Family Gathering

They sat around the table, non-humans of every size, color, and planet of origin. They conversed, using English mostly, but it didn’t matter. Love was a universal language and there was no doubt in Xiamore’s mind that this group of people had an immense love for each other.

The outside world, with its dying planet and angry creatures, faded away as the low, pleasant hum of conversation washed over the room. This building was new. When deciding on what to rebuild first in this bombed out Heartland city the choice had been clear for Xiamore. They needed a hub. A place to eat meals and play games together, sheltered from the elements and shielded from the destruction outside. They had worked together for months, finding useable materials in the city to construct their new building. Within their ranks there were no carpenters or architects, but they were all hard workers and they had created a fine place. The children had been delighted, most of them could not remember a time when they hadn’t lived a nomadic lifestyle, a few clothes in a backpack and a circle of tents. And sure, for now they did still live in tents. But this was a start. The group’s joy at seeing this place, this place that they had built, was enough to make the, forget their exhaustion and begin plans for new homes. It was possible that the individual family units, those with children, would start getting cottages by next winter.

If you had asked her centuries ago, if Lockettes were losing out on what other species had, because they had no biological family, Xiamore would have said yes. Many of her kind had envied the humans that one thing. The ability to find love and bear children with them, to build a family. As she spooned a dollop of steaming potatoes onto the plate of the little blue-skinned boy beside her, she smiled. He grinned back at her, missing teeth and all, and she thought to herself. I was wrong. Blood means nothing. This is my family.