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Eden Doucet is a 23-year-old college student who’s been obsessed with the stars ever since he was younger. Posters of the eight planets littered the walls of his childhood room, and there was a night light that projected the stars onto his ceiling. Every night, he’d look out his window and try to spot whatever constellations he could find. But besides that, there was one thing that’s always rang true to him,
That aliens existed somewhere.
“We can’t be the only intelligent lifeforms, there just has to be something else out there!” He would say.
Of course, everyone just brushed him off as a nutcase. Even his best friend (and current housemate), Hana Sonobe, who supports him thick and thin, didn’t believe him at all. Despite getting support from absolutely no one in his life, he still believed in it with all his heart.
Because he believed in the unknown, the littlest things would be seen as proof to him. Blinking light in the sky (which ended up being a plane)? A UFO! Something scurrying in his backyard (which was just a raccoon)? Must be an alien, etc. Hana was always there to rope him back into reality, but these days, things were getting very suspicious.
“Hey Hana, have you noticed anything weird lately?” Eden asked, lying upside down on their couch.
“Is this about aliens or just in general?” Hana asked back.
“A bit of both.” Eden let out a little chuckle. “Whenever I go to take out the trash, I notice that something must’ve raided our bin. And before I go to bed, I could swear I see some sort of flying saucer in the sky.”
“That could’ve just been a raccoon; we live in an area where there’s plenty of them,” Hana said.
Eden groaned, “It can’t be a raccoon! There’s no mess left behind and those little things don’t bother to clean it up. Whatever’s going through our stuff is very precise with it, like it's looking for something.”
“Hm…” Hana thought. “Yeah, that is pretty weird.”
“You wanna know what I think is causing this?”
“Don’t even start with that stuff, Eden.”
“Ugh!”
“The last thing I want to hear when I’m turning in these reports is your latest theory on how aliens are watching us.” Hana sighed.
“Sometimes I wonder why you still talk to me if you hate hearing it so much.” Eden quipped.
“Because you’re my best friend. But I just can’t help but get a little fed up at times.” Hana explained. “And I wanna say, I do kinda think that there’s a possibility that there’s extraterrestrial life out there with how big our universe is, but tell me, do you really think they’d be in our nobody town in the east coast of America? That’s if they’re real, of course”
Well, she got him there. Even though she probably only said that to shut him up, Eden couldn’t help but think that she had a point. Why would they be here? What would they do with his trash? I don’t think ramen noodle cups would be that much of use to any alien trying to learn about human culture.
But whatever, it was 9 P.M, he had a lecture (and work) tomorrow. He needed to get some rest. Eden said goodnight to his housemate and walked into his bedroom. Even though he'd been home for hours, he was still in his work uniform. So, he slipped into some star pajama bottoms and an alien t-shirt he never goes outside in.
As Eden got into bed, he remembered something. There was an alien movie that he heard of a week ago that he really wanted to watch. So, instead of going to bed right away, he put on the movie, but it was just a disappointment.
“I've seen these tropes a million times before. Do people not have original ideas anymore?” Eden wondered. “Although the main character getting to go inside their ship was cool, I should've just gone to bed.”
As he drifted off to sleep, he could've sworn that he saw something glowing from outside his window. Even then, it didn't last long, as he was awoken by what seemed to be the sound of a garbage bin falling.
A sane person would've just gone back to bed, but that's clearly not Eden.
He grabbed a flashlight out of his nightstand, got out of his bed, and started to go to the source of the sound, which came from the back of his house.
“Could this be it? COULD I ACTUALLY BE THE FIRST PERSON TO COME IN CONTACT WITH ALIENS?!” Eden's mind raced with possibilities. If it was an alien, he wondered what they would look like. Hopefully, it would be something exciting. But he didn't want his eagerness to ruin his chance, so he took careful steps.
He walked into the living room, and he could faintly hear someone talking outside. Eden had no idea what was being said; it was probably in some foreign language, but it still interested him. He carefully slid the back door open, walked into his backyard, and took slow steps.
There, he saw it.
A tall, human-looking man with purple hair and something that resembled rabbit ears dressed in weird clothing searched through Eden's garbage. Now that he got this far without being noticed, Eden decided to make his presence known!
“HEY, YOU!”
The man turned around, a surprised look on his face. Eden got a closer look at his face, they had the same amber eyes, but the man's hair also had cyan streaks. He also had only one star earring on.
“What do you think you're doing?!” Eden interrogated.
“Ah, sorry to bother you, human.” The man said. Human? Could he actually be…
“Not to worry, I will erase your memories and we can forget all about thi-”
“Tell me who you are and what you're doing in my backyard right now!”
“How interesting…you're not afraid of me.” The man commented, covering his mouth in surprise. “I'll be willing to explain if we go inside your abode, it's rather cold out here.”
“Fine…” Eden agreed.
Although this was probably an awful idea, Eden let this stranger into his home, and they both sat down in the living room.
“Explain yourself,” Eden demanded.
“I feel the need to make something very clear. Despite my appearance, we are not the same species.” The man clarified. “I'm what you humans would call an alien.”
