But one day, as a result of wandering around the Cosmos with her head held up high in the air, the comet wound up in a galaxy that was far and out of the way. She slowed down and panted and puffed while rummaging through masses of ice, gas and dust in search of her datebook. Somewhere she must have written down her route to follow.
"Here it is!" she said after finding it at the bottom of one of her bright and shining drawers. She removed some of the star dust from the cover, leafed through the crumpled pages, and scratched her forehead while trying to remember. She went over the different stops of her journey:
"Let's see…Tour of the Milky Way in 7,000 years round trip, etc…trips around the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, etc. Oh, here! Trip around the planet Earth…at least six months." "Six months? But that would be boring!" said the comet for she had a difficult time staying in one place for very long. "Oh, okay. I will have to see what I can do!"
She began again to dart extremely fast from one constellation to another and tried to be more careful about where she was going.
"Oh, look, look…that must be Earth!" she exclaimed after a while when she began to notice in the distance a small planet.
"But it used to be blue, and much more green, I'm sure….Hmm! One cannot stay away for several thousand years without finding everything upside down! Who was living here? Let me think…oh yes! …Human…Beings! Are they still there? Yes, I think I am able to see some!" the comet added while leaning forward a little. "Indeed, I remember them being a bit more joyful…But can it really be the Earth?!" the comet asked herself again with increasing doubt.
"I must be mistaken," she said shaking her head while comparing the planet with her map. She was about to withdraw and turn back when she saw some flashes of light. This made her curious and she went back to take a better look. The lights sparkled here and there and became ever more luminous, like signals.
The comet's heart skipped a beat and she then struck her head and exclaimed:
"How thoughtless of me! Of course, that is Earth! Only the little ones of the human race could have this light. There is no mistaking it! It's them!...how are they called….the Chil…they are the Children! What good fortune! Now I am able to get oriented. And now to work!" she concluded. "There is no more time to lose!" "What a relief that I have brought a lot of light and stardust!" she made sure as she checked her luggage. "I don't want to brag, but my golden cosmic dust produces sparks! The waters flow more purely, the meadows bloom again, the air becomes lighter, and the Earth dwellers wake up in such a good mood that their sad thoughts become bored and after a bit they go away!" The comet spread all around trails of light, one after the other.
"Oh, yes, in that region there is still a need for a few more sparks…also over there…and a bit more down there in back…one never knows! Let me see…Oh, also over there, behind, many sparks are needed!" the comet added while flinging another sparkling handful towards the ground.
"Now that seems better," commented the comet with satisfaction while looking around herself. "Who knows what had happened. I had left the Earth as a Paradise, replete with every one of God's blessings, and moments later I could not recognize her anymore. Fortunately, the Children warned me in time. Next time, however, it would be better to come back sooner. In fact, let me get my datebook. I will write it down immediately!"
© 2006-7 Ornella Trentin and Starchild
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.