“you’re telling me you’ve lived on god’s green earth for how long and you don’t know what books are??” the man laughed as though it was the most ridiculous idea he had ever heard of. “you’re pulling my leg, isn’t no way you’ve never seen a book. kids unfortunately nowadays i could see, but you?”
“well,” the being paused for a moment, recalling their conversation up until that point. “i apologize, i neglected to mention, while i am around the equivalence of your age in human years, i am afraid i have not been on uh—how did you phrase it? ‘god’s green earth’?—for very long. most of my time here has been spent assessing the technological and travel advancements, and while i have heard of books and become familiar with several written languages of the planet, i have not been privileged to see many paper based products myself, books included.”
as the odd but interesting fellow’s sentence continued on, the man’s face began to transition from disbelief into awe. “you . . . you mean, you’re not from earth?” he managed. “you’re an alien?”
“that is the phrase that humans use for it, yes.” the other agreed.
they looked human, in fact up until that point the man had had no reason he would ever have thought otherwise. they appeared male and, as they’d said, perhaps a big younger than himself. the only thing he’d thought of when they had approached him at the bar and initiated conversation was perhaps they’d grown up in a rich household and didn’t quite match with the social standards of regular-waged people, but an alien?
the man glanced around the rest of the bar, but the tender was at the other end with another patron and no one else appeared to have heard the fellow’s words. “is that, i mean, do people know? we can be . . . not the friendliest sort,”
“oh of that i have seen, yes.” the fellow acknowledged, in something between a solemn and impressed tone. they nodded back toward the door, where a rainbow striped flag was waving over the entryway. “but this town seems accepting to the ‘outsiders’ of your species, and i had a feeling that you were someone trustworthy.” they glanced down at his patch covered biker jacket and smiled. “i have been wanting to use that expression.”
the man blinked at them, not following. “huh?”
“ ‘i had a feeling’, there are so many interesting terms of speech that you all have come up with.”
“oh . . . heh,” he raised his eyebrows and nodded. “i suppose you’re right,” the man looked the apparent alien up and down. “do you . . . want to see the library? it’s around the corner, it’s filled end to end with all sorts of books. you can look at ‘em all you want.”
the fellow lit up. “truly? i have seen mentionings of libraries but did not want to impose on one if it were culturally inappropriate-”
“oh pf, you kidding?” the man downed the last of his drink and stuck the bill underneath the glass, waving to the bartender as he slid off his seat. “they’ll love you over there. not enough people in libraries anymore, the folks who work there love books and love to help other people love ‘em.” he said, stepping outside and squinting a little at the brightness before moseying off.
“i am truly eager to see such a place, thank you . . .”
“justin.” he supplied.
“thank you most wholeheartedly, justin.” the fellow beamed at him. “you are very kind.”
“nah, just uh, neighborly . . .” he scrunched up his face a little at the word, not sure it fit. they could be from a neighboring galaxy, he supposed? “do you uh, have a name?”
“i do not, but i am happy with anything if you would like to have something to refer to me by.”
“ah, geez,” he looked up at the approaching library. “i don’t want that kind of responsibility haha, but maybe you’ll find a name in here you like . . ?”
“an adept solution.” the being agreed. they were quiet for a moment. “i like this endeavor, i shall witness books in their full form and can be alert to an interesting term for myself in the process.” they paused at the front steps. “will you be joining me, justin? i do not want you to feel obligated, but i would enjoy your company further if there is nothing needing your attention elsewhere at the moment.”
justin thought for a second. “nah, nothin’ i have to do today. i’ve been wanting to check if they have a new series anyway, just haven’t gotten to it.”
the fellow smiled and stepped back with a little motion allowing justin to enter first. as he went in, he called back over his shoulder. “hey you know what cows are right? have you seen a real live cow? cats? what about . . .”
- - - - -
“hey . . . i’m here,” justin whispered softly, cradling the alien’s head in his lap. they looked dazed, but he knew it was much worse than that. somewhere he was vaguely aware of distant sirens.
“i . . . am sorry . . . justin,” they managed. the underlying chime to their voice that was always just present was now much more audible, almost overpowering their words.
“what? don’t be, don’t be-” he said firmly, feeling his face growing hot as he tried to hold back tears. “it’s not you’re fault, we’re cunts. we’re absolute bastards who can’t enjoy life and living and allowing others to do the same we can’t even just be decent to one another let alone, i, i’m so sorry i shouldn’t have kept you here-”
“you . . . did keep me,” they admitted. “all of you, did . . . this planet is so beautiful, its people are too . . . in so many ways . . . and you’ve shown me so much of it. so much to taste, to see, i can never, thank you enough . . .”
“but you’re dying . . .” he choked out.
they smiled faintly, letting their eyes close. “perhaps . . . but i have lived. my hope is . . . you can do the same . . . be well . . . my most precious friend . . .”
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