Keljbalāh

It was a small moon, orbiting a hot, unwelcoming planet. Keljbalāh was all green, spotted with blue lakes and small settlements all around. No more than one million Keljbalans lived on the small moon. They were mainly farmers and enjoyed a simple life. They worked only to feed themselves, each family receiving a crop. It wasn't a property as such. The whole moon was their property, of every Keljbalan. If someone had a bad crop, their neighbors would help them. No problem, no ulterior motives, no evil.

Keljbalans had light yellow skin, due their conception of "mush". Mush grew all over and could be cooked into hundreds of dishes, combined with fruits and vegetables grown on the dark side. Most people lived in the light side but they thought that, with basic technology, they could bring light to the dark side and so they did.

Keljbalāh was peaceful, never having wars of any kind. They did have disease but the species was intelligent and used their natural resources to take care of the sick. Poverty was unknown as well as richness. They were advanced but preferred to be at ease, enjoying their time alive.

One day, however, the moon witnessed a historic event: an eclipse. They didn't occur often but, when they did, every Keljbalan would look to the sky and thank the Sun for everything he allowed to exist.

The day of the eclipse many people gathered with their families, on fields, mountains and arounds lakes, to contemplate the all mighty sun. In a matter of minutes it turned black and many gasped and screamed and laughed. The moon was all dark for a time. People held hands and kissed and hugged. It was their most special event.

The the sun returned to its normal state. But something was wrong. Some of the Keljbalans interested in astronomy, where looking at the sun with telescopes. And what they saw when the planet left was very strange.

In a matter of minutes every person knew, as no secrets existed on the moon: a small object, apparently increasing size with the passing of minutes, was detected in front of the Sun. The object was not another planet as its shape was similar to the arrows some Keljbalans used to hunt flying animals when in the forests.

Now, every person had to go home. And they all thought about the same thing that night: what's the object? Other people? A small moon? Some kind of transport?

The answer came two weeks after the eclipse. The ship, almost exactly like an arrow, landed near the largest settlement. And did nothing for a whole day. People from every part of Keljbalāh came to see it. The hull was silver, a color not many Keljbalans had seen, only the miners. The apparatus had some windows around, but no one to be seen.

The following day, a big door no one had seen before, opened and a ramp was deployed. People that had stayed to see more of the sip, gather close but not too close. From inside the sip, two creatures stepped out. Different from Keljbalans, their skin was light blue and they were tall and with big eyes. Slids insted of a proper nose and three toes on each feet and three fingers on each hand. They wore capes, the same colors of the blueberries that grew by the lakes.

The creatures then bowed and it appeared it was hard for them. Not because they didn't want to but because of their large bodies.

  - We are Xysperians. We are explorers. We spent a day before coming out as we were learning your   language and your physical traits.

Everyone was a bit scared but mostly intrigued. The creatures seemed peaceful and decent. No one understood how they had learn to breath and speak in a day but more questions arose.

Some villagers took them to take a stroll around the fields and up to a hill from were the largest lake in Keljbalāh could be seen. They explained their history to the explorers and they just listened.

The following days, more Xysperians came out of the ship. They said they were from a planet with a dim red sun and that they had explored the galaxy looking for other life forms. They had thought, for a time, they were alone.

Keljbalans asked them about their planet, their traditions, their food. And Xysperians did the same. They shared meals, jokes, work and stories. And the two species rapidly became friends.

After on week, the Xysperians got back to their ship and stayed there for another whole day. They told the Keljbalans they had to meet and talk about some important issued and that they would now soon enough the results of their discussion.

Not just waiting this time, Keljbalans thought their new friends might leave soon. So every single Keljbalan came to the valley were the ship had landed and organized a feast, like no one had seen in years on the planet. They wanted to give the best to their friends.

The following day, Xysperians enjoyed the feast. The food was delicious, and it was accompanied with dances and tales and laughs. Everyone had a great time.

But when the food was almost disappeared, the visitors told their hosts they had important news to share with them: they had come to this system as they had detected life with their scientific knowledge. They had actually detected life in at least a hundred other places in the galaxy. But they had chosen to visit Keljbalāh as another discovery led them to.

An asteroid was coming and would hit Keljbalāh planet with strength. The Xysperians thought that event would finish life in the moon, rendering it barren, if not destroyed.

It was hard for the people of the moon to pass from great happiness to that hollow feeling you have after receiving terrible news. The Xysperians said they would share every piece of information with them as they revealed the reason why they had come to Keljbalāh: they wanted to save them.

So for the next ten years, Xysperians and Keljbalans worked together to build three massive ships and then they had a day called Koflar: the day of ripping. The day they had to leave the place that had given them everything. Every single one of them left something on the ground, a memory that would stay there forever.

They boarded their ships and the Xysperians led them to a new planet, a place where they would relocate close to their new friends, to built something even better for everyone. Due their extraction from their home world, all Keljbalans developed blue lines on their bodies, different from everyone. They said they were there to remember them of their origins.

Twenty years after, the asteroid hit the planet and debris hit Keljbalāh, transforming it into a ball of rock, with no life or heart. The planet, however, slowly became habitable and it appeared to be the new hope of this system.