations, we finally reached
New York City – home!

I had a new friend. He could stay invisible, and I built a little house outside the window of my
apartment for him. We chatted for hours every day. Our interests were so similar! But one day,
my snoopy neighbor asked me “What’s the house out the window for? You could get in trouble
for that”, I responded “It’s a free country - you’re allowed to build a treehouse in the suburbs.
You should be allowed to build a tiny house outside your window in the city. It’s my property,
isn’t it?” I answered, coldly. Then one day, the alien forgot to make himself invisible and that
same snoopy neighbor saw him and reported him and me to the police. Before we knew it, the
alien and I were in a prison cell. I felt guilty that the alien was being punished because of me.

After weeks of being there, the alien made a confession. “You asked why I didn’t stay invisible -
I did it on purpose”. I was shocked but didn’t want to express it because the alien was growing
larger every second. “You, the astronaut, were the last person we needed to get. By the way, we
have aliens all over the world disguised as world leaders, celebrities, people who can infiltrate
and destroy anyone who is a threat to us! I will be welcomed back to Pluto as a hero! All thanks
to you. You were foolish to trust me. I will, however, give you credit for being kind. Most humans
would try to dissect my brain.”

I felt a burning feeling inside me. I thought hard. I thought about the alien saying that the whole
takedown was powered by him. Then I saw something on the alien’s leg. I was sure that was
what was powering the whole takedown. It was too high for me to get, yet I still jumped. I
reached it. Then I tried taking it off the alien’s leg. The alien muttered “Silly human.” A few
seconds later I knew why he said that. I was inside his leg. It was over. I knew the Earth was
going to end. I felt horrible when I realized that I was the only one who had the opportunity to
stop the entire alien takedown but couldn’t. The Earth had ended because of me.

I am writing these words inside a box in Pluto. An alien snuck paper to me. The only good alien
on Pluto. I am sure he will get me out of this little box. The year is 2020.