(This is usually from a WIP or something seasonal. The content will change so come back often!)

FROM MY SCIENCE FICTION WIP, MIME SHAFT – BOOK 3 OF THE MIME SERIES

Squirt pulled his nose from her hand and blew a gust of air and water into the air. And circled them with one wide eye out of the water. The others frothed and pulled away.

“Oh, dear. I’m not sure they took that well,” Effie mumbled. And these creatures could manipulate the water inside her – with a thought.

“Wait,” Van mumbled. His brow furrowed and another image began to form, this time in front of him. The good ship, a duplicate of hers, showing its origins, tracing back to where it came from, which his picture explained was “from behind the stars” – close enough. Earth hung suspended in a twinkling, dark waterfall depicting starry space. Closer and closer. Oceans. We come from a water world on the good ships, he was saying. A water world.

He imaged humans swimming with whales and dolphins, showed them octopi and coral reefs, sharks and sea-turtles. One after the other. Koi. Seals. Forests of kelp. Memories of years of scuba diving must be going into this, Effie marveled. His passion for the life and beauty of other species gave the pictures an ethereal, crystal splendor that took her breath away.

The frothing subsided and Squirt came closer, bumped Van’ hand with his nose. Van come from this place? said Squirt’s cascading pictures.

Good ship comes from this place. Bad ship comes from this place. Some humans good. Some humans bad.

A pause as the sea people absorbed this astonishing idea.

The older, knobby creature that Squirt had brought to them swam slightly forward. Effie and Van good humans, good ship, was his reply picture. This in a large cataract, using emphasis, showing agreement.

The two humans both drew long breaths of relief as the sea people came closer. A few of the bolder ones came up and touched their hands in the water. Van, trying to hide the tears in his eyes, replayed his waterfall picture of swimming with earth dolphins and morphed the dolphins into squid dolphins, and his picture was echoed back, larger.

As Effie watched in shocked wonder, he dove into a wave and was surrounded by the aliens. Van good was Squirt’s picture to Effie before he dove after the human and both species sported in the waves.