JADE’S SLED

“Promise you take care of my wee one; name him Willow Strong. And promise to try to get my body home to my people.” Those were the last words Jade heard from the tiny brown girl lying in the small cave Jade had found to spend a few days in.

On her trek out of San Francisco, Jade had started out strong, but within three months of walking the terrain she was tired and ready to stay in one spot for a week to rebuild her strength. This is when she came upon the girl under a tree, curled in a fetal position and crying. Walking over to the crying woman, Jade bent down and could tell the girl was with child because she had seen many women with large bellies in San Fran and Michael had told her this is where a baby grows. Michael is another story, so we won’t go there today.

Fifteen minutes later, Jade had carried the woman to the small cave she had planned to spend the night in. She opened her backpack and withdrew a water bottle. She wet a scrap of cloth and washed the woman's face. Even though she was inexperienced with many of the human behaviors, Jade recognized the urgency in the girl's voice. Drawing from her two years of study, Jade knew what she had to do.
"No, no," cried the woman, then she started saying words Jade did not understand. She knew it was some type of Indian language, but her Guardian had only trained for the more popular languages

"Ahhhhhh!" The girl screamed as she drew her legs up to her chest. The next thing Jade knew, she was holding a bloody lump that looked like a mini human. Fascinated, she washed off the baby's face and it started to cry. She wrapped the baby in a jacket she pulled from her backpack and handed the bundle it to the girl. Using a length of twine, she cut the babies umbilical cord and then cut him free from his mother.

The baby immediately began to root around on her mother’s chest until it found her right breast and began to suckle. The girl was still bleeding heavily and her breath was labored. Jade knew the girl was going to die, but she pulled some of her medicine pouches out of her backpack and found some powder to help with the fever, but she had nothing to stop the bleeding. Jade continued to rub on the girls belly to make it harden up and pack her with all the spare rags she had to stop the bleeding.


Jade closed the girl’s eyes, removed the tiny baby from her mother’s breast and wrapped him in the warmest blanket she had in her bags. After taking care of the baby, Jade went out of the tent to contemplate her situation. She had not been taught what to do with a dead body. She had been taught very little about babies, but not how to care for them.

First things first, Jade would need to wrap the cold dead body of the mother in something to try and get her back to her people somehow. She had passed an old barn about a mile back; maybe there was something she could use.

She took off running, but only got a few yards when she remembered the baby. She could not leave him alone – what if he started to crying? It could attract wildlife from all around the area. Although it was late fall, Jade had seen a few sprinklings of snow. Jade headed back to the tent and emptied her backpack, but soon realized it was too big to carry the baby in. Next she emptied her messenger bag and snuggled the baby in tight, leaving one end open for air.

Jade slung the strap over her head with the bag in the front to give her more support. “This should do it,” Jade murmured to herself. She realized there was nothing she could do about the little mother, but cover her body and leave her in the cave.

As soon as Jade began running toward the barn, she dropped her glamour to run faster. At the barn she kept her own body shape, because she felt sure the baby was too young to remember the tall, green lady with long strange hair.
The first thing Jade found was some old feed sacks; she could wrap the dead mother in these. Then she began to pull wood from the barn and with the tools found, Jade fashioned a crude sled. Not the kind of sled Michael had shown her in magazines, but it should be good enough to hold everything. She found a good size length of rope in the loft to make a handle for the sled.

The baby began to cry and Jade realized she was hungry, but how was she going to find mother’s milk to feed the child? Thinking more of hydration instead of nutrition, Jade ripped off a piece of clean muslin from inside the messenger bag. Making a little bag, she gently poured some water into it and placed it near the baby’s mouth. At first the baby wiggled and kept turning her head, but soon she had the muslin in her mouth and was sucking down the water.

When the baby had finished drinking the water, she quieted down and went back to sleep. Jade began to pack the sled with the baby and messenger bag, adding the feed sacks. She went out to walk around the barn to look for found. She found a hickory nut tree and began to gather nuts into her shirt as well as a few berries. She went and dumped them into the sled.

Now came the hard part – finding the girl’s family and trying to keep the baby alive while she did. What had she gotten herself into now?

Jade and the Old Woman

(Photo by Dan Felstead of Wood and Pixel Narratives)

JADE AND THE OLD WOMAN



Jade walked down the old brick sidewalk, stepping gently over a few cracks and loose bricks. Even though she was over six feet tall, the glamour didn't keep her from tripping if she wasn't looking where she was going. The occasional person she met on the sidewalk paid no attention to the plain young woman walking down the sidewalk. She laughed to herself thinking of the green skin and long thin legs that no one could see but herself.

She was looking for a new place to live and she'd had a friend recommend a boarding house on Daisy Street. As she carefully watched the house numbers increase in size, she finally stopped at 1132 Daisy and looked at the sight before her. Before here was a metal gate with an arbor covered in thick green morning glory vines. The glories had not started to bloom yet, but they promised a delightful array of colors in the coming weeks.

Two clay urns marked the entrance on each side of the sidewalk and Jade stood looking over the gate at the two-story house. She knew from her friend that there was also an attic room and this was the room that was for rent. Cheap, which was exactly Jade's price range. Because she came from the planet of Jadocon, she was used to the hot dry air that would be present in the attic room during the summer.

Four white round post held up the front portico and they each had several layers of red paint, reminding Jade of a candy cane. She had been introduced to candy canes during her first winter on Earth, but her best friend Devan. She felt a wave of sadness come over her at the thought of losing Devan. Life on Earth had been so much better when she had a friend she could share her secrets with.

Now, she was on the run again and trying to stay ahead of the people who wanted to capture her and use her as a science rate. This quirky, eccentric house should throw the scientist off for a few months, allowing Jade to regain her strength and decide what her next plan of action would be. She still had four more years to spend on Earth before she could go home to Jadocon and if she couldn't escape these people, she would not learn everything she needed to learn.

The inviting red door beckoned to her to her and she opened the squeaky gate and stepped onto the red brick sidewalk, similar to the one on the street side, only a lighter shade of red. There were lush green gardens on each side of the sidewalk and several Boston ferns sitting and hanging from the front porch.

