He was the best friend she had ever had, a special friend. They had known each other since childhood, but had become lovers soon after they graduated. It was intense love they felt for each other, something very special, almost too special. They would talk about anything, yet would always be interested. Funny, really, how two minds can be so in tune with each other? How two souls become so entwined, becoming as one? If only They knew what was to come, what horror lay ahead, how They were to be torn in two.

It was the most beautiful night; you could almost see the worlds beyond, glistening; gleaming bright as the buttons on a soldier's best.

"What d'you think's out there?" He said.

"I don't know, but if it's as beautiful as those stars, They needn't worry." she replied.

"If it's as beautiful as you, They have a problem." He grinned as he stroked her cheek with the back of his hand, making her shudder with delight.

Parker's Hill had always been a special place to them, there was a big oak tree at the very top; They would lie beneath its branches for hours at night, watching the stars and talking about our hopes and dreams for the future.

"Look, a shooting star!" she exclaimed. He scanned the sky hoping to catch sight of it.

"Where?"

It was too late, but he knew from her tone how beautiful it was.

"I could lay here all night just looking at you, I don't need to see a shooting star." He said.

However, she knew he was disappointed.

She giggled "I could become quite vain, the things you say to her. I think they perhaps ought to be heading home, it's getting rather late."

That was the last thing she said to him before it happened.

She did not even have time to say, 'I love you.'

It came from nowhere; the light, the silence; blinding, deafening. Who knew what it was?

She was not afraid though, but felt somehow comforted by its presence. In an instant, it swooped down like a bird of prey, then it was gone. She stood there paralysed, numb by what had happened.

Then it hit her, the sudden realisation that she was on her own. She spun round full circle, trying to catch sight of him, her heart pounding, her body shaking with fear. Where was he, how could he have left her all alone?

She shouted, hoping he would reply, "Oh, God. Oh, God. Daniel, where are you? Please Daniel, don't do this to her, you're scaring her!" Nevertheless, he did not answer her cries. She knelt down on the grass; sobbing, hardly able to breathe she was so afraid.

After what must have been hours, she dragged myself up and found her way home. She fumbled frantically for her key, turned it in the lock, then collapsed from exhaustion as she opened the door.

Next, she knew she was being shaken like a rag doll. "Dee, Dee, are you alright? It's Brian, love. What's happened, are you Ok?"

Brian had been our neighbour since they moved to Wheylls Cottages 2 years ago. He was a lovely man, kind and helpful. He was quite handsome too, with thick wispy hair, greying in parts and the kind of beard and moustache that made you think of a big old bear.

He took her into the cottage, sat her down near the fire, and made her a cup of tea.

"Now, lass, tell her what happened."

His voice was deep and soothing.

" I don't really know, one minute it was there, the next it was gone. Daniel's gone too."

"What was gone, and where's Daniel gone?"

"Th that thing, it was so beautiful, but I think it took Daniel."

Of course, he had no idea; she just was not making any sense. How could she expect Brian to understand?

"Never mind love, he'll be back soon. Shall I call the doctor?" she didn't think he knew quite what to say or do.

"No, it's alright. I'll be fine, I just need to make sense of it all." What use would a doctor be? She knew what was wrong, and a doctor couldn't put that right. Could he?

"Do you want her to mend the fire before I go?" He was really trying, but she just snapped, "Stop fussing!" He leant over the back of the chair, kissed her on the head, then left, locking the door on his way out. She must have fallen asleep as soon as he was gone.

She woke next morning, the sun shining through the window onto her face; pleasantly warming her skin. She was stiff from sleeping in the armchair, and her head was whirring. There was a knock at the door; it was Brian. "Have you heard the News? There's been a UFO sighted over by the Linfords' farm! Has it got something to do with last night?" she did not stop to think, nor did she answer his question, she just pushed past him and ran.

Who knows what she thought she was running to, she just ran without stopping for breath. She knew that it had something to do with Daniel's disappearance and she just had to find him, she was not bothered that it may take her. Daniel was deep in her mind, her only thought. As she ran up through the field, it sat there like a huge ball, glowing bright as the sun. The light was so intense; she had to shield her eyes. My heart pounded so hard it hurt, but she had to stay focussed, she felt she must keep Daniel in her mind. Without warning, it leapt up into the sky leaving a great void. She felt low, her heart stopped raging she fell to her knees and screamed, "Daanieeel!" Then silence gripped the air.

