Skire Prompt: Finding Home

Ptolemy scrambled up the steps leading to the attic of the house. He shut the door behind him a little harder than he meant to, nearly catching his tail in the frame. He’d slammed it in there in his haste before, leaving a painful dent that left his tail slightly crooked until it healed. He had decided he’d be more careful about such things after that, but he couldn’t help his eagerness. This was his favorite spot in the whole house.

He went straight for the window at the front of the house, undid the latch, and pushed it open. He then climbed out, gripping the surface of the roof with his hands and feet so he wouldn’t fall. There was a flat spot on the roof, where he’d set up a little area for himself in clear weather. Up there was a cushion just large enough for him to sit comfortably, a lantern, and, most importantly, a telescope. This was where, on clear nights, he could look up at his real home.

Ptolemy was an alien. He landed on this island a couple years ago.  Well, he thought so anyway. He didn’t fully remember where he came from, as he wasn’t fully developed, but he did know he’d never seen another creature like himself, and he felt an instinctive longing when he peered up at space through his telescope. That had to mean something, right?

Ptolemy adjusted the lenses of the scope, and pressed the bright, yellow eye centered in his forehead against the glass to peer through it. The distant stars and planets didn’t look so far away through his scope. He liked looking at their surfaces, wondering which ones he might have come from. Sometimes, if he was lucky, he could catch a rocket ship sailing by, or see the faint outlines of people on their surfaces. There was one planet that had a big crack in it, and if he looked closely he could almost see outlines of tentacled people milling about. He ran a paw along the long, striped tendrils that emerged from the back of his head. Could that have been his home? If only he could remember…

His head shot up when he heard the sound of the roof window opening. Out looked the face of one of the humans who lived in the house, a nice lady with a stern expression.

“Dinner’s ready, kiddo. Get down here and eat before it gets cold.” Ptolemy nodded, then started to climb down from the roof and follow her. Even if this wasn’t his real home, he didn’t mind living here for now.