His skin could absorb huge amounts of radiation which enabled him to walk for hours in the midst of the day when the sun seamed to melt all the surroundings. Enik’s vibrant and crystal clear blue eyes were shimmering while he walked across the boulevard greeting two neighbors who rushed to the other side of the road.
It must have been two decades since Enik’s family descended from Sirius B due to an interplanetary war that erupted between rivaling federations. The spaceship landed on Gaia to drop the four of them off before it headed to another planet in the galaxy. Enik and his three younger siblings were acquainted with the Multiverse. They understood the notion of space and time better than any human could possibly grasp.
The community was comprised of a couple thousand people. Most of them worked in agriculture, growing their own food and taking care of animals. They used to gather fresh produce in a van that was parked twice a week outside the city town hall and a driver would transport those juicy, organic fruits and vegetables to the market in the city close by. These were simple people living simple lives.
When Enik, Maya, Toruk and Zendo showed up that day at Fred and Martha’s farm all dressed up in their blue uniforms which made their blue eyes pop even stronger the two 60-year-olds looked at each other surprised.
“How did you Smurfs end up on my porch?” was all Fred could say when staring at these blue characters.
“What’s a Smurf?” replied Maya looking at her brothers.
Being the oldest prince of the Phtalys royal family, Enik knew about Gaia’s level zero civilization and its inhabitants. He always wondered why someone would volunteer to come here. He replied confidently and respectfully:
“My name is Enik and these are my siblings. We attended the carnival and thought it would be fun to keep these clothes on for a few more days.”
“Hm … So what exactly is it that you want from us?” said Fred while continuing to stare at the four strangers.
“I noticed you’re growing wonderful vegetables on your field. We wanted to ask you whether you could offer us a fresh tomato or carrot juice, or point us towards someone where we could buy these from?” continued Enik.
Fred looked at him surprised and replied: “Last Thursday we sold ten bottles of tomato juice to Mr. Barney who owns a store in the city. His van is parked outside the shop. Maybe he has a few more bottles left for you to purchase.”
It was the last time Fred and Martha sold their vegetable juices to Mr. Barney. During the past twenty years “the Smurfs” as Fred liked to call Enik and his siblings became their only customer.
Nobody understood what these foreigners were doing with all the vegetable juices they were purchasing from the surrounding farmers and they couldn’t care less as the payment they were receiving was twice as much as Mr. Barney used to pay them for the same produce.
Enik rushed into the house and gathered his siblings around him.
“Zendo, we need to leave now! The war is over and dad wants us to take over part of his kingdom. Unfortunately, Maya and Toruk, you’ll have to stay here until Zendo and I sign the contracts. We’ll get you out of here as soon as we’re in charge of our sub-planets.”
A small tear rolled down on Maya’s cheek while she was looking at Enik and Zendo swiftly embark the vessel. Toruk stayed in the house making sure nobody peeked into their back yard while his brothers left Gaia.
“How long until we can finally get rid of these nasty human clothes once and for all?” said Maya frustrated when facing his brother Toruk.
To be continued ...
Creative art: AI-generated images by Daniela S. via Midjourney
