Stars Between Us

The night sky over Blackridge was unusually quiet. No distant hum of aircraft, no falling stars, just silence and the eerie glow of the moon spilling across the fields. Elijah Cole, a 28-year-old astrophysicist, was used to staring into the unknown — but tonight, the unknown stared back.

It began with a tremor. Barely noticeable, but enough to ripple the grass at the edge of the forest behind his cabin. Elijah, who had been setting up his telescope, turned toward the sound. A faint light pulsed in the distance — bluish-white, unlike anything he’d ever seen.

Drawn by curiosity and something else he couldn’t name, Elijah grabbed his flashlight and walked toward the source. The light flickered once, then vanished. What remained was a crater, shallow but wide, and in the center — a figure.

It wasn’t human.

Slender, tall, and cloaked in a skin-tight suit that shimmered with hues unseen by Earthly eyes, the being struggled to rise. It had no visible mouth, but its large, silver eyes locked with Elijah's in a way that sent chills down his spine.

“Don’t be afraid,” a voice echoed — not in Elijah’s ears, but in his mind.

“You… can speak?” Elijah stammered.

“Telepathy,” the being replied. “I am Ka’ryn of Eltherion. I did not intend to land here.”

Elijah helped Ka’ryn up, still trying to process what was happening. The being was hurt — a small device on its arm was sparking, and the shimmer on its suit faded in places. Whatever ship it arrived in had disintegrated on impact.

They returned to the cabin, where Ka’ryn, against all odds, began to recover. Over the next few days, the two exchanged stories. Elijah shared Earth's chaos — wars, climate change, beauty, and music. Ka’ryn spoke of Eltherion — a planet where logic and peace ruled, but where emotion was considered a defect.

“My kind... they erased what they feared. Emotions. Attachment. Curiosity. I studied them in secret,” Ka’ryn admitted. “I came to observe Earth. But someone sabotaged my mission.”

Elijah’s thoughts spiraled. “You think someone from your planet wanted you dead?”

Ka’ryn nodded. “They feared what I’d learn. What I’d feel.”

In the weeks that followed, a strange bond formed between them. Ka’ryn, who had never known laughter, found humor in Elijah’s sarcasm. Elijah, who had lost faith in humanity’s future, saw a glimmer of hope through Ka’ryn’s questions — innocent, yet deeply perceptive.

Then the signals began.

High-frequency transmissions, hidden in the background radiation. Ka’ryn intercepted them with a device built from Elijah’s lab equipment. The message was clear:

"Eltherion vessel inbound. Target: Ka’ryn. Erase trace. Eliminate witness."

“They’re coming,” Ka’ryn said, his voice trembling — for the first time, truly afraid.

Elijah’s mind raced. He could hide Ka’ryn, but only for so long. The government would get involved. The Eltherion agents wouldn't hesitate. There was only one choice: send a signal back — but not to the Eltherions.

Instead, Elijah used an old satellite uplink to broadcast a message globally. No names. No details. Just this:

“We are not alone. One of them is already here. And they are not the threat — we are.”

The world noticed.

By the time the Eltherion vessel arrived, international forces had already surrounded Blackridge. But Ka’ryn had one final request.

“Let me go to them. If I don’t, they’ll destroy this place.”

“You’ll die,” Elijah protested.

“Maybe,” Ka’ryn replied. “But maybe... they’ll listen if I speak not as a scientist, but as someone who finally understands what it means to care.”

They embraced — an alien and a human, connected by something no galaxy could measure.

Ka’ryn walked into the field alone as the sky opened up and light poured down from above.

He turned once more toward Elijah. “Stars between us,” he said telepathically. “But now, also within.”

And then, he was gone.

To this day, no one knows what happened to Ka’ryn. Some say the ship vanished. Others believe Ka’ryn became an ambassador between two worlds.

But Elijah knows the truth. Every night, he looks up at the stars — waiting.

Because once, when the stars aligned, the universe whispered a secret.

And he listened.