Alien Arrival
After the spaceships landed, the Earth suddenly turned much greener.
The human population had been so excited to finally meet some aliens. Of course some humans were scared, and the ships were guarded closely in case they suddenly started emitting gases or fire or anything else that could do harm, but that never happened. Gradually the news stopped mentioning those uneventful ships, and people thought of it no more than they would about a meteorite—meaning there were plenty of conspiracy theories about what the international authorities did or did not keep secret, but none that spread widely.
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Walks in the forest were the best way Phoebe knew to relax. She was delighted by the recent expansion of greenery and took every opportunity to wander and daydream among the trees, ferns, and flowers.
“Excuse me,” she said as she carefully squeezed between two new, fully grown trunks that definitely hadn’t been there on her previous walks in this area.
The trunks politely shifted out of the way, and Phoebe rubbed her eyes, muttering: “Did that really happen?”
“Oh yes,” said one of the trees, just for a moment shifting into a tall, green, four-limbed body with a face that winked at her, before reverting.
And that was how humans finally discovered the nature of their visitors.
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[Image description: In this photo, a very shallow stream of water with mossy rocks meanders through a forest landscape with ferns and trees. A tree trunk lies across the stream at a little distance from the viewer.]