There was no door bell to ring, only an old-fashioned door knocker in the shape of lion's head. Jade hesitated but a moment, then grasped the knocker and rapped three times on the door. She waited several minutes before she knocked again, and this time she was answered by a quiver voice, "Hold your horses - I'm moving as fast as I can."

When the door opened, the woman on the inside of the door and the girl on the outside of the door both stared at each other in shock. The older woman looked to be older than any human Jade had encountered on Earth, she had never seen so many wrinkles and character in one face. The older woman looked at the girl and saw - not the illusion of glamour - but the tall green girl with large black, almond-shaped eyes. They both gasped in surprised.

Jade on the Run

(Photo copyright by Dan Felstead of Wood and Pixels Narratives)

JADE ON THE RUN

Jade had been on the run for several days. After the invasion started in San Francisco, she had fled to the moutains, hoping to hid until the violence had settled. Stumbly through the woods she was exhausted, having only slept in short bursts and never anywhere comfortable. On the fourth day of her escape, she came upon a small wooden cabin in the woods. She observed the cabin for many hours, but there seemed to be on life in or around the cabin. Swallowing her fear, she finally approached the cabin.

As Jade slowly creaked the wooden door open, she felt like she had stepped through a portal in time, back to another century, another day, another era. The one-room log cabin was small, barely big enough to hold the diminutive bed in one corner and a straight back chair in the other, next to the rock fireplace.

The cabin smelled musty from lack of air circulation - there were no windows, only an occasional hole in the wall, supposedly to aim a rifle through. Jade had studied about the early history of American since beginning her mission on Earth. The sunlight from the doorway cast just enough light to see the bed and what few meager possessions were on or around it.

The first thing Jade noted was the worn and faded nine-patch quilt covering the bed, neatly tucked in around the sparse mattress and pillow. At first glance, she assumed the occupant of the cabin must be a woman because the bed was made, but on closer inspection, she noticed the worn hunting boots hanging on a peg from the wall. There was also a pale leather coat draped over a bottom post of the bed; like looked like it was made from a tanned deer hide.

"It could be a woman," she thought, "but my intuition says it's a man."

Hanging from several other pegs around the bed were several different herbs gathered in small bundles along with several small willow branches. She smiled to herself, "He's pretty smart." Jade knew from her own learnings, willow branches will help bring down a fever and calm minor aches and pains. She also noticed camphor leaves to ease inflammed joints, yarrow for cuts and scrapes, and plantain for burns.

"He has some first aid knowledge, I'll give him that."

Two handwoven baskets sat on a raised wooden trunk at the foot of the bed. One basket was full of wool that had already been spun into yarn. She walked over and fingered the course fiber. "Fairly clean, he must know how to clean and card wool." The second basket held a pair of crude knitting needles, carved from ash wood by the looks. The needles had been smoothed down with no rough edges or gouges to snag the wool. There were also a pair of socks, although one was slightly larger than the other.

Jade sat down on the edge of the bed and ran her fingers over the quilt. She marveled at the fine even stitches and knew this kind of work took a steady hand. As she adjusted herself on the bed, she realized the mattress was probably stuffed with prairies grass because she could hear the crinkling even through the ticking and the quilt. She turned to read the small plaque hanging on the wall.

"But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?" Job 28:12

A religious man, understandable in this godforsaken place.

She stood up and walked to the dresser on the far wall. A small basket help a few knick-knacks; a wooden thimble, a couple of hickory nuts, two smooth river rocks and a dull coin, too dull to make out what kind. A shaving razor, strap and a broken metal comb rested in a used metal can. A pair of mittens and a knitted scarf lay atop a mirror fashioned from a scrape of wood and a flattened piece of metal. She picked up the mirror and looked at her warped reflection, finding this one bit of vanity a rare oddity in this meager cabin.

There was a old, faded photo hanging above the dresser. The black and white image showed a vital, handsome young man with his arms around a very pregnant woman. They were both smiling - they looked happy. Tucked into the edge of the wooden frame was a dried daisy, brown with age and missing a few petals.

"Wonder who this is?" she thought. "Could this be the man who lives in this cabin? Maybe that's his wife ... maybe there are two people living here ..." Jade looked around the cabin, but she could only sense the presence of one person living here. "Maybe the woman died," she looked at the picture again, focusing on the woman's pregnant belly. "Maybe she died in childbirth?"

Suddenly, she saw a shadow looming in the doorway of the cabin and as she turned to see what it was, the door to the cabin slammed shut ...

...to be continued ...

Jade-Go-Round

(Photo by Dan Felstead)

JADE-GO-ROUND

"Come on, you silly goose," laughed Devan, "you'll have fun. I promise." Devan had Jade's dainty hand clasped in his larger hand as was pulling her toward the carnival carousal.

"Don't tell me you've never ridden a merry-go-round. What've you been doing, living under a rock?" His fresh face glowed with excitement as he flashed his famous white smile. Devan never failed to attract the attention of men and women alike. He was born with the looks of natural beauty and he had the personality to go along with it. He was the typical boy-next-door and it never ceased to amaze Jade what a good friend he had turned into.

Since arriving on Earth a little over a year ago, Jade had acclimated herself into life on Earth with remarkably few problems. Michael had been her first friend and they continued to share a studio apartment. But Devan, Devan was just a joy to be around.

"Step right up, step right up - come on young man, take the little lady for a ride." The carousal operator looked like a rough neck from the wrong side of the tracks with his slick, greasy hair and three day face stubble. Devan pulled Jade up to him and handed him two tickets.

"Step right up, little lady, no waiting. Just pick the horse of your choice."

Devan tugged her hand and Jade stepped up on the platform. Surrounded by dozens of carousal horses, she felt overwhelmed with emotions. During all her preparations for her mission to Earth, the Elders of Jadocon had never shown her anything like this monstrosity of fake horses.

"Come on Jade, pick a horse," said Devan.

"I don't know, Dev," she replied with a quiver in her voice.

