It was not yet dawn, and the neighbourhood was quiet. The sun was low over the sea off the shore of Frisco, making distant lands look like drops of molten lava on the horizon. The morning breeze brushed against my clothes, as I stared down at the deep, dark, murky waters below. I spread my arms wide, feeling the airy wind. I closed my eyes for a moment and enjoyed the feeling. A slight pop made its way across the wind, and I traced it back to a very small explosion on the other side of the water.  

Clutching my disheveled notebook, I talked myself into going to school. It was a cold spring day, and the brittle wind was now blowing on my face. It wasn’t so cold earlier. I thought My heart pumped erratically, though I wasn’t sure why. As I walked past the park, I noticed a very peculiar sight: a person on the ground, clutching its head.  A little boy. No, a teen? I couldn’t tell. I brushed away the dirt on his hair and took a band aid from my bag. I reached my hand out in curiosity and helped him get up. I walked away without saying a word—he himself stayed quiet as well and I made my way to school.  

Entering the school, I stopped cold. Rues stopped me in the hall. 

‘Hey, you’re almost late! Come on, let's go.” Reus considered himself to be my friend, and honestly, he was a lot closer to me than anyone I knew, but he had other friends. I didn’t. 

I lowered my head slowly to look at his feet and took a deep breath.  

“A late slip or two won't do much. I’ll be fine.”  

He rolled his eyes and walked on.  

“And before you say anything,” I started. “No, I’m not free later.” 

By the time lunch had started, I found an isolated corner in the cafeteria and was about to turn my music on when I realized my phone was no longer there. I sighed and dug my fingernails into my palms, as a reminder to not bite them. Mom was not going to come back for, what, — threeweeks? More than enough time to find it. Or get a new one.  

The bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. I was going to develop a migraine If I had to stay any longer. I rushed all the way back home and collapsed on my couch. Hours of mindless jibber-jabber from teachers and students alike had made my brain go all mushy. I tried hard to connect with others, to pretend I came from nothing less than a normal, functioning family. The truth was, I was insecure in my own skin. Brother was already home, doing work on his computer. He wasn't home often, between working a job and going to college. He opted to stay out of drama. Something brought my attention to the outside of the window. There, the boy I had helped give a Band-Aid to earlier stood. I went to open the door, but I hesitated. After around thirty minutes, I looked back, and he was still there.  It was borderline trespassing and loitering. If I let him in, would my brother be mad? It was going to be alright. Just an acquaintance.  So, I opened the door and was ready to confront him when I saw a phone in his hands —my phone. I questioned him with my eyes, and he nodded and stuck out his outstretched hand with the phone in it. I took it. He had a sort of bemused expression. His eyes were like jewels that sparkled in the wind. Ones that had all the knowledge in the world. He had dark hair and wore baggy clothes, yet it seemed all of them were new.  

“Thanks, I said. What’s… your name?”  

He stared up at me and squinted. “My name is Serval.” 

“Like the cat?” 

He thought about this. “Yes, I suppose so.” 

This conversation wouldn’t go anywhere. “Hey, do you suppose we could hang out sometime? I’m really grateful to you for finding my phone.”

“Dropped it.” 

“Sorry?” 

“You dropped it, you didn’t lose it. But I can hang out on Saturday.” Was he joking or something?  

Okay, friendly introduction.  

Days passed and went, and the last few days of high school stretched out into tests and stress. One day, I got a text from mom saying that she was going to be staying for work longer than anticipated.  

Me and Serval opted to go to the cinema and eat lunch that day. He ate in a very strange manner. Chomped down on it like it was the last food left on earth. Serval was not an outgoing person. But he seemed nice on the inside. Or whatever inside there was supposed to be. I figured he was hollow. Listening to his one-sided conversations where he thought he was being funny would drag for hours 

He absorbed the movie and stared at the screen, transfixed for the entire three hours. At the end, he complained about how they got all the alien stereotypes wrong.

“They should be different from humans.” he enunciated slowly. “There should be a distinction between them, not just their skin color being different. Besides-” 

“So,” I cut him off. “Hm… How do I phrase this… what does it mean to be friends?”  

He thought about it. “Like, if there are requirements?” I nodded and he rested his head against the table. “Well, there are no requirements. Friendship is friendship. Rules are rules. Friendship is beyond rules and logic. Can’t group them together.”  

