The Aliens

Yurii Tokar

A cold autumn evening was sadly spreading across the quiet village with the mysterious name of Byshev. It was located not far from Kyiv. It was there that I taught mathematics after graduating from university. Why was the evening sad? Perhaps autumn is never conducive to optimism, and November 1992, marked by a premonition of changes in the country, seemed surprisingly unfriendly for some reason. What will they be like, the coming changes? Everyone tried to answer this question for themselves, but people cannot predict the future. 

Many claim that it is during times of change in the state that a huge number of magicians appear. It is then that people begin to believe in the yeti, various monsters, and talking stones; that is, they start to believe in something unusual. Perhaps they want to escape from reality in this way, although they themselves do not realize it. In 1992, talk about alien creatures was present on all television channels, radio programs, and in newspapers.

That chilly evening, I could have sat by the fireplace, which was warming me with a kind fire, and leafed through some illustrated magazines or read an article about aliens. However, I only had an electric fireplace, which meant that the wood in it did not crackle or create a flame. Additionally, in the morning, during a math lesson, I promised a seventh-grader that I would come to his house in the evening to talk to the boy’s parents. This seventh-grader had not done his homework for two weeks in a row, and there were no mobile phones at that time, so I could only complain to the parents about the careless student in person.

The seventh grader’s name was Andrey. The walk to his house took forty minutes. Of course, I was wet, and when Andrey opened the door to my knock, he looked at his math teacher sympathetically and invited me into the house.

“Where are your parents?” I asked Andrey.  

“They are staying late at work, but they will be back soon. You can sit down in the armchair and watch TV for now, and I will make some tea and treat you.”  

The boy was embarrassed and felt guilty. I thanked him and settled into the armchair because I had definitely decided to wait for Andrey’s parents. Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. Vladik entered the house, or rather burst in. This boy was Andrey’s neighbor and was in the sixth grade. Vladik didn’t even say hello but immediately began to speak excitedly.

“There’s something going on in the street… There’s something… There’s something incredible!”

The boy accompanied his confused phrases with incomprehensible gestures, trying to emphasize the significance of what was happening. 

“First of all, good evening! Secondly, please calm down and explain what you’re talking about,” I asked the sixth grader. 

But he was so worried that he had no time for the rules of decency.

“Everything is glowing there,” he finally said in a trembling voice.

“What else could there be outside besides wind and wet snow?” I thought, getting up from my chair.”

‘Let’s go and see if you’re not making this up!” 

“No, no,” he shouted excitedly.

We went outside together. What we saw was truly impressive. The village was bathed in a shimmering blue color. It looked completely different from a few minutes ago when I was walking down the street.  

“Look,” Andrey shouted, pointing to the north, “the glow is the brightest there!”  

And indeed, it seemed that the source of the mysterious light was in the northern part of the village.  

“Do you have bicycles?” I asked Andrey decisively.  

“I have two; they are in the barn, but the chain sometimes slips on both bikes. It is difficult to control them.”  

“It’s okay. Let’s go and see what it could be!”  

The boys were delighted with this proposal. Andrey went to the barn for the bicycles, and Vladik ran for his bike, and a couple of minutes later, we were riding in a northern direction.

The bike chain was indeed slipping, and wet snow was aiming at our eyes, but none of this mattered because the mysterious flickering glow was becoming brighter and brighter as we approached its source.

It was hard to ride, but the bikes moved slowly forward. There were no people on the street. It seemed to us that all the villagers had disappeared somewhere, and we were on the set of a science fiction film. Each of us wanted to be the first to see the source of the mysterious light. However, I did not notice the pothole in the road in front of me, so my bike ended up in a puddle, and I fell. The boys were luckier because they lagged behind me a little. But the mud-spattered clothes did not cause concern because we were approaching the mystical flashes.

“Maybe these are space aliens?” shouted Andrey, who was riding behind. 

In another situation, I would have joked in response, but then I kept silent and thought to myself, “Why not? Maybe a spaceship really did fly to Earth from another planet!” 

We saw the source of light as soon as we passed the last house in the village. The situation turned out to be much more prosaic than our fantasies. There was an accident on a high-voltage power line, and periodic short circuits in the wires caused a bright glow. An emergency electrician’s car was already parked nearby, but we did not notice any space aliens. One of the electricians, who was standing about ten meters away from us, for some reason looked at me very attentively and somewhat surprised. At first, I did not understand what had aroused his interest in me, but then I lowered my head and saw myself in the bright light from the car’s spotlights. My raincoat, ironed trousers, and boots were splashed with mud.

Andrey came up to me from behind and gently tugged my sleeve.  

“That’s my dad.” he pointed at the surprised electrician, “Are you going to talk to him now?”  

“No. Some other time,” I answered, and the boys and I slowly headed back towards the village.  

In fact, I no longer had the desire to talk to Andrey’s parents, but I will note that after that incident, he always came to class with his homework done. Perhaps the space aliens had an effect on him.