Everglow: Friend From Far Away

14 - Memories

"What do you mean?" Fischer asked, slightly confused at her question.

"You just seem a little less. . . energetic than before," Ko stated. Knowing where this conversation would probably end up, he attempted to derail it before it even got started. He wasn't in the particular mood to be talking about feelings with an alien, even if he was coming closer and closer to calling that alien a friend.

"I'm fine," he blandly stated, his head facing the ground and his eyes avoiding Ko's. Unfortunately for him Ko knew that wasn't quite the truth.

"Are. . . you sure?" She faltered, knowing that 'fine' wasn't the correct answer. It was clear he was hiding something, although she couldn't exactly blame him for it.

"Not to be rude or anything, but why are you so concerned with my wellbeing all of a sudden?" He questioned, "You've known me for three hours."

Ko stared back at him, a look of shock painting her face. She wasn't expecting an answer like that, it almost sounded like he was frustrated at her. Her look told Fischer everything he needed to know. Realizing how awful that made him sound, he quickly went back on his word. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. . . that sounded really mean-"

"It's ok. Fischer In the last three hours you've given me more than anyone else has in my entire life. You've given me shelter, food, you fixed up my leg. Not to mention you're the closest thing I've ever had to a friend. Of course I care about your wellbeing, after everything you've given me. It is quite literally the least I can do." Ko's words drifted through the air like a feather, but hit him in the chest like an anchor. He hadn't even realised what he'd done. Pausing for a second to take in what she'd just said, he could've sworn he heard her heart beating.

"Well. . . I. . . thanks, I guess. I mean. . . I didn't think it was really that big of a deal," he said, perplexed by her words. Looking up at her, he could see a small sparkle in her eyes, one of appreciation. The only other person he'd even seen that in was Mira.

"It is to me. Maybe not to others, but it is to me," Ko stated. Her words were soft, but impactful. Her voice was almost angelic in nature, resonating inside him like a gong. He let out a small chuckle as the two of them sat there in silence, both staring awkwardly at the floor.

However Fischer still had one huge question on his mind, something he wanted to know as soon as he first made contact with her.

She said she came from a planet called Diamar. What exactly was it like there?

He remembered back to when he asked her before, and she said she didn't want to talk about it. But that didn't sit right with him, like she was trying  to hide something from him. If it  really was as horrible there as she was making it seem, maybe it  would do her some good to get it off her chest.

"Ko. . . I asked you a little while ago about your planet. You said you didn't want to talk about it but. . . I just feel like it's something I should probably know about. I mean you know a whole lot about where I come from, what it's like to live here."

Ko knew this question was coming, but she still struggled to give him a proper answer. Not because she didn't want to, but mostly because she actually didn't know herself. She knew what her home was like, she remembered the temperature, the food, the colours, the people, the atmosphere, but she had no idea what species she belonged to, or even what her home planet was like outside of the frozen wasteland she'd lived her whole life in.

Letting out a big sigh, she shifted her gaze at Fischer. She closed what felt like heavy eyes for a few seconds, then opened them up again, her slit pupils now widened into ellipses.

"I only learnt about the name of my planet a few plates ago. I never found out the name of my race though. It was just something I was never taught."

Fischer sat upright slowly as she explained to him what she knew. He could see a look of sorrow in her, like it was hurting to remember.

"What's a plate?"

"I think it's the amount of time the planet took to go around the sun,"

"Oh, to orbit it? Here on Earth we call that a year."

She gave a small nod, not paying particularly close attention to what he was saying.

"When. . . when I was younger, I don't know how old, not that it even matters, I. . . was abandoned by my parents. I had seven other siblings and my parents couldn't afford to raise eight kids. Apparently three of my brothers were abandoned as well, but I never found out if that was true or not."

Fischer felt his stomach drop as he listened. "Shit, I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. There's nothing that can be done now. Anyway, eventually after a few days, a guy named Detritha found me and took me in," she said sarcastically, raising her hand and using her fingers to symbolize air quotes.

"I'm guessing he didn't exactly treat you any better?"

"He was the owner of a factory near the city. After about two days, he put me into its ranks. I was never given any sort of introduction or explanation of what was going on, just forced to work. Every day he would force us to work and work, even when it was below freezing. We had no proper clothing of any kind and only fed once every day. Water was only given if you finished all the work that had been set out for you that day, which was usually way too much to complete in just a single day."

As she spoke, Fischer noticed her eyes become watery and glassy, small beads of tears began to trickle down her face as she explained. Her words were often interrupted by short sniffles and gulps, her breath becoming heavier and more stuttered.

"Ko. . ." he shifted next to her, both of them now sitting on the floor, their backs against the tin wall of the shed. Seeing her in tears hurt him, wanting nothing more than to stop the conversation now and forget he ever asked. But this was something that he knew she needed to get off her chest. He knew from experience that keeping things like this bottled up inside was a one way ticket to a horrible life.

"He. . . was a slave owner, I was one of his slaves. I couldn't tell you how many people I saw trapped in there, suffering because of him. It. . . it wasn't uncommon to see. . . to see bodies being pulled out in. . . in sheets. It was so cold that a lot of us froze to death. . . we didn't have any coats or anything. M-my whole life I was there, one of the luck-lucky ones. I never got too badly injured. B-but he nev-never softened, never gave us breaks. We had to s-sleep in shacks, filled with the shrapnel of machines and materials."

Fischer looked around the shed, realising what she meant when she had said she was used to sleeping in horrible places. It stung him to hear her like this. He swore he could feel his heart being crushed under the weight of a freight train.

"Often th-there wouldn't be any room in the shacks, so we'd have to s-sleep on the factory floor," she stuttered, wiping away the tears from her face. Looking down at the floor, she suddenly felt something on her left shoulder. Looking over, she saw Fischer's hand resting there, his arm laying around her neck. Surprised and slightly shocked at his actions, she turned to look at him.

Fischer froze when he saw her turn to him, wondering if he may have gone too far. After all they'd only just met a little while ago. He only though this might help comfort her a little bit. But to his surprise, and his relief, her teary eyes looked up at him and she gave him a small smile of appreciation.

"Thankyou," she said, choking the words out through sniffles and stutters.

"I'm here for you. I mean that. It doesn't surprise me why you left. But I'm glad you did. If I ever find this 'Detritha' guy, you can be sure I'll kick his ass so hard he'll make the Apollo missions look like a joke," he said, trying his best to comfort her.

She let out a little snicker as he spoke, her frown turning around slightly. "I don't know what that m-means, but th-thankyou."