Chapter 2. Contact

The faint sound of paper rustling against paper woke me. It took a few moments to get my bearings back, blinking my eyes so it would adjust to the fluorescent light on the ceiling. On my face was a wide smile as I moved my head side to side, feeling the muscles on my neck relax. “What a strange dream,” I said to myself as I stood up from the couch. “Time to get breakfast.”

A subtle movement on my immediate right made me stop and stare. There in one of the corners of the library stood a pale yet beautiful looking girl, staring at the books one by one. She was reading it in such a manner that she would scan the pages quickly, close her eyes, then toss the book at the side, getting another. Was it still a dream? I wondered, as I slapped my face softly with my palms.

The girl didn’t pay attention to my ogling. She continued with her tasks, as if completely unaware of my presence. As I studied her familiar face, I noticed her sunset orange eyes, her radiant skin, pale hair, and perfect features. Those details were the only thing I needed as I reminder of what I have seen last night.

“You’re an alien!” I gasped, unable to control myself as the events of last night came crashing down my head.

The entity stopped, her delicate fingers hovering on a page. I covered my mouth, fearing that she’d suddenly turn berserk because of my reaction. She didn’t. The alien proceeded with her activity, ignoring me once more. My eyes flitted to the door. It was ten meters away from me. I made a mental calculation of the seconds it would take to reach it if I ran. She’d probably catch me, I thought with a sinking feeling.

Another bothersome thought crossed my mind. We were inside my deceased father’s library, several kilometers away from the inn. Even if I screamed for help, nobody would come to the rescue. Oh dad. Why did you have to build the library so far from our home? Granted that I’ve always loved it for that very reason. Because no one would disturb me here while reading. But it didn’t sound appealing right now.

Beads of sweat appeared on my forehead. You need to try to escape Alena, I urged myself. If you don’t, you’ll be a goner. Saying a silent prayer, I moved an inch towards the door. The alien didn’t budge. See? Easy peasy.

I moved another step, hoping that she wouldn’t notice. Once more, she didn’t. Slowly but surely, I walked to the door, all the while saying lalalala in my head to get rid of the building anxiety. Just a few steps Alena. You’re almost there.

Three or four steps away from my escape route, I decided to gather my courage and go for it. As I touched the doorknob, the alien girl dropped one of the books she was reading on the table in front of her. It slammed menacingly, emitting a low squeak from me. “Sit,” she commanded, pointing to the couch where I was zonked out minutes ago.

I followed her instruction, sinking on the white cushion with a horrible feeling on the pit of my tummy. “Back to the start,” I mumbled to myself, wiping the sweat on my brows with the back of my hand.

“What was that?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.

“N-nothing,” I squeaked.

The alien was sitting on top of the mahogany table in no time, running her eyes all over my body. It felt like I was being x-rayed. Dang! What if I was? She was an alien after all. I covered my chest with my arms self-consciously. “Don’t kill me. I won’t tell anyone you’re here.” Lame-o Alena!

She studied me. “Why would I do that?” I stared directly at her, too stunned to speak. If she wasn’t here to kill, then what was her purpose? The alien stood up gracefully, heading towards my direction. Someone please help me, I thought in fear.

When she was standing right in front of me, miss alien reached out a hand. “My name is Tahti,” she spoke gently. “It’s the closest thing to my name back home. But I doubt that you’ll understand it. Earth has an entirely different language.”

I looked at her hand uncomfortably, afraid to touch it. “What’s the problem? I thought humans introduce themselves with a shake of their hands. Or was the book I read wrong?” The tone she used was of confusion, yet her face remained unreadable. In the end, I was forced to shake her hands, albeit in a fast manner that we almost didn’t make contact at all.

Alien girl went down on her knee in front of me so we were almost face to face. I had to lean away, nervous that she’d open her mouth and eat me. She wasn’t unfazed. “You’re exactly how I imagined you,” she murmured, something stirring in her orange eyes.

“W-what do you mean?” This alien must be crazy.

“You’re the right wife for me. It was a correct decision coming here for you.” Her lips quirked up. “We will return to the planet soon. But before that, I need you to help me explore this one so I’d learn a thing or two about your culture.” Return to her planet? Abduction?

“But you’re an alien,” I blurted. “You have orange eyes. You won’t fit in.” I left the part about not coming with her. Who knew what she’d suddenly do.

“Hmmm,” was all she said before standing up and going back to the shelves. Tahti trailed her fingers on the hardbound covers, but didn’t get one. In the end, she returned to the table, grabbing a magazine. I recognized it as the magazine I brought last month prior to coming home. It contained pictures of pretty girls in the latest garbs and fashion.

