The night wasn’t unseasonably warm or cold… it was like any other of the last dozen evenings lately. It was clear outside, with a soft spread of cloud cover high in the sky. The observant might note the lack of insect noises against a backdrop of a suburban skyline. A distant thunder and flicker of light in the clouds seemed to hint at a coming rain, but the scent of ozone was lacking… making the coming damp off in a further future. Out of nowhere, a cracking report like a gunshot, or a car backfiring rang out, so loud that the windows rattled… All the neighborhood dogs began barking, and with a sizzling hiss a bright organic oval, glowing cherry red fell to earth, streaking trail of light and smoke behind it before it landed in a field of tall, wet grass. There it sat, slowly cooling, steaming the surrounding ground and plants… the pod’s coloring fading to an orange, then yellow, and slowly stopping at a deep forest green, to blend with the surrounding flora. All was quiet as the night drew on… a soft rain fell, bringing with it a peace and comfort, allowing things to return to a semblance of normalcy.