Light Years Apart

ies." My apartment, usually a haven of organized chaos (think color-coded sticky notes battling overflowing bookshelves), was now command c

led, rubbing sleep from my gri

side heard the plink. What do you even say to an alien civilization? "Greetings, Earthlings, please don't vaporize

smos that should be the same no matter which weird and wonderful planet you called home. It felt sterile, cold, espec

niverse at the speed of light (duh), I paced my tiny living room, feeling a bizarre mix of exhilaration and utter foolishness.

ked slightly disheveled. "Laura? You haven't responded to my emails. And the observatory

dly at the monitors. "Anya, you

telligent... it sounded insane even to my own ears. Anya listened with her usual

g enough sleep? Perhaps the isolation is... affecting your interpretation o

y voice rising slightly. "There's a pattern.

er tone was a carefully neutral

I defended. "Safe, universal. Like

motely. But please, for your own sanity, try to get some rest." The call ended, leaving

ng for hidden nuances, any clue about the senders. Were they organic? Mechanical? Giant space slugs wit

e edible something out of instant noodles, the alert on my main monito

gainst my ribs like a trapped bird. I practically tripped over t

e... intentional. It wasn't just a repetition

e screen. I wasn't crazy. I wasn't alone in the universe. So

Patterns that didn't fit neatly into any known terrestrial mathematics. It was like the

emotion. "Let's talk." This was going to be one heck of a pen pal relationship. And some