A Mum's Power

By jinnis

Kate turned off the ignition with a suppressed sigh. "Yes, we're going to stay here tonight, if you like it or not, and no, I don't know if there is Wi-Fi. We will have to check it out, right?"

"But Mum, there's nothing but trees here. Why can't we go on to the next town at least?" The desperation in Linda's voice was hard to ignore. With her twelve years, she had the teenage attitude down to a t already.

"Because I'm tired and can't drive any further today, Li. Now, let's just check into the campsite, pitch our tent and cook some dinner, shall we?"

Toby pressed his scrunched up nose against the side window of the pickup truck. "Can we get burgers and chips for dinner?"

"We had burgers for lunch in that roadhouse. Tonight, it's home cooked pasta." Kate gave her best to sound cheerful, but there was no answer. At eight, Toby was affected by the loss of his dad more than he let show.

Kate stepped out of the car and turned back to her kids. "If you wait here, I'm going to check in and be back in no time." She didn't expect an answer and didn't get one—aside from Linda's dramatic sigh.

The friendly guy at the reception explained where she could find the amenities and a camp kitchen. He also went on about the possibilities for bush walks.

"And we do a bird feeding every afternoon at four, so make sure you don't miss it."

"Thanks, we will be there." She knew they probably wouldn't, since the kids hated camping so much. They'd probably drive on first thing in the morning.

The entire trip seemed like a bad idea in hindsight. When Daryl had left with his new flame two months ago, it had taken all her strength to cope with the daily challenges of running her small family. During this time, the decision had ripened to pack up and head north for the Christmas holidays. She hadn't seen her parents for years, after all. Make that nine years. Kate shook her head as she walked back to her truck. She had been pregnant with Toby when her dad and Daryl had the fall out. She couldn't even remember what it was about, but like the dutiful wife she was, she had stuck with her husband. Fat good it had done her.

She pushed the worries away when she climbed into the driver's seat. "Now, let's pick a nice site. What about beneath those trees over there?"

No answer. The kids had tried the silent treatment before, and she knew Toby would cave in earlier or later. They seemed to be the only guests, so she parked on a grassy stretch in the shade of a gum tee, at a distance from the office, and unloaded the camping gear from the hold. Linda wandered off, holding up her phone in search of a signal.

"There's a pool next to the office, if you want to have a swim." This got the girl's attention, and minutes later, the kids were on their way. Kate finished setting up the tent and slumped into a camping chair. What a mess. Mum would be happy to see her and the kids, but what about Dad? There had been hard words on both sides. Would he be ready to forgive her?

There was no simple answer, so she got busy making dinner. When the kids came back from the pool, the pasta was almost done.

"Mum, guess what? There was a huge frog by the pool."

Toby bubbled over with the news, but Linda wasn't impressed. "I told you it's a toad, and it was ugly."

Kate grinned. "Frogs or toads—just remember that there may be snakes where you can find them."

"Snakes?" Toby's eyes widened. "Cool."

Linda wrapped a towel around her wet hair. "I hate snakes. At least we don't get them in Sydney. Are there other crawlies in the outback?"

"Don't forget, there are funnel web spiders in Sydney. But sure, you can count on loads of birds and wallabies, emus, and kangaroos. Grandpa will be happy to show you where you can spot them." At least she hoped he would. "Sit down, dinner is ready."

"Why should our grandparents even be interested in us? They have never ever visited." Linda stuffed a spoon-full of pasta into her mouth.

Kate ignited the led lantern, since dusk had set in, and it got dark fast. The simple task gave her time to mull over the question she had dreaded for weeks. "Your grandma is looking very much forward to meet you both. She told me on the phone." She had also said not to worry about Dad, and that he would come round.

Tony seemed happy enough with her answer, but Linda could always tell when she omitted something. "Mum, what's going on? First you drive off Dad and then you whisk us away to a remote Queensland station. You can't do this without telling us what awaits us there."

The remark about driving off Daryl hurt, of course. But aside from that, the kid had a point. Kate was about to cave in when a loud bang and a sulphurous stench interrupted her.

"What the...?"

Toby was on his feet, pointing. "Look, there!"

In the middle of the grassy spot next to their campsite, a bulky object twice the size of her truck emitted a faint blue glow. Toby was about to stroll over to take a look, but Linda caught him by his sleeve. "Mum, what's that? The thing wasn't there a moment ago."

Kate dimmed down their light. "I don't know. Let's stay quiet and see what happens."

She could tell Toby was itching to explore, but his sister had his arm wrapped around his waist and nodded her wide-eyed consent.

On the side of the strange object, a glowing outline of a pentacle appeared. After a split second, it slid aside and blue steam flowed out until pale light from the interior illuminated the lawn. The birds and cycads that had been clamouring only minutes ago were silent now. Kate held her breath with them. The scene seemed to be straight out of one of the sci-fi movies she had watched with her dad as a kid.

It couldn't be real, right? Alien ships didn't land in Australian national parks. They were supposed to threaten New York or some other important place—at least they did in the movies. Also, most of them were unfriendly and out to take over the world.

Kate shook her paralysis and stood, reaching for the big wrench from the toolbox. Not the ideal weapon against invading aliens, but her self defence skills were rusty at best and her two kids were everything she cared for, these days.

Brandishing her makeshift weapon in an iron grip, she turned back to the ship. The light spilling from the hatch outlined a bipedal silhouette now. A triangular head sat on a long neck and a rotund body. As the alien stepped forward, their arms and legs seemed kind of rubbery, with too many joints in the wrong places.

