A to Z 2026 - A - Contessina’s Collection of Human Treasures

They were both early settlers of the Whitfield, or what people were at that time calling the Whitfield, the Ring Around the World, constructed in the aftermath of the Calamity…Shelby watched Contessina constantly, and between the two of them, you would’ve found it very difficult to tell which was the eccentric and which merely a survivor of Earth’s war with the Danab. Shelby, for her part, appeared to be perfectly normal indeed, and yet…there was about her the suspicion, and only that, really, that there was something off…The average human has never seen a Danab without their helmet on, and yet, in the darker corners, there had been enough, and it was such people who had chosen to take up residence in the Whitfield, of course…But Contessina? It was clear as day she wasn’t human. She was a Puck. Every human knew all about the Puck. The Puck had come to Earth not so long after the war, and they…Of all the aliens humanity had met, now, the Puck were certainly the most…enthusiastic in their embrace of Earth cultures. And that, to put it succinctly, was what, on the surface at least, our Shelby bore witness to, as Contessina’s neighbor, regardless of what anyone else thought of either one. 

Every possible detail had been painstakingly crafted by Roxmere Whitfield to compensate for the fact that residents of the Ring weren’t living on Earth anymore. He hadn’t wanted residents to find his creation sterile, and so the inside of the Ring had been fashioned in such a way that not only Earth itself was on display, but that everyone had an enclosed porch with which to share the view, to recreate, and to create, the illusion that it was somehow a kind of luxurious resort, like any other, complete with scenic balconies. This was how Shelby was privy to Contessina’s daily routine, every morning sitting out on her porch, as it were, talking to her pet cat.

The cat, so far as Shelby could tell, was a Turkish Angora, by the way.

Without further prelude, however, among the many things Shelby overheard, because the illusion of balconies Whitfield created necessarily included, although there were certainly objections over the notion of privacy, was the ability to eavesdrop, if one was so inclined, on one’s neighbors, she followed along Contessina’s list of favorite Earth…things.

“Oh! Apples. How I love apples! We don’t exactly have apples, in my culture. It’s amazing what one little fruit can do, the difference it can make! The infinite variety! It’s really a kind of art, I’ve found, cultivating all the kinds of apples. The tart ones, the sweet one, the soft, the crisp…I’m still trying to decide which I like best, honestly. If I were to choose my very favorite Earth thing, I think I would choose apples. Silly, I know, so common! So easy to take for granted. But you don’t find these things just anywhere, do you?”

Shelby wouldn’t know. She wouldn’t confess to it easily, anyway. And honestly…talking to a cat like that…