Short Stories

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In the
beginning
God created
the heavens
and
the earth.
[Genesis 1:1]
*********************
Place: Planet Vega;
Intergalactical Space
Convention Center.
Event: 8,000th Annual
God Convention.
Pre-Registration Price:
$3000 Space-dollars
including a Convention
Leather NotePad Pouch with
Famous Tourist Photos of Planet Vega,
tickets to the Vegan's
National Football Playoffs,
Four sit-down
vegan-dinners
(Vegan-nonalcoholic-drinks not included),
a tour to the Famous Vega-Caverns
outside the City capitol,
and a boatride
across the Famous Vega
Falls in the nation's
Green Rain Forest Wilderness Park.
Time: Present-day.
_________________________
[PINNING HIS NAME
TAG ON ROBE-COLLAR.]
[RUEFUL GLANCE DOWN AT
NAME TAG WHICH
HAS A LITTLE CARTOON PICTURE OF
PLANET EARTH.]
[SHAKE HEAD.]
[SIGH.]
"I HATE these things."

(A loud, screechy shout
can be heard from
across the Convention
Lunch Cafeteria.)
"LORD!
LORD!
....OF PLANET EARTH!
IT'S ME!
REMEMBER ME?
IT'S SCHMEE'LOCK!
REMEMBER?"

[SIGH.]
[NOD.]
[SMILE.]
[WAVE.]
[GLANCE DOWN
AT VEGAN-SHAPED
PLATE IN HIS HAND.
IT'S FILLED WITH
STRANGE-LOOKING
ORDERVES: MOST
ARE GREEN VEGGIE-THINGS SINCE
THE VEGANS ARE ALL
VEGETARIANS.]
[SIGH.]

(Screechy shout gets
closer, and much louder.)
"REMEMBER ME?
IT'S SCHMEE'LOCK!
FROM PLANET ORANGE?
IT'S ON THE OTHER
SIDE OF THE STAR
BEETLEJUICE*! YA KNOW,
ABOUT 30 BILLION
LIGHTYEARS FROM
THAT LITTLE MILKY
WAY A' YOURS?"

[CALM NOD.]
[SIGH.]
[SET LEATHER NOTEPAD
POUCH DOWN ON
A HARD PLASTIC,
ANTI-GRAVITAL
FLOATING SEAT IN
FRONT OF ONE OF
THE CONVENTION
CAFETERIA TABLES.
AT THE TABLE SETTING IS A BIG
BLUE AND GREEN CARD
MARKED: "PLANET
EARTH". ON THE PLASTIC CARD
IS A LITTLE DRAWING OF A
PRETTY GREEN AND BLUE
CELESTIAL GLOBE.]
"Yes.....yes,
I remember...."
[NOD.]
[LOOK DOWN AT
PLACE SETTING:
BESIDE EACH PLATE
AT THE TABLE IS A
BIG GLASS OF GREEN
VEGA-WATER ON ICE.]
[SIGH.]
"How ARE you?"

(Screechy, loud voice
is now even closer. It
belongs to a little orange
fellow with a perfectly
round head, small beady
eyes, a big toothy smile,
and large pot-belly. His
name tag reads: "Planet
Orange", and has a little
cartoon picture of the
rather small, cloudless planet:
it looks like a dirty,
stepped-on naval-orange
that had been at
the bottom of the box,
when it had been
shipped out from an
orange grove on
Earth's Florida state.
Planet Orange has two
tiny, oddly-shaped moons:
Banana, and Pear.)
"WELL, OKAY!
THAT SHUTTLE-RIDE
OVER FROM CONVENTION HOTEL
WAS A HOOT! CROWDED! AND,
WAY OVER-PRICED!
WHERE ARE YA STAYING?"

[CALM PAUSE.]
[PICK UP BIG GLASS
OF GREEN VEGA-WATER....AND
SET IT BACK DOWN.]
"Outside the city,
this year. It's CHEAPER."
[PULL OUT BIG PLASTIC EARTH MUG
OF REGULAR EARTH-WATER,
FROM LEATHER POUCH. EVERY
PRE-REGISTEREE OF THE CONVENTION
GETS HIS OWN WATER-MUG
IN THE COLOR OF HIS PLANET,
AND PLANET-EMBLEM OF THE
CONVENTION. THIS YEAR, EARTH'S
IS A DRAWING OF THE POLAR BEAR
SITTING ON A BIG MELTING ICE
CUBE: THE POLAR BEAR IS WEARING
A SOMBRERO, SUNGLASSES,
AND HOLDING AN OLD-FASHIONED
COCA-COLA BOTTLE.]
"It's a little motel,
just beside the space-bus
station terminal.
There's no cable or
anything....but, I
don't really need that."

(Big screechy laugh!)
(Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!)
(Pause, while big orange
mouth slurps down
green Vega-water.)
"You're not STAYIN'
AT THE PENTHOUSE
SUITE HERE AT THE
PLAZA......LIKE ME?
OH.....YEAH....
I FORGOT!
YU'R PLANET AIN'T
DOIN' SO WELL,
THIS YEAR....HUH?"

[CALM VOICE.]
"Not REALLY."

(Big, screechy laugh!)
(Mouth now full of
little green Vega-shoots:
they smell like earth-
garbage after it's stayed
out two days past,
due to the
Christmas holidays....
and, taste even worse.)
"When are Ya goin to
get RID of that THING,
LORD? HECK, I COULD
PROBABLY TAKE IT
OFF YOUR HANDS,
FOR A HUNDRED
SPACE-BUCKS OR MORE!
THAT'S FOR
SURE!"
(Laugh!)

[SIGH.]
"Well......"
[GLANCE UP AT THE
BIG, PANORAMIC SPACE
WINDOW OVERLOOKING THE
VEGA NIGHT SKY;
THE DEEP PURPLISH
BLUE OF THE PLANET'S
ATMOSPHERE MAKES
ALL THE STARS AND PLANETS OVERHEAD
LOOK LIKE SO MANY
BRIGHTLY-LIT CHRISTMAS OUTDOOR
LIGHTS STRUNG ACROSS SOMEONE'S
SIDEWALK BUSHES.]
"I know My Earth isn't
worth very much....."

(Screechy, loud voice.)
(More loud chewing on
a bright green piece of
Vega-carrot.)
"HECK!
THAT'S FOR DARN
SURE, LORD!
WHY DON'T YA JUST
GET RID A' HER?
SELL HER....FOR ONCE
AND FOR ALL?
PUT HER UP, ON
INTERGALACTIC-EBAY!
(Carrot-smelling burp.)
"HECK!
SOMEBODY'LL TAKE
HER OFF Y'UR HANDS!"

[LONG PAUSE.]
[TAKE ANOTHER SIP
OF EARTH-WATER OUT
OF THE GRASS-GREEN
AND OCEAN-BLUE,
VEGA-CONVENTION-
EARTH-MUG.]
[NOD.]
"Hm.
Yes.
I could do that."
[TENDER SMILE.]
"But, we seem to be
stuck with each other."
[EYES MISTY WITH
TEARS.]
"She can't live without
Me......
and,
I won't live
without
her."
*********************
For
God
so loved
the world
that
He gave
His only
Begotten
Son.
[John 3:16]


__________________
*Star "Betelgeuse",
or 'Alpha Orionis'.

Copyright 2011.

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