Jade's Ascension

The following short story is based on this picture. The challenge was to write a complete story - beginning, middle and ending - using only 250 words.

JADE'S ASCENSION

Jade looked at the worn journal with envy and awe. Ten years of observations - it couldn’t possibly be over, could it? She knew today would eventually come, but she was not ready for the swiftness, or the emotions choking through her brain.

For 10 years now, she knew this would be the final year. No more friendship, no more love, no more anything on this third rock from the Sun. Ten years, this was all she had been given. At the time Jade made the deal, 10 years seemed like an eternity, but it had passed in the blink of an eye.

How could she leave her new home? How could she survive the rest of her life without the new friends, new love she had found on this alien planet?

Jade’s eyes filled with tears as she picked up the journal and bid her new life goodbye. It was 3 am and she stood in the empty mall, remembering how strange this place had seemed on her first visit. As she started up the silent escalator, she wondered if Earth would ever be the same.

Although the Earthlings had never truly accepted her pale green skin or her black almond eyes, she had no trouble fitting in when dressed in blue jeans and a button down shirt. Standing on a step near the middle of the escalator, Jade waited for the transmission that would send her home - the transmission that would end all life on Earth.