"Well, you're not backing out now," and he scooped her up in his muscular arms and seated her on the closest horse. Jade clung to the brass pole connecting the brown and white horse to the platform. Devan hopped on the black horse right next to her.

"See - nothing to be afraid of," he laughed.

When the carousal started to move, Jade cried out and hugged the pole even tighter. The horse started moving up and down and the music started to play.

Then something amazing happened, Jade started to enjoy herself. Realizing she wasn't going to fall off, she let herself relax. Then she started to laugh and her smile mirrored a crescent moon.

Devan looked over at Jade and thought he had never seen anyone as beautiful as the mysterious girl beside him. Blond hair wildly blowing in the breeze, dark eyes sparkling, infectious laughter pouring from her lush lips, he knew there was no one on Earth to compare to her.

Unfortunately, Devan would never know how close to the truth he had come.

Jade and the Boarding House

(Photo by Dan Felstead of Wood and Pixels Narratives)

JADE AND THE BOARDING HOUSE

Jade stood in front of the house, her black almond shaped eyes squinting up at the fading yellow siding. 2317 South Olin Drive - this must be the place, she thought.

Since arriving to Earth two weeks ago, Jade had been living in a local motel, a ratty little place out by the waterfront. She had been trying to blend in and not draw attention to herself, but her choice of living accommodations had had the opposite effect. All the Earthlings she had met so far couldn't understand why she was living in such a bad neighborhood in such a bad place.

She had been given the name of a boarding house a few miles away, so now Jade was standing in front of the 3-story house. It was unimposing and actually looked shabbier than the rest of the houses on the quiet street, but she had been assured that Mrs. Maple Mills was a respectable woman with a respectable boarding house.

Jade opened the creaky black iron gate and stepped onto the cracked sidewalk, closing the gate behind her. On the wide front porch, she surveyed the neat flower pots, the wicker porch furniture and the wicker swing hanging in the far corner. Looks like a quiet place to rest and think, Jade mumble under her breath.

Standing before the double front door, Jade rang the glowing doorbell and heard the harsh ringing from deep inside the house. When no one immediately answered the door, Jade rapped on the peeling green door face and then stepped away from the door.

"Just a minute - I'm coming! I'm an old woman - give me a chance to get there." The voice got louder until the front door finally opened.

"Give me a break, young lady! I'm not as spry as I used to be," said the plumb lady in front of her. Jade tried to suppress a laugh. Of all the photographs of Earthlings she had seen during her training for the Earth mission, Jade had never seen such a woman. Coming up only to Jade's shoulders - when Jade had her glamour in full force (without her glamour, the woman would only come up to Jade's belly button) - this petite, chunky woman gave off aura of maternal love. It was oozing from her pores and Jade immediately felt at ease.

"Pretty young thing - you must be Jade. Come in, come in. Hectore Raynes told me you might be showing up." Hectore was the coffee shop owner where Jade had eaten her breakfast every day since arriving to Earth. "He said you were a sweet young thing and I wouldn't be sorry for taking you in. I'm Maple Mills, of course - just call me Maple. What brings you to San Francisco?"

"I'm taking a year off from college to see the world," was Jade's rehearsed reply. She had been given enough Earth money to sustain her while on her 10 year mission, so having a convenient cover story warded off any unnecessary questions.

"And what's brings you to our fair city?" Maple had the eyes of a hawk, and Jade got the impression this woman would immediately know if she were lying.

"I ... I've heard a lot about San Francisco. There's lots of opportunity to observe the arts and try to decide what I want to do with my life." Jade looked the woman in the eyes, willing her to believe the story.

"Hmmm - you're not a street walker, a prostitute - I won't abide by that kind of behavior in my home. No, sir, I run a respectable boarding house." Maple put her plumb hands on her amble hips.

"No, ma'am! I have a small trust from my parents, and I'll be looking for work," said Jade, reciting the cover story. "Respectable work, ma'am - I promise."

"Well, you seem to be telling the truth. But if I find out otherwise, I'll toss you out faster than you can say 'Bob's your uncle'. You got that?" She stabbed a pointed finger into Jade's chest and it was all Jade could do not to recoil in fear.

"Y ... ye ... yes, ma'am. I understand," stammered Jade.

"Good! I think we're going to get along just fine. Come on, I'll show you your room." Maple turned and headed up the narrow staircase, and Jade followed.

This was the being of a long relationship that would last the entire time Jade was on Earth.

Jade's First Meal

One-Minute Writer Friday Fiction: Meal

Write a brief bit of fiction involving a meal.

JADE'S FIRST MEAL

Although Jade had been experimenting with human food for many months before her mission, having to actually eat human food while on Earth was not something she looked forward to. The taste and texture of solid food was revolting and the thought of three meals a day was the one thing she dreaded about her mission.

All the inhabitants of Jadocon received their nourishment in the form of liquid protein, normally only ingested once in a 24 hour eon. Jadocon was a dry, desert-like planet, so growing and raising food had been banned several million eons ago. Jade never realized there was such a thing as "food" until she began training for her 10 year Earth mission.

Picking the shiny red apple off the tree, Jade turned it around and around in her hand. She knew it was an apple, but she was reluctant to bite into it, even though she was running low on protein liquid. The Elders had allowed her to bring several days worth of liquid protein with her, but in order for Jade to blend in unnoticed, she would be required to eat the human food.

She held the apple up to her nose and sniffed. It smelled good, like sunshine and water. Finally she could put it off no longer and she bit into the crispy apple. Working the bite in her mouth, she was surprised at the sweetness and juiciness of the apple. She had been expecting something hard and sour. It took her many attempts to be able to swallow the small bite. When you've been used to drinking liquid all your life, swallowing a bite of apple can be a bit difficult.

For the next 45 minutes, Jade continued to work on the apple, taking small bites and chewing for long minutes. She was surprised to see the pretty white flesh of the apple start turning brown after a few minutes. She had no idea what was making the white turn brown, but she knew it wasn't affecting the taste.

When she was finished with the apple, she felt a little better, a little more energized. She hadn't realized how tired and hungry she actually was. Now, if only her stomach would tolerate the unusual nourishment, maybe she would be alright.