Come to think of it, I only noticed now that Tahti was wearing one of my ivory colored sweater and skinny jeans. She must have stolen it last night. Gosh. Hope no one saw her. Tahti scanned the pages so fast, it was a blur.

“How are you able to read it so fast?” I asked curiously.

“Everyone in my planet is highly intelligent, especially the queen, or whatever you call it here.” She stopped on a page, staring at a female model. “We can consume information faster than any human can,” she murmured. “And because of that, other inhabitants from the universe find us valuable.”

I gulped. “Other planets?”

Tahti glanced at me. “Yes. Other planets. But you don’t have to concern yourself about that. I’ll tell you later when you’re ready.” She walked back to me, holding the magazine in front of my face. “Is this the norm for humans?”

“Well if you meant drop dead gorgeous, then yes,” I answered sarcastically, forgetting who or what I was talking to.

“Ok. Hope this works. I haven’t done it before.” Tahti ran her hand over her hair. At first I thought she was smoothing it, but as the color turned from pearly white to platinum blonde, I couldn’t help but gasp and lean away. Next, she closed her eyes, staying as still as a statue. When she opened it, the color has turned from orange to light brown. She now looked like she was ready for a fashion show.

“How did you do that?” I was in total awe that I almost forgot that she was an alien.

“One of my many perks,” she replied. “I could teach it to you. Not everyone in my planet can do it. Just the highest ranking group. But since you’re my bride, I know you can.”

All the possibilities, I thought shamelessly. “Can you remove a scar with that?” I parted my bangs, revealing the crisscross scar on my forehead. “I’ve always wanted to get rid of it.”

Something flashed in Tahti’s eyes. “Why would you want to remove that?” she said coldly. “It’s our symbol.”

“I don’t understand.”

Tahti dropped down on her knees. “I have that exact symbol too. Look.” She concentrated hard. A crisscross scar, very much like mine began to tattoo its way on her forehead. But hers had branches on the side. It resembled a snowflake while mine was just ugly. “I don’t think we have the same scar at all. Yours have those,” I said, pointing to the edges.

“If you take a good look at the mirror, you’ll see that you have it now as well,” she said matter-of-factly. “When we get married, or joined together, a circle will appear on its border, completing the symbol.”

“Joined together?” I exclaimed. “Like what? You’ll eat my flesh?”

She gave me a weird look. “Humans have a strange way of thinking. Why would I even eat you? You’re my life partner Alena.” She shook her head. “I meant once we fornicated, the symbol would be complete.”

“Why would I have sex with a girl? And an alien, no less.” I didn’t mean to sound offensive, but let’s take a breather for a moment and consider all the things she said. Hell no.

“Just as I said. We’re life partners.” She stood up. “And whether you like it or not, when you reach the right age, you’ll feel the need to do it with me. It would be so strong that you’d go crazy if we didn’t.” Tahti leaned down. She had the refreshing scent of spring. “Besides. . . Don’t you find me attractive? I am your other half after all.”

“You’re a girl,” I said firmly, but as I looked deep into her eyes, a strong pull, almost like gravity gave me this sensation that I should be with her at all cost. Something deep within me stirred. Something unexplored and wild, raring to break free. Worse was the fact that even if her eyes were now brown, the orange didn’t hide from me, as if I was meant to see it and fall in love like the way I fell for the stars.

“Enough,” she said, turning her head away. “If we continue like this, the joining would happen earlier. I was even planning on getting to know you first, like the way humans do it,” she mumbled.

I blinked, confused. The effect was still there, though it was slowly fading away. “How do I know that you’re not just hypnotizing me?”

Tahti tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “Because I feel the same way too.” I swallowed hard. “Now come on,” she beckoned with a finger. “I want to see where my Alena grew up.” She vanished outside the door.

“Wait up! You walk so fast.” I struggled to catch up with her when we were outside the library. It was not easy to do, even if I was very athletic. The grass and mud on my feet slowed my pace. “Is that an alien thing?”

Tahti halted, placing her hand against a tall tree. “Alien.” She scuffed her black boots on the ground, which I recognized as mine. “Only humans call species from other planets alien.”

I placed my hands on my waist, trying to make my point. “What should I call you then?”

“Just Tahti.”

“Alright just Tahti,” I replied sarcastically, rolling my eyes. “I want to ask you a question.” She stared at me, expressionless. I cleared my throat. “How did you know my name?”

