Directions
I thought I heard a knock but wasn’t sure. I strained my ears. The knock was more a scraping and I feared my imagination was getting the better of me. I mustered enough courage to open the door and immediately glanced down to see the source of the scraping. There was a person a few centimeters tall standing outside. She was dressed in a suit. She didn’t seem scared or awed.
“Hello there!” she exclaimed.
I could barely hear her despite the megaphone she was using. I went down on my knees.
“Er…hello…who are you?” I asked, trying not to be rude with the obvious questions racing through me.
“I live here and wanted to talk to you,” she said.
I looked behind her and saw a few thousands soldiers neatly arrayed all with guns pointed at me. They were all her size. I stood up in a hurry and almost fell backwards.
“Don’t worry, we mean no harm,” she said, her magnified voice putting me at ease.
She was definitely someone with authority. She gave an imperceptible signal without turning around and all the soldiers put their weapons down.
“Can I come in?” she enquired and walked right in not waiting for an answer. She found an empty tin can and sat herself down. “Alright, let’s figure things out,” she said very business-like. “Who are you and what are you doing here?”
I was still trying to get my bearings. “Hmm…I was heading home and I was pretty sure that’s where this was,” I murmured.
She gave me an understanding look. She took in the entire area in a quick glance and her eyes fell on the control panel looming large in the center.
“Can I see that?” she asked.
I nodded not knowing what else to do. She waited and I understood. She climbed aboard the palm of my hand and I put her near the navigation system. It was clear she knew what she was doing as she scampered back and forth with the various screens. I had a vague sense of foreboding and for a moment, wondered if she was trying to sabotage my system.
A few minutes later she stopped the frenetic activity. “There, I figured out what your problem is,” she proclaimed.
“What is my problem?” I asked with a little bit of sarcasm.
“I hope you know you’re lost?” she said in amusement.
I didn’t need a miniature creature to tell me that.
“Yes, that much is clear,” I said.
“I don’t know what you did to get here.”
Her tone was now patronizing. I was getting irritated.
“What do you mean what did I do?” I said, my tone getting a bit more impatient.
“You might want to sit down,” she said, indicating my large chair.
I humored her and sat down.
“Here’s the situation,” she continued. “You are a very long way from home. In fact, you are not even in the right galaxy. This is the Earth and we are on the Solar System. Did you read the directions?”
