The Color of Distance Read Online Free Page B

so fluidly and swiftly over its body that Juna glanced around, looking for a blue light source. Another blue ripple passed over the creature, and Juna realized that the alien was changing its skin color with uncanny speed and control. It was an eerily beautiful sight.
    The alien stepped back on the branch, and sat down. It patted the branch in front of it, gesturing toward her with a limp hand. Clearly it was inviting her to join it.
    Juna hesitated, wishing that Kinsey or one of the other Alien Contact specialists were here. She had forgotten most of the Contact Protocols she had learned at the Academy. She looked at the alien. It was waiting to see what she would do. What did it want with her? Could she trust it?
    She didn’t have much choice. She was lost in a jungle on a strange planet. Her chances of surviving were much greater if this alien helped her. Besides, finding such a creature was an incredible coup. Juna imagined the fuss that her appearance back at base camp with the alien would cause. Her fear eased and she smiled. Carefully, her new claws sinking deep into the bark as she fought a renewed surge of fear, Juna climbed down to meet the alien.
    An explosion of yellow spirals appeared on the alien’s chest as Juna settled herself against the trunk of the tree. It beckoned her closer but she refused to move. Getting this far was terrifying enough. She wanted to sit somewhere that felt safe for a while.
    The alien came toward her, walking easily on all fours. It settled itself only a couple of meters away. Reaching into its satchel, it took out a large yellow fruit, holding it up so she could see it. It bit into the fruit, chewing and swallowing with ostentatious enjoyment. The alien flushed a deep shade of turquoise. Then it took another fruit from its satchel, shuffled forward cautiously, and extending a very long arm, set the fruit on the branch within Juna’s reach. It moved back and finished the fruit it was eating, never taking its gaze from her.
    Juna looked from the fruit to the alien. Her stomach growled. She was ravenous. Moving slowly, she picked up the fruit. Blue and green flowed over the alien’s skin, like ripples over the surface of a pool. Juna examined the fruit. It was soft and pulpy, like a papaya, and smelled sweet. Her mouth filled with saliva. She hadn’t been this hungry since she was a child in the refugee camps.
    What the hell,
Juna thought,
I’d rather die of food poisoning than starvation.
At least it looked more appetizing than some of the things she had had to eat when it was a choice between starving and eating filth. She bit into the alien fruit. It was delicious, the flavor falling somewhere between banana and papaya, with a hint of hard-boiled egg. She glanced down. Her skin was brilliant turquoise.
    “Good,” she said. “It’s good.”
    At the sound of her voice, the alien’s delicate ears fanned wide. A cluster of purple shapes passed over its skin. They reminded her of grapes. That triggered a sudden, vivid memory of harvesting grapes in her father’s vineyard. She remembered the dusty sunlight, the rich, winey taste of the fruit. It seemed so far away now, as though it had happened in someone else’s childhood. Juna took another bite of the yellow fruit. Its intense sweetness, so different from the tart tang of remembered grapes, brought her back to the present.
    The alien watched Juna intently as she ate. When she was finished it eased forward on the branch, holding out another fruit.
    Juna took it from the alien’s fingers and tore off a piece. She held it out to the alien, returning the gift. A complex zigzag pattern flickered across the alien’s chest as it accepted the offer. It ate the fruit, then reached out again, fingers carefully curled, and brushed the backs of its fingers across the knuckles of her outstretched hand. The gesture seemed formal. It waited expectantly.
    Hesitantly, Juna reached out and brushed her knuckles across the back of the alien’s