THE NIGHT THE STARS FELL FIRST CONTACT

Brian had been working late at the office, and stopped off on his way home to buy a few groceries; and by the time he had parked his BMW in the garage, it was almost nine pm. He found Ellen singing softly in the kitchen. Dumping the bags on the worktop he went over to Ellen and put his arms around her waist kissing her clean fresh hair that always smelled like flowers.

“How’s your day going?” she smiled turning to face him.

“Good,” he smiled, “Any news about the dog yet?”

“No, no one has claimed him.”

Brian pursed his lips. “Well, I guess he belongs to us now.”

“Todd is so happy, I just hope no one turns up for him. Brian, it will break his heart.” She looked into Brian’s brown eyes reminding her how much like Brian Pixie was even with her blond curls.

“You know Ellen, I haven’t seen you so happy in the last few weeks.”

“That’s because I feel so happy because Todd is happy, since the dog came into his life he has changed, he has worked miracles.”

Brian had an ache in his heart, a gut-wrenching ache! He pulled Ellen into his arms. He felt exhausted. “I know he is a lot better; he has an energy we never saw before, and yes, the dog has made the world of a difference. But darling, don’t read too much into it, our son has an incurable Brain tumour, and we are going to lose him. Even if we have him another year that will be a bonus. The thing is, I don’t want you to get your hopes up and then something happens.” He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes and ran his fingers through her hair. “We need to take it a day at a time.”

“I know Brian I know, but where there’s life there’s always hope, so let’s be happy while he is happy, and we still have him with us.”

Both stood in the centre of the kitchen clinging to each other with silent tears running down their faces.

The dog stood at the top of the stairs, he heard and understood every word. His big brown eyes looked moist in the amber glow of the landing light; the tips of his fur seemed to sparkle like stardust. He just nodded his head as if in agreement then padded back to Todd’s room.

Todd woke suddenly with terrible pain from the base of his skull to the top of his eyebrows. He pulled himself up and reached for his pain blockers which usually stop the pain quickly, then Tramadol. With shaking hands, he poured some water and gulped them down. He had never had such severe pain before, and now he was so scared he just cried. Tears poured freely down his face. Todd was no baby, but the pain reminded him of his oncoming death!

He tried to take his mind off the pain; he knew it would go as soon as he lay back on the pillow. He gently felt the back of his head his fingers travelling slowly to the top and instantly felt the scar from the operation and shuddered at the thought of it.

The dog jumped onto the bed and gave him a huge Slurpee kiss from his cheek to his eyebrows. Todd laughed and pushed him away.

“I already had a shower today.” He teased ruffling the dog’s head. “You are a good boy.”

The pain had started to ease now, and Todd relaxed. In a few seconds, it had almost gone, and Todd pulled himself up. The dog stared at him for a long time, his deep brown eyes were full of love and compassion, Todd pursed his lips as they stared at each other, and then Todd said...” I expect you to think I am nuts huh? Well, I’ve been thinking a lot lately, mostly about you…Now here’s the thing; I am going to die soon, which won’t be long now, but I will make provisions for you, Mum and Dad will look after you,” he ruffled the dog’s head. “They have grown to love you and they will keep you, OK? So, you do not need to worry, about what happens to you when I die.”

They gazed at each other for a few moments when the dog’s eyes turned bright blue the colour of a clear summer’s day, and then sparkles like tiny diamonds appeared in both pupils. Todd’s eyes widened and he took the dog’s head in his hands, turning it to the left and then right in case it was a trick of the light, but the eyes remained the same along with an alarming change of shading in his fur. A strip down his back turned white with shades of silver, and the tips got even brighter as if someone had sprinkled stardust all over him. Todd sat up erect. “Are you ok boy? Your eyes have gone Bright blue, and you have sparkly bits in your irises! Oh God, I’ll call Mum.” Todd was panicking now. Before he could rise from the bed, the dog’s two front paws pushed him back down.

He gently licked his face. “You are seeing the real me Todd; don’t be scared. I was sent here to help you.”

