It was far in a distant time and a place unfamiliar to it,to HIM. The navigational instruments of his space craft were malfunctioning,so he hadn’t idea where he was or where he was going. All that he knew was he was somewhere in the black void of space----SOMEWHERE in the darkness of this immense universe. He saw a glistening orb in the distance,maybe it was a star,a sun that supported other worlds or maybe it was planet that could support life. He couldn’t be certain until he was closer. As he drew closer,he could make out that it was a planet----if only his life support would hold out until he could reach it. If only this strange world could sustain his life. He only knew that it might take a long time,perhaps years,for him to be rescued. He didn’t know if he had years,he didn’t know if the atmosphere could sustain him,if there were animals to hunt or edible vegetation for food. He had no data about the planet what so ever. He was going in blind and was forced to hope for the best. He was going in fast,too fast for a completely safe landing,one by one his instruments began to fail he flipped the switch for his retrorockets,in order to minimize the velocity of impact. But,as he drew near the point of impact,the retrorocket also gave out. So,he crashed somewhere in a dessert. It was a severe crash. But,as they say,”any crash you can walk away from----”. He survived,but where the hell was he? He had a compass,but not knowing anything about this strange world,it didn’t help. So,he wandered in this desert tired,hungry and thirsty. He tried to reserve his water and food rations,but even with rationing,they to became dangerously low. Eventually, he came upon a forest. He had to decide whether to try and go around the forest or go through the dense woods. He reasoned that if he had any chance of finding shelter and food it would be in the forest. He cautiously entered the edge of the wooded area and immediately felt the freshness of the cool air. There seemed to be a cool breeze that filled his lungs,a refreshing change from the hot and arid desert air. He crossed the expanse of the forest,finding fauna,flora and seemingly fresh water. The water seemed high in mineral,but drinkable. The animal and plant life looked much like it did back home,but some differences. He hoped that the differences wouldn’t be so much so that it would be inedible. It was nearing dusk,so he decided on a large cave which served as suitable shelter,built a fire and roasted some nuts and berries that he picked,hoping that he’d wake up the next day or,if the plants were poisonous,his death would be painless.

He awoke the following day,feeling none the worse for having eaten the unknown vegetation.

He started his long trek through the vast forest. He wasn’t sure if he had hopes of finding a civilization or not. If he did find a society,how different from him would they be? He knew that he’d have to remain cautious and vigilant. He spent two or three days in the forest,spending his nights in caves that were large enough to provide shelter. He hunted animals and consumed the plant life that he found. But,some of the wild life that he saw were also predators,large beasts that would hunt him. He kept his laser ready for any threat to his survival. His portable beacon,a device that sent a homing signal to hopefully alert a search team to his location,was always on and always with him. Hopefully,the search team was already looking for his signal and would find him soon. The scenery was beautiful,there was fresh water and plenty of food. He found shelter to protect him from the elements scattered in the forest. He finally exited the woodlands and saw in the distance what looked to be a city. He questioned whether to investigate the city. He silently approached it and found it to be inhabited by a race of strange creatures. They were bipeds,but larger than him,they were almost hairless,wore very strange clothes and their anatomy,although they were larger than those from his homeward,was similar. But,still different enough where they’d know that he wasn’t from their world,HE was the alien. As he tried remaining concealed,hidden from view from the inhabitants of this strange world,one of them saw him,a smaller version of the elders, and sounded the alert. Most of the adults thought it was a case of an over active imagination. But,then,as the “visitor” tried to flee and hide,others saw him. He was chased,almost trapped and caught. But,he managed to escape back to the density of the dark forest. It was almost a week since he arrived and crashed on this world,perils were behind him and ahead of him. The only safety was in uninhabited caves and not all of the caves were uninhabited,many had the predatory creatures residing in them. About to give up any hope,the communication device he had with him started sounding like static,then it became clearer. The search team had found him,at least what world he was on. Soon they’d know his precise location. He stayed put,so they could zero in on his exact location. Eventually,the rescue team did find him. He was relatively safe,he survived and on his way home. They journeyed through the vastness of space until finally they saw the planet they called home. When the landed,our traveler felt like he wanted to kiss the ground when he left the space craft. It was good to be home. It was great to be on Earth again.