The Blue Men

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It’s a lovely Thursday morning. The sky is blue, the clouds are few, and the trees are clothed in the delicate green of spring. It’s the kind of morning that lets one know that it will be a really hot day.
On a street lamp at the end of Chesterson Road, a mother hawk feasts on a yummy thing that she just caught moments ago—a corpse belonging to an old rabbit who had been happily foraging for berries in a lush bush below before the ill encounter. Hidden under that bush, an adder recoils as a drop of blood drips onto his head from the rival predatoress’ mighty claws. She twitches her head towards the movement, but only rips away another strip of skin.
Suddenly, with her beak still full, she pauses as she notices two figures approaching from down the road.
They are both very ordinary men—average height, average weight, and average features. Their black hair is cut neatly and smoothed into place, and they are both wearing neat suits and ties. They walk confidently and without speaking, both looking straight ahead with friendly smiles on their faces.
But there is something rather strange about them—something that unnerves the two wild onlookers to no end.
The mother hawk takes flight. The hungry snake slithers away.
They have each seen a lot of men in their lifetimes—some light, some dark, some red, and some variations of those…but they have NEVER seen any the color of these men.
Baby blue. Their skin is baby blue. How curious…
The blue men continue down the street, smiling.

Matt Hopvill and his family are late.
Clary, his thirteen year old daughter, has a science project due this morning that she forgot to paint the platform of. Johnathon, Clary’s nine year old brother, is holding a plate of red and purple paint up for his father and sister as they hurry around the large plant-cell model. Nissa—the wife of Matt and mother of the children—cradles the newest member of the family, Cate, in the corner as she suckles on her mother’s warm breast.
Even during the whirlwind of activity, the family hears the chime of the security system as the front door opens.
Nissa looks up quickly, sure that the door had been locked. Matt slowly puts down his paintbrush, standing up to stare down the hallway as the wooden floor creaks. As his eyes meet with the newcomers, he lets his shoulders relax and looks over at Nissa with a soft smile.
Nissa’s racing heart calms—though her curiosity peaks. The kids jump up as the two blue strangers walk into the kitchen. They joyfully hug the men, embracing them as if they are long lost friends.
One of the men wordlessly sits down next to Clary, who is chattering excitedly as she hands the man a paintbrush.
The other man picks up a giggling Johnathon and puts him on his shoulders, listening as Matt talks about the new motor he’s going to put in the truck out in the garage.
Nissa laughs as Clary clumsily cuts open her hand with the sharp project scissors, and so does Clary.
The blue men continue to smile.
Putting down the paintbrush, the man stands and walks over to the medicine cabinet. He pulls out a gauze wrap and then, sitting back down, he dresses the giggling Clary’s bleeding wound. The skin between her thumb and pointer finger flaps and continues to bleed through the gauze as the man wraps it around and around.
The other blue man puts down Johnathon and walks over to Nissa and the baby. His smile widens as he pulls Cate away from her mother’s bare breast. Nissa giggles again as she covers herself.
The man holds Cate in the crook of his arm, his lips moving as he gently rocks her. He turns to stare at his blue companion, who stands and takes the baby from him. He holds her up in the air and spins slowly, mouthing soundless words. Johnathon claps happily.
The man hands Cate back to Nissa. They both wave goodbye to the family. The family waves back.
The blue men walk back down the hallway and through the open door, which closes behind the strangers. They continue down the sunny street, while the Hopvill family resumes rushing around in a flurry. Clary can’t find her shoes. Matt is trying to brush Johnathon’s hair. Nissa is frantically putting together a diaper bag. Cate is sitting in her bouncy chair, just watching all of the confusion.
None of them bear any recollection of their encounter with the blue men, the memory and strange laughter having left as soon as the front door closed and locked. And the visit is just a grain of sand to the traveling blue men. One among billions.

The baby coughs.