A Bowl of Namuh Soup

Note: This story was originally written as part of a writing assignment for a university writing course during my second year of college. I remember there was one course we all had to take while I had also decided to take a Writing in Fiction course as well. I’m glad for the experiences as I was able to concentrate more on my writing apart from essay writing, which I found enjoyable too, and learning how to write fiction in particular. Little did I know that I would one day receive my MA in Writing overseas in England! During this time in college, I was encouraged to start writing in journals, although I had already written down some of my dreams throughout the years. Since then, on and off, I have been writing down observations on daily life and in my travels and find some inspiration for works that now appear here among the many shelves that Curios of Cameron have to offer. Enjoy this unique twist on the famous folk tale “stone soup”!

The evening was full of life. From his perch, an owl sat on the branch of a leafy oak tree. Looking skyward, he observed a large fogbank accumulating overhead. Strange for this time of year, he thought, and looked away. Below him lay the humble city of Yrgnuh, a quaint little community dotted by rows of brightly colored houses. The townspeople all crowded into the large community park in the center of the town where many booths had been set up. Children ran around yelling with popsicles dripping from their hands as lovers cuddled up on the soft damp grass, letting their mouths taste each other in turn. The sounds of a tuba and brass band echoed across the park from the bandstand playing familiar tunes with half-remembered lyrics. Flashes of sparks suddenly streamed upwards erupting into magnificent shades of red, white and blue for the annual Fourth of July fireworks display. Mingled in with the bright lights and music you could smell hamburgers and hot dogs grilling and hear bells announcing new prize winners at the carnival booths. Everyone else was just enjoying the warm summer night air. And the comet that streamed across the sky.

Or what people thought looked like a comet. It was certainly larger than a shooting star. Everyone just stared up mesmerized as the star took shape. Now it looked like a giant spaceship. And it was heading right towards the park. Everyone started yelling, panicking, moving to the far corners of the park. The band had forsaken their instruments and jumped down from the bandstand. With a crash, the ground exploded sending sparks, dirt, and debris all across the park. Startled, the owl almost fell off the branch of the tree he was on. “My, this is most peculiar. I wonder what all the commotion is about.” He flew down to the park to get a better glimpse at the misshapen object that was sticking up from the disturbed grass.

The townspeople started rising to their feet and slowly approached the large disk-shaped object thrust into the ground, smoke rising all around in its own haze. As the smoke finally cleared, a young boy bravely approached the mass of wrecked metal before him. He jumped back when a door slid open from the metal ship revealing a luminescent glow from within. The townspeople and the owl strained their necks to look inside. Instantly three tall figures appeared. They were large of build, bald with skin the color of autumn pumpkins, and wore strange black jumpsuits and shiny blue capes. A ramp slid down to the ground which the three beings took to exit their craft. Everyone took a step back. Only the owl dared to come forward from the mass of trembling people.

One of the orange beings opened its mouth to speak. “Greetings Earthlings, we are visitors from the world of Vegaslas.

“We mean you no harm and only ask that you give us a bowl of the finest Namuh soup that you can find,” uttered the second being.

“Yes, then we can be on our way for we have much to do,” spoke the third being.

The crowd stood puzzled. What were they to do? No one had cooked any soup today. And the only restaurants that served soup were now closed for the holiday weekend. And what was Namuh soup anyways? Everyone mumbled amongst themselves until the owl, Mr. Rumsfield by name, addressed the crowd.

“Surely we can help our friends and find some soup for them. Can anyone lend a large pot to cook it in?

“I can,” said the woman who owned a restaurant that specialized in soups. “Let me go and fetch it.” And away she ran.

“Now we need to fill it with some water,” said Mr. Rumsfield.

“Let me get my hose out and we’ll be set,” said the fire chief who went off to his truck and returned with the hose.

“Here is the pot we need,” said the restaurant owner.

“We can start a fire,” said one of the food vendors who rushed off and came back with a portable stovetop and set it up close by the crash site.

The restaurant owner placed the pot on the stovetop and the fire chief filled the pot almost to the brim.

“I can add some of my corn,” said a few mothers.

“And we can add some tomatoes,” called out a few fathers.

Soon the whole town was adding new ingredients to the pot. Chicken broth, sausages, cabbages, and rice all were mixed in. Mr. Rumsfield, remembering an old story, went and fetched a stone which he plopped into the pot along with all of the other food. This will make the finest “stone soup” our town has ever concocted, he thought. The three travelers looked hungry as they scanned the crowd of happy people.

“Thank you good people,” said the first orange being, “this is turning out to be the best Namuh soup ever!”

“While we wait to add the last ingredient,” said the second orange being, “may we join you in your celebrations?”

“But of course you can!” Mr. Rumsfield shouted, “Come on everybody, let’s show our guests a good old time here in Yrgnuh!”

All of the townsfolk let out a big cheer and came up to talk with the three orange beings, as if they had known them all of their lives. They asked about their clothing, and their way of life on their home planet. Within a few moments, everyone formed a parade with Mr. Rumsfield and the three travelers in front. The band ran back to pick up their instruments and started playing some old favorites with more enthusiasm than before. The tuba blared and the trumpets sounded as everyone merrily encircled the park. Then they all sat back down on the grass and felt exhausted from their efforts. Many of them lay down, yawning audibly. And some even fell asleep.

The three travelers sat around the steaming pot of vegetables waiting to be served. Mr. Rumsfield flew up to the pot and sat in between two of the orange beings. Then one of the travelers turned to the owl.

“Owl Rumsfield,” it said, “we thank you and the people of Yrgnuh for your generous hospitality. But we are now ready to eat.”

“Wonderful!” said Mr. Rumsfield, “let’s enjoy this soup together” and looked around for bowls and spoons to serve the soup to everyone.

“But it is not done yet,” spoke up the third being.

“What do you mean?” inquired Mr. Rumsfield. “The water is now boiling and it smells most divine. This by far is the best stone soup that our town could offer. That is what you meant by Namuh soup, isn’t it?”

The three travelers looked at each other and shook their heads. “No, this is NOT Namuh soup,” said the second being.

A hush fell over the entire crowd while the other two beings eyed everyone around them.

Mr. Rumsfield was the first to break the silence. “Then what type of soup did you mean?” he said slowly.

Two of the travelers looked at the first being and nodded. “When we meant Namuh soup, we meant one thing and one thing only.”

“And what is that?” inquired the owl.

The third being looked directly at Mr. Rumsfield and said in a low voice, “Namuh is our word for human” and produced a strange metallic object from within its massive cape.

In a flash of wings and blood, Mr. Rumsfield exploded as the gun emitted a piercing light. At the same moment, the other two produced long, glowing pipe-like weapons and faced the crowd. Streams of orange and green mist erupted from the weapons, spreading out like a dark fog in and among the crowd. Those who were still awake were caught in half-shouts as they froze to the spot. Those that had fallen asleep lay motionless.

The three strangers proceeded to devour the citizens of Yrgunh, cutting up their flesh like butchers and throwing it into the large boiling pot throughout the night. They enjoyed their delicious feast until the sun rose the next morning. The rows of houses lay quiet while the entire park was littered in a mass of clothing and half-eaten corpses.

“That was good for an appetizer,” said the first being to its companions, swallowing a foot, “but I’m sure we can acquire plenty more.”

“We have a whole planet to invade after all,” responded the second being, who looked out past the rising sun.

“And just think,” said the third being, “all we have to ask for is a bowl of Namuh soup.”