LVII. Paper

The little Martian meets pencil on the paper for the first time with an odd, anxious delight. The delicate curling of charcoal upon an actual sheet brings him to life in black-and-white cursive.

The new medium throws him off a bit.

It's strange he tells me, his voice scratchy and reedy against its A4 ridges.

“it's different” I reply.

“what if our letters smudge? “ he asks warily eyeing the painstaking tidiness of my page. “What if it gets all messy and unreadable ?”

“it adds character to the page” I tell him

“I thought I was the character on the page” giggles the little Martian, relaxing.

He adjusts the collar of his purple spacesuit and examines his bright yellow gumboots as they take shape around him

“I feel 2D” he whispers, excited.

"This is just the beginning. "