I remember the large one
When the lights came back on and the large one came back, it moved my cell. It moved me outside, but higher up, probably not on ground level. I hoped if I was outside I could somehow escape and find my way back home. Maybe there were more of my kind around in this area who could point me in the right direction. Or if they had never heard of my area, maybe I could live with them for a while before traveling around to find my way back home. If the large one would go away and leave me unattended for a while I might try the door again. I guess I could have tried acting friendly in hopes that the large one might open the door, but it was safer to hide and wait for it to leave. Any time it touched me it was so big I feared it might crush me even accidentally. And who knew if it might hurt me now even though it seemed to have helped me before. Generations of hiding from the large ones can't be overcome that easily. Being a cautious race has kept us safe for the most part from the large ones. When we stay undetected, we stay safe. We've heard that those who have revealed their numbers have been hunted down and captured or killed. So I waited.
Even after it went back in the building I waited. What if it was going to come right back? But what if I waited too long and missed my chance. I had to try now. I passed food and water as I got to the door, but I wasn't brave enough to try any of it. It might be a peace offering, or it might be a trap. I would be better off just ignoring it and focusing on figuring out how to squeeze out through this door. If I wiggled just right I might make it. For a minute there I thought the large one would come back to find me stuck half in and half out of the door, but I kept twisting and pushing. Finally my body was free. Then my suspicions were confirmed; the large one had put the cell up on a ledge or shelf, one that it could easily reach, but that was at least ten body lengths above the ground for me. Well I couldn't just sit on this ledge till it came back for me. But, could I climb down, or would I just be injured in the fall? I would have to risk it, but I would leave a note first. I wasn't sure the large one would understand it anyways since it had not responded to my attempts to communicate earlier, but I still felt I should explain why I had run. Maybe someday our races would come to understand each other and hostilities would no longer be necessary.
To my Rescuer,
Thank you for helping me in my time of need. I am very grateful for your assistance. However, since I cannot seem to communicate with you to understand your motives in keeping me here, I felt it would be wisest for me to try to find my way home on my own. If we meet again, can I count you as a friend?
Sincerely,
A Grateful Little One
Nathan and I have been reading some science fiction stories lately about the communication barriers between humans and aliens, and I got to thinking of the barriers even between races from the same world: beings that live in the same overlapping territories but can't communicate with each other because they communicate in different ways. This story is actually based on true events, but I don't want to ruin the affect by telling you what they were.
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