Highly Commended Story - Aliens In The Backyard

“Aliens In The Backyard” by Vivaan Ankur Shah, Rustomjee Cambridge International School & Jr. College, Dahisar, India, is the Highly Commended story in the junior category of the second biannual Short Story Contest 2019.

Vivaan Ankur Shah is a grade 5 student at Rustomjee Cambridge International school. He loves to read books on science fiction and fantasy literature. He is a big fan of Harry Potter and has read the complete book series. Roald Dahl is also another one of his favourite authors. Apart from reading, he also loves to express his thoughts through writing. He enjoys playing the Tabla and has been practicing and performing since last 5 years and loves to play Table Tennis too. He wants to become a surgeon when he grows up.

Aliens In The Backyard

Boom! Dean heard something crash in his backyard. He went to check. There was a gargantuan disk-like object made out of metal that was fallen on the grass. CRRRR! The door creaked open. Two monkey-looking orange aliens came out. They were short, had big beady eyes and their legs were as short as baby chickens. “My name is Sputnik and he is Zylo,” said one of the aliens. Dean stood rooted at the same spot for a moment. “I am Dean,” said Dean in a shaky voice. “Why have you come to our planet,” asked Dean? “While we were travelling in space, an enormous meteor crashed with our UFO. Will you help us fix it,” asked Zylo?

Dean was an expert in electronics. “I will help you fix it,” he said. They entered the UFO. There were hundreds of buttons on what looked like panels. “Where are you from,” asked Dean? “We are from a planet called Krypton,” said Sputnik. Dean realized that a part of the UFO was missing. He would have to go to a mall to buy it. He could not leave the two aliens at his house. If someone found them, they could harm them. So he decided to take them along. He made them wear shorts, jacket and a cap that would cover their face. On their way to the mall, a tall plump local police man who knew Dean, caught the two aliens. “Who are they,” he asked? Dean said that they were his cousins and that they were going to the mall for shopping. In the mall, many suspicious faces kept staring at the two aliens, but Dean kept his cool. They bought the required part and left for Dean’s house.

On their way home, Zylo said that he was famished and that his stomach was growling. Dean told them that he will take them to a famous restaurant called ‘McDonalds’. Inside McDonalds, again there were curious faces glaring at the two aliens. “Who are those two with you, Dean,” Dean heard someone say? He looked back and saw his friend Tom. Dean got scared. What would happen if the two aliens were caught? Dean said, “They are my cousins.” “I didn’t know you even had cousins,” exclaimed Tom, hitting Sputnik on his head in a friendly way. Sputnik’s cap fell down. Dean’s stomach lurched. He quickly picked up the cap and put it back on Sputnik’s bald head. They grabbed their food quickly and left for Dean’s home.

When they reached home, Dean quickly fixed the part that was broken. The two aliens were on cloud nine and ready to head back home. Zylo said, “Will you give us something sweet that we can give to our friends on Krypton?” Dean scurried into his bungalow and brought some homemade chocolate cake. “What is this,” asked Sputnik? “This is a chocolate cake,” answered Dean. “Bye, dear aliens. I will miss you a lot,” said Dean. The two aliens said their goodbyes and stepped inside the UFO. ZOOM! The UFO zipped into the bright morning sky.