Light From Beyond

She could see him. The man she loved stood alone in the distance, his stance wide on the rough, dusty road. His body half in shadow from the setting sun dipping below the mountains. She tore after him, the sight of him sending a wave of frenzy down her spine. Her throat was tight as she screamed his name, tight from the tears she choked back. Tears that threatened to spill because of the man she chased, and what he was about to do to her world.

Today was the first day in two years that she, Nicole Baxter, woke up without him by her side. She searched her apartment, the alley, the library, and everywhere else her mind could fathom, reasonable or not. Nicole looked so tirelessly because it was so unlike him to disappear. He usually stuck so close to her, engaging her in gripping conversation. That's the reason she loved him, two years down the road he still managed to fascinate her daily.

He did fascinate her, truly and deeply fascinated her. Nicole wasn't' sure if it was his strong confident walk or his deep rough voice that made her knees shake. His brilliant mind or his sharp reflexes that took her breath away. All she knew is that he was perfect, perfect enough to brighten her dusty life.

Living in Roswell, New Mexico had made Nicole a stone cold logical thinker. She simply refused to believe in the baseless rumors about U.F.O's and abductions. Nothing was supernatural, it was all science, and when science was seen by the ignorant it can be construed as supernatural. Her skeptical mind had brought her a small following of colleagues from the scientific community but left her bogged down. No imagination, now wonder or excitement existed in her world. Everything was a fact or it wasn't real. It made perfect sense, until one day.

It was late afternoon when Nicole drove out into the desert by herself for a bit of recreational research. She planned to disprove the claims of abduction by camping alone and away from civilization, a sitting target. Smugly setting up her tent she only minutely worried about dingos and coyotes. If she set up a big fire they would stay away, that was a fact and she was secure in it. But three hours into her expedition her security faded when a fire bright streak zoomed in the distance. It was too close to be a shooting star so she racked her brain and convinced herself a plane had crash landed. Ready to help she revved up her Jeep and sped off to find the burning mass of rubble she expected to see.

But she found no fire, in fact she found nothing where the plane she convinced herself she saw should have landed. Confounded she stepped out of her Jeep to examine. Twenty feet from her Jeep a warm pulsing stopped her in her tracks. Her logical mind couldn't readily identify what was happening, she was frozen not in fear but confusion. Defiantly she took a step forward, determined to break the foolish feeling. Suddenly, before her very eyes, a silver craft appeared out of nothing! Known logic and science were suddenly out of the door. Nicole stood before something no other scientist had ever seen, though she still had no idea what she was seeing. With a loud whish the craft split, Nicole stumbled backward so quickly she fell on her back. She alertly popped back up and locked her eyes on what was unfolding before her.

A figure stood in the doorway and so quick Nicole wasn't sure she saw it the figures color changed from a shade deeper than the surrounding night to match her own deep tan. Her mouth fell open as the being stepped out of the craft, walked toward her, and held out a hand to help her up off the ground. Instead of running like her logical mind told her to, she put her hand in the beings. At eye level, she saw it was a man and not just any man, a man she would call gorgeous. He was the very man she would fantasize about on lonely nights.

From there she barreled head first into learning everything she could about the mystery man. Though he would never tell his name, stating that she was free to call him whatever she liked. She chose Light because he lit her world and filled her with warmth in in ways she never imagined. Also she learned that the humanoid was able to become whatever she wanted, that's why he was so appealing to her.

Now her appealing man was leaving, why? None of it made sense! She reach her love on the dusty road, his head tilted to the sky as if looking for something. Her voice couldn't be found as she stared at him and she tried hard as possible not to double over from panting. "Why?" was all she managed to sputter.


"I told you once," he said in a calm voice, still star gazing. "this cannot be forever. I'll have to leave you one day."


Nicole remembered. A few weeks after she fell for him he explained that he was meant to explore and when the time was right he would leave.


"But that was two years ago, I thought..." her brain turned back on at that moment and she realized she was begging. A pathetic sound.

"That's my scientist," he complimented.

Gathering herself, she said, "so where will you go?"

"I never know."

"Will you come back?"

"Most likely, no."

Nicole could feel her heart breaking. "Then what am i supposed to do? What about me?"

"Your job."

"What?"

"Whens the last time you did your job? Researched something? With me gone you can get your career back on track. We both can."

"I don't care about- I love you!"

"That's illogical," he simply stated.

"How?"

"You're and attractive woman in her prime, you'll find another mate. You only have on career, don't throw it away for me."

She began to get angry. "So what are you waiting for? What's stopping you from jetting off and leaving me to my harem of men?

"The right moment."

She searched the sky for this right moment but quickly realized that she would not see a fraction of what he could. Without warning the ship she discovered uncloaked itself beside her and her love stepped inside, his color fading back to the dark color of night it once was. She retreated as the craft blasted off, streaking the sky once again. A tear caressed her cheek as she watched the man from beyond the stars who came to steal her heart flee with it into the cosmos.