Evelyn skipped into school, her backpack bouncing happily on her back. It was sharing day, and Evelyn couldn’t wait to share her favorite book about the ocean. Evelyn loved the ocean! She loved all the colorful fish.
“Good morning, Evelyn!” said Ms. Taylor. “What did you bring to share today?”
Evelyn held up her book. “It’s about the ocean. See all the fish?” Evelyn pointed to a picture of a school of fish, all different colors and sizes, swimming together.
“It’s beautiful,” said Ms. Taylor. “I can’t wait to hear about it.”
Just then, the classroom door swung open. A bunch of colorful, swirling lights floated in. The lights were all different shapes and sizes, some small as buttons, others big as beach balls. They zipped around the classroom, leaving trails of sparkling dust in the air.
Evelyn’s mouth opened wide in surprise. These weren’t like the lights on her mommy’s car or the nightlight in her room. These lights were…different.
"What are those?" whispered Lily, Evelyn's pet goldfish, from her bowl on the shelf. Even though Lily had been alive for fifty-four whole years (that’s a very long time for a goldfish!), she’d never seen anything like it either!
“Don’t be afraid,” said Ms. Taylor, her voice calm and soothing. “These are our new friends from another planet. They’re here to learn about Earth and share their culture with us.”
The lights swirled and danced, their colors pulsing. One by one, they floated over to the children, stopping in front of each one. When a light landed in front of Evelyn, she felt a warm, happy feeling spread through her.
“Hello,” Evelyn whispered, reaching out a hand to touch the light. To her surprise, her hand went right through it, sending a tingle up her arm.
Suddenly, the lights stopped swirling. They all gathered in the middle of the classroom and formed a giant, colorful ball of light. Then, slowly, the light faded, and standing there was…a girl!
She had bright blue skin, big green eyes, and long, flowing purple hair. She was wearing a dress made of shimmering light that changed colors every time she moved.
“Hello,” said the girl, her voice like the tinkling of bells. “My name is Luna. We come from a planet far, far away. We are grateful for your welcome.”
Evelyn and her classmates gasped. They had never met anyone from another planet before!
Luna smiled. “On our planet, we express gratitude through light and color. Would you like to see?”
The children nodded eagerly, their eyes wide with excitement.
Luna closed her eyes and held out her hands. A stream of colorful lights flowed from her fingertips, forming beautiful shapes in the air – a flower, a star, a heart.
Evelyn felt a warm feeling inside. Gratitude. She was grateful for her family, her friends, her goldfish Lily, and now, for Luna and the amazing things she was learning about the universe.
From that day on, Evelyn looked at the world with new eyes. She was grateful for all the beauty and wonder around her, even in the simplest things, like a colorful fish in a book or a friend’s smiling face. And she knew that somewhere, far, far away, a new friend named Luna was grateful for her too.
