At first I didn't notice the Trebalians lounging by the swimming pool, but their awkward manner and uncomfortable presence soon became obvious. Me, I'm a Kartook, and I know I should be righteous and display my disapproval for these people, but they were harming no one. In fact, I found their playful camaraderie endearing.
Their bleached white skin, piercing black eyes, and handsome square jawbones made them visibly different from the rest of us. We Kartooks take pride in our heritage of being descendents from last reigning human beings, before the final blast.
When the Trebalians arrived in the late 2600's from their planet in the Saturn hemisphere, we were two communities separated by differences of lifestyle and ideals. Although considered Aliens and recognized by the Council as such-- and amended all rights of the Kartook Nation-- there was the one factor that proved difficult for Kartookians to understand-- that Trebalians mated and gave birth with their own sex.
Men had babies with men, and women had babies with women-- giving birth to a boy or a girl accordingly.
Morally, the religious Kartookians had problems with this because the Trebalian species were propagating outside of the normal male/female sexual coupling. And while certain Kartookians did display affection for their own gender within their community- or their own "gay" community-- child bearing was never an issue... until now.
I sat in a lounge chair by the wading pool, seeing two male Trebalians playing with their little boy. A family, and while my wife approached with our lunch, I saw her leer at the two men and their son.
"What's the matter?" I asked.
"Nothing."
Nothing in our conversation always meant something.
"I got you extra mustard for your sandwich," retorted my wife.
The little Trebalian boy was now laughing, playing in the water, as my wife picked up her Vanity Fair.
"You don't like them."
"No, I just don't agree with them. It's not healthy for a child to be raised that way."
The child continued to laugh and I knew exactly what was going on.
I took her hand. "It's going to happen. We'll try again someday." She didn't look up from her magazine. The child's giggles suddenly became more raucous and with a splash, the child was now out of the water and meandering towards my wife.
The little boy stared at her blankly as his two fathers quickly took him by the hands. She continued reading her magazine, unfazed by the child's pervasive stare. As they took their son back towards their chairs, the little boy responded, "Daisies."
My wife shut her eyes, remembering.
I took a sip of my synthetic milk protein drink, wondering how the infant Trebalian saw her past so clearly. Their minds before puberty had the capacity to see into certain species psyche- seeing all of our faults, strengths, and pains like a road map to our hearts.
"He's a child." I stated.
She nodded silently, still reading and determined to finish her magazine.
Sarah was born three years ago but died several days later due to complications of a severe heart disorder. Our only child, at her space drop service, we covered her capsule in my wife's favorite fresh flower- daisies- giving our angel Sarah a goodbye covered in the flower's white brightness which my wife felt would honor her joy.
The two male Trebalians watched us from the other side of the pool, wanting to apologize but knowing there was nothing they could do.
"We're all part of the same thing, honey. We all feel pain, we all feel love. We all regret things."
She nodded, still reading.
And as the male couple and their little boy left the pool area, my wife put down her magazine as if taking a heavy inhale after holding her breath. "Thank God. They make me so nervous."
I realized perhaps she was so nervous because the Trebalians could see the truth in their own condition, and others. They hurt no one, judged no one- and yet were so misunderstood.
A tragedy for sure as I looked at my wife who was now eating her lunch in silence. I knew she was still thinking about Sarah.
If only her fears could let her emotions go- if only her hate could let her see the love all around her.