Blues of the Straight Man [Scene 9]

The ride home was silent. I didn’t want to say much, and while her whereabouts were one less thing to worry about, it still left me more confused than anything. It was the first time since we had been living together that she wasn't home or at work when I came home. And to top it off, she was just sitting there in the middle of the park, at the very first place we met. I guess robots could develop nostalgia. But what made her go there? These questions of who she truly was, or why she decided to come here, if she had a choice in the matter, all started to bang along the edges of my brain. It felt like a silly arcade game that I couldn't unplug and ran all night. 

Truth be told, she was free to do what she wanted. I had no desire to control her, much less spend energy wondering about her. But for a second, I thought she was never going to come back. 

"What is this?" Yunaria asked me while sitting on the couch. We returned home and I rolled in a big whiteboard in the living room. 

"This is what's called a 'whiteboard'. It’s a surface to write ideas and figure things out on. Okay, there's a few things that I have questions about and there are probably things you may have questions about-"

"Not really," Yunaria flatly replied.

"Really? None? You always ask questions,"

"Sure, but it was then that I discovered the Internet. It can answer a question much faster than a human could and seems to have a wider network of responses."

"You know humans developed the Internet, right?"

"That's evident," she pondered, "Some of its responses and answers don't seem to always line up with the reality that I have witnessed amongst them. There are some differences."

"Like wha—nevermind. We're getting off track. First question: Where are you from?"

I wrote the simple statement on the whiteboard in purple marker. It was berry scented and smelled wonderful. I might have to hide them. Who knew what her appetite demanded of these days. 

"Yalina. I've told you that."

"Okay, good, good. Just confirming. Question number two: Where is Yalina?" I wrote on the board. 

"There is no information I could find that accurately described any life outside of Earth and its galaxy, but there is a singular red moon that orbits Yalina. It's on a chain of hundreds of neighboring planets that is named the Melomeade Galaxy.”

"Melomeade Galaxy? I've never heard of anything like that. Here, draw it."

Yunaria got up off of the couch and I handed her the marker. She drew a large circle to represent the moon that loomed over the chain of planets, then smaller ones that mirrored the pattern of a river. Some of the planets had rings, others had stars that orbited its atmosphere. It all flowed in a large chain as she said, and it was drawn perfectly. 

The only thing that confused me, well, an entire other galaxy was already crazy enough, was the gaping hole that she drew at the edge of the whiteboard. I couldn't place it, but something seemed off about her. 

"That is our solar system. It's odd. No one seems to know anything about Yalina. I've asked the Internet, multiple humans at my place of work, as well as on the street. We Yalinians know of other galaxies and beings, different solar systems."

"I, well," Shit. What do you even say to that? "...uh, well, to be honest, humans aren't as advanced as we seem. We're kinda behind on knowledge of space. Even if you told someone this, I doubt they'd believe you."

"You've said that before and it is quite true about humans, but why do you believe me? No one else does."

Why did I believe her? It's almost too ridiculous to not believe. "Well, for one, humans can't drink gasoline. Two, you're quite literally, blue. Has no one ever said anything to you about the color of your skin? Clearly, you exist. I mean, you're here right now, sitting on my couch."

“Why would they say anything about the color of my skin? I don't find it relevant. However, one person did ask if I was a Black human. When I tried to explain that I am Yalinian, she assumed it was a country in Africa. I don't even know where that is. I exist, but only to how humans view me. Why?"

Well, that person was an idiot. I'd never heard of blue people that lived in Africa, it would be news to me. It was sort of funny in a stupid kind of way. I didn't even want to begin the conversation around racism...

"Humans are interesting creatures. Sometimes they stare, make illogical statements, speak without knowledge. They have set perceptions, and it influences their behavior. There are pointless concepts of money and corporate jobs. It seems at every point I am reminded of the differences between Yalinians and humans. I wanted to make the most out of my experience on Earth being that I am stuck here with no way back, but when I saw the full moon tonight, it reminded me of Yalina. I wandered to that place we first met without noticing until you arrived. I don't believe I belong here. I want to go home."

No pun intended, but I guess the feeling of alienation is something all creatures experience. Even ones from outer space. Okay, maybe pun intended. But I didn't know what to say to her. I had to say something. 

"Honestly, everyone feels that way. Even humans feel that way with other humans. We're a bunch of idiot meat sacks. A lot of things we do, don't really make sense. But if it means anything, there's a lot of good things about Earth as well."

I had more questions, but I decided to leave it alone. I wasn't the most equipped with words and always thought it best to let people come to their own conclusions. It was better that way. But for some reason, I wanted to know more.

"One more question: How did you get here?" 

She sat on the couch with her expression lightening up a little and answered carefully. "On a spaceship. I set my destination to a neighboring planet but made a wrong turn and got sucked in a black hole. It's pretty common."

A spaceship...of course. "O-oh, okay. So, when you got sucked in the black hole, let's say, you...ended up here?"

"Yes. It's happened before but never had I went to a completely different galaxy so far off."

"And you can't go back?"

"My spaceship is broken. I was hoping to fix it, but I got so hungry I had to find the nearest civilization. That was around the time I became your girlfriend."

Right...this just keeps getting weirder and weirder. Shit. What if the government finds her spaceship first? With that and news of a foreign galaxy, who knows how that could change the world. Ugh, this is so stupid. This was becoming way bigger than I thought. 

Why am I always involved in such idiocy?

"I see. Do you know where your spaceship is?"

"I crashed it in a deserted area not too far from here. It should still be there. Do you think there is someone who could fix it?"

"Who knows," I checked my watch and realized it was getting late. I had to be up early to shoot tomorrow. "How about this weekend we can go to check it out? Right now, I'm tired. Good night." 

As I was heading off to my room, Yunaria began to speak in a low tone, distant almost. What she said truly surprised me. Moreso than her being a robot alien ever had.

"You know, since I've been on Earth, there was always this strong energy of humans wanting to be a part of something. Where I am from, we don't interact in groups, or packs, or anything like that. Yalinians are naturally isolationist creatures. We live our existence individually and die individually. Complex relationships, or conversations like humans have about nothing, are all foreign to me. I simply was unaware it existed in the galaxy," She paused to think.

"It wasn't until I witnessed this, that I realized that I felt a hole inside. You're the only person who doesn't make me feel that way."

"Uh...well, uh, I guess, uh, that's... what a relationship is. Good night." I hurried off to my room but before I could close my door, Yunaria was hovering right outside my room, peeking through the frame. I forgot she could fly.

"I read in one of my novels that humans involved in relationships often sleep in the same bed, is that true?"

I couldn't lie to her, nor did I have any strength left to tell her no, so it was the first night we slept in the same bed. She fell asleep instantly and although her body was cold, the feeling I had inside was admittedly warm. 

To think I was starting to fall for a robot. A strange world, indeed. 

This was so stupid. 

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