They fell to Earth in a downpour, hidden among water droplets. Some of the people on the street that night saw a light streak across the sky, but most—like the girl—ran for shelter from the storm and saw nothing.
Caught without her umbrella, the girl ran for her apartment. Her long, stringy, hair whipped in the wind, soaked within seconds, though with more than just water.
Once inside, she changed her clothes and towelled off her hair, getting most of the water out. But it was still damp with them. They remained where they were. Hidden. Safe. She was so strange to them. Could they trust her?
It wasn’t until she turned on the hairdryer that they were afraid and had no choice but to make their presence known. They leapt from her head, landing in splotches on the bathroom counter, then forming back together to reveal their natural form. Tiny, transparent, exactly like water droplets. But clearly much more than that.
She took a step back and thought about running, but something about them seemed so harmless. So vulnerable.
At first, they simply watched each other, neither daring to move. But then they began to speak to her, their voices like bubbles, gurgles, and splashes. Their language was unlike anything she’d ever heard, but in her desire to understand the girl drew closer. She placed a hand on the countertop and they slid toward it, then gently, cautiously, they made contact with her skin.
The bathroom faded away and she found herself in a lush world. Verdant and full of life, with what looked like large bodies of water scattered throughout its surface. It was beautiful, but this beauty didn’t last. The girl could feel the temperature rise, gradually at first, then faster. Sweat broke out on her skin. With this increased heat, she saw the planet begin to change. Fields and streams turned to desert. She could sense the fear felt by the gentle inhabitants of this place. But when one night they saw a light streak across the sky, she also felt their hope.
She watched as they let their bodies expand into a mist, then rose high into the sky toward the comet. Not all of them reached it, but many did. On its frozen surface, they journeyed through space, guided by the stars until they reached a place with promise. They found a world of water, as theirs had once been. Earth. Here they could survive, hidden and safe. They could share the world with its native species in secret, disrupting nothing. Living their lives out in peace.
The girl emerged from this dream-like state, tears streaming from her eyes. As she wiped them away, she couldn’t help but notice they were so much like these beings. Both filled with sadness, but also hope. How afraid they must have been on their journey. How desperate to have braved it at all. And now here they were, separated from the others, alone and at her mercy.
“I will help you,” she said, unsure whether they understood. “Your secret’s safe with me.”
She let them spend the night in her stoppered sink. In the morning, she poured out most of a water bottle and had them slide inside. The bottle attached to her bicycle, on which she carried them away, out of the city, past the woods and to the lake. As she arrived, she saw the surface ripple with their awaiting friends. So many of them.
She leaned the bike against a tree and carried the bottle to the edge of the lake. There, she bent down and poured them out to join the others. When she raised her head, she noticed other people, like her, pouring alien droplets into the lake. Together they stood and watched the surface shimmer, then still. The people then looked around at each other and smiled but said nothing. What was there to say?
One by one they walked away. Last of all the girl. She ran a hand through her now dry hair that whipped behind her as she walked, like the tail of a comet.