Todd’s face drained of what little colour he had. His first impression was that he was hallucinating from the tumour, or having a seizure, his heartbeat wildly. “OH no, no, this is not happening, it’s not real! You spoke, your mouth moved.”

“Doesn’t your mouth move when you talk?” the dog replied tilting his head and smiling comically with one side of his lip curling upwards.

“And while we are on the subject of human communication, I have a name of my own, and thank you very much for suggesting a compilation of silly names.”

“Oh…I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.” Todd said quickly, still not sure, if this was real or not.

“I know you didn’t... However, Fluffy? Boona? Blue? Seriously! I do not resemble a fluffy receptacle in the least, nor something that looks like a piece of material, and my fur is not a particular colour especially blue, my fellow Race would die laughing; I’d never live it down!” his furry brows came together in a comical frown. Todd’s eyes almost shot out of his sockets, was this real?

“Now you’re going to tell me your name?” Todd stammered.

“Lasko”

“Ohhh That’s a pretty cool name, so that’s what I’ll call you.” Todd grinned.

Lasko sighed. “Well, I am so pleased, you agree.”

“So how did you get here?”

“I came to your planet a couple of nights ago.”

“By spaceship?”

“Of course, by Spaceship…I know my ears are quite flexible, but they don’t enable me to fly! What did you think, I floated down like a duck feather through the clouds?”

Todd laughed, “You even have a sense of humour, tell me all about yourself and where you came from?” Todd was getting so excited; that he could not control his tongue.

“Whoa, hang on, one thing at a time! You are making me dizzy now…My English is not excellent you know.”

Todd sat forward now folding his legs beneath him, with a look of excited expectancy on his face.

“OK, sorry. Let us start again; where did you come from?”

Lasko jumped off the bed and sat beside Todd looking up into his dark eyes, he almost laughed at the look on his face.

“Look, you are not going to understand this, Todd; after all, you are a mere human with limited intelligence and the capacity of a brain the size of a pea! And a memory span of one second no longer than a goldfish, so I’ll try and make myself clearly understood in the best way I can.”

Of course, Todd did not realise he was being teased! Until he saw the smirk on Lasko’s muzzle.

“Oh, man I can’t believe this!” he shook his head and started to laugh.

“Well, it’s true Todd; I come from a far distant planet, where we are far more advanced than the human species, which I may add are so funny, that they have integrated themselves into our hearts. Yes, hearts we do have one, maybe not in the same place as you, nevertheless they are there all three of them.”

“OH Lasko, YOU HAVE THREE HEARTS! that’s amazing, I can’t believe this is happening to me!” he reached out his hand and touched the dog’s head tenderly. “I want you to stay with me until the end, I’m so glad I found you I want you to be with me when I die.” Tears clouded his eyes. The dog blinked; his eyes shone again. He lifted his huge paw and placed it on Todd’s knee.

“You didn’t find me I found you, and I won’t be with you till the end; because there will be no end, you are going to live a long life get married, have a young of your own; and a long time later, Grandchildren.”

“Todd gave the dog a sad smile. “I’m dying Lasko, nothing can save me.” Tears flowed now as Todd thought of the hopelessness of it all and the sweet nature of this alien dog.

The dog looked up at him again. “I know Todd, I know all about your tumour, and the one growing next to it already feeding on its blood supply; it set itself up next to the big one like two twins in the womb. They are Glioblastomas a fatal tumour, and in the human species, they are not curable and can develop more tumours. But I am about to reverse that, I am going to get rid of it and the chap growing next to it.”

“What! There is another one! Todd’s eyes widened in fright.

“Yes, they didn’t see it on your last scan, it was too small.” The dog looked serious now, his brows met in the middle of his forehead above his blue eyes, his nose was dry, and his tongue came out to moisten it a bit. “They will be gone tonight never to return.”

“How? How can you get rid of them when all the medical professionals can’t?”

Lasko looked at him comically with one eyebrow raised. “Have you not been listening to me one bit? Did you not understand what I said to you about being ‘More advanced’? We have capabilities far more than you could ever imagine Todd; Cancer is to us like a common cold is to you. We learnt how to cure these things centuries ago.”

