18

Airi was still in disbelief as she followed Kenji out of the school gates later that day and he led her towards his home. He still hadn't relented and admitted that he had been joking, or raving, or exaggerating, or whatever he had been doing when he had declared to her that he was an — the thought still made her shake her head incredulously — alien.

'Where are we going?' she said at last, as he led her through a series of narrow streets, each one more secluded and forbidding than the last.

'My home — I mean, the place where I stay on Earth,' said Kenji. 'Through this alley now...'

Airi started to feel rather alarmed. What if he really was insane? Was is it right for her to be alone with him like this in a place she hardly knew?

'Don't worry, it's a safe place; no one ever comes by, that's why I chose it,' said Kenji, seeing her expression.

No one ever comes by. Those well-meaning words of comfort only scared her more. Why would he even live in such a place?

'We're almost there,' said Kenji, and Airi nodded and followed him silently.

What if he really was an alien? What a bizarre thought! But if, for whatever's sake, she entertained the possibility for even a few moments, had she ever seen any strange behaviour of his that affirmed his weird confession today?

Aside from his awkward social skills and apparent adversity to human emotions, he seemed normal enough... but then there was the way he always ate certain foods as though it were the first time he had ever done so... simple things like rice and ice-cream and sandwiches...

She looked sideways at him and shook her head. What was she thinking? Then she remembered the day he had gotten a splinter in his finger and he had withdrawn his hand before she could look at it properly... no way...

'We're here,' said Kenji, stopping in front of an old abandoned building that looked so dilapidated that Airi was certain not even a tramp would prefer to spend the night in it.

'You live here?' she said, forgetting her fear for a few moments and feeling rather sorry for him. Even if he was crazy, if this was where he lived, she couldn't blame him!

'Yeah,' said Kenji, opening the door carefully. 'Not much to look at, I know, but it serves my purposes well. I don't want anyone to see me in my real form, you see...'

Airi stepped in and looked around, wondering at how there was hardly anything there that made the place even remotely comfortable or liveable. Kenji lit the candle and it flickered strangely in the dimming room.

'Any time now, I will revert to my actual form,' he said, leaning against a wall. 'I don't know why I'm telling you this — I know I really shouldn't — but still, here I am. Maybe it's because you're the only person I met here whom I ever considered to be a friend... I think you're a really nice person, Airi; but I know you will hate me as soon as you realise that I'm not what you think I am; and I don't want to lie to you anymore. You didn't go away when I asked you to, so now... just wait...'

Airi sat on the shaky table and stared at him. Her heart beat faster as she wondered what was about to happen. Kenji looked so serious that he couldn't possibly be joking. In a few moments, she would either discover that her new friend was completely mad, or... a very unsettling truth that she could never have imagined, and had no idea even now how she would react to supposing it were true.

The room grew darker, but the flame grew brighter and larger as a stream of wax flowed generously down the candle and onto the shelf it had been set on.

Airi sat in anticipatory silence, her heartbeat showing no signs of slowing down, when... it happened.

She jumped to her feet as she noticed, in sudden horror, a pair of red eyes staring back at her from the place where Kenji had been standing. She went closer to him, trembling, as she realised that it was still him, but he was different. His eyes were glowing, and frankly, it terrified her. His ears began to grow larger and longer, until he looked anything but human. Aside from this monstrous transformation, he had a certain aura around him, that she realised she had always felt, but never quite; it was as though it had always been masked, cloaked, hidden; just like the other strong features that were now clear to her; and now, as he stood before her, she had no doubt that he was, in fact—

Her thoughts froze in her mind as Kenji — or whatever he actually was — took a knife in his hand and held it against his arm; he had made a small cut in it before she could protest, and the blood which dripped from the injury was not red, but green; bright, brilliant green, just like his hair; just like she had suspected it to be on the day he had cut his finger.

She screamed as all her thoughts crashed over each other and sent her into a breakdown — he was an alien, there was no doubt about that. He wasn't a human; he was something strange and foreign and terrifying, and the longer she stayed in this godforsaken place with this monster, the more risk she had of meeting a very unpleasant end. Why else had he brought her here?

She tumbled forward as she sprinted towards the old, creaky door and pushed it open — so hard that it's loose hinges came apart and it fell face down — ignoring the cry behind her as he pleaded her to stop. She ran with tears streaming down her face, desperate to get as far away from that cursed house and its inhabitant as fast as she could.

At last, after hours that felt like minutes, or minutes that felt like hours — she wasn't sure which — she stopped, panting, in the middle of an empty road. Night had fallen and a few stars were twinkling in the sky. She sat on a nearby patch of grass and thought, for the first time since she had run helter-skelter out of the old house. What was she running away from?

Kenji crouched on the floor, leaning against the wall he had previously stood against. He had expected Airi to react the way she did, but he had not expected to feel the way he did right now. He caught his reflection in a piece of broken glass and was surprised at how brightly his eyes glowed. No wonder she was frightened of him!

He looked away sadly and wished he was a human and he could cry away his sorrow; nay, if he were a human, he would have no reason to cry; Airi would be his friend and like him and accept him; his emotions, which he could not deny anymore, would be a normal and accepted thing. If he were a human, he would be happy, and it would be okay to be happy. It was clear to him at that moment: he had been born in the wrong race, in the wrong world.

The shine in his eyes dulled and disappeared as the redness almost vanished. Kenji buried his face in his hands and felt empty and hollow, drowning in lonely despair. He was a lonely misfit, a failure no matter what he did, just like his father had always said. He couldn't even keep a friend like Airi!

A sudden sound roused him, and his ears pricked up. He turned and looked around him, only to see — Airi standing at the doorway!

'Airi?!' he exclaimed, but he quickly retreated, as he realised from his reflection that his eyes were shining brightly once again, and he probably looked frightening to her. Why had she even come back?

'Kenji...' said Airi cautiously, a tear rolling down her cheek.

'Why did you come back?' said Kenji, confused. He couldn't take any more of this. He couldn't bear the idea of Airi saying cruel things to him and going away a second time. 'I know you hate me. You can go now!' He looked away as his eyes dimmed once more.

'No,' said Airi softly. 'I don't hate you, Kenji. I'm sorry I reacted like that. It's just that I was surprised, that's all... I thought about it and I realised that no matter what you look like, you're still my friend. I said you have a good heart, and a heart cannot change no matter what the body is like, right?'

Kenji looked up at her. She looked sincere. How could it be? Even after knowing everything, she still called herself his 'friend'?

'But... I'm not human,' he muttered. 'And I look like this...'

'You're not that bad,' said Airi, coming closer to him. 'I think I'm the one who overreacted a little this time... now that I really see you, I think you don't really look that different after all...'

She held out her hand to him. 'I don't care whether you're a human or an alien; will you still be friends with me?'

Kenji looked at her in surprise. Really? It didn't matter to her what he was?

He smiled and held her hand. 'Of course,' he said softly, with more emotion in his voice than Airi had ever heard him before. 'After all, you're my first and only friend on Earth.'