It's A Small World
Nice To Meet You
“Wait!”
His ears pricked up as he heard a voice call out. He glanced out the doorway. It was hard to see from the darkness, and the flickering of a nearby street lamp didn’t help, but from what he could make out there was a figure running towards the space craft.
“Hold the door!”
His held his arm out to stop the door of the space craft closing. As the figure drew closer he realised that it was a woman about his age, maybe younger, lugging behind her a bulky suitcase.
“Would you like a hand?” he asked holding out his hand as she approached the craft, which was hovering two feet above the ground. She heaved her suitcase on board before grabbing a hold of his arm.
“Thanks!” she replied, dusting herself off as she boarded the space craft. It was now that she was in the light that he could get a good look at her. She was of slightly stocky build, about a head shorter than him. Her hair was various lengths and coloured many shades of purple. It was slightly blue in some parts where the sun had bleached it. Her attire - brightly coloured and mismatched clothes, was something which most humans would describe as outlandish. He noticed each of her shoes was a different colour. She smiled at him; her cheeks were still flushed red from running.
“I’m Anwen,” she said, holding out her hand. “Anwen Harri."
“Phineas,” he replied, shaking her hand. “Phineas Doran.”
Anwen made a motion to close the door, but Phineas got there first, sliding it across until he heard the clunk of the lock latching. She smiled at him again, picking up her suitcase and browsing around at the compartments in view.
“Do you want to sit with me in that compartment over there?” Anwen pointed to an empty compartment in front of them.
”KRZZTT – Would passengers please take their seats. We are about to depart – KRZZTT.” the loudspeaker interrupted.
Phineas wasn’t a mean man. Arrogant maybe, but not mean. However, he made most of his decisions in life based on how beneficial they would be to him. And he just couldn’t see how sharing a compartment with this woman would be beneficial. It wasn’t that she was wearing clothes that would scare small children, and it wasn’t the fact that her hair was slightly disturbing him. No, he had seen far worse things in the Universe. It was more of the fact that sitting with her might lead to something, and he didn’t want that. Not yet anyway. He had his career to think of.
“I’ve actually reserved a seat up front” he replied, motioning towards the front of the craft.
“Okay!” she replied, enthusiastically. “Nice to meet you, then." She held out her hand for Phineas to shake.
The corner of Johnston and Stuart Avenue was quiet when the space craft departed. Unless the inhabitants of Stuart Ave had looked out their window at that moment, not one of them would have ever known that a space craft shaped very much like a train was slowly ascending back into the night’s sky, not to return to Earth for another twenty years.
His ears pricked up as he heard a voice call out. He glanced out the doorway. It was hard to see from the darkness, and the flickering of a nearby street lamp didn’t help, but from what he could make out there was a figure running towards the space craft.
“Hold the door!”
His held his arm out to stop the door of the space craft closing. As the figure drew closer he realised that it was a woman about his age, maybe younger, lugging behind her a bulky suitcase.
“Would you like a hand?” he asked holding out his hand as she approached the craft, which was hovering two feet above the ground. She heaved her suitcase on board before grabbing a hold of his arm.
“Thanks!” she replied, dusting herself off as she boarded the space craft. It was now that she was in the light that he could get a good look at her. She was of slightly stocky build, about a head shorter than him. Her hair was various lengths and coloured many shades of purple. It was slightly blue in some parts where the sun had bleached it. Her attire - brightly coloured and mismatched clothes, was something which most humans would describe as outlandish. He noticed each of her shoes was a different colour. She smiled at him; her cheeks were still flushed red from running.
“I’m Anwen,” she said, holding out her hand. “Anwen Harri."
“Phineas,” he replied, shaking her hand. “Phineas Doran.”
Anwen made a motion to close the door, but Phineas got there first, sliding it across until he heard the clunk of the lock latching. She smiled at him again, picking up her suitcase and browsing around at the compartments in view.
“Do you want to sit with me in that compartment over there?” Anwen pointed to an empty compartment in front of them.
”KRZZTT – Would passengers please take their seats. We are about to depart – KRZZTT.” the loudspeaker interrupted.
Phineas wasn’t a mean man. Arrogant maybe, but not mean. However, he made most of his decisions in life based on how beneficial they would be to him. And he just couldn’t see how sharing a compartment with this woman would be beneficial. It wasn’t that she was wearing clothes that would scare small children, and it wasn’t the fact that her hair was slightly disturbing him. No, he had seen far worse things in the Universe. It was more of the fact that sitting with her might lead to something, and he didn’t want that. Not yet anyway. He had his career to think of.
“I’ve actually reserved a seat up front” he replied, motioning towards the front of the craft.
“Okay!” she replied, enthusiastically. “Nice to meet you, then." She held out her hand for Phineas to shake.
The corner of Johnston and Stuart Avenue was quiet when the space craft departed. Unless the inhabitants of Stuart Ave had looked out their window at that moment, not one of them would have ever known that a space craft shaped very much like a train was slowly ascending back into the night’s sky, not to return to Earth for another twenty years.