When she stood up, Jade picked a few more apples and put them into her backpack. Then she slung the backpack over one shoulder and headed out of the woods toward the nearest Earth town.

Jade and the Storm

One-Minute Writer Friday Fiction: Storm

Write a brief, fictional piece involving a storm.



JADE AND THE STORM

Jade stood on the small deck of the studio apartment she now shared with her Earth friend Michael. Since arriving on Earth, Jade had tried to blend in and Michael was the first friend she had adopted. She knew in order to learn the most information about Earth, she would have to have friends to show her around.

The day of her transport to Earth, Jade had walked out of the mountains and right into the path of Michael and his candy apple red 1968 Mustang. Jade had learned about cars in her studies with the Elders on Jadocon, but she had been surprised when she actually saw one up close and personal.

In that brief second when the car hit her on her left side, she had dropped her glamour and Michael saw her true form. Fortunately for her, he thought he was seeing things. Jade had not been hurt. Although she was not an immortal, it took more than being hit with a large motorized vehicle to do damage to her body.

Now, as Jade looked up at the impending storm, she felt the electricity in the air. Storms on Jadocon mainly consisted of great whirlwinds of dust and dirt. Here on Earth a storm meant light shows in the sky, rain smacking your face and wind blowing around your body. Stormy days were her favorite days, and now that Michael had shown her how to check the weather radar on television, she had some warning before a storm hit.

"I should have known I'd find you out here," said Michael as he walked out onto the deck. "I've never seen anyone who loved storms as much as you."

"It's just so beautiful," replied Jade. "You can feel the energy in the air. It's like the storm is alive, a living entity." The wind whipped her long hair around her face.

"If you say so. You always act like each storm is the first time you've ever seen one."

"They are, I mean, each storm is different. No two are ever alike." The first fat raindrops were starting to fall from the darkening sky.

"Well, here comes the rain. You'd better come inside." He gave her a peck on the cheek and then leaned his forehead to her forehead. "You are one strange girl, Jade; you know that, don't you?"

"Yes, I know; you tell me every day." She smiled at him, but didn't take her eyes of the approaching storm. "I'll come inside in a minute."

"Suit yourself. You up for breakfast?" Michael was now standing half on the deck, half in the kitchen.

"Yes, that would be nice."

Frantic patterns of light streaked across the sky, glowing behind the dark clouds like signals from the Gods. Although Jade's mission on Earth was for 10 years, she would never be able to describe the pure beauty of a thunderstorm to the Elders. The water on Jadocon bubbled up from the planet's core; the water on Earth rained down from the sky.

Jade walked to the edge of the deck, and bracing her abdomen against the railing, she leaned over into the air and let the rain wash over her. She turned her face up to the sky and welcomed the power of the storm.

From inside the apartment, Michael was mesmerized by the sight of Jade in the rain. It looked like she was worshipping the rain and the wind as both poured over her. In between flashes of lightning, Michael thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, because with each bright light, he would have sworn he saw some kind of green Goddess standing in the rain instead of his new friend, Jade.

Jade's Escape

From My Muse and Me

(Photo by Rick of Weekend Wordsmith)


JADE'S ESCAPE

She opened the back door of the small shack and an involuntary gasp escaped her lips. The back of this godforsaken place was a sheer cliff dropping of into nothingness.

"What the hell and I going to do know," Jade mumbled to herself. Her life on Earth had been going smoothly for the past eight eons - eight human years - but now her life felt like it had been turned on its head.

Her best Earth friend, Devan, had tried to warn her about the conspiracy fanatics in San Francisco, but she choose not to believe him. She had grown accustomed to the cushy mission she though she had on Earth. Only two more eons to go and she could return home to Jadocon.

But that was before Devan had been killed. Jade now knew her life was in danger, because if she had followed her plans, she would have been with Devan when he was killed. Now she was on the run from a group of unknown people who only had one thing in mind - to wipe her off the face of the Earth.

This old cabin had been in Devan's family for almost one hundred years. Although Devan went to the cabin often when he was a little boy, no one had ventured down the narrow country road for several years.

Jade had never been to the cabin, but she had been able to scan Devan's mind and learn all about the cabin. Jade was not able to read all the Earthling's minds, and this greatly frustrated her because she was depending on this sense to help her on her ten year mission.

When Devan had been killed, Jade had felt the instant connection with death and she had not liked it. Jadocian's were not immortal, but they had such a infinitesimal life span, death was not something they gave much thought to. That brief glimpse of death seen through Devan's dying eyes had been enough to deeply frighten Jade.

She had packed her few belongings and left immediately for the cabin. Stopping at a small convenience store 20 miles out of town, Jade stocked up on things she thought she might need - batteries, bottled water, matches and candles. While the store clerk was in the backroom checking for more double A batteries, Jade picked up his police ban radio behind the counter and slipped it into her backpack.

Back on the road, Jade had tuned in the local and state police departments and listened for any indication the police may be looking for her. Now that she knew the bad men Devan had warned her about were true, she was going to have to figure out how to escape their clutches and finish up the last two eons of her mission.

This morning, she had been awakened by a squeak over the police radio. Sitting up in the darkness with only the glow of a waning full moon, Jade gave her full attention to the radio.

When she heard someone mention Devan's family's cabin, Jade knew she had to move. Devan's car was parked about two miles away from the cabin and she had covered it with loose brush to keep it from being seen by passing local yokels. Throwing her supplies into the backpack, she raced to the back door.

So there she was staring at the steepness of the rock pathway leading away from the cabin. Taking a deep breath, she closed the door behind her and started down the slippery rocks.

Three steps down, turn to the left. Four more steps down, turn to the right. In addition to being a steep climb down, whoever had layed out the trail decided a straight path was not the way to go. But she kept moving, five steps turn to the left, four steps back to the right. Looking behind her, Jade was surprised she could not see the cabin above her.

