A Planet’s Eleventh Birthday Celebration

Everyone was giddy with excitement. The next day would mark the eleventh anniversary of when they had touched down on Figgalegg. They had left Earth in hopes of finding a new planet. When they found it, they texted back about its sheer wonderment and the people of Earth were relieved. Their planet was slowly turning on them in its death throes and the human population couldn’t survive much longer.

Bradwick Chamberchoir was the Bottlenose Colony’s leader and he was possibly the most excited of them all. When they had left Earth, their pets were put into cryostasis at the same time as their owners. When news of Figgalegg’s discovery reached Earth, the plans were put into to motion that allowed for the first colonists to be reunited with their pets. And Bradwick was thrilled at getting to see Cornucopia, his Capuchin monkey, the very next day. He could barely sleep; he was so amazed about finally getting to share this new world with his most beloved companion.



The next day’s festivities in the Bottlenose Colony were enjoyed by Bradwick and others like him: all tired from sleep deprivation, but excited about getting to see their beloved pets after twelve years. Yawns abounded, which would’ve made any outsider think everyone was having a terrible time, but they weren’t. It was a good day to be alive on Figgalegg.

Captain Champlain Discovery of the New Frontier III greeted Bradwick with a firm handshake. Bradwick thanked Champlain, yet again, for piloting the ship while the rest of the colonists had stayed in stasis. “I was happy to do it,” said Champlain. “And I’m also happy that I’m going to see Keppler soon enough. I miss that mangy husky like no one’s business.” Bradwick understood the sentiment.

After several hours of milling around, eating bland, fat-free foodstuffs, the people began growing restless. Those that had been assigned to watching the stars for spaceships grew weary with depressing thoughts: maybe their pets weren’t coming after all. Bradwick choked back tears thinking that Cornucopia wasn’t coming, as did Champlain and several others. Figgalegg’s eleventh anniversary turned out to be dreadful.



Days passed and the colonists had allowed despair to settle into their minds. They couldn’t live without pets. Animals provided something that even babies cannot – and there were plenty of babies amongst the colonists anyway. Bradwick was growing concerned, not only for Cornucopia but for his neighbors and friends.

The local animals of Figgalegg were not suited for human companionship. They brandished fur that was prickly, or they were constantly oozing slime of some kind. And they all had unnaturally long tongues. Thinking about adopting any of the indigenous species made Bradwick’s skin crawl. No, he knew he’d have to live with Cornucopia, or have no pet at all.



It was on the eleventh morning following Figgalegg’s eleventh anniversary that a ship unexpectedly touched down on the outskirts of the Bottlenose Colony. It was a shock, to say the least. The first person to leave the ship was Captain Minnetonka Discovery, Champlain’s son.

Father greeted son with a firm hug, and then a husky bounded down the ramp. Chaplain wept as Keppler panted and barked at his master. Bradwick rushed to the reunion. “What took you guys so long?” He was frantic with his request, but also surging inside: he knew Cornucopia had to be amongst the passengers.

“What do you mean? We’re right on time.”

“The anniversary was… eleven days ago,” said Bradwick while checking his sleeve-pad.

“Right. And here we are, eleven days after eleven years, bring eleven hundred animals!”

Quickly, Bradwick consulted his pad, checking text message after text message to see where he had misunderstood the communication. When finally he found it, he felt foolish. But all was forgiven as every one of the colonists add suffered calamity due to a misinterpreted text message.

Cornucopia leaped from the confines of the ship to rest on Bradwick Chamberchoir’s shoulder and the man knew everything was now perfect on Figgalegg. Other colonists would be arriving soon to establish new settlements, having left Earth behind to die, and allowing themselves to take care – or destroy – their new home’s environment. Bradwick wasn’t too concerned about any future at the moment, because he had his monkey with him. And that was all that was important, for now.



Word Count: 720