Vicky Yiqing Liu's Story

Matt walked towards the village. By the time he got there, he was exhausted. Matt entered, hoping that the people there would be friendly.

He was greeted with angry stares from peculiar-looking aliens. They had purple skin, red hair, antennae, and green eyes, and were glaring at Matt. One of them came forward and shoved him. “We don’t like outsiders,” he said in English. Matt nodded slowly, scared.

The aliens left Matt alone. Matt sighed, knowing that he wasn’t going to get any help from these people.

Matt wandered around, head down to avoid the glares from the villagers. The village wasn’t like home at all. The aliens lived in tents, and there weren’t any stores or markets to buy food or clothing in either. Instead, there were huge trees full of fruits and giant leaves to wear. The air smelled like roses, and Matt could taste apricots on his tongue as he breathed in. Matt liked the place…but he felt hopeless since no one liked him.

Suddenly, Matt heard the sound of a baby crying. He ran to see what happened. A purple-skinned baby was stuck in a tree, alone and abandoned. Matt bravely climbed up and saved her. He cradled the baby in his arms until some aliens showed up.

“Hooray!” Shouts of joy came from them, and everyone cheered for Matt. A woman alien came and claimed her child from him. “Thank you,” they all cried. “What can we ever do to repay you?”

As a reward, the aliens helped Matt fix his airship. It was then time for him to leave. The aliens shook hands with Matt and waved as he soared back into the sky. “It was you who showed us that outsiders can be heroes!” They yelled. “Thank you so much!”

Matt grinned, content.

Vicky Yiqing Liu the grand prize winner of Write/Right to Read 2009. She is from Surrey, British Columbia.