Haunted by the mystery of a strange accident, the life of Asteria, a young writer, suddenly takes a turn when aliens arrive on Earth and she is among the group selected to participate in the first contact, and the first interplanetary peace treaty...
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"Look behind the Moon"
While training in the gym, practicing strikes and movements with the assistant on duty, I had thought over and over again my mother's words.
Those could have so many meanings, especially since it was what my mother had been investigating before the accident. But how was I supposed to know where exactly to look? My parents' house had at least twenty moons in different kinds of decorations, and my mother had never given me anything with moons that was especially relevant.
- Hey, Asteria... are you on this planet? – Suddenly the coach of the personal defense area told me.
- What?
-I was telling you that you could try hitting with your elbow, instead of always exposing your knuckles.
-Oh...okay - I replied, running my hands over my face to remove the sweat.
- Are you okay?
I had barely slept the day before because of my frequent nightmares, my lunch had evaporated, and my mind was anywhere but the gym.
-I ...I think I'll go home.
After leaving the gym, I remembered that I had to do the groceries shopping, and finally after fulfilling each and every one of the commitments of that day, I found myself quickly walking back home; aware that the drizzle seemed to become thicker and thicker as the temperature dropped.
The two grocery shopping bags weren't exactly light, and perhaps the sensible option would have been to take another Uber back. But I needed to walk. Getting exhausted during the day helped me have an excuse to sleep; and today the cold and the rain helped me clear my always busy mind.
I didn't want to think too much about the old investigator's words, or about my livid mother who had suddenly been able to speak, and who had asked me to keep it quiet. And soon those thoughts were briefly interrupted when behind me I began to feel a constant pattering, which turned into footsteps behind me. As a response I looked back, assuming someone was following me, but unlike that morning, this time there was no one.
Relax, you're about to get home.
Out of nowhere, a light illuminated the sky, followed by the rumble of thunder, and as that was a clear sign that the rain would soon get heavier, I quickened my pace a little, to reach my destination as soon as I could.
Fifteen minutes later, with wet hair and quite hungry, I met my friend at the entrance of my house, under a large transparent umbrella.
Sam was taller than me, lean but strong, with features that could have been either Korean or Chinese. Under the hall lights, his ashy light brown dyed hair was elegantly tousled, and he was dressed in a casual blue round neck sweatshirt with black sweatpants under a long, elegant dark coat, which was left open.
- Are you okay? -he asked as he came over to help me with one of the bags.
I simply made with my hands the gesture that my head was exploding, and then I turned the key in the lock to open the door.
