Draco Productions-History of A Visitor from Space Page 2

The early morning sea breeze stirred the sea oats as the five boys trudged through the soft, white sand behind old Na-tay-atch-sa. This was O-tcha-kee's first expedition to the seashore--he had just come into his twelfth spring. O-tcha-kee marveled at the sound made by the shifting sands underfoot. Each step was accompanied by an audible "squick." The arrhythmic steps of the six, mingled with the rustling of grasses in the breeze, made a kind of music that O-tcha-kee found strange but pleasant.

He shifted the palm basket strapped to his back. It wasn't heavy--it just made his back itch. If he was fortunate, his basket would be filled for the return trip.

Only after ascending the highest dune did O-tcha-kee see the great Gulf. He stopped in awe at the sight. The smell of salt air had carried at least a couple of miles inland, and he had gotten used to it, but here, facing the immensity of the water, the fresh salt air seemed to take on more potency.

In the pre-dawn darkness, he noticed the water, just beginning to take on color. As far as he could see, O-tcha-kee followed the dark slate-blue water until it met the lighter blue-grey of the sky.

Na-tay-atch-sa called to him just as he noticed that the others had already reached the shore. Running through the soft sand was difficult, but O-tcha-kee caught up quickly. Farther down the beach, he noticed dark shapes darting in and out between the sweep of the waves. Shorebirds had come at dawn to pick something from the wave-washed sands.

O-tcha-kee learned that his job was to gather the same food that the shorebirds preyed upon--coquina. As each wave receded, thousands upon thousands of the feeding coquina would be exposed, but would quickly burrow deep into the sand. They looked so easy to catch. O-tcha-kee was surprised several times to find his hands filled with nothing but sand. His first catch excited him, and filled him with curiosity. The small mollusk had two shells with fine-toothed edges clamped tight.

The shorebirds' leavings showed him that the open shells resembled a butterfly, and just like butterflies, the shells came in many beautiful colors. Unlike butterflies, however, they were very small. None that he found were much longer than the tip joint of his little finger. Most were shorter. Holding a captive under the rushing water, he felt its tiny foot tickling between his fingers in an attempt to dig down to safety.

Na-tay-atch-sa watched silently. Everyone must take time to learn for himself that which curiosity demands. Familiarity would eventually speed up the task.

One of the older boys was the first to notice his shadow--a peculiar thing, since the sun was not yet risen fully above the horizon. Before his cry had died on the wind, the others had noticed and looked up. A white-hot ball of flame descended out of the sky toward the startled group on the beach.

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