Some time afterwards, there came a brilliant swath of light which tore the night sky in two. There were excited murmurs and squeals of delight from the town astronomers. But no one could find the origin of this spectacular display, and the matter was soon forgotten.
The creature had heard it, too. The way the beam of light had shot down seemed almost familiar. The creature sighed. It was probably imagining things.
A day later, several hooded figures were seen knocking on the front door of a certain farm. The farmer’s wife opened the door and welcomed the strangers in.
They were strangers indeed. Their faces were as green as leaves, with tufts of blue fur around the chin. Their eyes were a sulfurous yellow and slanted. They were tall and thin, with emerald hands and feet. They wore no shoes.
The farmer’s wife welcomed them warmly. “How may I help you, sirs?”
The strangers stared blankly at her, shook their heads, and muttered foreign sounds to her.
The farmer’s wife shook her head. “I don’t understand.”
The strangers spoke to each other in their foreign language. They meant “She doesn’t understand the universal language. Our friend has probably left. There’s no sign of him.”
One of them replied, “We shall go search somewhere else.”
So the hooded figures left the farm and went off to search high and low for their friend.
A month later, one of them sent off a signal that vibrated the country. The other strangers glided immediately to the woods where the signal was set off.
“What is it? Have you found him?”
“Yes! Yes! There, look!” One of the strangers pointed.
The others followed his gaze. There lay a whimpering creature. Its fur was matted and filthy. It was crouched on all fours, its feet and paws immersed in mud. Only its eyes were barely recognizable.
“Caelesti? Caelesti? Is that you? Why are you like this? Who did this to you? Stand up straight! Don’t lie there like a common creature!”
The creature whimpered.
The one who had found him sighed. “He won’t speak. He has lost all sense of language and dignity. He’s just an empty shell of his former shell. His soul is long dead.”
“Caelesti! Caelesti! Wake up!” One of them exclaimed. The creature shook its head. Tears brimmed up in its yellow eyes.
Several days later, an unknown spacecraft lifted off into the heavens. And a pile of grey dust and two topaz stones were found in the woods.
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