Bath Time and Honesty

As the sun set over Pandema, the desert's temperature dropped from blistering hot to cool and windy. The hearth was kept running to keep the house warm, and Sam kept next to it while scrubbing dishes with wood ash and a brush. Seemed like there was no free lunch at this estate. However, from the dark blue night, the Earthling reexperienced electricity for the first time, as a small rudimentary lightbulb assisted her in finding the extra grit. From the weaver in the side room to the kettle that boiled water without wood, Sam was among tiny technological marvels. She could imagine Earthlings and Kainians and their early inventions. To think they mimicked it so easily.

Once the mother had changed into a nightgown, a switch was flipped, and the oasis lit up with a warm orange glow. "Do you do dust baths or water baths?" She asked. "We can offer both, but we're running low on dust, so choose wisely."

"I didn't know dust baths were a thing."

She nodded. "Heated, yes?"

"Yes, please." Sam sighed. To be rid of all of this sweat and sand. A soothing thought. "Thank you for taking me in, Mrs. Vinisoya."

"Please, thank my son." Her tone was distant, both naturally sweet and apprehensive at the same time. "You're from another planet, right?"

"Yeah." Sam looked away. "I'm not really supposed to be here. You can say that I'm lost."Maed-Laio studied her, absorbing the meaning of that statement. "I see. So, what now?"

That was a good question.

The bath was less of a tub and more of a crate, a square box pulled out from the shed to hook up to a small furnace. It was a cramped, algae-ridden contraption, but once filled with water and heated by the fire, the bath warmed her up instantly. In the secluded oasis, Sam relaxed as she scrubbed herself clean.

The desert was quiet, save the wind from the valley and the slow trickle of water overflowing from the bath. Sam leaned back, her eyebrows furrowing. This respite felt wrong, unearned. She shouldn't be here, not in this tub, not in the good graces of the Vinisoyas. No, Sam should've never come to this star system. A pang of discomfort hit her shoulder. The bandages had been removed for now, the bullet hole having shrunk and partially closed due to the herbs, but the pain endured. What now? She thought. Perhaps her father would find her soon. Perhaps she had been abandoned on Pandema forever. What then? The thought was overwhelming. However, at this moment, her only desire was to apologize to him. Apologize for pushing that button, for striking him when held to duty over her. It wasn't fair.

"Are you alright?" Vinisnu asked. "You want me to scrub your back?"

Sam nearly shot out of the bath, but her modesty kept her pinned down. She looked back. The Vinisoya boy sat cross-legged down at the landing, staring up at her like a dog begging for a treat.

"Who said you can come out here!?" Sam snarled.

"It's my house. I can go wherever I want!"

"A lady is bathing here!" Sam sunk to neck height. "What are you? Some kind of pervert?"

"N-No…" Snu replied, eyes still locked on her. "I just think that you need a watch guard."

"I don't care what you think! Go away!" Sam huffed. Were these different cultural values? She had overheard salacious rumors about other aliens from the Betelgeuse's crewmates. Were Pandemians simply open-minded or just unashamed? It still didn't matter. "Why are you really here?"

"Curious."

"About my body?"

He looked down. "Yeah."

Sam scoffed. "What are you-? Ugh. How old are you anyway?"

His age translated to earth years. "Fourteen years, nine months."

"How are you older than me!?"

The words struck Snu so deeply that he turned around and kept guard out of shame. Shame worked on the boy, Sam noted. Handy information. However, the silence could only last so long. Not because of Snu, however. It just felt awkward to sit with someone else in silence.

"Your family," she said. "Are you like royalty? You're kinda spoiled for a kid living in a desert."

"That's not true," He scratched his head. "I do my chores every day. I'm not like royalty, royalty…Well Uncle Szeer does want me to marry one of his daughters, so I guess I can be, but I don't really-."

His voice trailed off, partially not to boast and partially due to trauma. Sam followed, though. She could imagine the kind of man with a house like this, a sort of vizier, merchant, or engineer given the machinery on the land. Still, not the kind of look she expected from a child like him.

