Baby Boy Floating In Outer Space.

*****

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say.

I have been cleverly bundled inside layers of soft and squishy sheets. The sheets are folded in an immaculate pattern giving it a swirly look. The pattern has been surreptitiously designed to evoke empathy in the eyes of potential predators.

A thick layer of cold-proof and pressure-proof casket, made out of the strongest, blackest and yet lightest material in the entire universe, is holding the swirly sheets intact, and thus giving me the right level of protection from foreign objects floating about in outer space.

I haven't grown much. My height is fifty-four centimeters. My width is sixteen centimeters. My age is five space-weeks. I've been told that I'm a cute little bundle of joy and that my parents were proud of me.

The cold blackness around me is immeasurable. I've been wandering the last three space-weeks, alone, without a sense of direction. The myriads of gargantuan stars that I have passed by is nothing short of wonder, and also a tribute to the scientific excellence of some really clever people on my planet, who are no more. They died three space-weeks ago. Every one.

*****

Space is peaceful. The quietness may be haunting, but for the most part I find it tranquil.

As my eyes are savouring the solitude inside the vast ocean of space, it starts to become heavier under the lids. I must sleep more often, for my bones to grow stronger. I have nothing to worry about my safety as long as I'm inside the casket. What I like about the casket is that I can see everything from inside but nobody can lay eyes on me from outside. It looks like a normal piece of floating rock to a naked eye.

I believe that it can't be opened from outside either. The lock system works only from the inside. And the KEY to that, is my emotions. The casket is designed to be in sync with my brain waves. If it senses any sort of urgency, or my need to leave the casket, only then will it automatically open the lever-lock for me.

I might have drifted into a light sleep. By the time I open my eyes there is a thin spot of light above my casket. 'What are the chances of encountering an intelligent alien life other than our own?', I wonder.

The light is pulsating from a huge container of a space-ship. The vessel looks primitive. I'm not nervous. I'm more curious instead.

I give it to them for spotting my casket in the first place. Though their vessel looks ancient, they may not be as bad as I first thought. Their docking system is well-designed. The multi-level grid-lock is simple in its function, and I like it already. The geek in me likes it.

I see two aliens, clad in white space-suits, with safety-harness neatly buckled on to their suits, hovering outside the big vessel. They are eyeing my casket and sizing it up. I size them up as well. They are around eight-hundred space-metres away from me.'They must be having a good vision, but do they have eyes?', I wonder.

After ten long space-minutes of floating in ether, the alien duo reach my casket. Their mission might be to inspect the safety of my casket. Convinced of it, they radio-contact their mates inside the vessel. They sound very primitive but their communication is impressive. They use complicated syllables to communicate back and forth on their radio.

One of the aliens finally musters the courage to grab the casket, and as it pulls it slightly, I suddenly hear a clink. My parents have left two tubes of green-liquid inside the casket, for my safety. I don't know much about it except for that fact that it must never break. I take another closer look at the green-liquid above my head. It is alright now. The clink must have been my imagination.

The aliens pull me closer to their vessel. They are doing it rather slowly, probably they're very cautious.

As we reach the vessel, they signal to someone up inside the steering-room. The plug-door opens. Bright lights flood out through the gaps.

*****

Something is not going well. The sudden intensity of the primitive lights is involuntarily raising my pulse-rate.

I end up coughing, to release the stress building up inside my throat.

The casket misinterprets the situation and raises the warning system to danger-level.

I hear the clink. This time, it is not my imagination. The green-liquid above my head bubbles up, releasing a green-gas through the nano-gaps impregnated between the casket walls.

One of the alien-beings coughs at first. I still can't see what they look like, inside their white suits.

As the big plug-door shuts behind us, the intensity of the alien-being's coughing roughens. It loses balance and suddenly drops my casket on the floor. I've been trying to calm down all this time, but the sudden drop raises my blood pressure once again. The green-liquid does more bubbling up. The poor alien-being bends its body over the lower limbs and awkwardly kneels. The second alien-being notices the green-gas leaking from my casket. Sensing the danger it distances itself from us. But it is late. In a matter of space-seconds the second alien-being succumbs and falls on its knee. Both the beings are throwing up a viscous liquid inside their white suits, splotching and staining them pretty badly.

They are constantly communicating the situation to their mates on radio. Their syllables and vocals are fascinating to me on one side. On the other side I'm calming myself down, to protect the aliens, before it becomes fatal. I close my eyes.

It works. My pulse-rate is stabilizing now. After a few good space-seconds, I open my eyes slowly. The flood-lights appear softer. Maybe my eyes have got adjusted to it.

I turn to check the condition of the alien-beings.

They're not moving anymore. Both are lying on the floor, motionless, with their limbs splayed across their body. Their white suits are wet from inside. Their blood is of a different colour - RED.

*****

There are two more alien-beings in the vessel. They may be preparing behind the doors, to find a way to chuck me out.

I must find a way to prove it to them that it was not my fault.

Sooner the better, as their vessel is on an automated course towards their blue planet, which is two space-days away.

Their planet has a name - EARTH.

*****