"Li, stay back with Toby." Kate took a few steps forward.

The alien did the same and said something into a device it held in its hand. An artificial voice translated the words. "Greetings, Earthling."

Huh. How cliché was that? Perhaps the alien had watched too many sci-fi flicks as well? Kate took a deep breath. "Greetings to you too, stranger. How can I help you?"

"Resistance will be fruitless. We observed you for decades and know all your secrets. Bring me to the world leader."

The whole situation was too absurd to be true. Kate suppressed a nervous laugh. "Right, and which world leader would this be?"

The alien tilted their head, their dark, non-blinking eyes fixed on Kate. "The one with the beard, of course."

Not Trump or Putin or Xi Jinping, then. Or Elon Musk. Hmm. It took another second and a glance at Toby—who's eyes were almost as wide as the alien's—until the coin dropped. "You wouldn't mean Santa, perhaps?"

"The one and only. Who else?"

Who else, indeed? "Well, this will be a challenge, my friend. I think you landed on the wrong continent to find him."

"Isn't this the North Pole?"

Before Kate could answer, another bang made all of them look up to witness a second ship settling down next to the first one. Its hatch opened without delay and let out a much taller version of the first alien.

"Pooka, what did I tell you about taking a shuttle on your own?" The translator was still working, but this didn't deter the newcomer.

The first alien, Pooka, seemed to shrink a bit. "I just wanted to visit Santa since he doesn't come to see me."

The older alien shook their head in an almost human gesture. "We are not to interfere with human affairs. How many times did I tell you that?"

Kate felt sorry for the younger alien, and Toby seemed to share her feeling. "Hey, I didn't get to see Santa this year either. We had to drive away the day he was scheduled to come to our shopping mall."

She hadn't even realised Toby still believed in Santa and had been waiting for the day. Now Kate felt doubly bad for not respecting her kids' wishes to stay in Sydney.

Pooka turned to Toby. "Really? I thought he visits all human children."

Toby shrugged. "Not this year. He won't come to see me. Perhaps he is angry with us because Dad left."

She had feared all along that Toby blamed himself for Daryl leaving, but to hear it from himself broke Kate's heart. "Listen, I am pretty sure Santa will drop by in Queensland, too." Another thing she would have to ask from Dad. The list got longer by the day.

Pooka held out his hands. "You're so lucky. He never visits our ship."

"That's unfair. So, don't you get presents at Christmas at all?"

The young alien lowered their head, and the older placed a hand on their shoulder. "Sorry. Pooka, but there is nothing we can do about it. We shouldn't even be here." They picked the translator from their offspring's hand and turned towards Kate and the kids.

"Please forgive. My young one's navigation skills are still lacking. It seems they were looking for the North Pole, but mixed up their coordinates. We're sorry to interrupt your dinner"

"That's fine, don't worry. I know how kids can be."

The older alien reached out a hand, palm upwards. "Thanks for understanding. This should never have happened. If the news gets out..." They trailed off, and Kate had no problem imagining what would happen if Linda posted a video of their visitors on TikTok.

"Yes, I understand." She studied the smaller alien, who definitely looked crushed. "Hey, since Santa isn't around today, why don't you drop by and see us on Christmas Eve?"

The older alien studied her. "Is this an invitation?"

"Well, if you sit up there in an observation station anyway, why not establish a friendly contact between neighbours?"

"This would be—very unusual. And it would have to remain our secret."

Kate exchanged a glance with her daughter. Linda seemed to understand and nodded. "No social media, I promise, Mum."

"This is settled, then, and my parents' farm is so far from any town we won't get disturbed by chance visitors. If you can handle flying in undetected."

"Our cloaking is rather sophisticated, don't worry. Thanks for the invitation. If Pooka is good, we would love to drop by. But now, young one, we're straight back to our ship."

Pooka nodded, but not without a longing glance at their dinner table and Toby. "Good bye."

"Good bye, Pooka, see you at Christmas."

They watched as the two aliens boarded their ships and took off. The pasta had grown cold in the meantime, and Kate put it back on the camp stove. Linda studied the night sky visible through the trees.

"That was pretty cool. And how you were ready to defend us against the aliens, too."

"I'm glad it wasn't necessary." Kate tossed the wrench back into the toolbox.

"Still, how did you guess this was a kid looking for Santa?" Linda shook her head.

"He said they observed us for years and still asked to see our ruler. Now, Cania gorge campground would hardly be the place to establish contact with the world's rulers, aside from the fact this world doesn't have a ruler, right?"

"Yes, of course." The girl embraced her in a tight hug. "Mum, you are the best. Dad is an idiot for letting you go."

Toby tugged at her sleeve. "Do you think they will come?"

"They promised, didn't they?" She had no idea what an alien promise was worth, but somehow, she felt she could trust the alien mum—or dad. "But only if you keep it a secret."

"Of course I will. But how will they find us up in Queensland?"

Kate grinned. "I'm pretty sure they have the means to find us."

"And what about Grandma and Grandpa?"

A good question. Kate stirred the pasta once more and placed it back on their plates, remembering the nights her dad had watched the sky with her, showing her the Southern Cross and Orion the hunter. A dedicated science fiction fan like him might even be pleased with alien visitors. Well, definitely more than he would be with Daryl.

She handed out the plates and watched her two kids dig in, both suddenly eager to get to her parent's place. Perhaps this trip marked the beginning of better times, after all.