"A princess, huh? I guess you are a rich kid. To think I'm with royalty day one."

"I'm not!" A nerve was struck. "I haven't earned anything! This house isn't mine! None of it is. That's why I need to get stronger so that I can become my own man!"

"You want to be a hero?"

"I saved you today, didn't I?"

He did, and Sam couldn't process it. She was in two minds about it, the conscious desire to be thankful and the fear, frustration, and worry plaguing her innermost thoughts. If she were to let loose, she'd have him captive for hours with her sob stories, and she didn't want that. Instead, she let the awkward silence stir.

But Vinisnu wasn't staying still. He was squirming in place with his own mental battle, and one side was winning. "Dad always said that if you want something, you have to be honest." He took a deep breath. "Sam, can I see your back?"

Sam cocked an eyebrow. "Is that really what you wanna see?"

The boy slumped and looked down. "Oh…sorry. I just lied...Can I see your butt?"

"No!" The answer came before she even processed the thought. A moment of silence passed. Her curiosity raised. "Why would you ask that?"

Vinisnu fidgeted in his spot. "Well, I've never met someone without a tail before. I know people whose tails were cut off, but I've never seen anyone born without one." The boy got up and lifted his shirt to show his back. "See? My spine goes from the tailbone and out my tail. I can scrunch it up, too, but you don't have that…You're not looking."

"Is that really it?" She mumbled, defeated. "You don't get it, do you?"

Vinisnu turned away. "...I just wonder if I'll ever see anyone like you again."

Sam frowned, sinking into the tub. She knew her boundaries and what she wanted, but this kid was pushing them. All cultures are different, especially true for aliens. The luxury royal-to-be likely had no reservations toward privacy or prurience, but it gnawed her. He was the hero. Perhaps she should give him a reward, anything? She slapped the bucket.

"No means no!"

"Aww, please!?" His melancholy swung right back to a tantrum. "Just one peek, really!"

"Ask again, and I'll kick your ass!"

"I'll take it just please, please, please!?"

"You know what!?" Fury overtook her, and she shot out of the bucket, the cold wind gripping her. For a second, Snu expected a fight, but instead, she planted herself on its lid, plain to see. "Here! See!? No tail! I'm just a weird ass alien! Happy now!?"

The oasis fell utterly still, the quietest it had ever been. Sam trembled, looking away and yet feeling the eyes on her, but there was nothing, barely even a breath. Did she kill him? She hoped so. Just to make sure, she peeked over her shoulder to see him looking back, frozen, his breath a low and stuttering vapor that clouded his face.

"Snu?" She asked.

He didn't respond. This was actually the second time the boy's gaze upon her. He cowered in fear at first, fearing reprisal from a suspected mind game, but now, uncontested, he looked on in a state of pure awe, looking, memorizing, his jaw large and agape, utterly transfixed. He was shaken to his core with an overwhelming state of emotion that Sam had never seen in her lifetime.

He briefly regained the ability to speak. "You're beautiful."

A shooting star passed in the distance, and Sam's red face became so red it turned fluorescent purple. She turned away in shock but took a peek back. Sure enough, little Vinisnu devolved into his juvenile self again, giggling and flailing in place, relishing in his fortune of being able to adore a girl his age, but that sense of wonder never left his eyes. Sam could feel his wonder emanating off his person like a ray of sunshine. This love. To think that someone like her could be loved so easily. Sam had always been seen as strange, at best a novelty, at worst a defective Earthling, but this adoration, this unconditional unprejudiced appreciation for her in and of herself? She wasn't sure her heart could take it.

"Hey, Snu!" she shouted, her voice echoing across the desert. "Do you know what I am!?"

Snu broke from his trance. "Uh, you're a girl, an alien, and-." Just like that, the trance resumed as Sam turned to face him. Like any true Kanian, she was a light that dazzled. Despite them always being there, Snu never realized how many stars were in the sky.

"I'm Samantha Reynolds, Snu!" Sam proclaimed. "And today, you became my first friend!"