2379. Sandy landing

It could be regarded as the discovery of the century. Nay! The discovery of the ages! The lunar craft had landed on the moon simply to collect a few rocks, take a sand sample or two, and then toddle off home back to Earth. It wasn’t to be.

The landing site had been chosen not exactly at random, but nonetheless in a place relatively flat and unrocky – more sandy – in case the craft missed its landing mark by a fair stretch and it could still settle comfortably on a flat surface. But WOW! Within several hundred yards of where they landed were footprints. Had humans been there before? No! And besides, they were not human footprints. There were dozens of prints going in all directions. Aliens! There could be no doubt.

With the lack of wind and the slow cosmic change wrought by the elements (or lack of them) the footprints could be recent or old. There was no telling. The astronauts searched around for other telling signs. There was nothing to be found, not even a flattening where a space craft may have landed.

The mystery of the footprints remained a mystery, that is, until Professor Urs Hândénblött cottoned onto a scientific explanation. The footprints were from an early attempt of the cow to jump over the moon. The cow had stumbled at its first attempt. There should be some bones about.

A further landing yielded no skeleton, although they did find an ancient dish and an old spoon.

2283. Starlight romance

The night sky had no moon. It was pitch black which accentuated the stars. The evening was warm. Julie and I sat on the park bench in utter silence. We held hands and gazed in amazement at the stars. It was breath-taking. It was truly romantic. We kissed.

I don’t know who I kissed but it wasn’t Julie.

1551. He who catches none

(The closing sentence for this story was suggested by Nitin of Fighting the dying light. If you want to join in the fun of suggesting a future closing sentence for these stories, click here for a peek as to what’s what.)

It had been (at last!) one of those cooler evenings after a long insufferable summer. Wallace and Blanche sat on their verandah. Dinner was over. The dishes were done. A bit of moon hung somewhere in the night.

“What is it you wanted to tell me?” Wallace asked.

“I’m pregnant,” said Blanche.

“Ah! Petit à petit l’oiseau fait son nid.”

Wallace and Blanche had been married for just over a year. They had tried furiously and frequently to make a baby. All to no avail – until now. It was the perfect revelation for a perfect evening. They simply sat arm in arm and looked at the moon. No words were necessary.

* * *

That was the memory that overwhelmed Wallace as he drove home after the funeral. Blanche and three year old little Rudolf were gone from his life. He had tried to save them both. The fire in the upstairs bedrooms spread faster than he would have thought possible. He had dashed to Rudolf’s room. As he passed the door of the main bedroom he paused to wake Blanche. He shouted. “Wake up! Wake up!” He sped towards Rudolf. Too late. If he hadn’t paused to wake Blanche, perhaps he could have saved Rudolf. He raced back to Blanche. Too late. Hell was on fire. Blanche and Rudolf were lost. All was lost. If only he had tried to save one, and not both.

* * *

Wallace sat on the verandah of his partially burned house. He sat there for two hours and watched the sun fade. He sat in the dark. He would never want to live there again. Blissful memories now pierced like a spear through his heart. He went inside to get two things: Rudolf’s toy truck and a beautiful seashell that Blanche had once found on a beach. That was all he would keep.

He walked out of the house, listening to the crickets and watching the moon weave her little web of light, and bathed in both beauty and regret, said, “Qui court deux lièvres à la fois n’en prend aucun.”

1395. A spectacular lunar discovery

Daisy Chainey was among the first group of settlers from earth to live on the moon. The group of eight were still reliant on supplies being brought from Mother Earth, but gradually they were working towards being at least a little bit self-supporting. For example, Daisy had a vegetable garden.

Of course it wasn’t a normal vegetable garden; it was under a gigantic human-made dome that created the right conditions for growth. The exciting reality was, however, that the vegetables were being grown in lunar soil (with enhancements).

One day, Daisy was out digging in the dome when she made a huge discovery; she unearthed some bones. It was mind-blowing. The bones were carefully packed and sent back to Earth for investigation.

It didn’t take long for astrophysical palaeontologists to discover what the bones belonged to; they were cow bones. For example, the bovine caudal vertebrae was obvious once pointed out.

“There can be no doubt,” said Dr Stephan Sputnik, “that there were earlier attempts by cows to jump over the moon before one succeeded and the dish ran away with the spoon.”