That Green Glow

Man, I love science. Saffron thought to herself as she got lost in her thoughts of creating her most recent blueprints. It was for a world-teleporting device where you can travel to different planets that have forms of life.

"If science was a person, I'd probably marry it if I'm honest here," Saffron chuckled. Human relationships never interested Saffron in the slightest. She was always more focused on her work than her love life. Her love life was nonexistent.

Saffron rarely went outside unless it was to go to work as a scientist; however, she would constantly stargaze when the dark, beautiful sky was clear. She would point out all the magnificent constellations, planets, and meteors: never missing any action from above.

As a result of Saffron's priorities, she doesn't have any friends either. She was great friends with her grandparents, but after they passed away; Saffron didn't know how to make friends around her age.

Saffron's mother is still alive; however, she's a busy businesswoman who never spent much time with family. Saffron at times often felt isolated and never felt close to her mother to talk to her about anything, and she doesn't want to remember her past relationships. She wants to focus on the future.

One strange night, Saffron saw something in the night sky that caught her eye while she was busy stargazing. It was an odd green and blue aurora-borealis-like light. She went to her telescope and saw a metal-steel object flying around.

"Aliens?" Saffron asked herself out loud. She couldn't believe it at first, but then she thought: if she can prove that aliens do exist, imagine the possibilities that could happen?

"I could be famous...I could change the world where we have intergalactic communication...just imagine it. Imagine if I could prove aliens do in fact exist," Saffron daydreamed.

Quickly snapping back into reality, Saffron wasted no time at all setting up cameras and jotting down every abnormal occurrence that happened to her.

She was a woman on a mission.

Fame corrupted her mind.

It was the only thing she stayed focus on.

This activity became a daily routine quite quickly. Then it turned into a weekly routine. Then a monthly routine. Eventually Saffron started to worry about her ongoing project more than herself. She was that determined, but there was the "normal" behavior every day. There was nothing new.

Saffron often thought to herself that maybe she should take a break from this project, but always decided against that thought. What if something new happens while I'm on a small hiatus from this project and I miss it? It was a constant question on Saffron's mind.

Every night, that same green and blue aurora-borealis-like light would shine across the night; Followed by a few glimpses of metal-steel flying objects. Taunting Saffron because there weren't any new pieces of evidence.

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The green-blue light flashed again...

Saffron quickly went to her telescope as she has done in a routine-like fashion for the last three months. To her surprise, no steel or metal objects zoomed by.

"Strange. The object would always zoom by in view of my telescope after the flash of green light," Saffron observed while jotting down that detail in her notes.

Saffron went into daydream mode again but it was more like a nightmare. The people were angry at her that she was full of nonsense and lies. They shunned her and publicly shamed her; like she was a witch in the Salem Witch Trials. Though there was something odd about the nightmarish mob's chatter. They were clanky... like they were robots.

Saffron woke up from her dreamland to realize where the clankiness was coming from. The metal flying object that always appeared had crash-landed in her backyard.

"Blip. Bleep. Blop. Bop," a mysterious voice communicated gibberishly. A short, grey, slightly humanlike form came out from the ashes of the crashed object. Taking a closer look, this species appears to have black, soulless eyes with a lime green shine; and long, antenna-like ears.

"Huh? I don't understand what you want from me, but wait until the public sees that aliens do exist! Agh!" Saffron shrieked.

The short, grey species gives a very angry expression towards Saffron. Quickly reaching out for a weird-looking earpiece.

"Human...why don't you care about us? Maybe I like being hidden away from the world?" The creature explained.

"Wait, you talk?" Saffron questioned.

"Human. That's not the matter here. Why are you so keen on wanting the world to know we exist?" The creature asked angrily.

"Well, I thought it would be cool to be able to do intergalactic trading or communication with other human-like races," Saffron explained. "Plus, it's cool to know you guys exist."

"Again, you never asked me directly if I would be willing, Human. The answer is no." The creature announced angrily.

"Wait, there's gotta be something I can do that will change your mind," Saffron replied, glancing frantically over at anything that the creature might be interested in.

"No point. I've made my decision!" The creature yelled. "Goodbye!"

"Aren't you forgetting something? Your ship is broken. You can't leave. I can make you a deal," Saffron called out.

"Oh? Let's hear this 'deal,'"? The creature asked amusingly.

"I repair your ship so you can leave. In return, I want to have one photo with you to keep as a memory. I will not post any of the information I have gathered, and you can destroy it if you'd like," Saffron proposed.

"Hrmm, interesting deal you propose. I accept but you can keep the information for yourself, just don't post on any social medium platforms," the creature accepted.

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"You actually repaired it? Thanks, Human," the creature acknowledged. "I guess, a deal is a deal."

"One more thing..." Saffron blurted.

"Yes?" The creature asked in confusion.

"Are you the source of the green light? And can you make it appear for this photo?" Saffron asked.

"Yes, it's a signal. That green light is used as an emergency alarm that lets me know if anything is wrong with the ship. Unfortunately, I tried to fix it for three months straight and now I'm here. No, I cannot make it spawn naturally," the creature explained.

"Oh, its a really pretty light. It reminds me of an aurora borealis with how pretty it is," Saffron replied.

"Human. I don't have much time. I have to return to my homeland. Hurry up and let me leave," the creature rushed.

"Right, I'm sorry," Saffron apologized as she went to hug the creature. She took out her phone and snapped a picture of her holding the creature lovingly. "Goodbye, friend."

"Goodbye. Human," the creature yelled, taking off its earpiece. "Beep. Blip. Bop."

One last time, the green light appeared again. The creature waved from his window and zoomed back into space. On its way home.