Abigail banged on Sebastian’s front door, screaming and shouting to no avail. Once again she cursed Stardew valley for not having the decency to acquire a very necessary cellphone service for the entire area. Stardew valley was a deadzone for wireless connectivity. She heard Sebastian’s mom Robin was planning on purchasing one for telephone service but it can’t come anytime sooner.

She gave their ornate wooden door another hard slap before glaring down hard at it. Off to her left, there was a modest purple fire that burned from the huge chunk of comet rock. It fell solidly on the ground next to the cave mines, and yet the strange fire glowing off it wasn’t emitting any smoke. There had to be something alien about it, something phenomenally unknown that made her heartbeat stop dead on its tracks each time she looked at it.

Glancing back at Sebastian’s, she made a decision. One his dad Pierre could afford. After pulling out a picnic blanket off her backpack, she draped it over her head until its wooly fabric covered her from head to toe. Then she snapped her elbow back and gauged blindly, levelling her fisty end towards their window.

“Abigail!” came a voice. The picnic blanket was pulled from her head and she looked up to see defined grooves between Sebastian’s brows. A deep black ink swirling in the orbs of his eyes. Cool porchlight making his features even more severe.

“What the fuck Sebastian!? I had been yelling, screaming for about a full solid minute. Where the fuck were you? Burying your head in the sand!?”

A cool brow lifted as a fresh breeze wafted his strong cigarette scent. “I was listening to music. Can’t have heard you from the lakes.”

Her eyes bugged out, “From the lakes? Did you see the comet?!” She looked behind him to find it disappeared. “The comet that crashed here. It was here right next to the mines. You can’t have missed it. I saw it fall. Right over there!” She pointed to an empty space over the lake horizon where a purple rock used to glow. But the alien thing was gone.

The corners of his mouth pulled down to a harsh frown. “You should go home, Abigail.” He glanced at his window then down to the blanket in his hand, shaking his head. “I don’t even want to think about what you’re planning to do. You’re out of your mind. Go home.”

She stepped past him, walking closer to the direction of the disappearing comet. “It was right there. I saw it go.” She said, then peered back over her shoulder to find Sebastian slamming his front door close behind him.

As if on cue, nocturnal birds in trees and crickets swelled their music open. Awareness prickled at her skin, making their hairs stand on edge. Cascading notes of the night symphony sending shockwaves of alertness to her mind.

She was alone, standing there in front of her bestfriend’s house. Surprisingly enough, she never felt more in place with the world. As it always did, the night invigorated her. Giving her strength and courage and clarity. It must have been why her steps took a consciousness on its own, taking strides forward to the cave mines.