Suddenly she realised; this was what Daniel had been predicting all along. Every night for the past month, he had been having these strange 'flashbacks'. He was on some sort of Craft, being prodded and poked by instruments he could barely describe, surrounded by human - like beings, frightened to defend himself. She did not think much of it before, thinking they were just his wild imagination, strange dreams of some sort. How wrong she was, and God how she wished she had believed him. Though she could not do anything to prevent it, she could have been more understanding, after all, they had said to each other; after all, they had been through.

Brian came and put his arm around her, "Is this what you was trying to tell her last night? Did you see it?" "Yes Brian, I did. But I want to know what it, or they, wanted with Daniel." "Now, come on love, you can't be sure that's what happened to him can you, really?" He was right, of course, but what else could explain it? They walked home together in silence, none of them knowing what to say to the other. Later that day she reported Daniel as a missing person, though the Police did not hold out much hope and she knew it was pointless. "Maybe he'd just had enough, he's probably off somewhere having a whale of a time." Little comfort to her if it had been true. The days were hard to bear at first, but Brian was good to her. Whatever had happened to Daniel, whenever she wanted to talk, he was always there. Though she never stopped thinking about Daniel, her life had to go on, after all she was carrying his baby inside her, and that had to take priority over what she was feeling in her heart. However, one thing was for sure, she would never forget Daniel, nor would she let his child grow up not knowing who he was, who we once were.

Davie was born at 2.am July 12th, he had a lovely head of hair, dark and full of curls, just like his dad. She held the moment she first saw him forever, so helpless and small. As he grew he would ask questions about his dad, and she would tell him how much they were in love, how his dad always wanted a little boy and would call him Davie. They were very close, his little face would light up when he had done his chores. "Can I have her cuddle Mum?" He would say with anticipation in his eyes. They would spend hours-reading stories and drawing pictures of our favourite places, talking about the strange lights in the sky. They managed quite well, but she knew the day would come when she had to tell Davie the real story, how his Dad had been abducted.

Davie had been playing on the hill were Daniel had disappeared when he got a strange feeling. He'd run all the way home in tears, "Mum, mum, I think I know where Dad is!" she was shocked, she thought he'd heard his friends making stories up, or perhaps had imagined it. "He went away, but he's coming back!" she had tears in her eyes, streaming down her face. "Now Davie, slowly tell me what you are talking about." she did not know whether to shout at him for talking nonsense, or to hug him. "I saw him at the top of the hill, he looks just like his picture." she swung her arms around him and held him tight, looking over his shoulder towards the hill.

Was she seeing things, was she also confused? There he was, walking down the hill. "But it can't be! It's not true." Wiping the tears from her eyes, and taking deep, long breaths, quivering with excitement and anticipation, she scooped Davie up and ran. When she reached him, she stopped dead, staring, knowing she had no need for words at that moment. Daniel had come home.

They walked the short distance back to the cottage in silence, arms round each other holding each other close. Once back in the safety of our little nook, she cried. "Where have you been, are you all right, do you know you have a son?" she barely stopped for a breath, she did not think what she was saying and it just rolled off her tongue before she could stop it. Daniel just stood there staring at her, shocked, and surprised. "How, when, who?" He did not know what to say, he was Stunned. Davie just looked up to his dad and said, "Hi, I'm Davie; I love you." Daniel threw his arms around him and scooped him up. She thought he would never stop crying, he just kept saying, "I love you, I love you, I love you." When he put him down, Davie went to his room to play, sensing somehow that They needed to be alone. Daniel and she had a lot of catching up to do.

When she told him he had been away for 7 years, he could not believe it. "It only seemed like 7 days. What else have I missed? How on earth can I ever make up for all that time?" However, that did not matter to her, she had him back was all that did matter now. Again, They could be one, though, this time they were three.

There was a knock at the door; it was Brian. "Have you heard? The UFO's back." "I know Brian, guess who else's back too?" He could barely believe his eyes. He flung his arm around Daniel's shoulder, "Daniel, lad, I told her you'd be back. Where've you been?" Daniel explained to them all that had happened as they rushed to the UFO.

Bright lights dimming, the thing started to make strange noises, buzzing noises. Then out it came, this being, this human form. It just stood there, not making a sound, just looking round at everyone. She was scared for the first time; no one said a word. It sat on the steps to the Craft, and started to sing. Everyone was in a trance, as if being lulled off to sleep, but with eyes wide open. It stared at her with sad eyes; it looked in pain and for some strange reason she was drawn to it, wanted to embrace it, comfort it. She started to walk towards it, slowly at first, getting faster with each step. What could be drawing her to the thing she had hated for so long?

