Peter woke up and saw a small red spot in the center of his window. He inspected it closer and tried to rub it away. When he touched it, it was rough, and an unpleasant tingling coursed through his hand. He decided to leave it alone. Maybe it would be gone by the time he came home from school.  The next morning the spot was larger, and soon it was as large as Peter's fist. But now he didn't want to get rid of it anymore. The red spot was beautiful. A delicate network of zigzags surrounded the darker core, and it shone as if lit from within, even when it was cloudy outside.  Every day, Peter dragged himself to school, and gladly rushed home to his beautiful window.  One night, when he was half asleep, he heard a small voice.  'Thank you for letting me grow on your window.'  He jerked his eyes open. The spot on his window gleamed and pulsed. It was definitely alive.  'Are you speaking to me?' he asked.  'Yes. I was so weak when the wind blew me onto your window. You have saved my life.'  'What do you mean? How can sitting on my window save your life?'  'I need silicone to live. I hadn't known that windows are made of silicone, and when I was blown against your window, it felt as if I had fallen into a vat of chocolate. Thanks to you, I'll be strong enough soon to leave here again and go back home.'  Peter sat on his bed and watched the lovely red creature pulsate.  'Where are you from?'  'From another galaxy. We roam the universe in search of knowledge.'  'Knowledge? Your travels are kind of like school?'  'You can call it that. Our race discovered a long time ago that the more we learn, the happier we are.'  Peter made a face. 'That would be terrible,' he said. 'I hate school.'  'Why? You learn so much there. You learn why things work the way they do, and what you're good at.'  'What do you mean? All I learn is math and reading. I hate it.'  'Since you saved my life, I will give you a present. From now on, you will be able do all your assignments in school. You'll still have to work at understanding them, but you will always be successful. And if you ever feel like hating school, remember me, and you'll feel better.'  The next day, Peter was a lot happier in school. Learning didn't come any easier, but he knew he could do it, and it made him feel good to think he was doing what his red friend in the window did.  When he came home after school, the red spot was gone. In its place, the wind blew through a large hole in the center of the window. Through his sadness, Peter smiled. He hoped the red alien had a safe and happy trip back home.

Author's Statement

Even as a child in Germany, living in a caravan and helping in her father's traveling carnival, Sonja Herbert always knew she wanted to write. After she moved to the United States and mastered a new language, her dream came true. Sonja's biographical novel, Tightrope!, is about her mother and the circus she hid in from the Nazis during the Third Reich. Sonja also wrote a memoir about her unusual childhood in the traveling carnival. Sonja has written many other award winning stories. She is published in several anthologies, such as A Cup of Comfort, and Prize-Winning Stories, and, after many years of teaching English, German, and Spanish, she now works as a freelance writer. After living in the Utah desert for many years and raising six children, Sonja now lives in Oregon with her husband and cat.

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