"Hey, Yeoju, that's the Big Dipper right there. You saw it in the book, right?"
"Yeah! It really looks like a ladle!"
"My dad always thought so."
"Huh?"
"Among all these stars, there must be a planet like Earth, and there must be life forms living there, similar to us, but a bit different."
"Aliens?"
"Well... from our perspective, they would be aliens, but from their perspective, we would be the aliens, right?"
"I see."
"If I ever meet those life forms, I really want to talk to them."
"I want to be... friends! I want to be friends!"
"Oh, that sounds good."
When I was young, I always went stargazing with my dad, a passionate astronomer, and I often heard this story. One of my dad’s lifelong wishes was to meet an alien—or rather, to meet new life forms from beyond Earth.
When I was a child, it was pretty exciting to hear, but now... it’s just a memory.
"… In the end, he never got to see them."
That memory of my dad became a part of my life. My dad passed away in a rainstorm car accident when I was 10, and after that, my mom and my two younger siblings lived together.
"Yeoju, bring me a picture of dad."
"Okay."
We held a ritual to commemorate his death anniversary. Actually, our family didn’t traditionally hold rituals, but we decided to start doing so after my dad passed. My mom always said she wanted my dad to be happy, even after death.
They were a match made in heaven. Truly soulmates, no matter how I think about it.
My younger siblings and I accepted my mom's wishes, and for the past few years, we've been holding the ritual. We agreed that we wouldn’t celebrate holidays, but only the death anniversary.
After finishing the ritual, I went up to the rooftop.
"…"
After the ritual, I always went to the rooftop to pray. I prayed that my dad might meet new life forms in the afterlife, hoping that this would be the key to his happiness.
Once again, I prayed with all my heart.
Then,
Thud.
"…??"
"Ouch... that hurts."
Suddenly, I heard a loud noise from behind, and when I turned around in surprise, I saw a man sitting on the ground, wearing strange medieval clothes, speaking Korean.
"…?"
"Who are you…?"
"Me?"
"…"
"Prince."
This guy is crazy.
"… Crazy guy?"
"No...!! I mean, Prince."
"Which country are you the prince of?"
"I’m Prince of Dubatdubyul. My home is about 300 million light-years away from Earth."
Aliens...? Wait, so new life forms really do exist?
That day, an alien fell right in front of me.