From the look that passed in her eyes, I could see that she was amused by my question, though none of her facial features revealed anything else. What was up with that? She was always composed. “I know your name because you said it to me.”

“Woah there crazy lady. I don’t think so. You called me first remember?”

She shook her head. “You told it to me in your dreams.” I was getting more confused by the second. Migraine was beginning to build up at the back of my head. Tahti spoke again, this time in a more soothing tone. “I know this may be too much. But trust me. I only have your well-being in mind.”

I gave her a piercing stare. “Well-being? What about my happiness?”

Her eyes lowered for the first time. She was contemplating something. “I do not know of happiness,” she whispered.

The way she said it made me want to reach out and comfort her. I didn’t know where that feeling came from, but I didn’t act on it. It was too foolish to feel pity for an alien. For all I knew, she might be planning to annihilate the world. Her comrades could be all around us as we speak, killing humans. “What do you mean you don’t know happiness? Are you depressed?” Ok good one Alena, I thought in dismay. What a pathetic question.

Tahti leaned on the tree, looking at the dirt. “In my planet, we do not feel a lot of emotions.”

Ok this was a good one. “Explain please.”

“Long ago, my species were forced to banish every emotion, save for a few. We only feel satisfied, pleasant, interest, compassion, and gratefulness. Those emotions allowed our planet to thrive and survive. There was no room for anything else.”

“What about love?” I mumbled, starting to feel sorry for her. They sound like robots to me.

“Love is nonexistent.”

“But that’s inhumane! How can you not feel love?” It was preposterous. “And why did you feel the need to banish your other emotions?”

The look on her face was very calm. “Don’t forget Alena, we are not humans. That’s why it is not inhumane in any way.” She caught my gaze. “And as for love, I told you that we feel compassion. It is practiced in everything around us. For the planet, our species, and most importantly, our other half. If we lose our partner, it breaks us. To the point where we wither away and die, going back as dust to the universe.”

I raised my hands. “Hold your horses.”

Tahti’s eyes were questioning. “Why would I want to hold your pet?”

“No, no, no. It’s just an expression,” I sighed. “I thought you’re highly intelligent.”

“Of course,” she said. “I did read almost all the books there in one night.” She cocked her head to the direction of the library.

“Almost?”

“I read all the theories of your so-called scientists. I know about your God, and Noah and his Ark, which in my view is strange. How could so many animals fit in? Are you using advanced technology like ours?” I rolled my eyes at her. “Anyway, the point is I’ve studied English in that library, as well as different languages. It’s all stored in my head. I can even recite the constitution if you wish. But I left a couple of things out.”

“Which was?”

“Everything else that you don’t consider relevant. All the mundane things around you. Especially human emotions.” She straightened up. “I want to experience everything that earth has to offer. Not in books or any library, but in real life. Before we return to the planet, you have to show me around.”

There was that sentence again, return to the planet. As if I’d allow her to take me. Ha! You wish. But wait. . . Tahti was an alien. What if she forcefully took me? Where was the government when you need them? A hollow feeling settled on my stomach. My mom and older sister would surely miss me if I was abducted.

“What emotion are you feeling right now?” she asked suddenly, raising her eyebrows.

I shook my head to clear my mind. “What do you mean?” God. I’d be asking her that question forever.

“Your lips are turned downward.” She mimicked the expression, trying to move her mouth south. Tahti was clearly having a hard time. I bit my tongue to prevent laughing. “And your eyebrows are like this.” She scrunched it together.

“That’s called frowning,” I said, walking closer to her. “When your mouth is down like this.” I touched the corners of her lips. “It means you are sad or frustrated. And when it’s like this.” I pulled the corner upward. “It means you’re happy. You’ve done it before, when you saw me.”

“Oh. . .” she said, looking quizzically at me. “But what does sad mean? I don’t get it.”

“Imagine this. You bought a really juicy hotdog. Then someone took it from you.” I made a snatching motion to demonstrate. “You’ll feel sad then.” Or maybe angry, I thought, wanting to face palm myself. Lame, lame, lame Alena.

“Why is the dog hot?”

I burst out laughing. Oh my gee. She really was crazy. How did I even felt threatened by her? “It’s a food in this planet.”

“I didn’t realize you eat dogs,” she said, scratching her ear. “They looked fluffy in the books. I guess I’ll never understand humans.”

I was about to reply when Niko’s voice rang in the distance. “Alenaaaaa! Alena where are you?” he hollered from the distance. “Answer me.”