That's it! That's the confirmation he wanted to hear for so long! Eden looked at the man, completely starstruck. He was on the edge of his seat, waiting breathlessly for whatever he was going to say next.
“...Why are you looking at me like that?” The man asked.
“Oh, sorry. It's just that I've been really interested in the extraterrestrial for all of my life. So now, getting to meet an alien is just so exciting! It feels like my heart's going to beat out of my chest!” Eden exclaimed. “Tell me, what's your name? Your actual name. Did you crash land on Earth or something? If so, is there any way I can help you get back? Will I get to go on your spaceship? CAN YOU TAKE ME TO YOUR PLANET???!!”
“...You sure do ask a lot of questions. But your enthusiasm is interesting because I'm just as enthralled with your species.” The man laughed. “But before I tell you anything else, I need you to swear that you will not share any of this information to others.”
“My lips are sealed!” Eden smiled.
“Thank you. I, along with 3 other of my peers, was sent to Earth on a mission to see what human life is like. We were given fake names to go by during our time on this planet. You may call me Rui Kamishiro.”
“What's your actual name?” Eden pondered. Rui proceeded to blurt out something incomprehensible.
“Ah right, the human mind cannot comprehend my language.” Rui sighed. “It's such a shame that I have to basically speak down to you just so you can understand me, just call me Rui.”
“Alright!” Eden nodded, before offering a handshake. “My name is Eden Doucet. I wish I had something as cool to tell you.”
“...What are you trying to do?”
“Give you a handshake?”
“A handshake?”
“Yeah, you take my hand and move your arm up and down. It's a form of greeting here on Earth.”
“Oh, I see now. How fascinating!”
Rui then promptly grabbed Eden's hand very tightly and shook it aggressively. He didn't stop until Eden practically begged him to.
“Okay okay! Please, you can stop now!” Eden cried.
“Apologies.” Rui let go of Eden's hand, before leaning in close. “And I don't want you to worry about not seeming interesting. I find the way you humans go about life to be very interesting. Tell me everything.”
Eden backed up, “Well uhm, can I ask you a few more questions?”
“Sure,” Rui said.
“Well, first of all, do you actually look like that, or is it just a disguise so you can blend in? I've seen this a lot in science fiction.” Eden asked.
“What in the galaxy is this man talking about?” Rui thought. “No, I look like this normally.”
“How boring.” Eden rolled his eyes. “I spent all my life thinking you guys were going to look like those little green guys.”
“Those what?” Rui tilted his head.
“See the drawing on my shirt?” Eden pointed at his chest. “Like that.”
“This is what humans think we look like?” Rui laughed. “I'm sorry, but that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!”
“Oh…” Eden nervously chuckled. “But anyways, I guess I can tell you more about myself.”
The two got so caught up in their conversation that they didn't even notice that Hana was awake, and had walked in on them.
“Eden, who the hell are you talking to?” Hana asked.
“Better question, why are you awake?” Eden questioned, trying to one-up her. “But this guy's name is Rui Kamishiro, and he's an alien! Can you believe it, Hana? I WAS RIGHT! I WAS RIGHT ALL ALONG!”
“Huh.” Hana let out.
“Why are you so calm? I was assuming that you'd run away screaming and call your leader on me” Rui wondered. “I don't need to worry about the blue-haired boy; he's already told me how he's interested in my kind.”
“I have to clock in at 9. I have more important things to worry about.” Hana shrugged.
“Clock….in???”
“I have to go to my job. And work.”
“But anyway, mind if I join in on the conversation?” Hana sat down next to Eden.
“Of course not!” Eden chimed.
The three of them then proceeded to talk, for quite some time. Eden finally got to know why Rui was looking through his garbage bin. Apparently, Rui likes to invent these little machines and he was trying to find some scraps to make something out of. The three of them shared about their cultures, daily life, and everything along those lines. But eventually, Rui felt like it was time to end things.
“I've had plenty of fun talking to you two, but it's time for me to leave.” Rui got up from the couch. “I'll be wishing you well.”
“Wait, you're leaving?” Eden grabbed Rui's hand. “You're just gonna be on your own now?”
“Yes, that's how I've been ever since i got here.” Rui answered.
“I don't want you too! Can you imagine the trouble that could happen? The government could find you and do a ton of experiments on your body! Can't you stay with us?” Eden pleaded.
“I'd really appreciate it if you at least gave me the okay before suggesting something like that.” Hana shook her head. “But it's not like I mind, as long as he cleans up after himself and helps around the house I'll be fine with it.”
“You humans are so strange.” Rui remarked. “We've only just met, and yet you're so desperate for me to stay. But at the same time, you two seem nice, and by staying with you I'd get to learn more about human culture…”
“Is that a yes?” Eden nervously smiled.
“It is.” Rui smiled back. “I shall make my home in the garage, I won't bother you two.”
“If anything, Eden's going to be the one to bother you 24/7” Hana quipped.
“Oh come on…” Eden rolled his eyes. “But I hope you have fun living with us, Rui! I'll be making pancakes in the morning!”
Rui's never heard of that dish before, and he was very excited to try it. A warm feeling started to develop in his chest, he was going to like it here.