Blink

The first Earth-men came in a generational seed ship, on a journey that had lasted untold centuries. Weary but relieved, they set down in a verdant valley near a tiny village. One of the men was chosen to make first contact.

"Greetings," he said to the village elder. The wizened, vaguely humanoid figure blinked. The man was gone, as were his fellow shipmates on the landing craft. Soon after, the vacant hollowed-out asteroid of the seed ship slowly drifted into the planet's star, a vibrant comet crumbling into gas as it entered the corona.

A few millennia later, another craft abruptly appeared in orbit around the planet. This time the ship itself landed, touching down in nearly the same place as the seed ship's landing craft, which was now a crumbling ruin of rust and plastic. The captain of the ship approached the same village, and the same elder met him.

"Salutations," the captain said. The elder blinked again.

A few centuries later a man stepped onto the grass of the planet from a platform on Earth. He looked around, and saw the corroded hulks of the landing craft and the starship. Un-dissuaded, he made his way to the small village in the valley in much the same manner as the first two men.

The elder was waiting for him. "Good morning," the man said. Blink.

Several thousand more years passed. One morning the elder was enjoying a hot cup of soup when he happened to glance up. A human was sitting across from him apparently waiting to be served. Annoyed at having his meal interrupted the elder blinked without waiting for the man to say anything.

The man raised an eyebrow.

The elder put down his soup and smiled.