The Problem With Petunias

  • Title: The Problem With Petunias
  • Genre: Science Fiction
  • Length: 958
  • Written: June, 2003
  • Published: Alien Skin, July 2004


  • Excerpt:
    They might never have been noticed had they not landed in the garden of one Andrew Bleighstone. He was the type that could sit for hours staring at motes of dust in a beam of sunlight. He found the slightest deviation from the norm to be fascinating.

    On this saturday afternoon, Bleighstone was removing the previous winter's crop of rocks from his garden in preparation to plant petunias. Just as he was about to trowel around a particularly large rock, he noticed the dirt surrounding it reflected somewhat more light than it ought. Bleighstone reached for the magnifying glass and index card he kept in his pocket for just such an occasion.



    Discussion
    My first sale, and it would be my last for two years.

    This story started with questioning why all aliens seem to be human sized. I created extremely small aliens and put them into a funny situation, where a gardner could simply kill them at his whim.

    Bleighstone just wants to plant his petunias, and this small cluster of alien spacecraft are simply in the way. Eventually, the sides must compromise.




    (c) 2005-2007 by Rick Novy

    Last update: 24 March 2007