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

Contessina sat in Shelby’s balcony. Shelby had invited her. That alone had been awkward, and yet there they sat now, in silence, until Shelby prompted her:

“Well, tell me something interesting.”

“Okay,” Contessina said. “There’s karaoke. But I want to be clear. You really want to do this?”

“I’m sure,” Shelby said.

“Okay,” Contessina said. “Fine. When I first arrived on Earth, I wasn’t sure how to approach humans. I was overwhelmed. A friend suggested I go to a karaoke bar. Humans love songs. They love listening to them, dancing to them, singing them…Not every human sings well. Many of them sing very badly, actually. Those are often the ones who sing with the most enthusiasm, who have the most fun doing it. 

“The karaoke machine has a selection of songs. I knew plenty of human music at that point, but it was still difficult to choose. I ended up settling on a tune that was some two hundred years old, that had been revived after…Well, that had been revived. ‘Hard Times Come Around No More.’ It immediately made me popular. The humans started singing along. 

“I’m sure I sounded terrible. It didn’t matter. We had fun. That was the whole point.”

She tried to read Shelby’s response. She sat, inscrutable. Contessina decided not to sing the song.