A cool, gentle breeze brushed past her shoulders, tingling her spine. She shuddered and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes for a moment, then carried on forward. It was beckoning her, drawing her forward with its hands outstretched "Come, come." As she grew nearer, she felt a great excitement and warmth; it seemed so familiar to her, this Being. She felt as if it were controlling her thoughts, her emotions, as if it had entered her soul. Everyone around her was of no consequence; it did not matter if it took her there and then. She had never felt so excited, nor had she ever felt so at ease with herself, she fell to the floor bewildered and exhausted.

Aware of all around her now, she looked around at everyone, searching for that look that said ' I know, I can feel it.' However, she was searching in vain. It reached out its arms and lifted her up, with a calm, gentle force. "What do you want?" she whispered. However, it did not say a word, just looked at her with those soft, gentle eyes, and cried. It was an eerie sound; penetrating deep into her emotions making her feel low. It felt strange that something so alien could be so human.

Daniel moved slowly towards her, as if afraid of the being, afraid it would hurt him if he were to get too close. "Now, come on Becky," his voice was quivering. "I don't think this is a good idea." she took his hand and walked slowly away. The Being looked frustrated, angry frustration, and gave out a deafening cry. Everyone was so afraid, silent, and still, not knowing what to do next. Then it stopped. The air was warm; the sky awash with streaks of red and everyone immersed in a great sense of euphoria. It returned to the craft, within seconds it was gone.

"What did it want?" Everyone was asking. "Why did it come back?" Of course, Daniel knew perfectly well, what the answers were. He told them it had taken him as some strange experiment, trying to take his 'life-force' for its own. The beings had exhausted their life sources and the experiments were means of finding 'resources' otherwise unavailable to them. You see, their planet was dying and they with it. The Crafts were adequately equipped to sustain life, but this could only be done if they were not. They had, in their arrogance, used up the resources and natural energy of their planet to make the Crafts. If Daniel had not persuaded her away, the Being would have done to her as it and its kind had done to him. This made them all afraid for our lives, after all, what could they do to prevent them taking them at any time?

As the nights grew longer, the days shorter, the villagers seemed to be getting increasingly distant. People began congregating in UFO meetings; everyone had a purpose, to rid him or herself of the possibility of it returning. Daniel became obsessed with the idea, attending every meeting, giving all his spare time to the cause.

They had visitations from the Beings increasingly regularly, though they never took anyone. They always landed in the same place, staying for just a short while, before shooting off into the stars. It was obvious they were not going to leave without something happening, some event. Strange things were happening all around them; not just clocks stopping and radios crackling; this they could explain, but something more sinister than that. Animals and babies Were being born with terrible deformities, dying when just hours old. Food was scarce, crops had failed to grow, and livestock was diminishing.

It was on the radio two or three times a day, "UFO sighted at..." Progressively, there Were becoming more and more sightings across the planet, and regular Bulletins Were being announced across the world. People Were becoming hysterical, even the Defence Organisations Were becoming concerned. They Were not prepared at all for what was unfolding in front of our eyes. Plots and conflicts were happening amongst all lifestyles; they were falling apart.

War was declared and Armies and weapons were gathered. They had no choice but to fight these Beings. The conflict escalated, it seemed it would never end. The whole world was united in this one thing, prepared to give life for life. It lasted for two whole years; missiles firing, lasers cutting through everything in their path; innocents were lost. The land, the world had become like a dumping ground. Scattered with bodies and strewn with broken down remnants of the battle taking place. Everywhere covered in blood and haunted by sounds from the weapons, the injured. They scavenged anything of use, but shared with others and though they had little energy to survive, survive they did. A Nation, a World united, making them strong.

When victory was declared, it was sudden. They had to rebuild our lives, to again become the Better World they once were.

Daniel and she would sit with Davie on the hill and stare up at the sky, searching for new stars, new life. Though the tree was gone, it was still our special place. One night Davie asked. "What is that planet there mum, that grey one." Daniel told him. "It's the earth, the Old World. It's where mum and dad used to live when they were young." You see they had been sent there, a project, an experiment. Our Better World was not where they had grown up together, but our second chance, chance to create a Better World. Daniel remembered when he had the strange 'Flashbacks.' The Beings they were fighting were really our own kind, those they had left behind.

They are still rebuilding now, but it is a long, hard struggle. The Better World they had declared as our own had almost been taken. They must now realise they are not alone in this Universe; that they are only borrowing the world they live in. At any moment, it could be taken over by another life force; after all, it was not given to them, they took it as our own.

She often looks out to the sky, staring; wondering. "If only. Why this way?" Though she is sure, she will never know the answers. As you read a story you may well wonder how I know of the pain, the suffering these people incurred. The fact is that I was there. You see Daniel was my husband and I was the one who had to wait for him to return.

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