Stars In Her Eyes

• Kate Scull, Grade 9, Bairnsdale Secondary College
• Short Story
• 1998

2nd in the 'Fantasy And Beyond 1998' competition

Fowik carefully parked his 6-Jet Drive Zormek Racer. He unwound his tentacle from the steering stick and took a deep breath to calm his nervousness. One of his seventeen eyes swivelled towards the girl sitting beside him. Yet again he reflected with amazement on his good luck to be going out with Bidak. Honestly, she was the most gorgeous shade of purple you’d ever seen. He had to say something. He couldn’t blow it now.

‘Great view from here, isn’t it?’ he began conversationally. They were sitting on top of Mount Zillak. From the cluster of domes far below where Fowik and Bidak lived lights shone brightly, creating a small ring of light on the valley floor. The twin moons glowed gently in the dark sky above, millions of stars twinkling around them.

Bidak sighed in agreement. ‘It sure is beautiful. It makes you think though, doesn’t it, all those stars?’ ‘Uh, yeah,’ Fowik mumbled. He had no idea where she was going with this. ‘About what?’ ‘Oh, things. Life. All those stars,’ she waved a tentacle at them emphatically, ‘they make you wonder if there is life on other planets, somewhere. Don’t they?’

‘Sure, I suppose.’ Fowik was at a loss. What on Zedik was she talking about?’ ‘I mean, there’s a whole universe out there. Any star could have a planet circling round it, with intelligent life. Like us, but different.’ She rippled in excitement as she warmed to her subject. Fowik just wished she could get this excited about him. ‘And how would we ever know? All we’ve managed to do is fly to both moons and send robots to the dead planets round our Star. But the next nearest star is light years away. How could we tell?’

‘Um’, said Fowik, desperately trying to sound intelligent. On previous dates he’d never had to have an actual conversation. Usually he’d just tell the girl what a beautiful colour she was, and how gracefully she rippled. Things went on from there. This was all getting a bit intellectual for him. ‘It’s hard to say’, he stammered. ‘Unless of course they came here.’

‘But that’s the thing!’ Bidak explained eagerly, tentacles swaying. ‘If they’re as intelligent as us, then they may be just as planet-bound as we are, and our two races would never meet simply because we were on opposite sides of the universe. Such a pity!’ she sighed, looking quite heart-broken. Her purple skin took on a delicately bluer tine. Then she brightened (literally) as a new thought struck her. ‘I wonder what they’d look like?’ she giggled. ‘Maybe they’ve got only two eyes, and brown skin – or white!’

Fowik saw his chance and grabbed it with all tentacles. ‘They’d be nowhere near as beautiful as you,’ he murmured, sliding towards her down the seat.

Bidak blushed a gentle shade of green, making her even prettier. ‘Oh Fowik!’ she whispered, her fifteen eyes spinning as she gazed at him. ‘What I mean is……’ ‘Yes?’ Fowik encouraged her. ‘Surely, in the whole universe…..’ Fowik gave up.