Cleptsii

The story was a legend, but whenever I heard it I knew there was more than what my elders were telling me. The story my grandmother told me always stayed the same whenever I asked.

“There was a beautiful young girl that was bright and always curious. Now this girl wasn’t always on Earth. She had her head facing up and looked always at the stars. “I love it,” she’d say. But one day, I suppose she wasn’t paying too much attention because she went missing. Some say she was killed. Others say she just went on a trip. Then, out of the blue, the girl was seen in town. She was buying fruits like shed always done in the past. No one asked her where she went, but the rumors still spread. She wasn’t the same girl everyone knew and loved. She had changed. She never looked up at the stars anymore.”

That’s where the story always ended. Grandma had passed a couple years ago and the rest of the story went to the grave with her. It was one of my favorite stories to hear. Now that Grandma was gone, I was alone.

I never knew my parents and that was a subject I could never bring myself to ask Grandma about. That was okay though because I had Grandma and she was all I ever needed. Since she had passed I was beginning to wonder about the family I never got the chance to know and the secrets of the legend I knew so well.

*** *** ***

Is it possible to know exactly what’s going on and still be utterly confused? The last memory I really remembered was walking outside late at night and then there was nothing but darkness.

Rubbing my throbbing head, I sat up slowly and tried to look at the bright room that I was now in. Everything was blurry so I closed my eyes once again and tried to keep the room from spinning.

“He’s awake,” I barely heard the whisper from behind me. I opened my eyes and let out a shocked gasp. Standing in front of was the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen. But she was standing way too close. The girl was staring back at me with a look I couldn’t quite place. Her long, dark hair hung loosely around her round face. Her golden skin made her bright sea blue eyes stand out. Around her neck was a bright pendant that was in the shape of a star.

“Welcome.” I turned to see who spoke and saw an older man walk in. As soon as he spoke the lights dimmed slightly.

“Where am I?” I asked unsurely to the unnamed man.

“Now don’t be shy. You are safe here,” he assured me. By this time, the girl was gone and I was on my feet. The man took a step closer then spoke, “Peace. Peace. I mean you no harm.”

I took a step back then replied, “Where am I? And who are you?”

“You are ‘in the stars’ as you Earthlings would say.” He let out a slight chuckle then smiled.

“You’re insane. Who are you?”

“I’m Laurent. Do you always ask a lot of questions?”

“Yes, only in unknown places with creepy men talking to me.”

He laughed then sat on the chair that I now noticed. “You look like your mother. But you’re as stubborn as me.”

“How do you know my mother?” The mysterious man just smiled and walked out. I tried to follow him but my legs wouldn’t move. “Hey! Hey! I’m talkin’ to you!” I screamed but got no response.

The lights turned up again to a point that I had to cover my eyes just to see the young girl walk into the room once again. She made a motion for me to come to her but I held my ground and tried my best to look intimidating. “Come.” She spoke after a long, tense silence. When she spoke my feet started moving. Well, not physically moving. More like floating toward her.

I looked down and saw what looked like three floating discs. I yelped and tried to balance myself but the discs didn’t become unsteady like I thought they would.

When I reached the girl she smiled and shook my hand. “It’s great to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.”

“Nice to meet you?”

She smiled then finally released my hand. “Welcome to the Star Cleptsii.”

“Star?”

She laughed then replied when she noticed that I didn’t get the joke. “Yeah. Star? Space? Ya know. Um light within darkness?” The room, stared spinning and my knees gave out. The girl caught me and lowered me to the ground. “Are you okay? I mean I know all you Earthlings weren’t that smart but did you really think you were the only ones in the universe?” She laughed then sat down next to me.

“So how’d I get here?” I finally choked out.

“That, my friend, is a mystery in the darkness.”

“Okay, let me get this straight: I just appeared here?”

“Basically. And I was given the lovely job of showing you around. First, you should change. You stick out like a sore thumb with those rags.”

“What’s wrong with my clothes?” I asked then took a quick glance at her. Her dark curly hair was tied up into a neat bun at the top of her head. Her blinding white jump suit was placed snug around her body. Her outfit was different than the man that was in the room a few minutes before. He seemed darker now that I thought about it. Unlike the girl, he gave me a creepy feeling that I couldn’t quite place. “Forget it. Where are we going?”

“To go see your new home. I’m Zee. Someone’s been waiting for you.” She turned to me then smiled. “You’re mothers been waiting a long time for this and she’s rushing me.”
Completely confused I let her pull me and walked out into the dark night to see what awaited me in the world that I now was a part of.