How to: Survive an Alien Invasion

Viisi - Finnish

I had apparently fallen asleep while listening to I Don't Know My Name by Grace Vanderwaal and when I awoke, I was even more tired than I was before. I opened my eyes to my bright dandelion yellow coloured walls. Whoever chose these colours was either unable to choose a decent colour scheme, or had a very cruel sense of humour. I'll go with the latter. Thought I didn't mind yellow as a colour, it didn't look very good on walls. At least my white bookshelves matched with the disgusting colour, though the books on the shelf did not. They were a varied range of red to green, blue to orange, black to purple. Overall, this was my favourite place to be.

I recall the time I found it what a 'library' was. Julia always told me that I'd worn the biggest smile she'd ever seen that day. I'd never been to a library, but I don't doubt that it's heaven on earth. I stood up and straightened my light blue sheets before going to inspect the shelves.

For as long as I could remember, every time Allan or Julia would go into town, they'd come back with a new book for me to read. Allan and Julia never talked about their work or what they did, but Allan spent most of his time in the fields and Julia was usually typing away on a computer. I often helped Allan out in the fields before we trained. I noticed that some of the books were dusty and I frowned, using my finger to wipe away the accumulation of dirt. Cloudy was asleep and I was bored.

I figured that I had no use up here so I decided to go downstairs. Placing my hand on the light rail, I began to walk down the stairway. Once I reached the bottom, I turned left and into the kitchen, passing the front door. Allan and Julia were both sitting at the dinner table and they looked up at me. "Hey, sweetie," Julia greeted, smiling warmly at me.

"Hi," I replied, returning her smile as I sat. Sometimes I wondered how I got so lucky to have these two in my life. I hadn't noticed that the record player was on until a heavy metal song began to play. Allan had made his own mix of songs on one record so it was just a mash up of random genres. Julia laughed and made a rock and roll gesture before whipping her hair around. Allan rocked his head back and forth dramatically and I chuckled before deciding that I had to go to the bathroom.

I walked around the corner and entered the bathroom. I could no longer hear the music and I didn't know whether I was relieved or disappointed.

On second thought, it was definitely the former.

Once I was finished, I washed my hands and made my way back to the dining room. Once I arrived, I took into account the change of music. It was a slow song, one I didn't recognize. Allan and Julia were no longer sitting down, nor were they in the room. I peeked around the corner and into the kitchen, only to find them enveloped in each others arms.

Allan had his hands on her hips, smiling as he looked down at her with adoration. Julia returned the action while resting her hands around his neck. They swayed in a circle as the song played out and I watched them admirably. Allan leaned down and whispered something in her ear and she giggled. I smiled slightly before returning to the table, waiting patiently for them to finish.

Before the song ended, an alarm went off. "Oh, is that really the time? Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised, I always lose track of it when I'm with you," I heard Allan say from the other room.

"Honestly, what amazing things did I do in my past lives to deserve someone like you?" Julia then questioned aloud. I swooned as their footsteps echoed above the music. Allan shut off the record player and Julia was grinning ear to ear.

"You ready for that fun thing I was talking about?" Allan asked me, taking his glasses off. I frowned in confusion.

"I thought the dog was that fun thing," I said, standing up from my chair nonetheless.

"That was just a little bonus. Plus, you can legally drink in Canada now, you deserve more attention and gifts." Allan smiled as he said that last part.

"How does that help me? We live in America," I replied, following them through the house.

"It still means you've survived eighteen years of life and eleven years of us," Julia contributed with a soft smile. I raised a quizzical brow, just as Mr. Darcy did in Pride and Prejudice.

"You guys made it pretty easy," I informed her truthfully as they lead me outside. I hadn't noticed how dark it was until we stepped off the porch and into the night.

"Wait here," Allan told us as he skipped into the shed. Julia and I waited silently, but while I was confused, Julia wore an excited smile. I was about to ask her what she was so excited about, when a loud bang pierced the sky. A ball of light went flying up into the dark and exploded midair. There was an arrangement of colours, seemingly haphazard, but carefully chosen at the same time. There was red, pink, blue... it reminded me of my books.

"What is that?" I marvelled as they continued to light up the sky. I looked over at her and she kept her eyes above.

"They're fireworks," Julia replied with a smile as bright as the lights in the sky. I moved my gaze back to the show on top of us and continued to wonder.

Too soon for my liking, the fireworks stopped and Allan came out from behind the shed, not from inside. "That was amazing, thank you so much!" I exclaimed happily, running over to Allan and hugging him tightly. Julia came jogging over and wrapped her arms around the both of us. We stayed like that for a moment before breaking apart.

"It was our pleasure," he murmured as we walked back inside. The smoke from the fireworks was beginning to cloud the night sky.

"Thank you, for the best birthday ever," I stated warmly, looking at both of them. They returned my gratitude with pleasant smiles and I quickly found myself wrapped up in my bed sheets. I could faintly hear Julia and Allan walking around downstairs, but I was tired and all I wanted to do was relive the memory of those fireworks inside my head.