Oirat, Week 11It was a busy week for Xarelto. He didn't have to go to school anymore, and it was too soon for him to start his job, but he still had to catch some more fish, and make friends and enemies. He found Luthor Zargon at home and picked a fight with him. Xarelto lost.
Marigold Baird came along while he was fishing in Oasis Springs Park, trying to catch an elusive piranha. He laughed at the outfit she was wearing.
They soon got into a fight. Xarelto lost that one, too. Marigold might have been skinny and a girl, but she was in much better shape.
Someone had told Xarelto how to find a great fishing spot – you had to look at the tree, and water it, and then chat about its roots. He did all that, but still was surprised when a door opened in its trunk.
Xarelto entered and found himself in a fairytale world.
"This might be a good place to take a girlfriend," he thought.
But first he had to find a girlfriend. He went to Aliens' Night at the Harbor Inn Bar. While there, he learned an important lesson about dating: Playing with a llamacorn that you'd fished out of a pond was not the best way to impress a woman.
At last the day came when Xarelto caught the last fish that he needed for his collection – a kissing gourami.
He hurried home, where he stayed long enough to give his tent and portable shower to his younger brother and to take a picture with his dad.
Then he moved to his new lot. Because of all the sturgeon he'd caught, he was able to build a pretty nice house.
It had a good-sized living room with a TV, a nice bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen. There was even enough money left for a nursery.
As soon as the house was built, Xarelto was whisked away to Command Headquarters for his report. Unfortunately, some guy in a pick-up truck saw him return.
Early the next morning, Xarelto invited over Francesca Velasquez, a woman he'd met through the alien dating service. She showed up just as his parents and grandparents came over bringing fruitcake.
It took a few minutes, but he was finally able to get rid of them. Except for his mother, who wanted to know all about Francesca. Once she found out that Francesca was good, a genius, and a lover of the outdoors, she was finally persuaded to leave.
Francesca quickly agreed to move in, and Xarelto asked her for a date.
They went into the living room to watch a movie on his new TV. After some flirting...
...and a suave kiss, they decided to try for baby.
Xarelto was delighted when Francesca told him that she was pregnant, and they became best friends.
He was so happy that he went ahead with his proposal. But it was too soon, and not nearly romantic enough. Francesca turned him down.
They went to the park to play chess and repair their relationship. Xarelto needed to develop his logic skill if he wanted to become an astronaut. Fitness was the other skill he needed to work on, and Francesca would be able to mentor him in that as soon as they got a treadmill. While they were playing, the guy who'd been in the pick-up truck came along. "Hey, you're that alien I saw the other night!" he shouted. Ordinarily Xarelto would have brushed off the embarrassment, but coming on top of his rejection, it was too much. He sank to his knees with a moan...
...and died.
Francesca tried to plead with the Grim Reaper, but he wouldn't listen to her. "You're the one who turned down his proposal, lady," he said. "And besides, your aura is still a happy green. No way am I bringing him back."
Francesca set up his tombstone in the back yard, next to the wedding arch that would never be used and the rocket ship that would never be built.
It faced the point where the moon would rise every night.
Thus, the Oirat bloodline comes to an end. The story continues, though, with the Zargons and Bairds vying for domination. And who knows? Xarelto's child might play a part, too.