"Maybe the person who built this cabin and path was as much a conspiracy theorist as the people chasing me." Only pausing briefly after 20 minutes of steady downhill climbing, Jade finally made it to the end of the pathway. She had no idea how far down she had climbed, but she had come to a small wooden dock at the end of the path. There was a weathered boat with two oars tied to the dock.

It looked like the boat hadn't been touched for years and Jade had a feeling it probably wouldn't hold her weight. She sat down on the dock to get a closer look at the boat. It looked sound, at least there was only a small puddle of water in the bottom of the boat. Since there had been rain yesterday afternoon, Jade figured the water was from the rain instead of a hole in the bottom of the boat.

Jade closed her eyes and tried to mediate, but being so close to a body of water, she was having trouble concentrating. Although she had faced her fear of water numerous times while on Earth, she was nowhere near being cured of this life-long phobia.

Just when Jade had finally made up her mind to forget the boat and the water and to go back up the pathway and try to make it to the car, she heard a man's sharp clear voice at the top of the hill.

"Someone's been here recently! See how some of the grasses leading down this trail are bent over. Gather the men and follow me. I'm heading down this way!"

Jade could faintly hear heavy footsteps on the slippery stones above. Calculating the 30 minutes it had taken her to reach the bottom and the fast way someone else was coming down, Jade knew she didn't have much time.

Scooping up her backpack, she gingerly climbed into the boat and untied it from the dock. Breathing deeply, she picked up both oars and slowly started moving the boat out into the water. It was still faintly dark and a heavy bank of fog had rolled over the river, so Jade was thankful for not being able to see the water around her.

Slowly and silently she edged the boat further and further away from the bank, easing the oars quietly, but forcefully into the water. Many minutes passed, and Jade was beginning to feel confident she had escaped the people wishing to do her harm.

Until the following words froze her blood like a Popsicle, "There she is! Over here, over here! We've got her now!"

Jade's Breakfast

One-Minute Writer Friday Fiction: Breakfast

Write a brief fictional piece that involves breakfast.


JADE'S BREAKFAST

Jade sat down on one of the hard benches at the restaurant's patio cafe. Although it was just barely six o'clock in the morning, the hustle and bustle of people was starting to pick up as everyone started making their way to various jobs and occupations.

Jade had promised to meet Devon at LaRonda's for an early breakfast and a question and answer time. Devon had quickly become one of Jade's favorite people on Earth. He was young and energetic and because he was such a creative soul, Jade was able to use less control on her glamour when they were alone together. Not completely turn it off, but she found she could "let her hair down," so to speak, when Devon was around - be more like herself.

Breakfast was one of Jade's least favorite activities on this planet. Because Jade absorbs all her nutrition and mineral needs from the atmosphere around her, she rarely had to actually eat anything. She had practiced eating human food during her two eon preparation for this mission, but she had never quiet learned to master the texture and taste of food in her mouth. She quickly found, Breakfast was the only real meal where she had to eat when she was with friends. It's easy to blow off eating lunch because you can't leave your desk, or complaint of no hungry for supper, but most people will not accept any excuses for why you're not eating breakfast.

"It's the most important meal of the day."

"You've fasted all night, eat up."

"Breakfast should be the biggest calorie laden meal of the day."

"How can you not be hungry for supper?"

Jade managed to blend in, but with some people it was very hard to hold her glamour and try to eat breakfast at the same time. That is why she wasn't too worried about meeting Devon for breakfast, letting her glamour down would allow her to eat without raising suspicion.

"Hey, Girl, how ya doin'," Devon floated in like the queen bee he was and planted wet kisses on both Jade's cheeks. He orchestrated himself onto the bench just opposite Jade and settle down with his elbows on the table and his head in his hands. Even when trying not to be flamboyant, Devan was flamboyant.

"Have you ordered breakfast? Of course, you haven't. You wanted to make sure I was going to show up, right?" He batted his eyes suggestive at her and watched her expression.

Taken off guard by behavior that was so over the top, even for Devan, Jade became flustered.

"Wh...hat doooo you m..m..mean?" she stammered.

"You know exactly what I mean, pussy cat. And I'm not leaving this cafe until you have told the the whole story." He flashed a Cheshire cat grin.

"Devan," frustration filling her voice,"I'm sure I don't know what you are talking about." She picked up her menu and started scanning the items. As much as she hated to order any food, maybe it would divert Devan's attention from asking more questions.

He grabbed the menu away from her and tossed it onto the next table.

"Nope - not gonna let you change the subject, Butter Cup," he reached out and captured both her hands in his own rough paws. "And the first thing I want to know is, 'Why is your skin green?'"

Jade and the Bridge

(Photo by Cyndy of Cyndy's Photography)


JADE AND THE BRIDGE

Jade stood in awe of the magnificent structure before her. Never in all her years on Jadocon had she seen a alien-made structure so breathtaking. In the twilight of the cool summer evening, she stood on a lone dirt road just off the main highway and in direct line with the San Francisco bridge.

She knew it was a bridge, because bridges were covered in the preparations for her mission, but she had darker reasons for wanting to learn about bridges. Jade was afraid of water. When she was just a eon old, the guardian who was supposed to be caring for her, Maxium, thought it would be a good idea for Jade to learn to swim. She pushed Jade into a crystal clear pond with the instructions, "Move your arms and legs. Swim, girl, swim!"

But Jade didn't swim, she sank, rapidly underwater. She had never been in water except the tub she used for bathing. Panicked, Jade thrashed about in the pond, desperately trying to get her head above water. If it hadn't been for Elder Gill, Jade would have drowned. Of course, she learned much later, this had been the intended scenario Maxium was looking for. This would not be the first attempt on Jade's life; not even the 20th.

Watching the cars traveling across the long bridge, Jade was fascinated with the bright lights. They seemed to blur together into a continuous stream of pulsating light. As the lights bounced off the surface of the water, the water was transformed into something other than the liquid fear that always paralyzed her.

"I can do this," she thought to herself. "I can walk across this bridge to the other side." She knew her destination was on the opposite side of the bridge, but she had been stalling for many hours. After hiking many miles through the woods from her transportation spot, she knew her mission awaited across the bridge. From her studies, she knew there was a pedestrian walk-way to allow safe passage, but it also meant she would be many feet above the surface of the water.