Well, that was that. Socializing with this guy was going to be a journey for sure.  

“What were you doing that day on the ground? Like-” 

“Nuh uh,” He cut me off. “We don’t need to talk about that. Do you have any popcorn left in your bucket?”  

I tugged my popcorn away, holding it in the air, and he reached for it, practically jumping to get a peek. That was something funny about our dynamic. He was fifteen, albeit a very short one, and I towered over him. . I was scared of my height.  

“Do you want to stop by a restaurant sometime? I know a place.” 

His definition of sometime and place was certainly very different from mine. “Sometimes”, multiple weeks after we had that discussion. He had managed to get his fingers on my phone number, and habitually texted me as if he were in a state of worship. The “place” in mind was a beat up, run down little ramen shop on the corner of the block. The ramen was honestly the best food I’d had in a while, so I thanked Servall feverously.  

We stayed for hours and talked about all sorts of things. I’d define it as the montage in movies when the two main characters visit a bunch of places together and there's a fade in and out animation for all the different scenes. Cheesy. I know.  We ended the night with a good dessert.  

“Hey,” Serval said. “I… have something to tell you.”  

“What?” I giggled lightly. 

He shot me a look. “This is important. I’m not actually from here. I’m leaving soon. I don’t think we should talk anymore. I would tell you the truth, but you might not believe me. So, this is goodbye.” 

I stared at him, dumbfounded as he walked away. BYE? That was all? That was it? No more days where I wasn’t genuinely worried about what others thought about me? It was over. 

I walked home, numb. 

The day after, nothing happened., I couldn’t go and find him; Serval had made it explicit I was not to follow him, and I didn’t know his address either. What was the truth —he one he worked so hard to hide from me? I stopped thinking about it. I hated myself. Why couldn’t I just be normal? Was it my fault that he wanted to leave? I fell asleep curled into a ball on the couch, holding my body together. When I woke up, there was frantic pounding on the front door. Groggily, I checked the time. 4:29. What the heck. It was way too early to even consider being up. I slammed the door open and saw a very wide-awake Serval, up and ready for whatever adventures awaited him. He smiled at me sadly.  

“Look. I’m sorry for leaving you there. Do you want to head to the beach, and we can

discuss it there?” 

I was going to say no, but the way he looked at me with such determination was astonishing, swirls of passion bubbling up and fizzing in his eyes. “Ok.” I replied 

We did not simply go to the beach. We ran to the beach. I was completely winded when I got there, so I sat down to catch my breath 

“That’s bad for you. C’mon, get up.” Serval stretched his arm out and beamed at me.  

Reluctantly taking his hand, I asked, “What's your big truth? The one you said you couldn’t tell me?” 

He stared at me with utmost precision and said without missing a beat, “I’m an alien. I’m from another planet.”  

“I believe you.” I replied at once.  

He smiled a lopsided smile. “You sure?” 

I nodded. “Yes. There's nothing much I can do except believe.”  

Serval  rocked back and forth on his heels and suddenly kicked his shoes off and made a run for the beach.  

“Hey! What the- That's not fair!” I screamed at him.  

I felt my feet pound after him, my heartbeats falling into step with the rhythm of my feet. “SO, YOU’RE AN ALIEN? WHY ARE YOU HERE?” 

He looked back and splashed at me. “I was meant to scout out the area around here to see if earth was inhabitable. I crash landed and, well you helped me.” He paused. “Thanks. I never said that to you. Why’d you help me anyway?”  

“You looked like you needed it, I guess.” I said. 

The waves lapped at my feet and so, I rolled my pants up higher and took a few more steps towards him.  

“You see that?” He asked, “The full moon. When midnight occurs, I’ll be whisked away back into the spaceship. 

“This could be a Cinderella story, if you squint your eyes and peered at it from under the water. “ I gathered my strength and pushed the water towards him. “This is really goodbye?”

He nodded at me and waded further into the ocean. The light breeze picked up in speed, and he stared up at the moon for a moment.  He looked back at me and laughed. The kind of laugh that painted the sky lighter shades of pink. He said something, but his voice was lost in the wind, slipping away faster than dandelion fluff. Serval waved at me and smiled once more. He disappeared into the waves, like an echo, under the shimmering moonlight.