When 14-year-old Hina adjusted her telescope for the weekend astronomy project, she wasn’t expecting to find anything unusual. But as she scanned the sky, a blinking blue light caught her eye, flashing in a strange pattern from deep space—right in the Andromeda Galaxy, over two million light-years away.

Curious, Hina recorded the signal and ran it through her laptop. To her shock, her computer translated it into clear symbols: “HELLO EARTH.”

Mia told her older brother Sayo, a coding whiz, who insisted it must be a prank or a glitch. But when they pointed their telescope again, the signal changed—this time showing an image of a blue planet, with a city glowing on its surface.

“We’re not alone,” Hina whispered.

Over the next few days, they worked together, learning the signal contained more than pictures. It had math, music, and even a map—a route showing how to send a reply. With their teacher’s help, they built a simple transmitter, hoping their message would cross the stars.

A week later, the telescope lit up again.

This time, the message was longer. It read: “WE ARE COMING.”

Hina’s heart raced. Were they friendly? What would they look like? Suddenly, alarms blared on the news: a strange object had entered Earth’s orbit.

Hina looked out her window, eyes wide. Above, a glowing ship hovered silently. Its lights shimmered like stars.

The universe had just knocked on Earth’s door—and Hina was the first to answer

1