Stealing herself for the journey, Jade placed her backpack over one shoulder and took a deep breath. Then she slowly started edging her way to the waterfront.

JADE MISUNDERSTANDS

One-Minute Writer Friday Fiction: Steal

Write a brief bit of fiction, including in it the word "steal" (or some version of that word.)




JADE MISUNDERSTANDS

"You mean to tell me you have never even stolen a piece of fruit of an orchard tree?" Michael was shaking his head and he watched his unusual new friend pay for the apple. He had only taken the apple because he was hungry and he had no money to buy food with.

Jade handed the street vendor two paper dollars and thanked him for his time. "No, Michael. Where I come from everyone is equal. We share everything, so there is no need to steal."

Although Jade had been living on Earth for almost one year, Michael was the only human she had shared her secret with. Although she trusted him, she had never felt safe enough to drop her glamour in front of him so he could see her true identity. No, Jade did not feel comfortable enough for anyone to know all her secrets.

"So what do you mean everyone is equal?" Michael bit into the red apple and juices ran freely down his cheek.

"Just what I said, everyone on Jadocan is equal. I mean we do have a council of elders who govern the planet, but all the citizens are equals. Everyone has a particular job, but we all get to choose what we want to do. We don't have a monetary system, so whenever we need something, we just pick it up in the markets."

"Without paying for it - so technically, that's stealing." They turned down another street corner and headed for a small park in the next block.

"No, Michael," she looked at him like he was a simple child that didn't understand what he was talking about. "Everyone works toward a common goal - no one is trying to best anyone else. Unlike this planet - I just don't understand the greed you live with every day. And money, who in the world to you all ever get anything done?"

Jade had studied all about life on Earth for two solid years before beginning her ten year mission. Learning to handle money had been one of the harder lessons to learn. The elders tried to explain that Earthlings used paper and metal disc as currency for items of purchase. She had brought with her several precious gems from the ore mines on Jadocan and the first week on Earth, she had sold a ruby to someone called a pawnbroker. She wasn't sure what a pawn was, but the man had given her many pieces of paper money. She had been using them sparingly, but she realized that very soon, she would have to sell another gem because even though she had many metal discs left, she was down to only three or four paper bills.

They entered the small park and sat on a small bench under an oak tree, directly in front of a fountain with water spurting from a stone elephants trunk.

"You have to have money to get anywhere in this world, Jade. Without money, you are nothing." Finishing the apple, Michael tossed the core into a nearby trashcan.

"That's my point. On Jadocan everyone is someone, there is no need for money. I've seen how greed changes the people on your planet, and believe me Michael, the change is not a good thing."

They sat under the oak tree for many long minutes before standing up and heading back onto the streets of San Francisco.

JADE'S FEAR

One-Minute Writer Friday Fiction: Water

Write a brief bit of fiction that involves water in some way.




JADE'S FEAR

Jade looked at the babbling brook before her and a shiver went down her lithe body. Unable to override the fear growing inside her, she had left all pretense of glamour slide away with her concentration. "I cannot do this," she whispered under her breath.

Of course, from her studies about Earth, she know the planet was made up of mostly water, but the elders had told her it would be possible to stay away from water. Her home planet, Jadocan, was a dry, desert-like planet with very little natural water. It rarely rained on Jadocan, so water was pumped up through the planet's core and store in cavernous pond-like structures for later use.

When Jade was a small child, she had accidentally fallen into one of the storage ponds on an expedition with her guardians. Thrashing about in the cold liquid prison, Jade almost lost her life, only being rescued in just the nick of time. Since that experience, Jade had come to fear water, even the tiny trickles from waterspouts during a rare rain shower.

Years of talking with the elders and trying to fight her fears, Jade really thought she had at least overcome what she called "a flaw" in her character. Actually, she had pushed her fear of water deep down inside of herself and she refused to think about it.

But now, standing before the modest creek, her fears came slamming back into place and Jade was frozen to the spot. She closed her eyes and tried to calm the phobia before it devoured her whole.

After many minutes of slow deep breathing, Jade opened her eyes and looked beyond the rushing water. Making her decision, she straightened her spine and with determination started walking north along the creek bank.

"There's more than one way to deal with this fear," she thought to herself. "I'll just follow the water until I find a logical place to cross over. Who knows? Maybe I'll come to the town without ever having to cross the water."

Jade Hears

One-Minute Writer Fiction Friday prompt:

Write a brief bit of fiction. Focus especially on the sense of sound, trying to help the reader "hear" what your character(s) hear.




JADE HEARS

Crunch, crunch, crunch ... Jade lay perfectly still, almost as if a statue. She had come upon the beautiful meadow while hiking from the mountains, heading toward the nearest town. She was very tired from her journey and had decided to take a nap in the cool green grass.

Of course, letting down her guard to rest meant that her glamour was not working, but in this case, it didn't matter. Her luminous, pale green skin blended in with the grass of the meadow, making her virtually invisible.

Crunch, crunch, crunch ... Jade slowly raised up on her thin elbows and looked in the direction of the strange noise. There, almost 20 yards from where she lay was a tiny creature eating some green clover. Searching the vast database in her brain, she decided this must be what the Earthlings called a rabbit - "Any of various long-eared, short-tailed, burrowing mammals of the family Leporidae."

As if the rabbit could hear her thinking, it stopped chewing and stood perfectly still with the exception of the pink twitching nose. After a few minutes of immobility, the rabbit suddenly bolted into the neighboring woods.

Jade sighed, then lay back down in the cool grass. Trying to empty her mind, she became to earnestly listen to the other noises surrounding her.

Buzz, buzz, buzz ... a honeybee collecting pollen - "Any of several social bees of the genus Apis that produce honey."

Caw ca, Caw ca, Caw ca ... a raven flying overhead - "A large bird, Corvus corax, having black plumage and a croaking cry."

Trickle, trickle, trickle ... she knew this sound instinctively - there must be a creek or small waterfall nearby. This was good, now she knew there was a convenient place to get fresh water.

