William had been in this situation before, though it still hurt to see such a beautiful home torn down, for no purpose other than the expansion of the city.

The house was among the oldest in the city, built when the streets were little more than dirt and the hopes of a bright future remained in everyone’s minds. It was grand, large enough to house a family of ten with room to spare and surrounded by high brick walls.

She could feel her strength fading, thin rivulets of crimson seeping free of the wound in her abdomen. Her clothes grew sticky and sodden with the essence that had once brought her life.

We sent messages to the stars, in hopes of meeting others like us. Pictures which showed our world, sounds of children playing and animals calling to one another, videos of people celebrating and talking and having fun. We included maps that we figured any intelligent species would understand, and which they could use to find us.

No one knew where it had come from. It had stood at the edge of the city for ages, to the point some sources even believed it had existed before the city. Though, of course, there was no way to be certain.