Todd’s eyes widened “You can cure me?”

“Trust me Todd…Do you trust me?”

Todd nodded his head, he was still wondering if this were all a dream and he would wake up with his two tumours still with him, and the dog lying on the bottom of the bed, an ordinary beautiful dog who would always be his best friend.

“Ok, then let’s get on with it, lie back on the bed and close your eyes.”

Todd lay flat on his bed and closed his eyes, at first, he felt nothing but peace and serenity, no pain, and everything was calm. Lasko jumped on the bed and laid his paws on Todd’s shoulders. “I’m going to laser the tumours then remove them.”

“Will it hurt?”

“You won’t feel anything except a sharp sting as the tumours are removed…There is nothing to be afraid of, OK? Just relax, I’m sure you had far worse going through Chemo and Radiation.”

“You got that in one,” Todd replied.

“Ready?”

“Ready.”

Lasko’s eyes turned a brilliant blue, his fur shone golden; the tips like a million diamonds sparkling in all its beauty. Todd felt warmth flowing into him with a lovely feeling of contentment. He saw flashbacks of when he was small, going to the park and playing with his father, he saw himself running and Dad chasing him, Mum laying a blanket down for the picnic basket, saw her taking out plates and knives and forks, a flask of tea with juice for him and two cups for them. A bag of fruit laid out on the blanket with sandwiches sausage rolls and cake. How happy he had been…So normal.

And then came the ’sting’, only as bad as an injection into the back of his scalp, he opened his eyes. In addition, there was Lasko, grinning his doggy smile. “All over Todd, they have gone forever.”

Todd sat up, he did not know whether to laugh or cry and instead, he threw his arms around Lasko’s neck and gave him a huge hug.

“All the exhaustion has gone! I feel well, I feel like I have a renewed energy. Oh, God…Is it true? Or am I dreaming?”

“You are not dreaming Todd.”

Todd swung his legs over the bed. “I want to know all about you; where you came from, what your people look like, are they here now?” There were so many questions he wanted to ask, it was all tumbling around in his head.

“OK. Take a breath! You’ll run out of air; I will answer each question as you ask me.”

“Where do you come from?”

“I come from a far-off planet, its name is Cybalon, and it is five million miles from Earth.”

“Wow, that’s some distance, how long did it take you to get here?”

“A few months give or take a couple of bypasses on the way; we know a shortcut through a few galaxies.”

“What do your people look like? Are they bug-eyed, or are they like us, or are they grey with large heads and massive, big round eyes?”

At this, the dog laughed. “You have been watching too many sci-fi films. They look a little different from you, some are mainly very tall, about seven feet, and have blue eyes that shine and skin that has a silver tint to it. They are attractive people, and they are peaceful they are called the Galleon Masters, which is who I belong to. We heal with our eyes and are the superior race. Todd, over many centuries they have learned how to be at peace, and how to be negotiators, they are Doctors, Teachers, and scientists. We have abilities to cure illnesses that here on your planet are still being tested, like cancer, brain tumours and terrible illnesses and infections, cancer to us is just like an infection, we have been born with this magnificent gift, and we never abuse it. And apart from our race, we have many other races, and yes some are ‘bug-eyed’ as you put it, and some are grey with big heads, but they are also cute too, They mean no harm to anyone, they are botanists, they supply our planets with beautiful plants and flowers, they nurture them and give oxygen to our planet, the air is so clean up there, they live alongside us, so if anyone needs help with their gardens, they are the people to fix it. We all live peacefully together. The galaxy is not ours alone it belongs to many species.”

Todd looked amazed. “So, you must know about our wars with the Taliban and Isis?”

“Sadly yes, but these people will never accept peace, they know nothing else, they war about God or their so-called God, but everyone has their own God, you just have to respect everyone’s religion.”

“I guess so, that’s how Mum and Dad brought me up to respect everyone’s religion, whether I liked it or not, not to judge people for what they believe in.” Todd sat thoughtfully for a moment absorbing Lasko’s wise words, he could hardly believe he was sitting here having an intelligent conversation with a dog, there were so many things he wanted to know.

