An Unbelievable Dream....or Not?

I had finally completed my homework, finished all my chores, and put all my stuff back in its place.

I sighed and dropped onto my bed.

Creakkkkkk.

My mother slowly opened the door and said, "You all done, honey?"

"Yup!"

"Good. You can go out to play. Be back by 8:45, and take an umbrella with you, just in case."

"Alright."

Once she left, I jumped to my feet and grabbed my jump rope and umbrella from my closet.

I headed out to my bicycle and placed my things in the front basket. It was 7:22, so I had a good amount of time to practise. I rode swiftly and smiled as I felt the wind in my hair.

...

I reached the park, but something seemed odd. Nobody was there. Usually, there were at least a few kids playing around every evening.

I didn't think much of it.

After parking my bicycle, I kicked off my sandals, ran onto the soft grass, and started playing, jumping rope, running, and whatnot.

After quite some time, I fell to the ground to catch my breath.

As I rested, I could feel a strong wind picking up. It felt like the beginning of a storm. I looked around, but couldn't find any clouds in the sky, nor was there any rain.

Just as I was about to get back up, I saw a blinding light and felt a huge gust of wind.

I could see something descending from the sky...

Wait... was that a spaceship?

It landed rather unsteadily, almost toppling over, but somehow managed to land safely.

After its lights switched off, a small door suddenly opened, and a weird green... thing stepped out. It had big black oval eyes, two antennae, a small mouth, and a black spacesuit. 

I ran and hid behind a tree, still peeking out slightly.

For some reason, it immediately started walking in my direction.

I looked the other way, stood completely still, and held my breath.

It was silent for some time. Oddly silent. So I decided to take another look...

"AH—"

The green thing—wait, an alien?—was right next to me, staring into my eyes.

Before I could run away, it grabbed my arm tightly.

Oh, no. Was it going to abduct me? This was the end. I wasn't even going to get a chance to say goodbye to Mum and Dad.

"Hello, Earthling. Please don't be afraid. I can sense your fear. I bring no harm; I only need your help," it said.

I understood what it was saying, but its voice was a bit high-pitched. I tried blinking hard in case it was just my imagination, but when I opened my eyes, it was still there.

"Um... you need my help?"

"Yes, that is right. My spaceship has been damaged. I cannot reach home to my family with it in this state. I landed just in time. I just need a few tools. If I don't leave quickly, I will be banned from my planet for 15 million years."

"Uh... okay. But—"

"Please do not ask me any further questions. I just really need help."

I might as well see what he wants.

"Um, alright. What do you need?"

"Well, I need a screwdriver, a hammer, and a piece of metal scrap about this big," he said, showing me the approximate size with his hands.

I noticed that he had let go of my hand. This was my chance to run, run, run!

"Okayyyyy, I'll definitely get it for you."

"Oh, thank you! Please come back as fast as you can!"

"Uhh, yeahhh. Surrreee."

I quickly grabbed my things and my bicycle and cycled as fast as I could without looking back. This was my lucky chance to run away... right?

I hit the brakes.

The alien's words echoed back at me.

My spaceship has been damaged. I cannot reach home to my family with it in this state.

I imagined my mum waiting for me at home, and suddenly, a strange feeling washed over me.

He had never harmed or threatened me. Just like me, he had a family of his own. If I didn't help him, what would he do?

So, before I knew what I was doing, I found myself cycling at top speed.

Once I reached home, I grabbed a screwdriver and a hammer from Dad's toolbox and a medium-sized piece of metal scrap from the box of old materials we'd kept for future projects.

I dumped everything into my basket and, once again, rode as fast as I could.

I reached the park and grabbed my things as my bicycle fell to the ground. I ran and found him in the same spot.

He looked happy to see me and bowed in gratitude as he took the materials. Then he unscrewed, hammered, and screwed things into place on his spaceship until he finally looked satisfied.

He handed the hammer and screwdriver back to me and took my hand.

"Thank you so much. As a token of gratitude for helping me, here you go."

He slid a beautiful beaded bracelet onto my wrist. I tried to refuse, but the creature stopped me.

"Please accept it. It is my gift to you. Also, do not tell anybody about our encounter."

"Okay, I won't. Thank you for this bracelet, Mr..."

"Oh! My name is Blob."

"It was nice meeting you, Mr. Blob. My name is—"

"Melanie, I know. It was nice meeting you too."

"Wait—what? How did you—"

But before I could ask him how he knew my name, he left and got into his spaceship, which started successfully.

As he flew up, a blinding light hit my eyes... and everything went black.

...

I woke up to find myself in bed, with my mother about to leave.

"M-Mum?"

"Oh! You're awake, honey. I'm sorry, I was trying to leave without disturbing you."

"When did I fall asleep?"

"Well, you finished all your work, and you were exhausted, so I found you in bed when I came in."

"What?! No, you allowed me to go and play in the park. I remember! You also told me to—"

"Honey, I think you were dreaming. I told you no such thing. You were already asleep when I entered your room."

"But—I—oh..."

"Well, quite a realistic dream you had there, hmm? Are you hungry?"

I realised that I didn't have an appetite, even after all that work... I mean, all that work in my dream. I shook my head.

"Alright, then. Why don't you go to bed early? You've had an exhausting day. Good night, Mel."

"Good night, Mum."

After she left the room, I slumped into my pillow, wondering what had happened to the alien and why my mother didn't remember letting me out to play.

Maybe it was a dream. A weird one, at that.

I shifted in bed and was about to turn off my night light when I noticed something familiar.

The bracelet.

I touched it gently, just to make sure it was real, and then slid it onto my wrist, remembering how the creature had done the same.

I closed my eyes and smiled.

I guess it wasn't a dream after all.