Jæck was at the market again. He only had a few galactic credits for the night. He had worked so hard on getting them, after painting his neighbor Joe's house. But his mother had insisted on buying food instead. So Jæck was off again to the market. He saw many things, some quite exquisite and some downright disgusting. He looked for the meat butcher, who had closed early. Jæck sighed. He had gone too late, again. He looked up at the bright sky, and then back at the market. Up in the planet Ithælen, they all grew crops and people could feed themselves. When he had the money, he would go to Ithælen.
Jæck wandered the market, before he found a bizarre stall. It sold strange rocks. "Hello, sir?" Jæck asked. The old man, his beard grizzled, smiled. "Hello, young man. Would I interest you in these rocks?" Jæck nodded no. He was about to walk away, before the old man gave him an offer he couldn't refuse: "These'll give you food. They attract animals, the smell. We humans can't smell it, though. I'll give it for 4 credits. I see you have that." Jæck pondered on this offer for a moment, before accepting. He happily whistled home, throwing the rock up in his hand.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3XWKe4aDH0
When Jæck got home, his mother was furious. "A rock? Jæck, how could you do this?" She yelled. "You won't get dinner for the rest of the week!" Jæck went bitterly to his room. After a few hours, he got up and went out to clear his head in the midnight darkness. There, the planet Ithælen glowed brightly in the sky. It was hope, peace, and a full belly. Something Jæck didn't have. He put the rock aside him. No animals were attracted. The man must've lied. Jæck realized in sadness.
Suddenly, the rock started to shake. It started to expand into a platform. Jæck was shocked. He called to his mother, but she was still fast asleep. He stood on the platform, and the ground below him started to rise. Jæck looked up. How far would this go?
It didn't take long for an answer. He was in space on the platform, and there he saw the planet.
But something was wrong with the planet. It started to turn very quickly, and Jæck saw that it had eyes and a face. He saw another planet with a face. The faces contorted, before the planets finally spoke.
"Fee, foh, young human. Your time of wallow is about to end." Ithælen boomed. "No!" Jæck yelled, feeling instantly smaller. "I wanted to grow. I wanted to have a family and be on your surface, being at peace."
Ithælen laughed. The sound echoed in space. "They lied. There was never anything on my surface. They just told themselves that there would be a better outcome to make it through each day. There was never a future here. They knew it too, I bet. I've eaten far too many humans for them not to know, yet they continue to lie." Silence filled the air, and Ithælen went closer. Jæck yelled in fright, before doing the one thing he could: jumping off the platform. Ithælen almost dived for him, but didn't want to make the colision with Earth. 161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8yEih30oWs
As Jæck fell, he noticed the platform falling as well. Once it got below him, it swooped under him. Jæck was saved. The platform lowered, and despite his pain, Jæck got up.
He saw his mother outside. "Jæck!" She cried with joy. "Aliens must've stolen you." He smiled for a second, and hugged his mother tight. He didn't have to live for the dream if it was right there with him the whole time.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
