When the Rain Came Early

If you were any of the Humans living in Albuquerque on January 30th, 2181, you might have noticed the rain at 8:02pm and said, "Hmm, that's strange. The rain has arrived 28 minutes ahead of schedule.” If you were the Human who wanted to cause a distraction by messing with the weather control tower, you might have celebrated in some way, like a cackle, or a whoop.

If you were an angsty Chamorgan sitting on the other side of the weather control tower painting a watercolor of the moon, you might have said, “Oh no, my watercolors!”

That is what D67 said when the rain came early.

If you asked him about it, he'd say he wasn't painting because he enjoyed it. When he climbed to the top of the weather control tower two hours ago laden with art supplies, it was solely to defy his parents. They hated everything to do with the Humans, so for the past few months D67h picked up new Human habits as a scare tactic to force his parents to send him back to their home planet, Chamorg. Unfortunately, they paid little attention to D67h due to their busy jobs, endless content consumption, and general lack of interest in their 67th son, so the plan had not been very effective. Tattoos hadn’t worked, nor piercings or even loudly singing Human songs in front of politically important Chamorgans at a social event. This was the final attempt. If spending time painting watercolors and slowly filling up his room with his own creations did not work, nothing would.

The rain may have ruined D67h's painting, which he was much more upset about than he would care to admit, but at least a little excitement came along with it. The Human on the other side of the weather control tower dropped something, and now D67h was within spitting distance of an actual Human woman. Gasp!

This was the first time D67h had ever seen a Human, even though he had lived here with his parents for the past 8 Earth years. The Humans are not allowed outside the city limits, and the Chamorgans are not allowed inside the city. Humans that are caught crossing the threshold are either killed on sight or rounded up and taken to planet Chamorg for what his parents call perspective. How did this Human make it all the way up to the weather tower without getting caught?

D67h made a note to ask the woman that very question. She was already starting down the ladder. He tried to run after her, but two steps in tripped on something caught around an ankle, nearly falling flat on his faces. Groaning, he slugged his five arms forward and dragged his body towards the end of the tower to get a visual on the Human.

The woman had expediently descended the ladder and was now hightailing it to the tree-line. D67h propped up his right head on a couple of his arms and sighed with pleasure. A real sighting! D67h, like pretty much every other Chamorgan, was enthralled by the very concept of the Human species.

The Human disappeared into the trees. D67h made a note of where she went, then awkwardly reached back towards his feet to see what tripped him up. It was a gold, heart-shaped locket that was sprung open, revealing a picture of two Human women of different ages but with similar features. D67h brought the locket up to his best eye to get a better look

“Is that... Monique?” D67h squinted and then dropped the locket in shock at the confirmation. He actually knew one of these women. Despite rarely encountering Humans, many Chamorgans follow the endlessly entertaining intergalactic series, Humanity Watch and know many Humans by name. The series was the driving idea behind colonizing the Humans, making it easy to observe the Humans doing what they do. Monique was one of the funny Humans, and definitely a favorite of D67h and his friends. They all follow her prank show religiously, but D67h was secretly partial to her art skills.

Without thinking, D67h found himself jumping off of the weather tower and soaring through the air towards the treetops where the Human disappeared. He wanted a closer look and did not know when he would get another opportunity, especially considering how strict his parents are about Human influence.

Landing on top of a tree, quite athletically I might add, D67h searched the forest for movement. The rain was impeding his vision, but rustling sounds came from the direction of the Chamorgan base. A moment’s passing showed it was the night patrol, likely heading to check the weather tower after the unscheduled rain. The Human was only four trees over, but was so far undetected.

Our friends in the trees remained frozen as the patrol passed. It wasn't until the Human began to slowly ease her way down the tree that D67h was alerted to her location. By the time she finished shimmying down, D67h had already jumped to the base of her tree. Her face became illuminated by the surprisingly powerful tiny white moon, and D67h’s heart danced all around his stomach. Before he knew it he had already shouted "Hi Monique! I'm a huge fan!"

He stepped towards her, expecting a smile or a hug, maybe even an autograph who can say, but instead found himself with a knife against his throat. He hoped this was one of her pranks, but the coldness in her eyes told him it was not.

D67h put all five of his hands up like he had seen the Humans do on Humanity Watch. “Hey, it’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Drop your bag. I want to see if you have a weapon.”

D67h laughed to himself at her ignorance. The Chamorgans are programmed to BE weapons. If he blinked a certain way, he could send out a death ray. Probably best not to tell her that. He slowly removed his bag and dropped it at her feet.

Monique pulled out the ruined watercolor he created that night. It was a comparison of Earth’s moon with his memory of the Chamorgan rainbow moons. He felt oddly proud of it, even though it was streaked with rain.

Monique looked from the painting to D67h, a puzzled look on her face. “I don’t have time to know why you have this. Do Chamorgans paint? Nevermind.” She shook her head, stood up, and faced D67h. “My mother went missing yesterday. I was told the Chamorgans have her.” With that, she turned around and started half-jogging towards the headquarters.

“WAIT!” He was torn, because he wanted Monique to like him and give him an autograph, or maybe a watercolor lesson, but if he told her she was heading directly towards the invisible force field that surrounded the headquarters that disintegrates any Human who crosses it, she might not like his species and by association, him.

She did not wait. D67h couldn’t help but smile at her pluck - watching her determined movements towards the headquarters was inspiring. A Human on a mission! He loved the drama, but he also really needed her to stop. He hastily gathered up his painting and supplies that Monique had left strewn about the forest floor and followed her.

“I have your locket!” he bellowed through the rain. “And I think I know where your mom is!”

Monique stopped, and D67h finally caught up to her. The Chamorgans were great jumpers, but three legs made running a bit awkward.

“Where is she? How do you know? Can you take me to her?” Monique’s earlier cold gaze had turned soft and desperate. D67h was fairly confident he would get an autograph now. The ask was on the tip of his tongue, but the rain stopped, meaning the guards were on their way back.

“We don’t have a lot of time. If she was taken by the Chamorgans, she’s already on her way to my home planet. We could…” D67h was stalling. He didn’t have his own spaceship, or even a license. But what was the worst that could happen?

He turned to her with all the resolution and authority he could muster, acutely aware of the sound of the guards moving through the forest. “I can try and take you to her, but there are no guarantees. Are you with me?”

Monique looked hard at him. The sounds of the patrol were getting louder. D67h’s mind was filled with flashing images of his parents being angry with him for taking the family ship, his friends on Chamorg welcoming him home a hero, and painting watercolors of the moving galaxy with Monique as they travelled through space. He tried to push down these wondrous fantasies, lest he become too excited, and focused on the determined look on her face. The corners of her mouth twitched.

“Let’s go.”