LESSON FOR TODAY
By Joel Nydahl
With the world destroyed around them, Helen
wondered why she and Robbie were still left alive.
There must be a reason—and of course, there was....
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy
May 1953
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
"While we remain in our invisible space-ship, the inhabitants of this world cannot see us. Prepare to take notes now in preparation for your final exam on the subject Alien Creatures and Their Actions in Given Situations. Notice below us the female of the dominant Species. She is with her child...."
Clutching Robbie in her arms and holding him tight, Helen Thompson sat down wearily on the ground. The cold and dampness was all around her, boring through the thin cotton dress she wore. Her flesh was cold and her dark brown hair hung in ringlets over her forehead. She wore no shoes. She had lost them miles back, near the ruins at the edge of Chicago. Her feet were blistered and bleeding, numb now from the cold of early morning.
Carefully she put her sleeping child on the ground for a moment as she rubbed her feet trying to restore circulation. Slowly feeling came back and then she flinched as pain shot up her legs.
She picked up the child and started again, heading westward.
"See the way she tries to protect her young, cradling it in her arms, shielding it from the coldness with her own body."