Eclipsed Harmony

Monti and Miyu sat out on the ruined observation deck of their crashed starship. They and the rest of their crew had been stranded on this unknown planet for at least a year of their own time. Time didn’t move the same here though. When they’d crashed, Beazo, the engineer, had managed to save the stored library, some science equipment, and the timepiece, but little else.

The planet wasn’t a bad second home. It was just… different. They’d named it Tuol, meaning dueling suns in their native language because the planet did an unusual orbit around two suns. The larger sun rose in the east and sat in the west. The smaller, distant sun rose in the west and sat in the east. Three moons were also visible — two oblong-shaped small moons, and one larger perfectly round moon that sometimes blocked the light of the small sun.

Beazo had called that an eclipse. Today, they would begin to experience another eclipse. It had already slightly begun when Beazo noticed it. The large moon would be eclipsing the large sun, but no one knew how long it would take for the total eclipse, nor what the effects upon the planet it would have.

“If it lasts too long, we could all freeze,” Beazo had commented to the Science Commission.

Even after a careful survey of Tuol during the past year, the planet still held many mysteries. Food was abundant if you could call the sour berries and gourd-like fruit food. They also ate herbs with a sweet flavor and weeds that tasted similar to leafy greens from home. They’d discovered that they couldn’t eat any of the birds, mammals, or fish. They were all sentient beings who spoke, loved, laughed, and wept. Still, they’d needed a source of protein. Beazo and his team of scientists experimented with all available plant life and had created a protein-based substance out of the gourd-like fruit. It tasted vile, but it kept their bodies strong.

Hours passed, or had it been days? The slow creeping eclipse was taking forever and everyone had gone on about their chores. Only Monti and Miyu stood vigil. They took turns sleeping and watching the sky. And only when both had succumbed to slumber, did a siren sound. The eclipse was nearly complete.

The vast valley below their spot on the ruined observation deck began to fill up with all members of the crew. Monti and Miyu waved at Beazo just as complete darkness overtook the planet. All eyes turned upward to see the halo-effect around the sun and moon. The temperature dropped, but not as badly as Beazo had feared.

And then something miraculous happened. Monti and Miyu spotted it first from their high station. The smaller sun’s rays spread out among the fields of weeds and herbs like tiny droplets of rain bouncing and rising up from the soil. Then they noticed that those droplets had wings and the two screamed in unison at the sight. Soon all of the crew members cast their eyes down to the fields and experienced the same moment of awe.

The small, effervescent winged creatures flew all around the fields, making their way to the valley where the crew stood in astonishment. And then they began to sing. A song so harmonious, that all the sentient creatures of Tuol came out of their homes and joined the melody. The entire planet hummed with music until the eclipse faded into memory.

©2021 Lori Carlson. All Rights Reserved.