“So how do you heal with your eyes?”

“We have optical lasers we are born with them.”

“Wow! So, go on, tell me about the aliens.”

“There are other species that look like lizards, or reptiles, they are about seven feet tall with scaly skin and wings, and they can also be very aggressive.”

“I wouldn’t like to meet them on a dark night.”

Lasko yawned, “Not many people would! Todd, can we resume this conversation in the morning, I feel very tired, the healing process has taken quite a bit out of me, plus the questions are being fired at me, I feel like I’ve been on a one-way trip around the galaxy five times…Phew!”

“OK, but we need to tell Mum.”

“In the morning Todd, I promise.”

***

Todd came down early for breakfast it had just gone 6:30 He could not wait to tell his mother about his cure, JUST IMAGINE all her worries would be gone, what an amazing thing to tell her!

Ellen turned around as Todd made a noisy entry into the kitchen, she stared at him quizzically and immediately saw the change in him. His dark eyes were bright, his skin tone had changed from a dull pale pallor to a normal healthy sheen, and even his hair looked different.

“Todd?” she enquired anxiously…” You look so well this morning, what’s happened?”

Todd’s grin spread wider across his face as the bubbling excitement grew inside him.

“Mum…I’m cured, the tumours have gone, and gone forever.”

Ellen felt her legs go weak as she put the tea towel on the table and turned towards him frowning. “What? What do you mean they are gone? Todd baby, that’s impossible.” She lowered herself onto the chair, if she didn’t, she knew her legs would just give way.

“Mum, I have something to tell you…Lasko is not a dog at all, he’s an alien.”

Ellen blinked hard, now she was scared, he was frightening her.

“What are you talking about Todd? Lasko is an alien disguised as a dog? Now you are scaring me…You are hallucinating! If you’re not well I’ll phone the hospital.” Ellen’s heart was pounding as she got up on shaky legs towards the phone.

“MUM wait, I am not hallucinating, it’s true! Lasko cured me, he cured me with his eyes, he was born with lasers in his eyes. At, this Ellen thought she would bypass the chemo unit and go straight for an ambulance.

She turned suddenly, her blue eyes brimming with tears as she heard the dog speak.

“Ellen? Trust him, he is telling you the truth.”

She stood there staring at the dog, her eyebrows had risen almost to the top of her hairline. For seconds her voice had been snatched away from her and words stuck in her throat. She brought her hand to her chest, her heart was thundering against her ribs.

“Ellen?” he repeated. “Do you trust me? I’m here to help, this is my sole reason for being here, to cure Todd because he doesn’t deserve to die.”

Ellen dropped to her knees, Lasko came over and gave her a gentle nudge with his big furry head.

“It’s true, I come from a different world, I didn’t appear in your garden as a stray dog, I was meant to be here”.

Ellen managed to reach up to Lasko’s massive head and curl her fingers in his long shaggy fur.

“PLEASE do not joke with me, this is not funny. I could not bear to be the object of cruel jokes, especially at this time.”

Lasko shifted to Ellen’s side and sat down beside her gently nudging her with his nose.

“I can swear to you this is no joke. How could I joke about something so desperately tragic as a young boy having a devastating brain tumour that is going to kill him very soon…Ellen, it is true, please have faith in me.”

Todd found his voice. “Mum, let’s go to the hospital, let them check if the tumours are still there or not.”

Ellen finally got up, her legs still feeling shaky, and for a moment she steadied herself by resting her hand on the chair.

“Okay, Todd get dressed we’ll go to the hospital, I can’t believe this is happening.”

While Todd got dressed, she kissed Lasko on the head. “If you are who you say you are, then it’s a miracle, and where do we go from here?”

“We can talk about that later, for now, let’s just get our boy sorted out.”

Ellen held tightly to her car keys, squeezing them between her fingers and turning them around in her shaking hands, then wiped one damp hand down her jeans while the other kept twirling the keys, as they sat in the doctor’s office waiting for the results of the blood tests and scans to come back, Ellen pushed hair from her eyes with the same hand she used to wipe her hand on her jeans.

***