Page 9 of Fathom

He reached out and took it from me, tucking it and his other bowl into the wooden container, sliding a front panel down from the top to hide them from view.

He said something and pointed at the screen.

I went back to the desk, tapped on the down arrow, and listened to the next voice. I glanced over to see him leaving the room with the box, and I turned back to the screen to continue going through the voices. I finished the end of the list a few minutes before he got back, despair a soft undercurrent under the numbness.

The ice cold that protected my mind was melting, the edges weakened by the hot water in the shower, only to be washed away by the deep warmth of a good meal.

“I don’t recognize any of these,” I told him, my voice trembling as I pointed at the screen.

He said something, and I shook my head, covering my face with my hands.

I was clean, fed, and warm. My injuries had been tended to. All of that layered together, wearing away at the numbness so it could slide into the background, allowing my fear to finally begin to rise to the forefront of my mind.

“Where am I?” I asked as I tried to keep the tears from falling, but couldn’t. I sobbed softly into my hands for several minutes, letting it all out in a small burst. I could let a little out, relieve a little bit of the pressure.

Eventually, I wiped my eyes, and I dropped my hands to see him kneeling next to my chair, looking at me intently.

“Where am I?” I asked him, knowing that he didn't understand, and even if he did, I wouldn't understand his answer.

He put his hand on his chest.

“Eun,” he said.

Then he pointed at me.

“Leija,” I said.

“Leija?” he asked.

“Yes, Eun, my name is Leija,” I replied. “Where am I? You’re an alien right? If you were an elf, you'd be able to tell me where I was.”

He said a stream of something else. He reached over and switched off the screen in front of me, then got up and walked over to the mattress.

“Leija,” he said, patting the bed. Then he walked to the far side of the room and settled down on the bare floor. He patted it. “Eun.”

“You’re going to sleep on the floor?” I asked.

He let out an exaggerated yawn and then lay down, pillowing his head on his arm.

I slid out of the chair and went over to the oversized bed. I knew I should try to tell him to sleep in his own bed. His pillow was so large I could curl up on it fine. I didn’t know who this guy was, what was going on, or why he had helped me. I didn’t know his intentions or if he would expect anything for being ‘nice’ to me, as guys often did when I went out on dates back… back home. Those words took the rest of my thoughts and ground them to an abrupt stop.

I wasn’t home anymore.

I was somewhere else.

I was exhausted.

I didn’t have the capacity in me to say no to kindness right now.

I climbed into the bed, curled up in the soft covers, put my head on the giant pillow, and went to sleep hoping I would wake up and discover that it had all been a dream.

Except for him.

I wanted him to be real.

FOUR

EUN