Swish, swish, swish ... the rapidly flipping tail of a red fox - "A fox of the genus Vulpes, characteristically having reddish fur."

Coo coo, Coo coo, Coo coo ... the lonely call of the mourning dove - "A grayish-brown, swift-flying wild dove, Zenaidura macroura, of North America, noted for its mournful call."

Rooooaaaaarrrr ... Jade sat up again, startled. This noise was not an animal! Looking overhead, she saw streaks of white flying through the sky, too high to be any type of Earth bird. Riffling through the database again, she realized this was an airplane - "Any of various winged vehicles capable of flight, generally heavier than air and driven by jet engines or propellers." Although she has learned about these "unnatural birds," Jade had no desire to see one of these face-to-face.

Finally feeling refreshed, Jade stood up and began the last leg of her journey toward the nearest town. She knew this was the beginning of the next 10 years of her life.

JADE’S BEGINNING

JADE’S BEGINNING


“Do you have any questions before the transport?” Gill asked Jade.
“No, I’m ready as I’ll ever be.” Jade had been preparing for this mission for two years.
The inhabitants of Jadocon were the historians of the galaxies, surveying and learning about all the different cultures.
Jade was chosen to explore Earth, not because she was interested in Earth, but because she possessed the skill of glamour - the ability to change her appearance at will. To Earthlings – without her glamour – Jade would be seen as tall with pale green skin and large black eyes. But with minimal concentration, Jade could make people see her as petite and blonde, perfect to blend into the southern California coast she would be traveling to.
“I’m ready, Gill,” she said.
Jade stepped onto the transporter platform with one phrase echoing in her brain; “It’s the end of the world as we know it.”

JADE'S LOSS

One-Minute Writer Friday Fiction: Winner, Loser

Write a brief, fictional piece about someone winning, someone losing, or both.

JADE'S LOSS

Jade stared at the crystal in her small hands. "This can't be happening. People of Jadocon don't die - so how can my Guardian be dead?"

When she accepted the ten-year assignment on Earth, Jade had packed up her few belongings and left her home planet without a care in the world. Jadocon's live for millions of eons, so she had no doubt she would see her friends and her Guardian again. In practically the blink of an eye, she would be home again and she had so many plans for the future.

The Interplanetary Council had given Jade a communication crystal before she left on her assignment. The crystal would only be used in cases of extreme emergencies. In the six years she had been living on Earth, the crystal had never once flared to life.

But today, today was different. Right in the middle of an outing with her new Earth friends - at a place called an "amusement park" - Jade felt the crystal in her pocket getting hot. Excusing herself and heading to the restrooms, Jade pulled the golf-ball size crystal from her pocket.

Concentrating all her engergy into the hard stone, Jade received the message that her Guardian was dead. No other information was currently available.

Jade felt a heaviness in her heart she couldn't explain. Wiping the wetness from her dark, almond-shaped eyes, she slipped the crystal back into her pocket and went back to join her friends.

This was the only communication from Jadocon Jade received while on Earth. It was after her return to Jadocon at the end of her mission that she finally learned exactly what happened to her Guardian.

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JADE, THE CHOSEN

One-Minute Writer Friday Fiction: Child

Write a short, fictional piece about a pivotal moment in a child's life. Write in first person, from the point of view of the child.

JADE, THE CHOSEN

"But I don't want to be a Traveller!" Jade whined. "Why can't I live on my own planet like all my friends?"

The Interplanetary Council consisted of seven members, each one over two million eons old - two million years in Earth time. On the planet Jadocon, two million eons was like the blink of an eye. Every few hundred eons, new Travellers are chosen from the newly young and trained to explore alien universes.

Unfortunately for Jade, she had been chosen from birth - mainly because her parents were also Travellers, but mostly because her unique DNA consisted of the exact match to help her blend in with the humans of Earth. She may have been born with translucent green and large, dark, almond shaped eyes, but her DNA contained the invisibility gene which helped her true form remain unnoticed by humans. This DNA combination was a rare gene for offspring born on Jadocon.

But Jade wanted nothing to do with the Interplanetary Council - she did not want to be a Traveller.

"Jadocon is my home. I don't want to travel to Earth - I could care less about humans!"

"Silence!" thundered Agnowyn, leader of the Council. "You were chosen before your birth. You will do as the Council desires. You will travel to Earth and learn everything there is to know about the humanoids. No arguments. The Council has spoken." Agnowyn slammed down her clenched fist on the wooden table in front of her.

"Now, go with the Sentries. They will take you to the training center. In 15 eons, you will be sent to Earth."

Stunned, Jade dropped her head and was led out of the Council Chamber.

"Now what do I do?" Jade barely moved her long, lean legs as the Sentries guided her to the training center - away from life as she knew it - toward a life she didn't want.

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Jade's Delivery

One-Minute Writer Friday Fiction: Delivery

Write a brief, fictional piece about a delivery.

JADE'S DELIVERY

"Jade, help me!" Cheryle had collapsed and was laying on the bare ground.

Jade stopped and looked back at her new "friend." "If we don't keep moving, those men will catch up with you." She spoke matter-of-factly in a cool, crisp voice.

Jade had only been on Earth a few weeks, but what she had seen so far was not to her liking. She had been prepped for living in a large "concrete" village, but this barren wasteland was almost intolerable.

When she first arrived, she had been in a tree-filled mountain range, but after moving into civilization, she realized the village was surrounded more by a dirt-filled barrenness than mountains. No, so far, she did not like this planet.

Cheryle had come into her life on the third day, pregnant, hungry and on the run from coyotes. She described these coyotes as tall, dark and shaggy, but from her preparations for this mission, Jade had only learned about coyotes that walked on four legs. Cheryle said these coyotes were men - how strange.

Apparently, Cheryle was desperate to get away from the coyotes, so Jade agreed to help her find a safe place. After all, she was here to learn.

But now it looked like Cheryle would not be able to go on much longer.

"Help me, Jade! I think the baby's coming!" Even though she was inexperienced with human behavior, Jade recognized the urgency in the woman's voice. Drawing from her two years of study, Jade knew what she had to do.

Walking over to the crying woman, Jade bent down and picked her up, then she started running for the clump of trees that was visible on the horizon.

"What are you doing?" cried the woman.

"I must get you out of the sun. I must find a safe place for your baby to be born."

Fifteen minutes later, Jade lay the woman on the sparse grass under the clump of trees. She opened her backpack and withdrew a water bottle. She wet a scrap of cloth and washed the woman's face.

"Ahhhhhh - oh, god, Jade! It's coming ... it's coming!" Cheryle drew her legs up to her chest and screamed.

The next thing Jade knew, she was holding a bloody lump. Fascinated, she washed off the baby's face and it started to cry. She wrapped the baby in a jacket she pulled from her backpack and handed it to Cheryle.

Then Jade sat down beside the mother and child, pulled her worn journal out and began to write.

"I have just assisted with the arrival of a new human ..."

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Jade's Uncertainty

One-Minute Writer Friday Fiction: Note

A character discovers a note in an antique book. What does the note say?
Friday Fiction is your chance to practice your fiction-writing skills.... Make something up!

JADE'S UNCERTAINTY

Jade followed the young man into the bookstore, eagerly watching his every move. She had plenty of experience with the male species from her own planet, but the males on Earth were different - plain without the exotic look of the familiar pale green skin.

The man walked to the back of the store and stopped before a row of leather bound books. He ran his finger slowly across the weathered spines of each book on the 4th shelf, his lips moving, but Jade could not hear what he was saying.

"Hi, Derrek," said the store clerk, "you looking for anything in particular this week?"

"Yeah, I heard you had a first edition of The Red Pony. I want to finish my John Steinbeck collection and it's the only one I don't have." The man continued scanning the books on the shelves.

"Hum, word sure does travel fast; I don't even have that book on the shelf yet. Come over to the desk and I'll show you." The store clerk turned and started back to the desk.

"I'll be right there, Frank," the man said. Then he slipped a book carefully off the shelf and started turning the pages. Jade pretended to be looking for a book several shelves away. The man glanced up with her, and Jade couldn't read the expression on his face.

Was he mad, interested, angry? Jade had only been on Earth a few weeks, and learning to read the facial expressions of humans was proving to be a difficult task. The man's lips were slightly turned up, but it didn't resemble a smile from the photographs she had studied.

The man turned back to the book and slowly placed it back on the shelf, leaving it sticking out from the rest of the books. He then walked over to the desk to look at the book he had asked about.

"This is not only a first edition, Derrek, it is also signed by Steinbeck. I have the authenticity certificate to go with it. Printed in New York at Covici-Friede in 1937. This book is number 44 of 699 printed. It's not mint condition, but it's a pretty good copy." The clerk removed the book from a plastic sleeve and handed it to the man.

While the men conducted business, Jade walked over to the shelves of book the man had been looking at. She pulled out the book the man left sticking out.

The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne; first edition, 1928. As Jade opened the book, a piece of paper fluttered out of the book and landed on the floor. She bent over and picked it. Looking up at the desk to see if the men were watching her, she opened the letter and began to read:

"I don't know who you are, but I know you don't belong here. Meet me outside, under the overpass to the bridge over Canal Street."

Jade looked up at the man again, but he was already walking out the front door, a first edition Red Pony, wrapped and carefully carried under his arm.

Jade's Mystery

One-Minute Writer Friday Fiction: Mystery

Friday Fiction is your chance to write a brief bit of fiction each week. Get creative making stuff up--and have fun!

Describe the moment a character solves a mystery.

JADE'S MYSTERY


Slowly, Jade sat up and looked around. All she could see were green things above her head. She had landed flat on her back, but found she could easily move, so no bones were broken.

She had accepted the assignment to come to the humanoid planet, but looking at the desolation around her, she was beginning to have second thoughts.

Jade stood up and surveyed the landscape. Although she had study for two years to learn the behaviors of the inhabitants on Earth, she was not prepared to be dropped off into this barren wilderness.

"Where are the towns?" Jade took a worn leather journal out of her knapsack and began thumbing through the pages.

"Metropolitan cities, large cities, small cities - but where are the cities?" She walked a few paces down a small slope into a clearing. Looking out over the abyss, all she could see for miles and miles was more greenery, just like the area she landed in.

Jade was prepared for cities with their fossil fuel cars and pollution. She was prepared for hundreds of thousands of people crammed into these cities. She was even prepared to make friends and infiltrate the people of the cities. But she was not prepared for all this greenery, even if her skin was also a lovely shade of green.

Flipping through the journal, she finally found what she was looking for.

"Mountains, forests, woods - places were trees, plants and other vegetation grow. These green things supply Earth with clean oxygen they require in order to breath and live. Ah," thought Jade, "my teletransportation must have missed the mark. Instead of landing near a city, I've landed in the mountains."

Swinging her knapsack over her narrow shoulders, Jade started walking down the mountain, heading for civilization. Heading for the people she would live with and observe for the next 10 years.

(This is another snippet of the Adventures of Jade)

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JADE'S ARRIVAL

One-Minute Writer Friday Fiction: Encounter

Friday Fiction is a new series on The One-Minute Writer. Every Friday you'll be prompted to create a brief piece of fiction. Have fun!

Write about a character's first encounter with the person he or she will later fall in love with.

Jade's Arrival

"Please don't touch me," the strange lady yelled at my best buddy, Brent.

She was the oddest person I had ever seen, and coming from New York city, I've seen some odd people. For one thing, she was almost 6 foot tall, but this is not what made her odd. I think it was the fact her skin had a bright green tint to it - or maybe because her large eyes were dark and almond shaped. She did have long beautiful blond hair that fell in ripples down her lean back.

"Hey, I'm sorry," said Brent. "I didn't mean to bump into you. Ah, my name's Brent - you new in town?"

The strange, beautiful creature look at him for a full minute before answering.

"My name is Jade - and yes, you could say I'm new in town."

(Jade is a character I've been expanding on with several recent prompts. I hope to one day develop her into a full length novel.)

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